Archive for March, 2009
March 30, 2009 at 1:22 pm by Dave Ruden
As I announced last week, I am adding a new feature to the blog this spring: we are going to have 6 guest bloggers file weekly reports that I am sure will take you deeper inside the world of high school sports and complement the analysis and news that I try to provide.
The hardest part was narrowing down a list of so many strong candidates. In the end, I have found an extremely talented group of bloggers who bring with them a lot of experience and enter this spring season from different vantage points that will provide for compelling commentary. I also know everyone involved and can attest that, from a deep pool, I have brought together Stamford’s best and brightest.
I wanted to get a male and female athlete, coach, and a parent-athlete combination.
Here are the people who will be taking you inside the world of Stamford high school sports:
Female athlete: Emily Powers (Stamford High). Emily was a starting defender for the Black Knights’ two-time state championship field hockey team and this year is playing lacrosse for the first time even though she has never played the sport, the program is at the JV level and as a senior most would expect she would not attempt something so daring and instead try to slide by the rest of the year.
Male athlete(s): Steve Rivera and Bobby Horn (Westhill): Steve and Bobby were standout starters for the baseball team that won the state championship last year. Besides general insight, they will be able to talk about what it is like to play for a team trying to defend a title.
Coach: Fred Kelly (Stamford High): Fred was a highly respected assistant coach who this year is taking over the head position with Bobby Augustyn retiring. He will be able to talk about the challenges and pressures of being a first-year coach at a highly successful program.
Parent-athlete: Sammi and Mike Nemchek (Trinity Catholic): Sammi has been a starter and key member of Trinity’s softball team who also played on successful youth teams growing up. Mike has coached many youth teams, including Sammi’s, and many players not just at Trinity but Stamford and Westhill, which will offer an interesting dynamic when Trinity plays the other city teams. You hear so much about parental involvement in youth sports and this will offer an interesting dynamic both from the view of a parent and, in this case, his daughter.
Their entries will begin next week and I’ll have a little bit more news later in the week as we finalize the remaining details.
Until then, feel free to drop any questions you have for them to me and I will be sure to pass them along to the bloggers.
March 27, 2009 at 2:11 pm by Dave Ruden
Of all the high school athletes I have met this year, there is none I like or respect more than Emily Powers.
Actually, that is too narrow a scope. In all my time as a sportswriter, Powers is in my personal pantheon. It is a very select group.
Powers, a two-year starting defender and captain for the Stamford High School field hockey team that has won back-to-back titles, was not the star, but with her combination of talent, intelligence, personality, attitude and insight, she is the paradigm of the idealism scholastic sports are supposed to represent.
Powers made a great first impression when I interviewed her following the Black Knights’ season-opener last fall. During the holidays, I was out with a group of friends and we were discussing athletes from the city. Powers’ name was brought up and someone asked me what I thought of her. I said she is the kind of person that any parent would want their son or daughter to be close friends with.
Now Powers is adding another chapter to what makes her so special. Yesterday she decided to join Stamford’s girls lacrosse team, which is in its second season as a JV program before becoming a varsity sport next year.
What’s the big deal? Powers has never played the sport before. She picked up a stick for the first time yesterday when she left school during a free period to buy one. She had her first lesson yesterday from 10-year-old Zach White, whose father, Jeremy, is the Stamford boys coach. Powers is Zach’s babysitter.
So why would someone with her resume and in the homestretch of senior year decide to pick up a new sport and play at the JV level rather than slide through her final days before graduation.
“Honestly, I can’t even tell you why,” Powers admitted. “I’m always in to trying something new. Even though it is my senior year, maybe I’ll play intramurals in college. Don’t knock something until you try it.”
Powers said that Laura Dembofsky, her field hockey teammate and close friend, suggested she join the lacrosse team. Powers has a commitment to a babysitting job for the first few weeks of the season, but Stamford’s coach, Gina Figluzzi, who is an assistant with the field hockey team, is permitting Powers to play three or four times a week until her schedule clears.
That is further testament to what others think of Powers.
When asked what position she is going to play, Powers said, “I don’t even know the names of all the positions. I don’t want to play defense because I did that in field hockey. Maybe offense.”
Asked how she will deal with the inevitable growing pains that are forthcoming, Powers gave a typical Powers answer. “I don’t plan to be good at it,” she said. “It’s my first year so I don’t believe I’ll be very good, but it would be nice to get good. I think I would be upset if I didn’t try it.”
In a previous entry I announced that there will be a new feature this spring in which I am going to have a male and female athlete, coach and parent contribute to the blog to offer greater insight into the world of high school sports. I was still trying to determine who the female athlete was going to be until Powers told me she is playing lacrosse.
Powers will now be one of my correspondents (the others will be announced in the next few days).
I can’t think of anyone better qualified for the job.
March 24, 2009 at 1:38 pm by Dave Ruden
As evidenced by some of the comments made on a previous blog entry, a popular topic of conversation, for the past four years, is whether Trinity Catholic graduate Dave McClure made the right decision going to Duke. Those who don’t think so seem to be making their judgment based solely on McClure’s point total, how he is not the dominant scorer he was for the Crusaders.
I have found the line of thinking rather skewed, even more so after talking to him last night for a feature I am writing on him for Thursday’s paper. McClure is playing the same role he did for Trinity, minus the scoring. He is a lockdown defender and solid rebounder, two of his most impressive traits at Trinity. Crusaders coach Mike Walsh said McClure is the best defender he has ever had.
Despite an injury-riddled career, McClure has been a valuable contributor to one of the country’s most elite programs. More importantly, his time at Duke has turned him into the kind of person who will make a difference whenever his basketball career ends.
After hanging up the phone last night following our interview, I couldn’t help but smile. Dave has always been one of my favorite people, and I have even greater respect for him now. Anyone who could have heard him last night would feel the same way.
So perhaps it is best to use a proper prism when assessing McClure. College basketball careers are not based just on how many points someone scored.
And if you don’t believe me, go to the following link: http://www.goduke.com/club/std/mediaByType.dbml
It is Duke’s website. Go down to Coach K’s press conference yesterday and start listening from 10:30 in for the next few minutes about what he had to say about McClure.
You might come away feeling differently.
March 22, 2009 at 9:01 pm by Dave Ruden
I’ve been thinking for a while about ways to expand the blog, make it more interesting and hopefully more entertaining and enlightening. Sometime last night, in the middle of 39 1/2 hours in front of a television watching the NCAA Tournament, it hit me.
Who is better at getting behind the scenes of what really happens in the world of high school sports than the people involved? What goes through a player’s mind during the course of a tight game? Why did a coach make a certain decision? What is it like for a parent who coached youth sports to be on the other side, watching his or her son or daughter perform? At a time when attendance is dropping, what compels certain students to show school spirit and go out several times a week to support his or her classmates?
To help answer these questions, I am going to share the blog this spring with some players, coaches, fans and parents in the Stamford area to complement the commentary and breaking news I try to offer here.
I am working out the details, but the idea is to have a male and female athlete, a coach, a fan and a parent write a weekly blog entry to share their thoughts with the readers here. I have already received a few commitments and I’m in the process of trying to finalize the lineup in the next few days.
Depending on the guest bloggers’ wishes, we will come up with a schedule for them to post their thoughts here each week, hopefully starting sometime by the beginning of April.
If anyone out there has any ideas on what you would like to read about from the bloggers, please pass them along. If there is enough interest and the bloggers are willing, we could even do some question and answer sessions.
I hope to have more news sometime soon. In the meantime, any feedback on this project is welcome.
March 18, 2009 at 10:45 pm by Dave Ruden
Hi, may name is Dave and I am a March Madness-aholic.
Hello Dave.
For the next three weeks I will be consumed by the closest thing we have to the perfect sporting event, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. There are no playoffs that drag on forever (see NBA, NHL), greater chances for upsets because it is one-and-done and not best-of-seven, and compelling drama.
With the recent losses by the Stamford and Trinity Catholic boys basketball, and Trinity hockey teams, I will be taking the next four days off….to sit in my living room and watch college basketball. Almost literally. I might make a run to the gym since there are TVs on the ellipticals, but the chances of someone getting me to go out one night — possibly one night, if it is to a sports bar — during the opening weekend is about the same odds as, say, a No. 14 seed beating a 3.
The NCAA Tournament has cost me one girlfriend, caused my family to rearrange plans and angered many friends.
What can I say….I’m hooked.
While this blog has been almost entirely dedicated to high school sports, we are going to be taking a break for a couple of days, though if there is enough interest I would be more than happy to type away from my couch with some March Madness thoughts.
Until then, here are a few predictions:
East Region
Final Four bound: Pittsburgh. The Panthers have all the ingredients to win the national title and will be well-rested after their early exit from the Big East Tournament. The key factor may end up being the officials: if the Panthers get involved in a game called tightly, foul trouble could derail them.
Keep an eye on: UCLA. VCU is a pool favorite after upsetting Duke two years ago, but besides point guard Eric Maynor it is not as strong. The Bruins are erratic but more talented.
Upset special: Portland State. The lowest seeded team I like in the first round, though that is really an anti-Xavier vote.
South Region
Final Four bound: North Carolina. This is assuming that the Tar Heels get a healthy Ty Lawson back. He is more valuable to the team than Tyler Hansbrough and keys their up-tempo game. If Lawson is not 100 percent, this region is wide open.
Keep an eye on: Arizona State. The Sun Devils fell apart in the Pac 10 final but have the talent to win a couple of games.
Upset special: Western Kentucky. This is not the same team as a year ago but Illinois is seeded too high and will be missing a key starter.
Midwest Region
Final Four bound: Wake Forest. I was going too much with the chalk and had to pick a non-No. 1 seed. Wake has the talent to beat Louisville and anyone else in the field.
Keep an eye on: West Virginia. I like the Mountaineers to get by Kansas in the second round, USC in the regionals and make it to the Elite Eight.
Upset special: USC. If I really had the daring, I am so tempted to take North Dakota State to knock off Kansas. I’ll have to settle for the No. 10 Trojans.
West Region
Final Four bound: UConn. I’m not in love with the Huskies, but the tournament committee gave them a yellow brick road to Detroit. I really want to be different here and pick Missouri because with Mike Anderson as coach this is a different team, but the Tigers have a tradition of early exits.
Keep an eye on: Washington. The Huskies were a surprise team in the Pac 10 and, though they are counting on a freshman point guard, could give UConn a tough game in the regionals.
Upset special: Maryland. I have an affinity for No. 10 seeds this year, though the Terps are mercurial.
Final Four: Look for North Carolina to outlast Pitt in a war, while Wake Forest will be too much for UConn as the ACC sweeps the Big East.
National champion: North Carolina. When healthy the Tar Heels are the best team in the country. Their defense is a little suspect, but they have too many pieces to compensate.
Let the games begin!
March 17, 2009 at 12:15 am by Dave Ruden
When the Trinity Catholic High School basketball team has struggled this season, it has been due to individualistic play. That was the case last night, as the Crusaders lost their composure during a decisive 12-2 fourth-quarter run that carried No. 25 Bulkeley to a 67-62 win over the top-seeded Crusaders tonight in the Class L Tournament quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs, the only team to defeat Windsor, are a cautionary tale about how seeds in the state playoffs can be deceiving. They overcame an 11-point first-quarter deficit by outhustling the Crusaders on the boards. Trinity, which made seven straight shots at one point and 9 of 16 in the first quarter, seemed to panic in the final period, with each player trying to overcome the deficit on his own rather than tap the teamwork that had carried the team for most of the season.
After a 22-0 start, the Crusaders finished the season 2-2 and lost 11-point leads in their two defeats.
It was a cruel ending for seniors Tevin Baskin, Eric Jean-Guillaume and Ryan Adkins, who had great careers and won 92 games, but only have one FCIAC title to show for it.
March 14, 2009 at 4:29 pm by Dave Ruden
Hillhouse coach Kermit Carolina learned one of the best lessons my father ever imparted on me: if you don’t talk, people won’t realize how ignorant you really are.
Carolina, who accused Trinity Catholic coach Mike Walsh last week of ducking his team by playing in the Class L instead of the Class LL Tournament, saw his team eliminated last night in the quarterfinals by Crosby, 75-73. The Academics blew a five point lead with five minutes left and thus would never had the chance to play the Crusaders in LL.
Instead, Hillhouse now will not have a chance to play another school from the city. Crosby will face Stamford, which won a double overtime thriller against New Britain, in Tuesday’s semifinals.
Chris Evans’ — and the Black Knights’ — dream season continued last night. Evans was fouled on a 3-point shot with 2.5 seconds left in regulation and made all three free throws to keep the team’s season alive.
The argument has been made about whether Evans or Tevin Baskin has been the most valuable player in the FCIAC this year. That may be too small a scale. It is about time to start talking about whether Evans is the MVP of the state. Rarely has a star player been so clutch and unselfish at the same time.
March 13, 2009 at 10:34 am by Dave Ruden
Trinity Catholic’s sports department has always operated with the utmost class. When the girls basketball team holds its Senior Night, the Crusaders present flowers to the opposing team’s seniors as well as their own.
Last night, in the latest example, Trinity stopped its Class L Tournament game with Woodstock Academy in the fourth quarter to acknowledge Kyle Senick after he became the school’s all-time scoring leader. Senick received a standing ovation from the entire crowd and the Crusaders’ Tevin Baskin, who had already been taken out of the game, got off the bench and came over to congratulate him.
It was a nice moment, especially since Woodstock was in the process of losing by 53 points.
By the way, the Trinity game made quite a contrast to the UConn-Syracuse game, which I’m sure many fans went home to watch.
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