When one door closes, another opens. 

For Tri-Town coach Harold Bridgham, the door that is about to close is the one that allows him to coach his son Kaleb, something he’s had the fortunate of doing since Kaleb was nine years old. 

That door will remain slightly ajar for at least another two games after Tri-Town advanced to the program’s first state tournament by finishing as the Zone 2 runners-up. Tri-Town entered the tournament as the seventh seed. 

Kaleb was nine when his father first starting coaching him, but the door opened long before that. Harold first introduced his son to the game of baseball at the tender age of three and the two have been building memories ever since. 

Both Zone 2 representatives — Bessey Motors and Tri-Town — have coaches with sons on the team. 

“We’re in this because we wanted to give our children a good opportunity to have some valuable coaching and as we all know there are many levels of coaching,” Harold said. “I think (Bessey Motors) coach (Shane) Slicer has brought to his own children a tremendous level in that area and I have brought something to our area, and I hope all young people have an opportunity to have a coach that’s invested. Both coach Slicer and myself and many other coaches in this league are very invested and that’s what it takes to make good human beings.” 

From throwing the ball around as a toddler to crushing home runs as a post-grad, Kaleb is thankful he’s had the opportunity to learn from his father throughout his baseball career and throughout life. 

“He’s a really good coach,” Kaleb said. “He’s a really good person for kids and for me. It’s a very good thing because it makes me focus a lot. He’s got a very good connection with us kids. He really can approach us well and get the best out of us. It benefits our group because he’s been with us so long and he knows us on a personal level.” 

Kaleb is part of a core of Tri-Town players who Harold has coached for as long as he’s coached his son. Billy Bickford, Ethan Cailler, Tanner Marston, Shawn Murphy and Kaleb have been together from the beginning, dating back to their Cal Ripken days. Wainwright Field in South Portland could be the last baseball diamond all five play on together. 

“There’s been a lot of thrills and a lot of enjoyment, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to coach such a good group of young men,” Harold said. “They’re not just baseball players, but they’re good people. Anytime you coach you’re always hoping to be fortunate to have a good group of people.” 

The ultimate goal this week is to bring a state tournament back to the Poland-Minot-Mechanic Falls area, but it wouldn’t be the first piece of hardware this group has won. Kaleb, Bickford, Cailler, Marston and Murphy — along with Bessey Motors’ Riley Chickering and Nick Attaliades-Ryan — won three consecutive Cal Ripken state titles as members of the Andy Valley East 12-under team from 2007-09.

Kaleb said those were three important years of his life. Right alongside him was his father. 

“It was a very good time for me and it propelled my career because it made me excited to come back the next day,” Kaleb said. 

Kaleb has never felt the added pressure of playing for his father. His numbers this season seem to prove that. Bridgham went on a tear the third week of the season when he hits .533 with two home runs in wins against Brunswick and Highland Green. Two games later he went 2-for-3 with a home run in a 5-0 victory over Augusta.

Kaleb launched another homer in an 11-1 victory against Pastime in an elimination game and went 1-for-3 with two runs scored in a state qualifier against Augusta. 

“I don’t feel the pressure,” Kaleb said. “My dad’s been here for so long and my role for this team has been to lead. If anything my dad supports that and he wants me to be a little trickle down of him, and it’s a good thing for me because it helps motivate the other players on the team and motivates me as well.”

He doesn’t feel the pressure of being the coach’s kid, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like pressure. Kaleb lives for the high-pressure moments that baseball has to offer, especially come playoff time when a season’s on the line. That’s what drew him to the game in the first place. 

“Baseball is a very moment-intensive game, and if you like it under pressure, you can handle it,” Kaleb said. “It’s really intense on your mind because there’s moments where there’s no pressure on you and nothing happens and it’s boring, but there’s also times where it’s the most exciting moment to be in when you’re under pressure. It’s a little bit of both. It can be a very great game and at times it can be the most boring game.” 

Tri-Town will play Zone 1 champion Post 51 (Messalonskee) in the opening round of the state tournament on Wednesday. Tri-Town’s final game could come as early as Thursday or as late as Aug. 17 in the American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C. Regardless, that door that has seen Harold have the opportunity to coach his son for 10 years will close at the end of the season. 

But a new door will open and there will be more opportunities that await. Harold has been happy to keep that door open for as long as he has and, with it, all the great moments it’s produced. 

“I’m already suffering from empty nest,” Harold said. “I figure when every door closes there’s a new door that will be opening for those people. While this door will be closing and there is a feel of loss, we’re going to enter a new phase in life where those young people become adults, and I’m very thankful to have been able to participate in all these young peoples’ lives as they open that new door to life.” 

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