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Volume CXXXIII, Number 15 |
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Bougie enters final season with Bowdoin
HEATHER MACNEIL
STAFF WRITER
Senior Kevin Bougie has been playing baseball since he was seven. Assuming that he has practiced an average of 4.5 times a week throughout his career (Little League is a little more relaxed than Bowdoin), each season is between three and four months long, and each practice is around two hours long, Bougie has spent at least 126,000 minutes perfecting his skills.
That is no small time commitment, and it doesn't even include games, camps, throwing around with his buddies, extra practices here and there, and tournaments.
Bougie started playing both baseball and football in elementary school to spend more time with his friends, but once he reached his sophomore year in high school, he realized he had a special talent.
"It occurred to me that I could use my baseball and football skills to go places beyond Sanford High School," he said. Once he set his eyes on college athletics, Bougie continued to excel.
During his senior year of high school, he won the Fitzpatrick Award, which is given to the top high school football player in Maine. "I did not expect to win, it was a huge honor. A pretty good experience, I guess," he said with a sheepish smile.
Bougie's first year at Bowdoin was dominated by athletics; he joined both the football and baseball team. He did not struggle as a new Polar Bear, however, and was nominated for the Male Athlete of the Year along with fellow first-year Chris Pelletier.
"That's probably my favorite Bowdoin athletic memory," said Bougie, "along with just hanging out with my teammates."
In fact, Bougie places a lot of value on his teammates. "My best friends are the kids on my team. The more time you spend with people and the more you have in common with them, the closer you get."
He attributes a lot of the baseball team's success to the chemistry between the players. "Everyone on the team is a character, everyone has their own quirks, and we get along really well."
After an extremely successful sophomore year during which Bougie was named First Team All-NESCAC, he decided to focus all of his energy on baseball and stopped playing football. He was the only junior nominated to be the team captain. "Baseball is more my sport. I miss football, but I think it was a good decision," he explained.
Bougie attributes much of the team's success to his coach, Mike Connolley, saying, "When I got to Bowdoin, there were only a few seniors on the team. Now we have 12. He really built a strong program."
Bougie is a captain again this year, and is looking forward to a successful season. "We have the best group of guys we've ever had; we have a lot of potential," he said.
A government and sociology major, Bougie hopes to stay in the northeast and eventually get his MBA. In the meantime, however, he is eager to lead his team through a strong season, which begins in Florida over spring break.
Bougie kicks off the season with the rest of the squad with two away games against Trinity on March 26 and 27. The first home game is on March 31 against the University of Maine at Farmington.
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