By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

By the end of last football season, the Central Maine Shockers were looking to shake things up a little.

Running a semi-pro football team isn’t an easy endeavor, and three years of work had taken its toll on founders Zach Stewart and Steve Coleman.

“It’s a real struggle,” said Stewart. “It can drain you. That’s what started to show through with Steve and I.”

So at season’s end last year, the Shockers decided to reorganize. Corey Nickerson assumed the role of the team owner. The Shockers are scheduled to start the season July 22 and feel ready and reenergized for the New England Football League season.

“I’ve been with the team since they started,” said Nickerson. “Zach and Steve aren’t as involved as they used to be. We wanted someone to be involved on a day-to-day basis.”

Stewart and Coleman are still involved with the team. Stewart will continue to play, while Coleman serves as a team representative and will work with the quarterbacks.

“We didn’t feel we had enough energy to do it and decided to pass it along to him,” said Stewart, who simply turned the reigns over to Nickerson. “We thought he would be a perfect fit for the team. Corey has a lot of great energy. He’s been a die-hard with the team from day one. He’s just what we think the Shockers should be represented by.”

Nickerson, who works for Nickerson Septic Systems in Turner, had already been actively involved with the operations of the team. It was just a matter of assuming the leadership role and handling the responsibilities of the ownership.

“It was kind of a hard decision,” said Nickerson. “I’ve always been behind the scenes with Zach and Steve. Now I have to make the decisions.

“It’s a decision that me, Zach and Steve all came up with. They didn’t know how much they were going to be able to be involved. I just decided to take over everything.”

Nickerson now handles all facets of running the team. Stewart helps out when he can with some scheduling duties and sponsors that he is more familiar with.

“It’s the best thing,” said Stewart, whose various business ventures limited the time he could devote to the team. “If Steve and I were to continue, I don’t know where things would have been this season. He’s really done what we needed.”

One of the biggest changes in the team has been solidifying the roster and the organization. The team has been pared down to a core of about 30 regulars. The atmosphere was a little looser the first three years, Nickerson has brought in more discipline. He feels he’s earned the team’s respect, and they’ve been receptive to the seriousness he brings to the job.

“I like to keep everything tight,” said Nickerson. “I feel that people are going to respect you if you set ground rules.”

He has had discussions with players and gotten feedback. He has created a solid team atmosphere and the club is anxious to begin its fourth season later this month. The team has gone 18-11 in three seasons.

“I talked to everyone on the team about making decisions,” said Nickerson. “So it’s more of a team. The team is more everyone’s team rather than my team. I’m just the one that makes the final decisions.”