Bouchard hits 1,000 high school points

Houlton junior to be honored Friday night in front of home crowd
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
Houlton junior Kyle Bouchard has added another basketball accolade to his noteworthy hardwood accomplishments.
Bouchard, son of Marty and Karen Bouchard, scored his 1,000th high school point on Dec. 30, joining an exclusive three-member Houlton boys club. Terry Cummings and Lucas Ritchie are the only other male players at Houlton High School to reach that milestone.    “I was aware of how many points I needed prior to the game,” he said. “But, winning the game was without a doubt my number-one priority. Pressure did not really come into play because it was an intense game right from the beginning.”
Because the milestone happened while the Shiretowners were on the road, Bouchard will again be recognized in front of a home crowd on Friday night, as Houlton hosts Calais.
“Kyle is a pleasure to coach,” said his coach, Rob Moran. “He is a leader in practice and at games. He is a very hard worker. He is an unselfish player, as well.”
Moran believes for a junior to reach 1,000 points is “quite a feat for a young player.”
In East Machias, Bouchard pulled the trigger on a 3-pointer from the right corner, with Gage Feeney’s hand in his face, to collect his 1,000th point.
Bouchard and his teammates defeated Washington Academy 84-74 and as of Monday, the Shiretowners were undefeated at 8-0.
Bouchard has worked hard at his basketball skills since he was very young, playing hoop at the Houlton Recreation Center, Aroostook Youth Basketball League (AYBL) to the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) where he was recruited to play for two Division 1 college teams this summer.
Bouchard played on the Maine Athletic Club 17 and under team, which earned its way into the silver bracket of the national Supershowcase basketball tournament in Orlando, Fla. Last year, he was named to the Bangor Daily News All-Maine Second Team and as a freshman, Bouchard was the co-MVP of the Eastern Maine Basketball Tournament along with Lee Academy senior D.J. Johnson. For the last two years, he has led the Shiretowners to back-to-back Eastern Maine runner-up titles and has been a member of the All-Tournament teams.
“As a competitor, it has always been a goal of mine,” Bouchard said of reaching his 1,000-points. “It was gratifying to be recognized for it. Despite that, scoring 1,000 points can not come close to comparing to winning a gold ball. That is without a doubt, the absolute number-one goal.”
Bouchard will be competing another year in high school and summer AAU basketball, barring any unforeseen injuries.
“After high school, I intend to play college basketball,” he said. “I am still undecided on my destination and hope to make a decision after another summer of AAU basketball.
“I still have a lot of work to do,” he added. “I am both humbled and excited to continue to work toward my goals.”