Frost Heaves name Caulfield as conditioning and strength coach

June 14, 2006

By Pete Hartt Times Argus Staff

BARRE ‹ Making good on the team's stated bias in favor of homegrown talent, the Vermont Frost Heaves have plucked one of the team's coaches from the local ranks, naming Scott Caulfield as the team's strength and conditioning coach and the director of camp programs.

The announcement came at a press conference Tuesday in Barre in which the team's coach, Will Voigt, was introduced to the media and fans in the central Vermont area.

As far as the rest of the team's lineup, from players to a complete coaching staff, the timetable is much less certain.

"I think the announcement of a team will be more staggered," Voigt said. "The first step is identifying players, and the next step is convincing them to play here."

The American Basketball Association Frost Heaves, brainchild of Sports Illustrated writer Alex Wolff, are expected to begin play in November, splitting 18 home games between the Barre Auditorium and Burlington's Memorial Auditorium. Voigt, a Cabot native named as the team's coach several weeks ago, would like to have his team in place early, but could not offer a date certain for a team to be named.

"We have to put together an entire team," Voigt said. "We're eager to get players on board, but we don't want to rush the process."

Caulfield, who is in Colorado this week, is the director of fitness at First in Fitness in Berlin and was an assistant coach with the Spaulding girls basketball team. In addition he supplied the strength and conditioning program for the Norwegian professional basketball team that Voigt coached for three years prior to taking the Frost Heaves job.

Caulfield's most immediate duty will be running the Frost Heaves youth basketball camp slated to start July 10 in Barre. In addition he will also take part in the team's Vermont tryout camp scheduled for June 30, July 1 and 2 at Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington.

Voigt, who returned this week from the National Basketball Association's pre-draft camp in Florida and will attend a similar camp later this summer in Houston, sees the Vermont tryout camp as the first full look at the area talent.

"We need to get the word out," Voigt said. "It is our intention to give every player in Vermont a chance to try out. Our intent is to focus on the local aspect; we don't try to hide our Vermont bias."

Up to and perhaps including, the mayor of Barre, Tom Lauzon, who attended the press conference and asked whether the ABA's 13th player rule extended to the mayor's office. The ABA rule allows teams to dress any player for one game and have their statistics count for, or against, the game's result.

"Our intent is to be beating teams by enough to turn the team over to the mayor," Voigt responded.