I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoes
Know where I'm goin' and I know what to do
I tidied up my point of view
I got a new attitude

Patti LaBelle – New Attitude

Dear Bates Students, Faculty, Staff and Friends,

With Clayton Spencer recently appointed as the college’s 8^th president, our community seems to have a new attitude too and is poised to enter a pivotal and exciting era! It is a future filled with challenges, but as president-elect Spencer noted in her introductory address, “Part of the task ahead is, therefore, to embrace with energy and confidence what the college already does so well, even as we challenge ourselves — always — to do better. Athletics at Bates lives this approach and with that in mind, I want to take a quick look back at some of the things we did well this past fall and then look ahead to that which we can do better heading into the winter sports seasons.

Some notable successes from the first half of the year include: the solidification of “Getting It Done”, a peer mentoring program with upper class student-athletes counseling other athletes - mainly first-year students - about properly balancing academics, athletics and college life in general; a 2nd Athletics-led Bates Allies event held in conjunction with National Coming Out Day that saw nearly 1000 members of our community sign the Allies Pledge to respect and welcome all persons; the initiation of an ongoing, year-long leadership training program for all captains/team leaders; and the hosting of the 1st-ever Bates L/A Community Day featuring Lewiston/Auburn families invited to our home athletic contests, free coaches clinics for kids, tours of the campus, youth football games played on Garcelon Field, and local vendors sponsoring pumpkin decorating, face painting, giveaways, etc. Athletics also designated the Community Day as a fund-raiser for the Horn of Africa Famine Relief Effort and generated $600 that was contributed toward that cause.

On the competitive front, Men’s Cross Country finished 7^th in the country at the NCAA National Championships; Football won stirring victories over Williams, Tufts and Bowdoin and a share of the CBB title; the Men’s and Women’s Rowing teams both had excellent races at the Head of the Charles Regatta and swept the CBB chase. Additionally, Head Men’s Cross Country Coach Al Fereshetian was named NESCAC Coach of the Year, several Football, Men’s & Women’s Soccer and Field Hockey players were honored with All-NESCAC selections and Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Peter Lasagna was inducted into the Rochester Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Lastly, the fall saw the debut of the newest Bates head coaches: Kelsy Ross for Women’s Soccer and Margo Linton for Volleyball.

The winter sports programs have gotten underway successfully and the Bobcats continue to feature one of the broadest arrays of winter programs anywhere including: Men’s & Women’s Basketball, Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track, Men’s & Women’s Alpine and Nordic Skiing, Men’s & Women’s Squash, and Men’s & Women’s Swimming and Diving. In terms of that which we can do better, every participant on each of these teams expects to improve her/himself athletically, to surpass last year’s team achievements and to do all of this while excelling in their academic endeavors.

Your recognition of and support for their efforts, contributes immeasurably to their ability to succeed in all of these facets. Furthermore, by attending their events whenever possible, you personally affirm that the community recognizes and appreciates the dedication required to compete in a sport at this level while at the same time working to be the best student possible. You can view the winter sports schedule at http://www.bates.edu/sports-schedule.xml . Also, many of the contests will be webcast and you can find that schedule at: Bobcat Webcasts.

So let’s grab some of Patti LaBelle’s new attitude by “feelin’ good from our head to our shoes” about where Bates is headed, about what we do so well, and challenge ourselves to do better! Thank you and best wishes for the New Year!

Kevin McHugh

Director of Athletics