Wells High School's Wilson Clough stands out in 3 sports and service to community

WELLS — A young man for all seasons, Wilson Clough can’t remember a time when he wasn’t playing three sports.

The Wells High School senior is a fullback on the boys soccer team, a center in hockey and a long-stick midfielder in lacrosse.

He relishes defusing an attacking side in soccer, winning a key faceoff in the defensive zone of a tight hockey game or forcing a turnover in lacrosse.

“I love all the gritty stuff,” Clough said.

However, his contributions to the community extend far beyond the pitch, the ice rink or the field.

Bringing Best Buddies to Wells High School

Extra-curricular activities are important to Clough, who established a chapter of Best Buddies at Wells High School.

“I actually saw a hockey player at (University of Southern Maine), and he started a Best Buddies chapter there,” he said. "And that kind of inspired me to start one at Wells.”

He reached out to Best Buddies of Maine for more information, and he learned how to set up a chapter.

“What it’s aimed at doing is creating meaningful one-to-one friendships for kids with and without disabilities,” Clough said. "That’s the goal at the high school level.”

He’s passionate about a program that helps break through social barriers during an important time in a young person’s life.

“You have a couple of meetings, and then you match up with a kid with intellectual and developmental disabilities based on their interests,” Clough said. “It’s a yearlong commitment where they must talk or do an activity with each other outside of school monthly and connect weekly, whether that be through email, mail, text, video chat, or phone. It’s kind of aimed at giving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the same chance at friendship as any other person.”

Volunteering and projects keep Clough busy

Clough is also currently trying to earn his Eagle Scout badge by organizing a project called the Friendship Festival and Walk to be held Sunday, Oct. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Wells Junior High School track.

According to Clough, participants will walk for an hour and then enjoy games, music and food.

“It’s meant for people to have a fun time and for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to get a strong sense of community,” he said.

The event is an extension of Best Buddies.

“Just getting the Eagle project done, that keeps me busy,” Clough said. “I just love sports and being active all the time.”

All students at Wells High School are required to put in at least 10 hours of community service, and Clough has done more than his share. He estimates he’s already put in 30 hours.

He also volunteers at a food pantry and helps clean up headstones, particularly those of military veterans, in a cemetery.

“There’s just a lot of stuff going on,” Clough said. “I’d love to have some free time, but I’m getting stuff done in my life.”

He enrolled at the Sanford Regional Technical Center, where he plans to learn a trade, possibly plumbing.

Standout athlete for Wells

All that in addition to his schoolwork at Wells High and his duties with the soccer team, where he’s helped anchor a defense that has allowed two or fewer goals in four of the first seven games.

“He’s a phenomenal player, really aggressive,” said Wells boys soccer coach Richard Terwilliger-Smith. “Good physicality that comes from his hockey background. Really an all-around team player. He mentors the underclassmen on my team. Always has a smile on his face. Just a great, infectious person and a well-rounded individual.”

Clough, an alternate captain on the hockey team last season, when he was a demon at the faceoff dot, believes he got his volunteerism and work ethic from his family.

“It probably comes from my mom and dad honestly,” he said. “My mom always worked at the food pantry, and so did my dad. My brother was in Scouting before me.”

Despite the hectic schedule and balancing act, Clough wouldn’t change a thing.

“(It’s) more than rewarding,” he said. “It almost feels like my life’s purpose is to help other people. I’ve always gravitated toward helping others. I feel like I’ve always been like that. It’s definitely the way my parents raised me.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wells High School soccer's Wilson Clough stands out on and off field