Coaching legend Hubie Brown will be in Auburn this Saturday pursuing one of his longtime passions: Teaching youth and college coaches a few of his trade secrets.

Brown, 73, is the celebrity speaker at the sixth-annual New England Coaches Clinic on the campus of Central Maine Community College. His talk will begin at 9 a.m. and is expected to conclude shortly before noon.

In addition to presenting clinics for more than 15 years, Brown has steered four professional teams to the playoffs in a brilliant career.

He directed the Kentucky Colonels to the American Basketball Association championship in 1975. When the ABA folded, Brown quickly made the transition to roaming the NBA sidelines, where he led Atlanta, New York and Memphis to postseason appearances.

Brown won a pair of NBA Coach of the Year honors, which are distinguished by the fact that they came more than a quarter-century apart. After retiring from the Grizzlies due to health reasons in November 2004, Brown returned to the clinic circuit and the broadcast booth.

Other Maine coaching dignitaries scheduled to speak at the two-day event include Ann McInerney of the University of Maine women’s hoop program, Paul Vachon of Cony, Paul True of Lake Region and Earl Anderson of Nokomis. CMCC head coaches Dave Gonyea and Mike Bridges are also on the docket.

Registrations are still being accepted. Coaches may call 755-5251 or e-mail dgonyea@cmcc.edu.

Pilgrims’ progress

Sheena Marichal couldn’t have played much better than she did in New England College’s field hockey conference opener this autumn. Actually, Marichal and the Pilgrims would have been hard pressed to improve upon the entire first month of their 2006 season.

New England College rattled off nine consecutive wins to christen the schedule, including a one-sided win over Anna Maria College on Sept. 16. Marichal scored two goals and delivered an assist in that triumph.

Men’s soccer is approaching the .500 mark this fall at NEC, and Michael Vieira of South Paris (Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School) is a factor in that success.

Vieira has appeared in every game for the Pilgrims, who are 5-6-1 overall. He has started eight contests, recording one assist.

Team players

Lewiston’s Maureen Curran Cloutier was honored recently as a member of the first women’s team to be inducted into the Norwich University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Curran was one of seven former basketball standouts to attend the induction ceremony in Northfield, Vt. She played on the 1990-91 Norwich squad that finished with a record of 22-2, punctuated by 15 consecutive wins to cap the campaign.

Speaking of Norwich, another female athlete is currently making her impact for the Cadets in women’s soccer. Leanne Waterman, a sophomore defender from Gray, is tied for second on the team with a pair of goals this fall. Waterman also has chalked up an assist while starting all 10 games for scrappy Norwich, which has two wins and three ties to its credit.

Husky harriers

Four local runners are competing with the University of Southern Maine men’s cross country team this fall, including a pair that led the Huskies to a dramatic improvement in the annual New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association championship meet.

Junior Forrest Tobie of Mount Vernon (Maranacook) and freshman Justin Richardson of Turner (St. Dom’s) each scored points for Southern Maine in Saturday’s race at Franklin Park in Boston. Their efforts boosted USM to 22nd overall, placing the Huskies in the top half of the field as well as moving them up eight spots from their finish last fall.

Nick Downing of Winthrop, a sophomore, posted a top-20 finish for USM in the Keene State Invitational on Sept. 30. Lewiston’s James Spaulding, a former high school football and track and field standout, is also on the Southern Maine roster as a sophomore.

Big hits for Bates

Ron DiGravio, a junior linebacker from Farmington (Mt. Blue and Carrabassett Valley Academy), made an impressive 4 stops for lost yardage Saturday in Bates’ 27-7 loss to Williams in its home opener. He made eight tackles in all, increasing his total to 18 for the season. DiGravio’s 7 tackles for loss on the season make him the team’s runaway leader.

In other Bates news, Kim Alexander of Cumberland (Greely) was named NESCAC Player of the Week for the first segment of October. Alexander scored both goals in the Bobcats’ 2-1 victory over previously undefeated Williams on Saturday, then backed it up with her ninth tally of the season Monday in a 5-0 rout of Endicott. Alexander leads the conference with four game-winning goals in the Bobcats’ first seven wins.

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