There were about 11 minutes left in Messalonskee's field hockey game against Gardiner on Sept. 30. Messalonskee had a 3-0 lead, but was beginning to relax.

Messalonskee coach Brenda Beckwith called timeout. As soon as her team was in a huddle, Beckwith questioned her team about how they thought they'd win a championship by relaxing during a game.

On the surface it seems strange to talk about state championships in midseason, especially for a team that lost in the Eastern A quarterfinals the year before and graduated its best player. But Beckwith thought her team had that kind of ability, and wanted to make sure her players felt that way too.

"The one comment that I enjoyed hearing the most as a coach was that I believed in them," Beckwith said. "I think as a coach, if you can get your kids to know that you believe in them, if they can do what you're asking them to do, good things are going to happen. It took them a while, but they ultimately came around and believed that."

Beckwith stepped in as coach only a few weeks before the start of the season, but orchestrated Messalonskee's rise to a 16-2 record and the No. 1 seed in Eastern A. The Eagles didn't win the state title, but did defeat eventual state champion Skowhegan twice before falling to the Indians in the regional final.

Messalonskee's season makes Beckwith the choice for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel Field Hockey Coach of the Year. Also considered were Katie Thompson of Nokomis, Mary Beth Bourgoin of Winslow and Paula Doughty of Skowhegan.

"She just pushed us every day," Messalonskee senior Hannah Thornberg said. "She put so much faith behind our team."

Beckwith, who teaches at Winslow and won four state field hockey titles at that school, also coaches basketball at Messalonskee, so she had some familiarity with her roster.

"I had watched them play a couple of times last year," Beckwith said. "They were very quick. They had some good size and they could handle the ball against some tough competition."

Messalonskee was coached in recent years by Heather Merrill, who is more of a defense-first coach. Beckwith believed that with the defense the players already had, they could move forward if she could get them thinking more about offense.

"I think Coach Merrill's a fine coach. I knew that Heather had laid a great foundation for those kids," Beckwith said. "I'm always an offensive-minded coach. I could give a rip about defense. I thought if we could change their attack modes, then we would be successful."

Beckwith also has her own style, and will be blunt and sarcastic on the sidelines.

"I think you have to understand what the person's doing," Beckwith said. "When you look at those coaches who get after their players, the players know that you're criticizing a particular skill or decision that they made. If you have a good line of communication and you have a rapport with your kids, then they want you to do that."

So while Beckwith is a screamer, she also was able to show her players that she thought they were talented, and in doing so, got a little more out of them on the field.

"Sometimes, it can be intimidating," Thornberg said. "But she's a good coach. She gets her point across. We all knew that we were pretty good players and if she could push us, we could push ourselves."

Matt DiFilippo -- 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com