07/13/2026
2 years and counting! 🦋❤️🦋
FORT KENT, Maine (WAGM) - Mindy Morneault Forino has always loved the sport of soccer. The Fort Kent girls soccer coach was an All State Goalie for the Warriors during her high school career and then played at the University of Southern Maine and at the University of Maine Fort Kent. In the fall of 2010 Forino’s career came to an end and her life changed forever. She suffered a traumatic Brain injury while playing for the Bengals in Castine against Maine Maritime Academy.
”I think for me one of the biggest things when I got hurt was realizing that something that was such a big part of my life maybe wouldn’t be able to be in my life anymore. I am never going to get back on the soccer field to play soccer, but why not try to get back on the soccer field and coach,” said Forino.
Last season Forino became the Warriors JV Coach and when Doug Cyr stepped down at the end of last year Forino applied for and was hired as Varsity Girls Coach.
”When I thought about coaching it made my heart warm. You know what Min everything you did and learned in soccer, it wasn’t for nothing I finally had that escape again,” said Forino, “I could come to the soccer field and could forget about all of the struggles that I had been through in the past ten years.”
Coaching soccer is an outlet that has given her added enjoyment.
”I really felt I could come to practice and not even think about anything else except for soccer and the girls that I just fell in love with,” said Forino.
Forino said that she wants to be a role model for other people who have suffered head injuries, but she also wants to be a role model her team.
”It drives me and motivates me. It makes me want to get up every day and plan practice,” said Forino, “To have the hard conversations and have the tough games. It all makes us better people. It makes the girls better soccer players. If I can show up for them when they need me too, then they can show up for me when I need them too.”
Mindy Forino overcomes head injury to return to sidelines 14 years after her accident.
