Monthly Archives: May 2008

May 27, 2008 · 1:03 am

Amesbury High School Seniors Discuss Sports

(Mollie Sydlowski and Katie Hathaway of Amesbury High School)

Mollie Sydlowski and Katie Hathaway have been three-sport varsity members for all four years at Amesbury High School. Mollie played soccer, basketball, and tennis while Katie did field hockey, basketball, and softball.

Both girls credited teammates early in their varsity careers for setting good examples.  “I played with a lot of excellent players,” explained Mollie.  “I watched them and saw how they managed sports and academics.”

“Upper classmen took us under their wings,” added Katie.  “The routine was school, practice, home, and homework.”

The girls were into sports long before high school.  “I began playing basketball in first grade and softball in third,” said Katie.  “I never played field hockey until my freshman year but loved it right away.”

Sports were a neighborhood thing for Katie early on.  “My parents didn’t play sports but it was the thing to do in our neighborhood.  Most of the neighborhood kids were boys but I played sports against them.”

Mollie started soccer and basketball in the early grades too.  “I played tennis in first and second grade but took it on as an organized sport when I was a freshman.”

Mollie’s dad got her interested in sports at that early age.  “He coached me in soccer and basketball through seventh grade.”

“I love playing sports,” says Katie, “but there have been times when I have wanted to be off doing other things.  My concern now is how I will handle not having sports.”

Mollie has similar feelings.  “I used to look up into the stands when I was playing basketball and think of how nice it must be to be a spectator.  But once the season ended I wished that I could still be on the court.”

Both girls use planners to keep their busy athletic/academic schedules under control.

“I can’t go anywhere without mine,” said Mollie.  “It has everything I have to do and where things are happening.”  When asked when she started using a planner she sheepishly admitted, “fifth grade.”

Katie got into the planner routine a little later.  “I started my sophomore year.  The key for me is to focus on what I’m doing at the time whether it is practice or schoolwork.”

Mollie moves on the Holy Cross in September.  She expects to major in biology and pre-med.  If things go well there she hopes to go to medical school and become a doctor.

Academics will take precedence at Holy Cross.  “I expect the curriculum to be very rigorous but I still hope to play intramurals or club sports.”

Katie will be going to Norwich University in Vermont.  She hopes that the education she gets there will enable her to serve as an officer in the Coast Guard.

“I want to play softball and I want to play basketball,” said Katie.  “There will be a lot to handle at first.  I will have to see how it goes.”

(Written for The Town Common and will probably be published in that weekly publication in late June)

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May 26, 2008 · 10:15 pm

Ipswich High School Senior Athletes Discuss Sports

(Ipswich High School senior athletes Tess Falabella and Jon Loeb)

“I just can’t imagine not doing sports,” explained recent IHS graduate Tess Falabella. “I just love being active.”

For classmate Jon Loeb the sentiments were similar, “I always found some sports activity to do even if it wasn’t an organized sport.”

Tess was involved with soccer, basketball, and outdoor track at IHS.  Jon did indoor track and tennis for four years and soccer for three years and cross-country this year.

Tess played on boys’ teams during her elementary school days.  “In some places coaches don’t allow girls to be on boy’s teams but that was not my experience in Ipswich.”

Both athletes were coached early on by their fathers.  “My father was usually the coach for soccer,” explained Jon. 

“My dad coached me in basketball when I was little,” recalled Tess.  “I was the only girl on the team. I also played soccer with Jon’s dad as the coach and enjoyed it a lot.”

Both athletes were able to handle the combined demands of sports and academics.  “There were plenty of late nights especially during basketball season,” said Tess.  “Time management was huge.  I loved sports enough so that I made it work.”

Besides sports, Jon took part in school productions, band, and worked on weekends.  “You just work on schoolwork afterwards and get as much as you can done.”

Jon is going to go to Tulane and Tess to Clemson.  They are both realistic enough to know that playing sports for either of those Division 1 schools is unlikely.

“I’ll stay active with the intramural club sports,” said Jon.  “I’m hoping that I’ll have more time to focus on academics my freshman year.  I’ll be preparing for the rest of my life.”

Tess is ready to try a new sport at Clemson as well as continue to be active in a familiar one.  “I have been in contact with the rowing coach,” she said.  “I may be able to row for a novice team my freshman year and maybe that will develop into something.  I will definitely be trying out for club soccer.”

Playing soccer in Ipswich was special for Tess.  “Ending was hard,” she explained.  “There were eight seniors on the team and we had played together for 12 years.  We were a close-knit group and had special t-shirts made.”

Jon made mention of his enjoyment in being on the tennis team.  “The coach (Tony Moschetto) is a standup comedian in real life and practiced his material on us.  We may not have been the best team around but we probably had more fun than any other team.”

“There was great community support for the athletic teams in Ipswich, maybe more so than in other towns,” said Tess.  “A lot of people attended the games and followed how we were doing.  At school, many teachers would ask how things were going and knew about the teams.” 

(Written for The Town Common and likely to appear in that weekly paper in late June or early July)

 

 

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May 26, 2008 · 10:02 pm

Memorial Day in Newburyport

(Newburyport City Councilors march in the Memorial Day parade)

(Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins addresses Memorial Day gathering in front of Newburyport City Hall)

(Tony Dube of the Newburyport High School band prepares to play Taps at the Veteran’s Cemetery on Memorial Day)

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May 26, 2008 · 3:28 am

Triton Girls Star at Cape Ann League Open

 

Another meet.  Another victory.  That’s the way it has gone for the Triton girls outdoor track team (pictured above).  Undefeated during the regular season the girls added the Cape Ann League Open championship to a truly remarkable season at windy Hamilton-Wenham on May 24th.

“It’s a thrill,” said Triton coach Joe Colbert reflecting on the victory.  “It is certainly one of the top moments of my coaching career.  This is a special group of hard-working kids.  We’ve waited for this for a long time.”  Someone on hand suggested that the last time Triton took the CAL Open was in the late 1980s.

“We won because we’ve got some stars but we also have depth,” was how Coach Colbert explained the outcome.  The stars were certainly out, even on a Saturday afternoon, as Deanna Latham, Nikki Wurdeman, and Rachel Bourque dominated multiple events and combined for 74 of Triton’s 115 points on their own.  The magnitude of those numbers is better understood when you realize that together the three girls outscored the full-squad final totals of every other competing school except for second place North Reading.

When the CAL Open was over Deanna Latham (pictured here) took five trips to the front during the awards ceremony.  The first four trips were for medals and the final one was for her selection as MVP of the event.  The sophomore took first in the long jump, high hurdles, and triple jump as well as second in the 200 meters. 

Several other girls from the area did quite well. Newburyport’s Meghann Ronan won the high jump while teammate Kaitlyn Wallace finished second in the shot put and third in the discuss.

The top performer for Amesbury was Dawn Storek with a third in the javelin.  For Ipswich, it was Molly Miller with a third in the high hurdles.

The Hamilton-Wenham boy’s team, like the Triton girls, remained undefeated. 

The Triton boys finished fourth. Pete Rock was the team’s top point scorer. He won the long jump and finished second in the 400 meters behind the winner, Newburyport’s Tom Svirsky (pictured here). 

Richie Pace also did well for Newburyport getting a first in the shot put and a second in the discus. 

Other area firsts were by Amesbury’s Ben Lord (pole vault) (shown here) and Triton’s Kyle Devenish (triple jump).

Triton’s Billy Tindle took second in the high hurdles and fellow Viking Andrew Goodwin placed third in the mile.

Amesbury’s John Lannan tied for third in the pole vault and teammate Kevin Johnston was third in the 100 meters.

Newburyport got a third place finish from Thayer Adsit in the 800 meters while the top pointer scorer for Ipswich was Neil Verzins ending up third in the shot put.

 

 

 

 

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May 23, 2008 · 8:40 pm

Newburyport High School Senior Athletes Discuss Sports

No question sports are a big part of the lives of recently graduated Newburyport seniors, Colleen Coviello and Richie Burke (pictured above).

“I started playing during all seasons in elementary school,” recalled Richie. 

For Colleen a year round sports life began in 4th grade.  “Soccer was the sport I started with and then other sports came along.”

During high school, Colleen participated in soccer as well as indoor and outdoor track.  Summertime found her playing more soccer at camps.

Richie was able to involve himself in football, lacrosse, golf, basketball, and baseball during his four years at Newburyport High.  “I played lacrosse and football in just my freshman year,” he explained.  “I had a couple of concussions and switched to baseball and golf to go along with basketball.  I had to stay away from all contact sports on doctor’s orders.”

Richie’s love of sports motivated him to keep his grades up.  “You want to participate and you know that you need good grades to do that.  Sometimes you come home tired from practice/games but you know that you have to get your schoolwork finished so you do. I tried to get as much work done in school as I could.”

Organizing her schedule away from sports was important to Colleen.  “You must manage your time.  You realize early on that after practice you have to get the work done because there is no other time available.”

Colleen credited her coaches for helping her academically.  “I was never overwhelmed because the coaches were very good about giving me time if I needed to catch up on something in a class.”

For most high school year round athletes the transition to college takes some doing.  Why?  Depending on the college they attend, there is a good chance that they will not be active in college sports year round the way they were in high school. That is the case with Colleen.  She is going to Division 1 College of Charleston in South Carolina.

“I’ll try club soccer and see how that goes,” she said.  “There probably will be free time away from classes and homework.  I am willing to try new things.  Maybe volleyball or flag football.  If I’m not active I could get bored pretty fast.”

Richie on the other hand could well continue to be a year round athlete at Division 3 Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts.  He was recruited to play basketball there and expects to try out for baseball as well.  “Among other things such as working I’ll be training for college basketball.”

“Athletics were the best part of high school,” added Richie.  “My memories will be of being with different people each season.”

Colleen’s memories of high school sports are more precise.  “The thing that I will always remember will be this past soccer season (Division C state champs).  Many of my best friends were on the team.  We had an unbelievable season and ended up state champions.”

( Likely to appear in The Town Common in late June or July )

 

 

 

 

 

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May 21, 2008 · 1:02 am

Ultimate Frisbee Arrives in Newburyport

You’ve thrown a Frisbee around in an open space somewhere, haven’t you?  Most of us have in the backyard and except for the errant toss that ends up in your mother’s flower garden or one that separates an older relative from a grilled burger it has been very enjoyable.

In Newburyport, tossing a Frisbee around has moved into the organized stage thanks to the efforts of Newburyport teachers Brandon Sturma and Jen Griskin (pictured above).  They started an Ultimate Frisbee club program last year and this year moved into a more official status.

Brandon, a high school history teacher, was quick to give credit to their sponsor, the Newburyport Youth Services, for making this spring season club team a reality.  “They have been phenomenal.  Right from the get-go the supervisor of youth services, Andrea Egmont, has helped us with fields, waivers, and organizational things.”

“This is the pilot year for Ultimate Frisbee,” explained Andrea in her city hall office.  “I am pleased with the way it has gone.  It’s a competitive sport without the attitude and we plan to promote it heavily next year”

Ultimate started in New Jersey in 1968 and according to the Ultimate website (www.upa.org) over 800,000 people claim that they play it at least 25 times each year.

Newburyport’s club team ended its six-match season this past week at Rupert Nock Middle School.

An Ultimate field is 70 yards by 40 yards with end zones that are 25 yards deep.  There are seven players on each team.  A team gets a point if they catch the Frisbee in the other team’s end zone.  Players cannot run with the Frisbee after they catch it and have a certain period of time to get rid of the Frisbee after they catch it.  A team loses possession if they drop the Frisbee or throw it out of bounds. 

“A game goes to 15 points,” explained Brandon who started playing Ultimate about ten years ago at Hamilton College in New York.  “Usually the more skilled the players are the quicker a game will be.  Some of our games have gone two hours.”

Brandon noted that the traditional sport that many in Ultimate also play is soccer.  The action is nearly nonstop in both sports.

The most intriguing part of this sport is the officiating, or should I say, lack of officiating.  “There is no referee,” said Jen who learned Ultimate at Carleton College in Minnesota.  “The players self-regulate.  It requires players to be honest and respectful and yet still be competitive.” 

The team bought their own shirts and each player decided what number and name would go on the back of the shirt.  Some chose a last name and others went with a nickname.  One of the players designed the logo on the front of the shirt.

“We have an awesome group of students playing for Newburyport now,” added Jen, an 8th grade Social Studies teacher.  “We hope that more students will join us next spring.”

(Written for The Town Common – May 20th)

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May 15, 2008 · 2:22 pm

Red Sox World Series Trophies on Display in Salisbury

(Let it be understood that the above picture did not accompany the story below.  However, being on hand to do the story about the trophy visit for The Town Common I couldn’t resist jumping in for a picture as well.  Hey, any longsuffering Red Sox fan would have done the same thing, wouldn’t they? 

During the last Open House I was part of at Ipswich Middle School in early 2002 I told the parents that I had been teaching for a long time, in fact I had been around to see the Bruins, Celtics, and now the Patriots capture championships.  I asked the parents how much longer I’d have to teach before the same thing would happen to the Red Sox.  Some wanted to know how old I intended to live to!

My father took me to my first Red Sox game in the 1950s.  I recall being in awe of how close the left field wall was.  I remember Ted Williams as someone who refused to wear a tie and had no use for the media.  The only modern athlete I can equate him with is Rasheed Wallace.  No question, though, that Ted was a great hitter but of course despite having him the Red Sox were always also-rans.

I remember getting caught up in the excitement of the 1967 & 1986 Red Sox.  I am glad that Boston management welcomed Billy Buckner back this year on Opening Day.  No one person loses a game or a Series but his error will always flashback in my mind every time a grounder goes through some unfortunate player’s wickets.

In my opinion the greatest Red Sox moment was when they came back in the AL Championship series in 2004 against the Yankees after being down 3-0.  Neither the Yankees or the Red Sox have been the same since it happened.)

(Duford Family poses with Red Sox trophies – (left to right – Jeff, Duffy, Roger, Ron, Jerry, Rudy, Scot)

A veritable sea of red appeared on May 14th at Winner’s Circle in Salisbury for an appealing event organized by the Massachusetts Lottery. Attendees got a chance to see the Boston Red Sox World Series championship trophies from the 2004 and 2007 seasons and get pictures taken with those trophies.

With a line of excited fans within the restaurant and out the back door, it was obvious that the opportunity to see both World Series trophies at one time was very enticing to many in the area.

It has been a while since the Red Sox won the first of those trophies after a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in October of 2004 but the memory of that event is still fresh in the minds of many.

“The win in 2004 was the best,” said Mary Hargreaves of Salisbury Beach after having her picture taken.  “For all those years people made fun of the team.  When we finally won it I was almost numb.”

George Roux of Salisbury agreed.  “It was ten times better than the 2007 one.  I don’t have one t-shirt that has, ‘2007 World Series Champs,’ on it.  All of them say ‘2004.’

For some on hand at Winner’s Circle, memories of the Red Sox stir emotions.  “I grew up with the Red Sox,” said Pam Henshaw of Amesbury.  “I went to the games as a little girl with my father.  He passed away before they won a World Series.  My mother and I watched games together and she saw both World Series wins.  She passed away in March.”

Plenty of youngsters came by with their parents to get a picture taken standing behind the trophies.  Not everyone was certain that the kids in the audience understood the magnitude of what the Red Sox accomplished.  “I’m not sure that these kids know how hard winning a championship can be,” said Ron Duford, a member of the family that owns Winner’s Circle.

His brother Jerry said that winning the first one in 2004 was crucial.  “The Red Sox have been rolling ever since.  They’re now contenders each year.  I’m optimistic about this year.”

Jerry explained that he and his two brothers grew up in Salisbury and that what is now Winner’s Circle had been their residence from 1955-1973.  “We lived here until 1973 and then converted it into a bring-your-own-beer game room.  Later it was changed into what it is now.”

Jerry added, “We were very fortunate to have the Lottery pick us to show the trophies.  We put our name in to get them but never knew when the trophies would be available.”

Many area Red Sox fans are pleased on May 14th that Winner’s Circle persisted.

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May 8, 2008 · 2:02 pm

Triton Girls Still Undefeated

Triton girls javelin squad

(Byfield) Over at sunny Triton yesterday two of the best girls’ track teams in the Cape Ann League squared off. When it was over undefeated Triton remained that way with a 77-68 victory over visiting Masco.

The Vikings were without their top distance runner (Keely Maguire) who had season-ending knee surgery.  Keely’s absence made things a lot tighter than they would have been.

Triton used its depth in other events to carry the day.  The javelin was a prime example of the team’s depth.  (Pictured above left to right: Jenna Norton,Michelle Bashaw,Rachel Bourque,Marissa Crowley)

The Vikings collected all the points in the javelin.  Rachel was the winner with a toss of 118′ 11″.  Michelle was second and Marissa was third.

Rachel’s winning distance is significant because it qualifies her for the Nationals in North Carolina in June.  Michelle will also be in the Nationals because she reached the magic 118′ mark earlier in the season.  Michelle’s mother told me that qualifying two kids is quite an accomplishment since most of the other qualifiers are from prep schools.

Triton’s final meet is next Tuesday at home with Pentucket.  Later this month is the Cape Ann League meet followed by the state meet.  How far can this team go??

 

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May 6, 2008 · 6:49 pm

IHS Coach Makes Sacrifice

IHS coach Doug WoodworthWhat is sacrificial love? 

Isn’t it giving up something you enjoy because your enjoyment is interfering with something more important?

Doug Woodworth decided to step away from coaching boys’ basketball at Ipswich High School.

No, this wasn’t some sort of leave-of-absence.  The 14-year coach knew that his decision might end forever his chances of standing courtside at the Ipswich Tiger Den or in other Cape Ann League locations.

So why make such a decision?

Simply explained, it was a family decision.  But what makes this “family” decision different is that the other members of Doug’s family (wife Maureen, daughter Jena, son Justin) weren’t pushing him to give up coaching.  Doug alone felt that he couldn’t wait any longer.

“I decided, after thinking about it for some time, that if I wasn’t coaching basketball I could do a better job of supporting Justin (junior at Salve Regina in Newport, Rhode Island) and Jena (sophomore at Ipswich High School) at their games,” explained Doug.

As it turned out, Justin’s games last season, played all over New England, were logistically the easiest for Doug and his wife to attend.  Why?  In the Cape Ann League, the girls play a school at one location while the boys play the same school at the other location at the same time.  “I hardly ever saw Jena play at all,” he recalled.

That changes in 2008-09.  “I have teased her coaches by telling them that I’ll be sitting behind the bench yelling for them to put my kid in,” he said with a smile.

The time commitments deleted by getting away from coaching basketball are significant.  “It can be a twelve month job,” he explained.  “You have to see kids play and support them and check out their development.  Some kids play AAU during the year and there are also leagues that run in the summer.”

No doubt giving up basketball will put in place a lot of winter downtime.  “I’ve never had a need to find things to do in the winter for the last fourteen years,” he added.  “Maybe now I’ll get to some of the showcase games in the area.”

There are no maybe’s in Doug’s mind regarding who his successor should be. “My assistant coach (Alan LaRoche) would do a great job.  I told him early on that I was planning to resign so I got him more involved in running this year’s team.  No question, he would be a good choice.”

Returning to coaching basketball after Justin and Jena are no longer playing could be the tricky part.  “I make no assumptions that there will be a basketball position for me at Ipswich when I’m ready to return in a year or so,” said Doug.

Would he coach elsewhere if the Ipswich job was filled?  “I thought I’d never say I would because I’m a Tiger from the beginning but it is possible,” added Doug.  “If something opens I’d take a look at it.” 

( Submitted to The Town Common on May 6, 2008 )

 

 

 

 

 

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