Initial Ideas

The first person and the one I hope to get a hold of the most is Professor Thomas Klak Ph.D. He is not only a passionate instructor for ENV 309 Sustainability and Ecological Restoration but the Vice President & Gene Conservation Chair of the Maine Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, and the Science & Technology Committee member of the American Chestnut Foundation. I hope to speak to him at length about his work to restore the American Chestnut and the path he has taken to get to where he is now.

A secondary choice to create a profile piece on would be Susan Farady J.D. She is currently my discipline mentor in Marine Affairs and has a long history in the justice system. I am genuinely curious to hear more about how her life spent in the court room has led her to UNE and a life in the marine world. For others it could be useful or interesting to them to understand that no line of work is linear by learning about Farady’s life.

Rough Ideas…

Peter Ostergaard, The Great Dane

The head coach of the University of New England’s Men’s Soccer team has followed a successful road through the sport of soccer/ football on his journey to where he is now. Born in     (extend upon upbringing and family members/ influential figures. Ask him about football idols and other role models)   

Ostergaard first discovered his passion for soccer… From 1985 through 1997 Ostergaard played semi-professionally at the Vedbaek Football Club in the      division of Denmark. Following an untimely end to his footballing career in Denmark, Ostergaard pushed straight onto acquiring his coaching licenses. As of 2022 Ostergaard has earned his Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) B License, National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NCSAA) Premier Diploma, and five supporting licenses through the Danish Football Association.

Ostergaard’s first trek across the pond was in pursuit of education at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, Maine as a part of an exchange program in 1984. He later went on to earn a business degree from Lyngby Business School in Denmark.

Introduce briefly who he is today, why is he relevant

Childhood, inspirations for the sport he has made a career out of

Career accomplishments

Where he will go in the future/ legacy

Revisionary Comments

The most important information given to me about my piece that was shared today was all about how to extend my profile piece. Some recommended to interview more people. They suggested to speak with players and assistant coaches. Unfortunately, Coach Ostergaard does not have any extra help currently within the coaching department. When I revealed this, we decided as a class that if I was not going to be able to include quotes from co-workers, that I could use this as an explanation for the tough season this past year. This led us to the next point of issue within my project. I had failed to include much detail about the fall 2021 season for the UNE Men’s Soccer Team and if the readers had not become acquainted with the team until recently, they may have missed the troubled season and would need an explanation. It is important to provide context for outsiders in order to expand the target audience. More readers mean more money. Additionally, as was expected, when I read through my article aloud, I was able to discover awkward phrasings that will be removed or reworked before the final product is ready to be published.

Final draft

Peter Ammentorp Ostergaard, The Great Dane

April 4, 2022

By: Luke Gould

Head coach Peter Ostergaard of the University of New England Men’s Soccer (MSOC) team has followed a strictly soccer (or football for most of his life) road to where he manages now. Back in his hometown of Vedbaek, Denmark he found his passion for the sport and his lifelong career.

The fire of competition within athletics was no stranger to his family either. Ostergaard’s father had been somewhat of a prodigy within his home nation being only sixteen when he made his debut in Denmark’s first division league, and not to mention that his father before him had been a Danish representative at the Olympics.

Peter himself played for Vedbaek Football Club (F.C.) in the fifth division professionally from 1985 through 1997. “I’m old, so I didn’t have one player that I always watched. There were certainly world cups with some tremendous talents such as Cruyff (Dutch national player) and Beckenbauer (German national player) that I paid special attention to however, world cups only come so often. Only one game from each league in Europe would be televised each week so I had to enjoy players from all over.”

“When you are a true fan, you stay with your club no matter the circumstances,” Ostergaard stated bluntly. He has lived his life by this belief and asks supporters of UNE to do the same. His boyhood club of Vedbaek which he joined at the age of 18 became his home. He protected and fought for it with everything he had until his legs no longer let him.

By the end of his playing career his team had earned their place in the top four divisions of Denmark. Unfortunately, that is the furthest they ever achieved with Ostergaard on the field. After double calf injuries which later required surgery, he was forced to hang up his boots, but that even could not drag him away from his club.

“I became the coach five or six years after my retirement as a player along with my friend and fellow teammate Knut Clem. Together the first year we fell just short of earning our team’s promotion to the first division. Then the second year we finally reached it [the first division of Danish football].” Following his five year stint of coaching, and winning at Vedbaek F.C. Ostergaard was placed in the hall of fame due to his length of tenure and dedication within the region.

Ostergaard made brief visits to the states multiple times throughout his life including a brief one-year spell as an exchange student in Topsham, Maine at Mt. Ararat High School, however he did not make his stay permanent until 2010 when he received the opportunity to be the assistant men’s soccer coach at Colby College. The next three years of success earned himself enough of a reputation within the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) to secure the head coach job at the University of New England.

In the nearly nine years Ostergaard has been the head of the program, they have had their ups and downs. Under the command of Ostergaard, the program fought its way to nine victories while only losing seven matches along the way. This was the second-highest win total since 1997 for the Nor’easters. 2018 brought with it the university’s highest ever table standing since joining the CCC in 1999 in sixth place. Most recently during the 2021 fall season the UNE Men’s Soccer team finished the season with a record of 1-1-15 (Win-Tie-Loss).

And yet, the players refuse to throw any blame towards their coach.

“Almost every game our starting lineup consisted of three upper classmen with a combined seven starts heading into the season and the rest of the team was filled with kids who had never played anything other than high school or club soccer. It was a shock to the system for a lot of us. It would’ve been a miracle to have a winning season with what he [Ostergaard] was given,” said Gavin Mason a sophomore on the UNE Men’s Soccer team.

“He loves to joke around with the team, but when it comes down to business, he is fantastic. He has a lot of experience as a player which commands our respect and obviously as a successful coach too,” said Alex Woodworth another key player on UNE MSOC.

Despite the poor results that have come recently Coach Peter Ostergaard is focused on the future. “There were some frustrations [last season] but the fact of the matter is that everyone showed up to practice and it wasn’t enough. We need to mature quickly and become defensively sound. That is what I was known for in Denmark, and I intend to do the same here once more.”