The floundering program has its most participants in three years.
JAY – They may not have 70 or 80 athletes like a large Class A school, and their 30 may even pale when compared to some of the top Class C programs in the states, but the Jay Tigers, with a larger number of athletes than in any of the past three years, may be poised to regain their top form.

The season did not start so smoothly, however.

“We were hired on a Thursday,” said first-time coach and former Jay athlete Christina Bamford. “We were told that there was practice the next day. It was that quick.”

Bamford, 28, and Jill Dunton, a senior at the University of Maine at Farmington and a former Mountain Valley runner, took over a program that had struggled with numbers for a few years.

“Basically, the opportunity was there, they didn’t have coaches, so I figured I’d give it a shot,” said Bamford, who is also busy teaching at Jay Middle School and raising a 2-year-old.

Dunton, meanwhile, is graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Elementary Education after transferring to Farmington from Colby College two years ago. Last winter, Dunton also coached skiing at Livermore Falls High School.

“I run around like a chicken with its head cut off sometimes,” Dunton admitted. “Most of the time I go straight from class to here in the afternoon. At the same time, though, it’s nice to come here. It gets me away from class and from all of the work I have left there.”

After finishing up with finals in two weeks, Dunton will be free to continue coaching for the rest of the season.
Small but dedicated
“From what I remember, the numbers are still down,” Bamford said of the team. “The difference, though, is that the kids we have are very dedicated to their sport.”

At 9:00 a.m. on Monday, a holiday during school vacation week, more than half of the team showed up for a workout behind the school. The track was still wet, and the infield looked more like the surrounding swamp than an athletic field, but there they were, taking reps on hurdles and throwing the discus and the shot put.

“We have a lot of really fast kids,” Dunton said. “The girls’ team is smaller, but they are willing to do anything to help the team get points. The guys have some depth and I think they will be a good team point-wise.”

One thing that the new coaches have struggled with is how the team will match up against conference foes. Dunton was a member of the MVC just four years ago, but at a Class B school, and Bamford has been away for 10 years.

“It’s tough, especially in the relays, not knowing how to go about things,” Dunton said. “That said, it is a good thing, too, because the kids aren’t as distracted and we can coach them to compete against themselves rather than against another person. We can concentrate on us.”

And for the first time in a few years there are plenty of athletes on which to concentrate.
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