2023 NEPSAC Fall News Magazine

NEPSAC® News

NEW ENGLAND PREPARATORY SCHOOL ATHLETIC COUNCIL

St. George’s School’s new Schmaltz Family Wellness Center opens

New England Preparatory School Athletic Council

President

Martha Brousseau Greenwich Academy Vice-President

Ryan Frost Cardigan Mountain School

Secretary

Rob Quinn Berwick Academy Treasurer

Jim Smucker Berwick Academy

Co-Directors of Championships

Jamie Arsenault New Hampton School

Bob Howe Deerfield Academy

Lisa Joel Phillips Andover Academy

Director of Classifications

Sean Kelly The Wheeler School

Coordinator of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Lamar Reddicks Milton Academy

Past Presidents

George Tahan Belmont Hill School

Bob Howe Deerfield Academy

Jamie Arsenault New Hampton School

Mark Conroy Williston Northampton School

Middle School Representatives

Rob Feingold The Fay School

Amber Kuntz Beaver Country Day School

District I Representative

Stefan Jensen Hyde School

District II Representatives

Tara Brisson Tilton School

Jenna Simon Holderness School

Connor Wells Brewster Academy

District III Representatives

Betsy Kennedy Pingree School

Jen Viana Cushing Academy

Sean Kelly The Wheeler School

Andrew Mitchell Lexington Christian Academy

District IV Representatives

Mike Marich The Frederick Gunn School

Tim Joncas Westminster School

Mo Gaitán Pomfret School

Communications Specialist

Laurie Sachs The Rivers School

“NEPSAC” and the NEPSAC logo are registered trademarks of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and may not be used or displayed without permission.

New England Preparatory School Athletic Council qualifies as a public charity under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3).

Meghan Morgan ’15 Goes

President’s Letter

Martha Brousseau Greenwich Academy

Greetings fellow NEPSACians! As I recently shared with our Group VII and VIII students, schools provide something that most workplaces do not: a fresh start! The first day of practice or class allows for a reset that one doesn’t often get sitting in a cubicle. So I hope you have all taken full advantage of what is a new beginning; even starting my 34th year I feel that way and my wish is that you do too no matter if this is year 4 or 40!

Please see the latest and greatest publication from NEPSAC. As always there are features that take you across our campuses with a chance to take a deep dive into other places and people. Please be sure you fully understand all that is within the 2023–2024 NEPSAC Handbook which can be found on our website. As always, changes are in bold. Especially take note of our new NIL policy, modifications to tournament eligibility and an easier way to file an appeal or share concerns. Please take note of your District meetings dates as the Board is keyed into what is happening in all corners of NEPSAC.

Hope you all have a great year and see you in Boxborough in November!

Martha

TREASURER’S REPORT

by Jim Smucker, Berwick Academy, NEPSAC Treasurer

Thank you in advance for your support this year.

DUES

All NEPSAC, District and Coaches Associations dues are to be paid online by October 15th.

Reminders/Tips for making payments online: To be most efficient it is important that schools only create one account when making their payments. If you don’t remember your login information, simply click on the “Forgot your username or password?” link to enter your email address to receive instructions to reset your password. Remember to check your spam/junk folder for these instruction emails.

Please be aware that there is a processing fee to off-set our cost with every online transaction. We are not able to refund processing fees, so please be diligent about this process and your record keeping.

How To View Your Account: If you already have a Username and Password, go to ‘View My Account’ and enter your credentials to log in. After logging in, you will have access to ‘Payment History”. Use the available filters to view ALL of them or choose any date range or period.

NEPSAC PARTNERSHIPS

NEPSAC continues to collaborate with Fundraise4U, a company that provides fundraising solutions for athletic organizations. We will continue to identify potential partnerships and sponsors for NEPSAC to help ensure that the intentions of this organization are met, all while staying true to our mission and values.

Got news to share with other NEPSAC schools? Send the details to communications@nepsac.org and we’ll put it in the next issue.

NEPSAC ONLINE DIRECTORY

Please continue to update your school information in the online directory with any changes that you might have. It is extremely important that we have accurate contact lists of our athletic departments for a variety of communications. The online system allows for the most efficient way to collect information. Examples of use: Our coaches associations, athletic trainers, schedulers, sports information directors, and equipment managers all need accurate email lists for their important communications.

Contact Laurie Sachs communications@nepsac.org if you have any questions.

NEPSAC 2023–2024 MEETINGS

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Tuesday, September 19

Remote 8:15

Tuesday, October 10 Remote 8:15

Thursday, November 16

Boxborough, MA 4:00

Friday, November 17

Annual Meeting, Boxborough, MA

Tuesday, January 9 Remote 8:15

Tuesday, February 13 Remote 8:15

MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Thursday, March 29 Faye School 10:00

DISTRICT I

Monday, September 11 Hyde School 10:00

Monday, November 13 Hyde School 10:00

Monday, February 26 Hyde School 10:00

Monday, May 20 Hyde School 10:00

Zoom meetings may be held if needed in October, January and April

DISTRICT II

Thursday, October 19

Holderness School 9:00

Thursday, February 8 Tilton School 9:00

Thursday, May 2

New Hampton School 9:00

Weekly meetings on Zoom from August 15, 2023 to May 7, 2024.

DISTRICT III

Tuesday, October 3

Zoom 10:00

Tuesday, January 23

TBD 11:00

Tuesday, April 30

Zoom 10:00

DISTRICT IV

Tuesday, September 26

Choate Rosemary Hall 10:00

Thursday, April 2

TBA 6:00

SUFFIELD ACADEMY | SUFFIELD, CONNECTICUT

Special Olympics Race

Photos by Hillary Cahn

For the 8th consecutive year

Suffield Academy’s cross country program hosted the annual Special Olympics/Suffield Academy XC race on September 16. The 3K and 5K runs are held on our cross country course, and the event provides an opportunity for athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to compete together, gain physical fitness, and have fun. Suffield Academy students from the cross country, water polo, and JV field hockey teams were placed on teams with Special Olympics athletes and awards were given to the top three teams.

Participant Yaroslav Spytskyi ’24 said, “The Special Olympics race always becomes one of the highlights of cross country season for me because of the atmosphere of friendly competition and support that is evident in every aspect of the event. Athletes push each other during the race and cheer on one another as they cross the finish line.“ JV field hockey coach Kaitlyn Nigro added, “It was a beautiful afternoon not only because of the perfect weather, but because of the sportsmanship and community support of the event. I saw both Special Olympics and Suffield athletes pushing themselves and their athletic boundaries, and lots of positivity and energy.”

Worcester Players Catch Up with Aliyah Boston ’23

From Worcester Academy’s Instagram: Last weekend, our WA girls basketball team and other students, teachers, fellow teammates and community members had the chance to meet WA alumna and current WNBA Indiana Fever player Aliyah Boston. We had an incredible experience watching the Fever game and meeting Aliyah, leaving us all inspired to dream big and play hard. Aliyah got to take a walk down memory lane, see familiar faces, and witness the impact she has on young players. Isn’t it great when learning from each other and having a wonderful time can intersect?

Richard Francis 1934–2023

Richard Reid Francis passed away on July 8th, 2023, with his wife Marilyn by his side.

Rick was born in Middletown, Conn., in 1934 to Paul and Ruth Francis. He graduated from Choate School in 1952 and Wesleyan College in 1958. He spent two years in the Army from 1955-1957. While at Wesleyan he lettered in football, baseball and track where he earned Little All-American in football.

Rick joined the Faculty of Williston Academy in 1958 where he became the head football coach and a math teacher. He later added basketball coach and athletic director to his titles. Rick worked at Williston for 42 years, retiring in 2000.

Rick married Marilyn Koch on September 2nd, 1961, and they remained married for almost 62 years. Rick has two children: Jeff and Todd. He has five grandchildren: Brooks, Chase, Grant, Sam, and Sasha; and three great grandchildren: Anthony, Cody and Caden. Rick was predeceased by his parents and his brother, Paul “Frosty” Francis.

Rick was elected to the New England Prep School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, New England Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Williston Northampton School Hall of Fame . Rick served as the President of both the Western Mass Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame and the New England Prep School Athletic Council.

Rick began attending Camp Monomoy (Cape Cod Sea Camps) in 1945 as a camper. He remained there as a camper and a counselor and eventually became the program director. This is where he met Marilyn, as her father Grant Koch, was the director of Camp Monomoy. Rick retired from “Camp” in 2012.

Rick (and Marilyn) were avid sports spectators, watching as many of their sons’ and grandchildren’s games as they possibly could. In their retirement, Rick and Marilyn moved to Cape Cod and travelled the world extensively for as long as they could. There will be a celebration of Life at Williston Northampton School on September 30th, 2023 at 1:00 PM.

Those wishing to honor Rick may make a donation to either the Grant W Koch Memorial Scholarship Fund or The Rick and Marilyn Francis Appreciation Fund – Williston Northampton School

Published by Daily Hampshire Gazette on Jul. 13, 2023.

Trying to manage your athletic scheduling the same old way, using spreadsheets and post-it notes?

It’s time to modernize your scheduling process with the Athletic Scheduler+.

Featuring

• Importing Contests, Students, Officials

•  Calculating Logistics for Each Contest in seconds.

•  Creating Repeating Practice Schedules

•  Managing Transportation, Players & Officials

•  Integrating with Google Calendar, Blackbaud, Whipple Hill, Finalsite, etc.

•  Emailing contracts, notices, & reminders.

•  Customizing to suit you using Filemaker Pro.

Contact markbperkins@gmail.com or visit highstreetsolutions.weebly.com/

Do you need a handbook, directory or magazine? How about a postcard, invitation or stationery? Or a program brochure, fundraising appeal or search piece?

Are you overwhelmed? Do you even know where to start?

Let me help. I have over 25 years of experience with school publications and printing production, and I am accustomed to tight deadlines and equally tight budgets.

I can help you figure out what you want, pull the pieces together and deliver a final product you will be thrilled to share with parents and alumni.

HOLDERNESS SCHOOL | PLYMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Holderness School Football Team in 1907

Dr. Jennifer Martinez, History Faculty and Archivist, Holderness School, Plymouth, New Hampshire

The photo above is from our collections at the Holderness School Archives. Our photographic collection is vast and dates since the school’s founding in 1879. Being an athletic school, it makes sense that a large portion of our early photographs are athletic formals (our earliest photo of a team, for example, dates back to 1891 but our earliest in the collection is a class photo from 1881). The photo above, for example, depicts the Football Team in 1907. We are lucky enough that someone from one of the boys’ families took the time to name each of the players in the photo. Therefore, in order to keep their memory alive, I have included (as best as possible) their names below in order of appearance, from left to right: Walter Boyson (coach), Crawford, Borden Smith, Cromwell,

Boynton, Hague, Woodbury (captain), George Bates, Oliver, McLellan, R[unintelligible], Spence, E. S. Barney, Cunningham, [unintelligible]arr, Daly.

One of the boys in the photo is Edward Sandford Barney (class of 1909). In a postcard to his father, he says the following: “What do you think? Do we look as if we had the gourd? Well we did. We won 7 out of 11 games…” He then sent another postcard, this time with the photo we see here, saying to his mother: “We scored 155 points against our opp. 43”.

It seems like the boys were very proud of their winning match! Thank you for reading, and until next time, Holderness School Archives

Holderness Football Team in 1907, Photographic Collection, Holderness School Archives (PH.3.1)

BAY STATE GAMES

S

WHAT IS BAY STATE GAMES?

B a y S t a t e G a m e s i s a 5 0 1 ( c ) ( 3 ) n o n - p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t w a s e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 9 8 2 t o h o s t M a s s a c h u s e t t s ’ o w n O l y m p i c - s t y l e a m a t e u r a t h l e t i c c o m p e t i t i o n .

U M M E R G A M E S

E a c h y e a r t h e S u m m e r G a m e s f e a t u r e s

7 , 0 0 0 a t h l e t e s c o m p e t i n g i n 3 0 s p o r t s .

A t h l e t e s o f a l l a g e s a n d a b i l i t i e s

r e p r e s e n t o v e r 3 0 0 M a s s a c h u s e t t s c o m m u n i t i e s e a c h y e a r R e g i s t r a t i o n o p e n s i n M a r c h 2 0 2 4

W I N T E R G A M E S

A t h l e t e s c o m p e t i n g i n F i g u r e S k a t i n g ,

C u r l i n g , a n d M a s t e r s I c e H o c k e y w i l l r e p r e s e n t h u n d r e d s o f c o m m u n i t i t i e s f r o m M a s s a c h u s e t t s a s w e l l a s M a i n e , Ne w H a m p s h i r e , V e r m o n t a n d R h o d e I s l a n d

T h e F u t u r e L e a d e r s S c h o l a r s h i p a i m s t o i d e n t i f y y o u n g m e n a n d w o m e n w h o w i l l b e t o m o r r o w ’ s l e a d e r s . S i x s c h o l a r s h i p s a w a r d e d a n n u a l l y

H I

G H S C H O O L

A M B A S S A D O R P R O G R A M

H i g h s c h o o l a m b a s s a d o r s p r o m o t e w i t h i n t h e i r s c h o o l s t o g a i n l e a d e r s h i p a n d m a r k e t i n g e x p e r i e n c e

COACHING OPPORTUNITIES

B a y S t a t e S u m m e r G a m e s H i g h S c h o o l S h o w c a s e s c o n s i s t o f e i g h t s p o r t s , w h e r e t h e s t a t e o f M a s s a c h u s e t t s i s d i v i d e d i n t o s i x r e g i o n s E a c h r e g i o n a l t e a m i s l e d b y a v o l u n t e e r c o a c h i n g s t a f f .

NON-SPORT PROGRAMMING

I n a d d i t i o n t o s p o r t s p r o g r a m m i n g , B a y S t a t e G a m e s p r o v i d e s h e a l t h , e n r i c h m e n t , a n d e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m s t o b e n e f i t t h e l i v e s o f o u r t h o u s a n d s o f p a r t i c i p a n t s a n n u a l l y

V O L U N T E E R

O P P O R T U N I T I E S

E a c h y e a r , B a y S t a t e G a m e s r e l i e s o n h u n d r e d s o f g e n e r a l v o l u n t e e r s t o h e l p o p e r a t e t h e S u m m e r G a m e s

www.baystategames.org

@baystategames

CUSHING ACADEMY | ASHBURNHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

Cushing Academy Awarded NIAAA Quality Program Assessment – Exemplary Level

The Cushing Academy athletic program has been identified as a 2023 recipient of the NIAAA Quality Program Recognition at the Exemplary Level. Pursuant to multiple reviews of the Quality Program application and submitted evidence-based documentation,we are pleased to extend a sincere NIAAA congratulations.

To be recognized as a Quality Program Exemplary High School, an athletic administrator must have successfully completed LTC 799 and present evidence of existing policies, practices, and procedures that meet suggested content rubrics (criteria) within the ten Quality Program assessment categories. To claim points, the school will need to provide documentation of existing school and/or district policies and procedures along with program achievements,for each of the ten assessment categories.

About the Quality Program Assessment

The NIAAA has developed a suggested set of measurement criteria that high school athletic administrators may use to assess the current status of their athletic program. For this purpose, ten assessment categories have been identified to recognize outstanding high school athletic programs at the exemplary level.

Requirements of Applicants:

Athletic administrator must:

• be a member in good standing with the NIAAA and state athletic administrator association

• have obtained CAA designation

• have completed LTC 799

• submit application fee with QPA application to the NIAAA office

The Quality Program Recognition (plaque, banner, and commendation letter) will be presented to Cushing AD Jennifer Viana at the 2023 NIAAA Annual Business meeting held during the NIAAA/NFI-IS National Conference in Orlando, Florida. In addition, the Cushing Academy athletic program will be featured in the NlAAA Interscholastic Athletic Administrator Journal, on the NIAAA website and in the E-Newsletter,as well as media releases to the local news outlets.

Cushing Academy is the second NEPSAC school to complete the assessment application and qualify for the recognitions. The first was Cardigan Mountain School, in 2015. Cardigan AD Ryan Frost and Jenn Viana both now serve as mentors to other athletic administrators who are working towards completing the assessment.

To receive the QPA, applicants must:

• Submit evidence-based documentation on the “Final Forms” platform (access granted after submission of application fee)

• Complete the application demographic information including all required signatures

• Applications may be submitted at any time, but must be postmarked no later than April 30 to be recognized during that calendar year

• Prepare all evidence-based documentation for each of the ten categories that includes evidence of meeting the QPA standards and enter into the respective electronic folder on the Final Forms platform.

• Earn at least 80% of available points in each of the ten categories

Resources available to applicants:

• Mentor to assist with the process

• Sample of a successful QPA application, with previous applicant’s permission

• Document provided on applications guidelines, assessment guidance and assessment rubrics

• Guidance instruction on use of the Final Forms platform.

• Guidance document—frequently asked questions

Benefits to QPA recipients:

• Affirm benefits of an educationally based interscholastic athletic program

• Develop long term strategic planning and continuous improvement

• Earn professional recognition at national and state levels (banner and plaque) Enhance budget justification

• Build community support and pride

• Recognition at National Athletic Directors Conference

• Satisfies project requirement for CMAA certification provided application and completion of the process meets requirements and standards established by the NIAAA board of directors

Forever Connected

THE BONDS BETWEEN TEACHERS, COACHES & CLASSMATES SPAN THE DECADES

by Sarah Pruitt ’95

Strike up a conversation with Exeter alumni about their time at the Academy, and they’ll most likely tell you about at least one person who made their experience truly meaningful. It could be the teacher who sparked their lifelong passion for ornithology, Arabic or economics, or the adviser who helped them get their grades back on track. Maybe it was a roommate, dorm proctor or classmate with whom they bonded over late-night pizzas and study sessions. Or the coach who saw their potential and drew out their best performances on the field, court, river or rink.

Exeter is a place where lifelong relationships are forged and nurtured; where teachers become mentors, colleagues and friends; where alumni from different generations find common ground; and where the formative experiences of four years — or even a single year — can be recalled as easily as if they happened yesterday.

This summer, we celebrate the enduring power and positive impact of these connections made at Exeter and sustained through geographical separation, busy lives and careers and the passage of time.

SARAH ODELL ’06 AND BECKY MOORE , INSTRUCTOR IN ENGLISH AND CREW COACH

Sarah Odell ’06 first met Becky Moore ’77 (Hon.); P’03, P’05, P’08 when Sarah joined the junior varsity crew team her lower year. As Odell embarked on her own teaching career, Moore became a valued mentor, offering advice and support for her work in the classroom. Now the director of the Center for Gender and Ethical Leadership in Society at The Hewitt School in New York City, Odell counts Moore as a trusted colleague and an inspiration for her research in gender studies and educational leadership.

ODELL: Initially, I was intimidated by [coach Moore]. It was clear she was incredibly smart, loved teaching and loved getting up early to speak through her bullhorn on the river. As I got to know her better, I realized we were similar in a lot of ways. We’re both direct, we both love the life of the mind, and we see teaching as an intellectual pursuit. I came to the Exeter Humanities Institute when I started teaching in 2013, and she was one of my instruc-tors. I used to call her when I was teaching English, and she always had a deeply thought-out answer that showed her abiding passion for what she does as a teacher.

When I did my doctorate in educational leadership at the University of WisconsinMadison, I spoke to Becky constantly

about what I was reading and thinking about. I study the K-12 leadership pipeline and how gender impacts individuals as they navigate it. I think of how many other women like her may be out there who weren’t given an opportunity to steward our schools and our profession. She sustains my research by keeping me going — just as she did once upon a time as a crew coach.

MOORE: Sarah invited me to work with the English Department at Miss Porter’s School when she was teaching there. It was the sort of invitation that Sarah is so good at — getting people to come together and talk about education, gender and leadership. I visited Sarah’s classes and gave her some observations about the ways I saw her and the students using discussion. She often cites that class visit as a pivotal part of her growth as a teacher and an observer of teachers.

Sarah has been a cheerleader of my career, suggesting me for leadership positions and, in turn, I have recommended her for jobs, workshops and general connections. To mark the 50th year of coeducation at Exeter in 2020-21, we teamed up with Alex Myers ’96 to create a collection of readings and speakers. I remember enjoy-ing planning meetings — in the pit of the pandemic — with Sarah thinking of scholars and readings from her capacious graduate work. To have a former student work to keep up the connection and invite conversation and collaboration has helped switch our initial power imbalance of student and teacher to mentee and mentor, and later to colleague and colleague.

PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY | EXETER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Top: Becky Moore ’77 (Hon.) and Sarah Odell ’06 in 2023; left: rowers on the Squamscott River in 2004

JAMES JOHNSON-PIETT ’97 AND SUNIL NARAYAN ’97

When James Johnson-Piett ’97 was looking to expand his team at Urbane, the economic development consultancy he founded in 2008, he called on his longtime friend Sunil Narayan ’97, whom he met when both were preps living on the fourth floor of Cilley Hall. Drawing on decades of shared history and mutual trust, Johnson-Piett and Narayan, now Urbane’s national strategy lead, have joined forces to channel the spirit of non sibi into the company’s work fostering business and community development in historically disinvested communities.

JOHNSON-PIETT: Sunil dressed kind of like me — think Fresh Prince 1993 — so it was a natural connection point around hip-hop/urban fashion that was an initial bond [at Exeter]. Every so often, kids would order pizza or a chicken finger sub from Romeo’s after check-in to share. It was always awkward to pretend I didn’t want any or I wasn’t a starving 15-year-old at 10 p.m. I think Sunil picked up on it and just started covering me, no questions asked. A dollar investment forged a brotherhood over a slice.

After college, I had many career and entrepreneurial twists and turns. I was a oneman show at Urbane for a little while, but eventually work started flowing and I needed help. Sunil had an interesting mix of skills between corporate HR, teaching high schoolers, and leveraging his math major [to do quantitative analysis]. Most importantly, I knew him, and I trusted him. He’ll always push to make sure strategy is sound and that we’re not getting ahead of our skis, so to speak.

NARAYAN: I felt adrift the first few months at Exeter — a bizarro world of L.L. Bean and J.Crew and New England-isms that was completely foreign to the child

of immigrant South Indians from smalltown West Virginia. Maybe James sensed how lost and alone I was, or admired my Adidas track suit game, but suddenly he was my friend, and by proxy, his circle of friends and then the entire Afro-Latino Exonian Society. A simple act of kindness from a 13-year-old kid from North Philly changed the trajectory of my life. We roomed together during the Washington Intern Program as seniors and again as summer interns during college. We zipped around on Chinatown buses to hang out and James even humored my transition to a pierced, platinum blond D.C. raver and N.Y.C. party boy.

When he reached out to explain his vision [for Urbane] and inquire if I had an interest in linking up, it was a no-brainer. Balancing a longstanding friendship with the fact that he’s my boss can be a delicate dance at times, but it has been a net positive. We remind each other to eat when we’re cranky, get geeked out with Harkness-y style conver-sations around community wealth building, and indulge each other’s esoteric tangents. Not many people get the chance to work with someone they’ve known and grown with since they were 13.

From top: Sunil Narayan ’97 and James Johnson-Piett ’97; Narayan and Johnson-Piett; Johnson-Piett and Narayan with Urbane colleagues

CAITLIN CORNER-DOLLOFF ’03 AND CHRIS MATL ACK, INSTRUCTOR IN SCIENCE

After taking accelerated biology with Chris Matlack her prep year, Caitlin Corner-Dolloff ’03 was so impressed with his humor and hands-on teaching style that she asked him to be her adviser. Matlack’s support buoyed her through Exeter and beyond, while his ability to engage and inspire in the classroom helped launch her on a career path in ecology and environmental change management. During her senior year at Cornell, she won a Merrill Presidential Scholarship that allowed her to invite her most influential high school teacher to campus for the ceremony. Corner-Dolloff immediately thought of Matlack. Today, she is senior policy adviser for climate and agriculture in USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security.

CORNER-DOLLOFF: During prep bio, we had to set up an experiment with a partner, and while our proposal required complex supplies and monitoring, [Mr. Matlack] didn’t hesitate to make sure we had everything we needed. It’s so vivid in my mind — the memory of feeling for the first time at Exeter that I had a teacher completely in my corner, wanting me to succeed and encouraging me to explore and follow my own areas of interest. Like everyone at Exeter, I held myself to super-high standards. He helped me remember to find balance and focus on my own path toward what I wanted to achieve. I was thankful, but not surprised, when he supported my decision to defer college a year and engage in experi-ential learning in New Zealand and work as a naturalist aboard a tall ship in Seattle. He truly believed I had it in me to accomplish my goals and reach beyond them, and that confidence helped me in proposing an independent major at Cornell. Chris remains an important mentor, and I feel I owe much of my success and interest in biology and natural resources to him.

MATLACK: Caitlin was a very good student who prepared extremely thorough answers to every question I asked, whether it was on the homework or an assess-ment. She had no middle ground: If her name was going on the paper, her best work was as well. After her lower year, she joined my advisee group, which at the time was made up of all boys. It quickly grew to a mixed group, and Caitlin was an integral member for the remainder of her time at Exeter.

During the event at Cornell, Caitlin was able to tour me through her favorite areas, including the school’s ornithology labs at Sapsucker Woods. This was the only time I attended an event for a former student like this at a college, and I was very honored that she selected me. Caitlin always contacts me when she visits campus and periodically sends long emails about her current work. I’ve enjoyed following her varied international career and always look forward to hearing from her.

From left: Caitlin Corner-Dolloff ’03 and Instructor in Science Chris Matlack at Cornell University in 2007; Matlack in his classroom; Corner-Dolloff

GORDON SMITH ’74 AND PAUL OUTL AW ’74

As teenagers, Gordon Smith ’74 and Paul Outlaw ’74 bonded while listening to records by “prog rock” bands and hanging out in the basement of their dorm, Webster North. These late-night conversations set the foundation for more than 50 years of friendship, strengthened by a mutual passion for music and a shared experience of embracing their LGBTQ+ identity post-Exeter.

SMITH: Anyone who’s lived long enough knows how important it is to have great friends who “knew you then.” Paul and I started hanging out in the Webster North butt room, and our little group grew to include some girls from one of the new girls dorms. We eventu-ally started dating those girls. I knew from experience that it would be impossible to be gay at Exeter, so I suppressed it and tried being “normal,” not knowing that Paul was doing the same.

In 1978, I moved to the New York City area. I had just come out as gay, and when I told [another friend from Exeter] this, he said that Paul was gay and living in N.Y.C. I happily reconnected with Paul, and he introduced me to my first gay bar in Manhattan, the Ninth Circle. I attribute my love of Stevie Wonder and Prince to Paul. We have so many interests in common: Aside from his acting, he wrote and recorded some very original songs with electronic instrumentation, my own specialty. Paul and I attended each other’s weddings to our long-term partners and have continued to play an important role in each other’s lives. He’s probably the most relentlessly positive person I’ve ever known, [and] he always manages to pull me out of myself with his incredible enthusiasm and creative drive.

OUTLAW: I remember Gordon from my prep year as a shy, quiet person who was academically and artistically gifted. I may have found out that year that he and I shared an appreciation (putting it mildly) for the music of the Supremes and Elton John — code for queerness that neither of us consciously understood at the time. Before I left Harvard in the summer of 1976 to transfer to N.Y.U., I remember a long-haired, bespectacled Gordon Smith visiting me and disco dancing to Donna Summer with my friends at dorm parties.

Living in New York City in the early 1980s, I became an unofficial groupie of Gordon’s two bands, and Gordon came to see me perform in downtown theater produc-tions. During a decade living in Berlin, my performing arts practice expanded to include music, as a frontman and lyricist in various bands and a singersongwriter of my own material. I can’t help but think that I was influenced in some way by Gordon’s commitment to his music and our shared love of the electronic music of the ’70s and ’80s. Gordon’s serenity and undiminished youthfulness have been an inspiration to me throughout our friendship.

From left: Paul Outlaw ’74 and Gordon Smith ’74 in 1974; Outlaw and Smith in New York City in 2023

MIKE MCCARTHY ’95 AND ROB MORRIS, INSTRUCTOR IN HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FOOTBALL COACH

When Mike McCarthy ’95 and Rob Morris showed up for preseason football in August 1992, they were both new to Exeter. Over many hours spent together on the field and in Webster North over the next three years, they developed a connection that would endure past McCarthy’s graduation, evolving from a relationship between a coach and an athlete to that of close friends. McCarthy returns to campus regularly to visit Morris and his family and says he thinks of Morris as a second father.

MCCARTHY: Coach’s whole idea was: When you see somebody on the paths walk-ing between dorms, you always say hello, you always nod, you always smile, you say good morning. He was all about being respectful to everybody, even the people you didn’t know. His point was: Don’t just be a typical jock. Be way more than that.

He and I love the same music. He’s a diehard Jimmy Buffett and Bruce Springsteen fan, and those are two of my favorites. We would sit in the dorm and he would play records and we would just talk about life. Exeter was a wonderful experience for me in general, but he certainly enhanced it, that’s for sure.

Rob and his wife, Cindy, have been super close to me from the minute I got to know them, from me babysitting their kids when they would go to Jimmy Buffett concerts to Rob coming up to Vermont and watching me play polo or come to football matches when he could. I’ve visited him and the family at least two or three times a year, and last year he came down and visited me for five or six days in South Carolina, which was great.

MORRIS: When I met Mike, I was a 25-year-old, first-year, part-time health teacher and football coach. At the conclusion of preseason, when the football players moved into their permanent dorms, Mike moved into Webster North, where I had recently moved with my wife, Cindy. In addition to coaching Mike over the next

three years, he was also my advisee. I became dorm head in my second year, and Mike served as one of my proctors during his senior year. We navigated together the usual ups and downs of boarding school life. Many days felt like a TV sitcom, with most episodes enti-tled: “What have you gotten yourself into this time, Mike?”

We kept in touch during Mike’s college years, and we talked often about our respective football seasons. One of my greatest memo-ries as head football coach at Exeter is having Mike return each presea-son as a volunteer coach on my staff. We’ve leaned on each other more than a few times over the years when facing life challenges, and he’s one of my closest friends. Thirty years later, he still has the same qualities he had when he was a new lower: outgoing, friendly and an intense competitor on the field, as well as a strong work ethic, curiosity, kindness and a great sense of humor.

From top: Rob Morris; Mike McCarthy ’95 in 1993; Morris and McCarthy at Clemson Unversity in 2022

DEERFIELD ACADEMY | DEERFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

Joy of JV

JV sports used to be the path to varsity. Now it’s also a destination.

by Nat Reade

It’s just three weeks until graduation, but senior Carson Belaire ’23 isn’t relaxing. Instead he’s nervously preparing to attempt something new, difficult, and a bit dangerous. On a warm, blue-sky Senior Day, the last home meet for Deerfield’s varsity and JV track teams, Belaire is preparing to compete for the first time in his life at pole vault.

His coach, Cheri Karbon, is worried about him. Because of a wet spring that canceled many of their practices, Carson only started learning to pole vault about a month ago. He’s made progress, Karbon says, getting in some good results when they were using a bungee across the standards. “But in practice Thursday when we put up the actual bar,” Karbon says, “he was afraid. He aborted several vaults. It freaked him out.” Carson is also worried. He’s only cleared the bar once in practice, and that was at a relatively low seven feet.

And why not? Of all the track-and-field events, it’s hard to think of anything more terrifying than trying to flip over a bar in mid air, ten feet above the ground, at the end of a 14-foot carbon-fiber stick. According to Coach Karbon, when a pole vaulter hits the end of the runway, they have a fraction of a second to manage about twelve different maneuvers. “They have to remember to bring the pole down properly,” she says. “Get it into the box. Lift one knee hard. Swing up the other leg. Invert as much as possible. Turn their body the right way. Toss the pole back or it’ll hit the bar

If Carson fails to do everything properly, he won’t clear the bar. If he fails at some things, such as not running fast enough or not properly planting the pole, he could fall backwards, where there’s no padding, or fall sideways into the metal standards. Even if he clears the bar, he must fall onto the mat correctly, or he could injure himself. In his lone month of training he says he’s survived about ten crashes, and hurt himself twice.

But Carson loves to try new things, including, he says, this chance to “fly through the air.” This is one of the reasons why he has loved JV sports at Deerfield.

Carson Belaire grew up in Saudi Arabia, where his father worked in the oil industry. He chose Deerfield over other boarding schools for its ice hockey program, a sport he’d played indoors and loved throughout his desert childhood. When he arrived at Deerfield his first year, however, he saw for the first time the high level of skill among the other hockey players

and realized pretty quickly that he had to make a choice: He could work really hard to make varsity, but sacrifice other interests.

“I had to step back and ask what I value most,” Carson says, “and hockey was one of those things, but so were the arts—theater— soccer, music. I also realized that making varsity wasn’t much of a focus for me. I was happy to be on a JV team, playing hockey, getting the fun of competition and forming friendships with a great bunch of kids, but not being the best, and being okay with that.”

This is music to Bob Howe’s ears. Howe was Carson’s JV hockey coach for four years and has been Deerfield’s director of athletics for seven. Non-varsity sports, he says, not only provide opportunities for lots more kids to try new things, regardless of their experience or skill, but it provides more opportunities for them to learn valuable things, such as leadership. “The health of a high school sports program,” Howe says, “can be seen in the strength of its JV. You can have championship varsity teams, but what you hold important is revealed by JV.”

Howe jokes that when he retires he’d like to drive around in a van with a few likeminded friends and preach to anyone who will listen against the growing profit motive and specialization in youth sports. He feels that too many kids, as young as eight, are joining expensive travel teams with paid coaches who push their players to only work at one sport all year round, and penalize them if they don’t.

Howe, like many coaches and teachers at Deerfield, instead believes that students are better off if they try new things. He’s pushed varsity hockey players to take dance classes. He says that athletes who diversify are more athletic, and that catching a Frisbee or dribbling a soccer ball actually makes you a better hockey player. Other coaches talk about the ample scientific evidence that kids specializing in one sport increases their risks of injuries. Howe tries to counter the national trend in youth sports, but there’s a limit to what he can control. Students and their parents

THE HEALTH OF A HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PROGRAM CAN BE SEEN IN THE STRENGTH OF ITS JV. YOU CAN HAVE CHAMPIONSHIP VARSITY TEAMS, BUT WHAT YOU HOLD IMPORTANT IS REVEALED BY JV.

BOB HOWE, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

have their eyes on college recruiters and scholarships, and often choose Deerfield for the strength of its varsity programs. And as a result of all those private club teams and specialization, the varsity athletes at the boarding schools Deerfield competes against are so skilled they are often at college level. Howe mentions a baseball player at another boarding school who’s throwing 88-mph fastballs, and has been scouted by the Yankees. He’s in ninth grade. Today’s boarding-school varsity, you might say, is a whole new ball game.

Which is where JV comes in—more and more. A generation ago, student athletes viewed junior varsity as a steppingstone, the place to grow until they made varsity, and if they didn’t make varsity by junior or senior year, they often quit. Today, many students like Carson deliberately choose to play JV.

“You’re not doing it for the title, and you don’t get recognized for being on a JV team. But everyone who’s there is there because they want to play, not because they want to become a professional or get into a college. It’s not about me scoring a goal. It’s about how we play as a team,” Carson explains. “I’m so glad I got to play hockey at Deerfield. Some schools only have a varsity team. Here, even if I’m not the best, I still get to enjoy the sport I love, and I really appreciate that.”

In addition to working in Deerfield’s Admission Office, Brooke Fernandez coaches JV girls lacrosse and varsity girls ice hockey. “The beauty of having any sub-varsity team,” she says, “is that if someone wants to play, there’s a team for them. There’s nothing worse than turning away a kid who wants to play. And there’s a genuine joy in being on a team. It lets you be part of Deerfield sports, get your mind off of schoolwork, hang out with friends, be goofy, and have fun.”

One of her JV lacrosse players was recent graduate Megan Ng ’23 from Hong Kong. “I have friends who are tri-varsity athletes,” Ng says. “I like to call myself a tri-JV athlete.” She chuckles. For the past three years she’s played JV volleyball in the fall, JV squash in the winter, and JV lacrosse in the spring.

“My reason for being at Deerfield,” Ng says, “was not athletics. I love it, but it’s not my priority, so that’s why I’ve never chosen to play a varsity sport.” Not only do varsity sports nowadays often require all those years of specialization and professional coaching before students get to Deerfield, but they definitely require a much bigger time commitment. “I’m really passionate about sustainability,” Ng says. “I also picked up art here, and I’ve really grown to love painting. I find it very relaxing—almost therapeutic.”

“I really love the JV community,” Ng says, “because it’s the perfect balance between competitive sports and low stakes. The idea of a team is emphasized, whereas with a lot of varsity sports, the stakes are much higher to win. I totally understand that varsity athletes want to get recruited and they work really hard, but on JV you’re working less on improving yourself and more on helping your team.”

Fernandez says that Megan “is a rock star. She did it all on campus. She was a proctor, a great student. It’s easy to check

out senior year, but she didn’t do that. She brought positive energy to our JV team, was always smiling, and she was super welcoming to younger kids. She’s a great leader.”

Down at the track meet, Carson Belaire and his teammates are cheering on the girls, who are vaulting first; the boys JV baseball team is playing Eaglebrook on Headmaster’s Field. Deerfield is losing 4-0 in the third inning, and some of the Deerfield players are quiet.

But not junior Dylan Camp, of Whately, MA. Rather than use eye black to paint hyphens under his eyes like Tom Brady would do, Dylan has used it to draw a big handlebar mustache, down to his chin. Someone suggests he looks like Luis Tiant of the Red Sox long ago. Dylan has no idea who that is, and he doesn’t care. He’s too busy trying to liven up his team. He sits on the bench while DA is batting and yells out comedy encouragement to the Deerfield batter, number eight: “Let’s go, Ocho! I like that cut now, kid! Here you go now!”

According to Dylan’s coach, Jeff Crosby, this is another pleasure of JV: the atmosphere. “These guys are fairly hilarious on the bench,” Crosby says. “There’s an incredible amount of chatter, and it’s a lot of fun.” They yell out nicknames for their teammates: Chill Kev, Welchie, Ice Spice. Dylan Camp will make up math problems for a batter’s number: “What’s up, Square root of 121?” During one game this season, their rendition of ‘One Two Buckle My Shoe,’ a YouTube performer’s song about a pair of Nikes with buckles on them, was so hilarious it made the opposing pitcher laugh. This caused him to accidentally hit the Deerfield batter, which is one way to get on base. Says Dylan, “We definitely like to keep it light.”

Crosby, in addition to teaching biology and chemistry, coaches varsity football as well as JV baseball, so he’s seen both sides. “I love JV,” Crosby says. “It’s great. And it fits really well with the boarding school tradition. Kids get to know each other who otherwise might not, playing together and having fun. At Deerfield, they get to know their teachers in a different way, too.”

“Varsity baseball is a massive time commitment. The practices are much longer: two-and-a-half hours versus ours, which are 90 minutes, and there’s more travel. And there’s enormous pressure to win at the varsity level. On JV we’re here to develop kids and have fun. One day we all just played Spikeball. I have a senior who was captain of the wrestling team, playing baseball for the first time since T-ball.”

And everybody gets to participate. “We’ll sub in kids even if it costs us the game, because we want them to get a chance,” Crosby says. “We try to win, but not at the expense of having a kid sit on the bench.” With less attention paid to the scoreboard, players can focus on improvement rather than victory—a useful skill for a happy life.

When the girls finish pole-vaulting, Josephine Louis ’23, who already held the school record in pole-vault of nine feet six inches,

“I’M SO GLAD I GOT TO PLAY HOCKEY AT DEERFIELD. SOME SCHOOLS ONLY HAVE A VARSITY TEAM. HERE, EVEN IF I’M NOT THE BEST, I STILL GET TO ENJOY THE SPORT I LOVE, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.”

CARSON BELAIRE ’23

I LOVE JV . . .IT’S GREAT. AND IT FITS REALLY WELL WITH THE BOARDING SCHOOL TRADITION. KIDS GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER WHO OTHERWISE MIGHT NOT, PLAYING TOGETHER AND HAVING FUN. AT DEERFIELD, THEY GET TO KNOW THEIR TEACHERS IN A DIFFERENT WAY, TOO.

JEFF CROSBY, COACH

I LIKE TO CALL MYSELF A TRI-JV ATHLETE. MEGAN NG ’23

has broken it by another inch. She then goes on to win two other events. The vibe throughout the meet is loving and supportive. Deerfield students cheer for opponents, even those who just bumped them out of the running. More than once a vaulter is about to start, pole raised, but stops to yell encouragement to a classmate racing past on the track.

Now it’s time for the boys to vault, small and thin ninthgraders alongside burly seniors like Carson. The track-and-field team is unusual in that varsity and JV all compete together. The only thing that separates them, Coach Karbon explains, is that if a student scores a point for Deerfield by coming in fourth or better, they get a varsity letter.

“When Carson first came out he ran like a hockey player,” Karbon says. “It’s true,” Belaire agrees. “One of the track coaches had to teach me to keep my head up when I run, instead of shoulders down and ready to check somebody, like in hockey.”

To accommodate the newer and younger vaulters, officials start the bar at six feet. A Deerfield freshman, maybe five feet tall, clears the bar for the first time in competition, to loud cheers from his coaches and teammates. He beams. “That felt good,” he says, wiggling his arms. “I feel all jittery!”

The older, bigger, and more experienced boys enter the competition with the bar at seven feet six inches. If he makes it, this will be Carson’s, best vault ever. As he carries a pole towards the runway, Coach Karbon intercepts him and says to him like a mantra, “the bar is your friend. The bar is your friend.”

“Learning to pole vault as a senior is very brave,” Karbon says. “but it’s also giving to a team, rather than experiencing individual glory. There’s a lot of courage there, and a lot of selflessness. And that’s Carson.”

Carson’s teachers and coaches say that he is a genuinely kind, thoughtful person, the teammate who carries all the poles to practice on his bike just because, or who shows up early to the Dining Hall to help set tables. Consequently, he has a lot of friends in different communities at Deerfield — music, theater, sports. Some of them have heard about his attempt at pole-vaulting, and are here to cheer him on.

As he stands at the top of the runway, girls champion Josephine Louis yells to him, “You’re my hero!”

He sprints down the runway, plants the pole, and rises. He twists his body, lands on the padding, and looks up at the crossbar. It doesn’t move. He has easily cleared seven feet six inches, his personal best.

Vaulters get three chances at each height. With each raising of the bar, one or two are eliminated — but not Carson. By the time they raise the bar to nine feet six inches, it’s down to five: Carson, three other boys from Deerfield, and one from Saint Paul’s.

Karbon says, “all right, Carson, here we go. Punch that giraffe.” This is code, she explains, for “plant that pole like you mean it, high and strong.”

He runs, plants the pole, rises, spins, and drops onto the mat. The bar wobbles and falls. Three other vaulters clear.

For his next jump, Carson tries to put aside all the worries he has about the bar, and the intimidation factor of seeing others perform so well. He takes a deep breath, sprints faster, launches a bit sooner, rises, spins, and drops.

And the bar remains.

Dozens of fists punch the air. Teammates, coaches, and friends cheer and hug him. One of them yells, “that’s my proctor! That’s my proctor!” One of the other vaulters says to him, “you’re an inspiration, bro. It took me a year to make 9’6!’ ”

Someone asks Coach Karbon what happened? Carson doesn’t seem scared of the bar. “Adrenalin,” she smiles. “When it comes to the bar, it’s all mental.”

Another Deerfield vaulter fails to make his third attempt at that height, narrowing the field to four. Nobody clears ten feet except Deerfield junior Aaron Gibbons, who makes it on his third try. Gibbons, therefore wins the event. The scorekeeper looks at the other three vaulters’ previous misses and announces where they placed. Carson, at his first meet ever, is fourth.

This means that he’s scored one point for Deerfield. It also means than in the final three weeks of his four years at Deerfield, he has earned a varsity letter.

When somebody tells him, Carson says, “Wait, really? I didn’t know. That’s pretty cool! I’ve never done anything like that.”

BRENDAN BUTZ ’23

Schmaltz Family Wellness Center Opens to Rave Reviews

Incredible  Limitless  Welcoming

These are just some of the words used by students to describe the new Schmaltz Family Wellness Center, which officially opened on May 8, 2023, ushering in the next era of physical fitness on the Hilltop.

The new state-of-the-art facility made possible by a generous gift from Dana Schmaltz ’85, his wife Kate Enroth, and their children: Isabelle ’17, Bower ’20, and Phoebe occupies a premier space on campus: It’s attached to the Dorrance Field House and the athletic center’s Sturtevant Lobby. From inside, those working out have a spectacular view of the Chapel, Memorial Schoolhouse, and the Montgomery and Crocker athletic fields.

“I think having a designated spot really says a lot for the program,” said Associate Director of Athletics and Director of the Strength and Conditioning Program Derry Mason. “I feel flattered and honored and so fortunate to be here in this space. This is an incredible facility. I don’t think there’s anybody that comes close at the high school level to this definitely in our league, probably in New England. It looks like a collegiate-level gym or a professional sports gym.”

Mr. Mason was directly involved with ordering the equipment for the wellness center, a process he did not take lightly. Over the course of his training career, he has discovered some companies and equipment that consistently rise to the top exactly what he wanted to provide for SG students. This diligent ordering process led to St. George’s purchase of four Spirit Fitness CT900

treadmills, two Rogue Echo bikes, three Concept 2 BikeErgs, two 14-foot Monster Lite Rig 2.0s, and two 9-foot Rogue Cable Towers, among countless other weights, barbells, and more.

And the new high-level equipment was an instant success.

“I feel like this is another step ahead,” said Zuriel Jiménez ’23, who will be on the track-and-field team at Columbia University this fall. “Ultimately, the last gym, although it did prepare us, limited us to what was available: the older equipment you see at regular gyms all around.”

“Now that we have new machines, more machines, and more things for people to do, I think people are a lot more motivated to come in here and actually start to work out,” Oliver Scott ’24 said.

“I had some friends who said that once that thing was built they were really going to start getting into it and they have … and it’s been really cool to see.”

The new Schmaltz Family Wellness Center also brings about the relocation of the athletic trainers’ room, sporting six training tables, a hydrotherapy tub, a hydrocollator, and an ice machine. Formerly located on the ground level of the Dorrance Field House, the room is now directly attached to the weight room, which allows easier access for students.

“There’s a lot of back-and-forth with the athletic trainers about what we do in this space. So having us actually share a wall and share office space and be together really allows us to seamlessly create a support system for students,” Mr. Mason said.

Board Chair Dana Schmaltz ’85, P’17, ’20 addresses the crowd at the opening of the Schmaltz Family Wellness Center in May.

Associate Director of Athletics and Director of the Strength and Conditioning Program Derry Mason instructs students in the new wellness center.

When you combine the advanced weight layout with the modern athletic training area, it positions studentathletes to become the best versions of themselves as they train for their sports here at SG and for further play at the collegiate level.

“I’m going to become a monster!” proclaimed Leon Correia ’24 when asked about the new facility. “I can really work on every type of muscle group and bring my athletic ability to the next level.”

From an admission standpoint, Mr. Mason said the new facility will certainly draw the attention of prospective students.

“If you’re … looking to come to St. George’s, and you come in and see this space, that’s a selling point for a really

good athlete and why they should want to come to St. George’s and be able to work out [here],” he said.

And even for those folks who don’t play a sport or consider themselves an avid gym-goer, the new space offers a welcoming place to realize wellness goals.

“Whether you’re an elite athlete who’s coming for the first time, you’re a returning student, or you’re totally new to this whole thing, we take every person,” Mr. Mason said. In the spring, the center drew faculty, staff, and students with various levels of fitness experience during all times of the day.

Mr. Mason said he and fellow strength and conditioning coach Hannah O’Brien can offer guidance on appropriate workouts or training for everyone.

“For some people, it’s simply learning how to move with proper mechanics and use the right muscles when they go to move,” he said.

If working out solo is too daunting, group programming is also available.

“We provide programming too, so for students who want to learn how to use

the equipment, we offer opportunities for them to come in and learn how to use a barbell, or how to move properly, how to do squats, how to use the kettlebells and the rowers,” Mr. Mason added.

Students love that the new center fits perfectly into campus and brings a sense of Dragon Pride to the Hilltop.

“I feel like it adds an extra focus and emphasis to the beautiful aspects of our school, which are the Chapel, the ocean fields, and the flag. When other teams come over, they’ll be able to see not only students but also athletes who are dedicated to the regimen and dedicated to working hard and building,” Zuriel said.

“You’ve got the shields on either side of the gym, you’ve got ‘Dragons’ right behind you so you kind of know why you’re here and why you’re working out so you get better either for yourself or for your team,” Oliver said.

In its short time on the Hilltop, the new Schmaltz Family Wellness Center has already had a big impact on campus life.

“The community is really fortunate to have the Schmaltz family think of doing this and support the school in this way,” Mr. Mason said. “We will benefit from it for a long time.”

Matthew Dellarusso ’24

Gwenn Hosmer ’24

Tayshawn Cunningham-Pemberton ’23

A new training room now sits adjacent to the workout areas in the new wellness center.

Remembering Jerry Green, Who Was Always Keeping Score

by Will Burchfield, Hotchkiss Class of 2010 Article courtesy of The Hotchkiss School

Jerry Green, Hotchkiss Class of 1946, the only reporter to cover every Super Bowl, died in March 2023. Detroit sportswriter Will Burchfield, Hotchkiss Class of 2010, reflects on their friendship and the bond they shared through The Hotchkiss School.

He never asked for it, but Jerry Green ’46 always drew a crowd. He was a man of small stature but a giant in Detroit sports as a venerable columnist with The Detroit News. Whenever he entered a press box in the time that I knew him, fellow reporters would stop by to shake hands with history. He was a mentor to some, a model to all. “Starry Eyes,” they nicknamed him at Hotchkiss in the 1946 Mischianza. Oh, what stars those eyes would see.

his Hotchkiss as he marveled at mine. He told me they had mass in the Chapel every week and sit-down dinners every night. Everything was mandatory, and teachers were masters. F-7, he marked on his scorecard: flyout to left. The boys wore coats and ties. I told him that my mom (Caroline Kenny Burchfield ’77, P’08,’10,’18) was part of the first class of girls, and that by the end of my time, we didn’t have to wear ties at all. 4-3: groundout to second. He told me he played JV baseball on a diamond down by the hockey pond; I told him I played JV hockey on one of two indoor rinks. He said the academics were hard and grimaced. I assured him nothing has changed. Backwards K: strikeout looking. To Jerry, the details mattered.

To me, Jerry was a friend. I took my time getting to know him, if only because I knew exactly who he was: the only journalist on this planet to have covered every single Super Bowl. There were 388 reporters at the game’s inception in 1967. By 2019, Jerry was the last one standing.

I moved to Detroit in 2016 to cover the city’s four sports teams. I’d see Jerry now and then in the press box at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, but wouldn’t want to intrude. He’d be watching the game

Photo of Jerry Green courtesy The Detroit News carefully, always keeping score. A few years later, I finally said hello. I extended my hand and told him I was a fellow graduate of Hotchkiss, Class of 2010. Those starry eyes shined. Jerry gripped my hand and told me to sit down in the chair next to him. So I sat, and we talked, and we watched a baseball game, a pair of sportswriters in Detroit by way of Lakeville, CT. Jerry continued to keep score.

We reminisced about our days in that tiny corner of Connecticut. I marveled at

There was a humility about Jerry that I immediately admired. He went on to get his bachelor’s degree from Brown and his master’s in journalism from Boston University and insisted he was never much of a student. He said he still wasn’t sure how he survived two years at Hotchkiss under Headmaster George Van Santvoord, Class of 1908, but was ever grateful that he did. He had recently received a list of suggested summer reading from the English Department that came with, in his words, “a fine Hotchkiss bookmark.” He liked it so much he later brought it in to show me.

Jerry’s first love was baseball. He fell for the game at the age of 8 when he saw the old New York Giants play at the Polo Grounds. At a Yankees game later that summer, he fell even harder for Joe DiMaggio, whose 56-game hit streak remains one of the most unbreakable records in baseball. Jerry realized rather early in his athletic career that he’d never

be good enough to play sports for a living and, like me, decided the next best thing would be to write about them. He eventually told one of his college advisors, “I’d like to be a sportswriter at a major daily,” to which his advisor replied, “It’ll never happen.” Jerry spent the rest of his life making sure it did.

In the summer of 2021, Tigers star Miguel Cabrera was closing in on 500 career homers. With the milestone one swing away, Jerry, then 93, came down to Comerica to witness a moment in time. He had been retired for nearly two decades, but remained gripped by the game. I asked him that night if he’d ever seen a player hit No. 500 in person, giddy that we might be able to share a ballpark first. He smiled like a teacher to a student and said he was there when Hank Aaron hit 715 to pass Babe Ruth. Jerry’s account from Atlanta—Hank Aaron: A new legend—ran on the front page of The Detroit News the next day. “I have never been prouder of a column or an article through all the years,” he’d write decades later.

Jerry devoted most of his career to the NFL. At Super Bowl III in 1969, he found himself in one of the most famous football photos of all time. Jets quarterback Joe Namath had ducked his press obligations leading up to the game and decided to speak with only a small group of reporters, poolside, at his Fort Lauderdale hotel. Jerry was one of them. They gathered

around the shirtless superstar while he sunbathed and signed autographs and obliged a few minutes of questions. A photographer captured the moment, which would wind up in magazines, a museum, and ultimately in a frame in Jerry’s office until the day that he passed on March 23, 2023, at 94.

Jerry’s mind was sharp until the end, but he questioned whether he had the stamina to keep his Super Bowl streak intact for the 2022 contest. It would require a cross-country trip to Los Angeles, where ex-Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, a competitor Jerry had always admired in Detroit, was on the verge of vindication in his first season with the Rams. At the age of 93 and with his streak at 55, Jerry summoned the strength for one more— tying his boyhood idol DiMaggio at 56. It is now one of the most unbreakable records in football.

There were flowers everywhere at Jerry’s visitation. The biggest bouquet came from Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, “With great respect and admiration.” The future Hall of Fame coach also sent a text of condolence to Jerry’s daughter, Jenny, that read, in part, “Jerry was a superior writer whose love and devotion to pro football was remarkable. He gave his readers fair and informative

A tribute to Jerry Green after his death

views! His coverage of the first 56 Super Bowls is beyond special—I was fortunate to be a part of some of them!”

In one of my first conversations with Jerry, I told him how much I enjoyed the story he’d written about his Super Bowl streak for Hotchkiss Magazine in the fall of 2016. He said, regrettably, that he’d never received that issue. With the help of my dad, a longtime teacher at Hotchkiss, we tracked it down when I was home last summer for my 10-year reunion. I alerted Jerry and brought it back with me to Detroit. He told me he had been struggling to make it to the ballpark as he needed to be on oxygen, but that it would be worth it “to fetch the precious magazine.” We met in the press box a few nights later and I delivered him a small piece of his life’s work. He held it in his hands and beamed like the lights in the ballpark.

As we chatted that night, Jerry told me that one of his great joys at Hotchkiss was being summoned to the varsity baseball team for a game against Loomis Chaffee and future Red Sox pitcher Frank Quinn. I asked him if we had won. He said we had lost, by a run, then smiled and said they’d carved a couple hits off Quinn. Even then, Jerry Green was keeping score.

Will Burchfield ’10 is a sportswriter for 97.1 The Ticket, covering the Detroit Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, and Pistons, as well as football and basketball at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.

Will Burchfield, Hotchkiss Class of 2010, left, and Jerry Green, Hotchkiss Class of 1946

In it for the Long Run: Ultra-Marathoner Meghan Morgan ’15 Goes the Distance

For most of us, running the 26.2 miles of a standard marathon lies somewhere between a fantasy and a hard-won goal. But for Meghan Morgan ’15, it’s the equivalent of a stroll in the park: Morgan is an ultra-marathoner who finished in the top 10 among women at the Western States Endurance Run in June, traversing 100 miles of challenging terrain through snow, hills, backwoods, and canyons. Morgan, who ran cross-country at The Rivers School, recently spoke about her journey from Rivers to WSER and her experience on the trails.

The “ultra” nature of an ultra marathon

The Western States Endurance Run [https://www.wser.org/], or WSER, is run on a portion of the Western States trail and has been taking place annually for 50 years. Given the length of the race, almost half the event may be run in the dark, and while the route remains roughly the same each year, certain variable elements of the terrain, such as snowfall in the Palisades or soaring temperatures in the forest canyons, add to the endurance element of the experience. Last year, there were wildfires on part of the course.

All of that is part of the excitement for Morgan, who started running at the age of 10 with her mom and later joined the cross-country team at her middle school and at Rivers. She embraces the varied and unpredictable conditions that are part of the sport.

“I’ve run races in deserts, areas that are misty and humid, around Portland, Oregon with green landscapes and waterfalls, in California where it is very hot—all types of terrains and climates,” said Morgan.

Running at Rivers

Morgan attributes her love of running and outdoor courses in no small part to the strength of the community shared by Rivers’ cross-country team. She credits her Rivers teammates and coaches Katie Henderson, Andrea Diaz, and Paul Karasch with the positive mindset and team spirit she has carried with her to other communities.

“There’s a lot of pressure to achieve in high school, and those three coaches at Rivers helped me achieve goals but also to take things with a grain of salt,” said Morgan. “Ms. Henderson was super talented and had great stories and led us through our chill run days.

“Ms. Diaz was amazing—every time she laced the shoes, we knew we would need to push ourselves. She would place herself half a mile from the finish line and cheer us on through.

“I don’t think anyone loved the sport more than Mr. Karasch; he always stressed how he wants us to do well and be a supportive team. He really believed in me as a runner but also knew what would be supportive for me at the time. Running can often be very toxic for high school runners, but Karasch was able to cultivate a positive and healthy team environment.”

Beyond the trails

While training and running at the professional level, Morgan also works full time at a nonprofit focused on facilitating the transition to clean energy for financial institutions. As an undergraduate at Cornell, she majored in math and took energy-related engineering courses; she also competed on the varsity polo team. Although she was not an “official” runner at Cornell, Morgan continued running for fun.

After college, and during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, she found a community with friends doing trail running in the White Mountains. Her love of running, adventure, and the outdoors influenced

DYLAN TANNER

YOUR RELATIONSHIP

WITH RUNNING SHOULD ALWAYS BE PERSONAL, AND IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE SOMETHING THAT BRINGS YOU JOY

Morgan to relocate to her current home base of Boulder, CO, with its abundance of trails and rock climbing and its strong sense of community.

The community aspect is a huge part of what it takes to be a successful runner. In preparing for an endurance race such as the Western States Endurance Run, said Morgan, “the mental component is bigger than the physical component.”

Before the race, she said, “I love to socialize as much as possible with the other racers. It helps make the time go by faster, and it puts me in a really good mood.”

Morgan does not listen to music as she paces herself through a race, but she has several mental mantras she employs to stay focused and pace herself until the next interval.

“I keep reminding myself I am fully prepared, I’ve done it before,” she said. She also stays focused on the excitement of the occasion, telling herself, “This is a big goal of yours, and you’re

running on this course right now! You’re exactly where you want to be.”

For other runners or current Rivers students interested in distance running, Morgan offered some advice from her own experience: “There are so many ways that running can be a part of your life,” Morgan said, reflecting on her journey with the sport. She divides her activities between cross-country, adventure running, and road marathons, going in and out of all categories. Sometimes she runs alone, and sometimes she runs with a running community.

“People often get caught up in how others define what it means to be a runner,” she says. “But your relationship with running should always be personal, and it should always be something that brings you joy.”

Morgan certainly ran her own race at WSER. She explained that finishing in the top 10 in this race is equivalent to placing at the podium at any other race, which makes the achievement all the more impressive.

“I knew almost all of these women personally and how strong they are,” said Morgan. She is taking the summer to recover before doing shorter races in the fall and training for the next Western States run in June 2024. Her goal for next year’s race is to make the top 10 again.

“I’m excited to come back next year and get stronger.”

Meghan Morgan at the finish line for the WSER race.

HILARY ANN YANG

MIKE MCMONAGLE

Megan Morgan is sponsored by LaSportiva. Her running record can be found here

DYLAN TANNER

DYLAN TANNER

Gatorade Recognizes 11 NEPSAC Student-Athletes

by Bob York

When it comes to concocting a “Bucket List,” nobody does it better than the people at Gatorade. They’ve become so perceptive of what people revel in nowadays; they’ve skipped the list. They just go with the bucket their big, orange bucket.

You’ve seen them along the sidelines, particularly at Super Bowl games, propped up on a table, surrounded by a mass of green Gatorade cups. The bucket inevitably takes center stage during the closing seconds of the game that one: decides a championship, and two: is being played outdoors. It would be considered a faux pas of prodigious proportions not to mention very messy to attempt such a feat in a basketball or hockey arena. Anyway, as the clock ticks down, two players (from the winning team) will predictably lug said bucket stealthily along the sidelines weaving through their fellow teammates along the sidelines until they are directly behind their coach. Then, as the clock strikes zero, they invert the bucket and dump its contents over the head of a happy but suddenly, a very cold and wet mentor.

Talk about a “Bucket List,” what better way to conclude a season than by winning a championship and then being targeted by the Gatorade Dump? It should check off just about every box for anyone from age 6 to 96 who have ever competed in some form of athletics. And while this type of revelry is limited to coaches, those fun-loving people at Gatorade haven’t forgotten about those who made such merriment all possible: the players.

That’s why back in 1985 the company came up with a much less messy way of honoring the nation’s most elite high school/ prep school age student-athletes throughout the country: the Gatorade State High School/Prep School Player of The Year Award.

Basketball

The threesome heading up NEPSAC’s girls basketball contingent were Grace Oliver of Noble & Greenough School (Mass.), as well as back-to-back winners Ahnay Adams of Tilton School (N.H.) and Mackenzie Nelson of St. Luke’s (Conn.).

Oliver, a 6-2 guard/forward who will be heading into her senior season this winter, is ranked as the nation’s No. 60 prospect in the class of 2024 by ESPN. She earned that rating after spending her junior campaign helping Nobles post a 27-3 record and reach the semifinals of the NEPSAC Class AA tourney semifinals by averaging 13 points, 11 rebounds and 4.1 blocked shots per game, while shooting 58 percent from the field.

“Grace is a matchup nightmare because of her size and ability to shoot the ball …she’s incredible,” said coach Matt Ward, the

The award honors student-athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character.

For the past 38 years, Gatorade has been paying tribute to student-athletes in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, in football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball as well as boys and girls track. During the 2022–23 school year 11 studentathletes representing New England Prep School Athletic Council schools finished atop the polling.

Breaking down the winners sport by sport, girls basketball posted a trio of award winners, while boys basketball was credited with two. Football, baseball, boys soccer, girls cross country as well as both boys and girls track and field all finished up with one winner each. As for the schools themselves, none finished the voting with more than one winner each. Geographically, Massachusetts was the top vote getter with five winners, while New Hampshire and Connecticut followed with three and two, respectively. Rhode Island posted one.

head coach at St. Luke’s. “The biggest thing is she’s smart enough to figure out the right matchups, and then beat you.”

Oliver maintained an A average in the classroom during her junior year and during her spare time she volunteers locally with The Cotting School, a private, non-profit school that supports students with intellectual and physical challenges, and she does so on behalf of Shooting Touch basketball camps.

As for Adams, this marks the second straight year the University of Miamibound standout has won the prestigious Gatorade Award, as the 5-8 guard was the top vote producer her junior season as well. During her senior campaign, Adams led Tilton to an 18-6 record and a No.4 seed in the NEPSAC Class AA tournament after averaging 21 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals per game.

“Ahnay Adams is the most dominant player in the Lakes

Region,” said Angelica Pascual, the head coach at Kimball Union Academy. “Not only that, she’s the most dominant player at prep schools across northern New England.”

Adams finished her senior year with a B average in her studies. She served as peer counselor, an admissions ambassador and a dorm proctor while at Tilton. She also volunteered locally on behalf of The Special Olympics and the Spaulding Youth Center.

Nelson, meanwhile, is taking her game to Virginia Tech after her highlight career at St. Luke’s. She bowed out a winner, too, helping her Storm (26-2) teammates capture this winter’s NEPSAC Class B Tournament title after a 16-point performance earned her the tourney’s MVP Award. She also tossed in 17 points to help St. Luke’s wrap up the FAA Tournament title. Overall, Nelson averaged 19 points, four assists and four steals per game.

“Mackenzie is easily one of the best players I’ve ever coached,” said St. Luke’s coach Matt Ward. “One thing that separates her from the other really good players is her ability to dominate play at both ends of the floor. She may be the best defender in all of New England … not just Connecticut.”

Nelson, who maintained an A average in class her senior year, volunteered locally at numerous basketball camps, including one with the Boy Scouts of America and was also named to the Junior NBA’s Court of Leaders Committee.

The dynamic duo who picked up Gatorade plaudits in NEPSAC boys basketball this winter were indeed in a class of their own, as 6-8 freshman forward A.J. Dybantsa of St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, Mass., and Tyler Betsey, a 6-8 junior forward from St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn., made the grade.

Although only a freshman, 6-8 forward A.J. Dybantsa proved to be a big hit for St. Sebastian’s as he led the Arrows to a 26-2 record and all the way to the NEPSAC Class A title game by averaging 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots per game. He shot 60 percent from the field, including 41 percent on three-point attempts to earn an Independent School League First Team All-Conference selection.

“At a very young age, he is already a multi-positional defender with plus quickness,” said Paul Biancardi, the National Recruiting Director for ESPN, of Dybantsa, who will be playing for Prolific Prep, one of the country’s top basketball programs which is located in Napa Valley, Caiif. this winter. “When it comes to scoring, his transition ability is advanced and so is his drive game. His jumper has shown early promise and his handle has the fluidity for him to evade and get past defenders.

“He’s got a quick release on his jumper and rebounds with explosive vertical ability and length,” added Biancardi. “He also elevates well in tight spaces for tip-in put backs. I see him as the favorite to become the top prospect in the Class of 2026.”

Dybantsa earned a B average during his freshman year. He also volunteered locally on behalf of the Argosy Charter Thompson Middle School and was a member St. Sebastian’s Men with

Positive Attitudes Club, which focuses on developing a more inclusive community within the school.

Betsey averaged 21 points, five rebounds and three assists per game this season to earn him a first team berth on the AllNEPSAC Class AAA team. He also helped his Thomas More teammates earn a spot the AAA tournament quarterfinals. His resume has caught the eyes of some of the top brass at ESPN, which ranks him as the No. 53 recruit in the Class of 2024.

“Tyler is an unbelievable worker,” said Jere Quinn, the St. Thomas coach. “His improvement has catapulted him to the pinnacle of recruitment and he’s accomplished this with modesty. You wouldn’t know his capabilities by his demeanor.

Betsy has rung up some pretty impressive numbers in the classroom as well, as he maintains a 4.0 GPA.

Baseball

Thomas White being named as the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year in baseball shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. Heading into his senior season at Phillips Andover Academy this past spring White was ranked as the Nation’s top recruit in the class of 2023 by PrepBaseball Report.com.

The 6-5, 209-pounder then backed that lofty claim up by leading Andover to an 18-3 record, a Central New England Prep Championship and the No. 1 raking in the final

New England Baseball Journal’s New England Prep Coaches Poll and was later named to the NEBJ’s First Team All New England.

During his senior season, White compiled a 6-1 record on the mound with a 0.21 earned run average. He struck out 70 batters while allowing just 10 hits in 33 innings. He gave up more than two hits just once in seven starts. He had made a verbal commitment to play baseball on scholarship at Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2022, but opted to sign a MLB contract after being selected 35th by he Miami Marlins in the 2023 draft.

“At this point, I think everyone knows about Thomas’s athletic ability, but I’m most proud of the person he is,” said Kevin Graber, the Andover baseball coach. “He’s an amazing student and super hard worker and he’s also the first player to high-five a teammate, pick up equipment or rake the mound when he’s finished. When your most talented player is also your hardest worker and an amazing kid, that’s special.”

White has maintained a cumulative academic standing at the high end of ‘superior’ on Phillips’ six-point grading scale. He also volunteered locally as part of a fundraising campaign to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He also donated his time as a youth baseball coach in addition to visiting patients at a children’s hospital as a Perfect Game ambassador.

Football

Exodus Ayers had a nose for the football last fall and it won him the New Hampshire Gatorade Player of The Year Award. The 6-3, 175-pound junior wide receiver and defensive back helped

spark Proctor Academy to an 8-1 record and a NEPSAC bowl championship.

The all-around standout, who has committed to play his collegiate ball at Oregon State, stood out in all three facets of the game last fall. As a wide receiver on offense, Ayers logged three touchdowns and averaged 20.8 yards per catch. As a defensive back, he intercepted 12 passes and returned six of them for touchdowns. On special teams, he chalked up six touchdowns as a returner.

“Ayers single-handedly beat us,” said St. Paul’s coach Craig Vandersea. “He’s an effortless, smooth athlete. Defense is where he really showed up. He shuts down an entire side of the field. He’s a kid you don’t want to throw the ball toward, he shows up in the passing game and he’s dynamic as a returner as well.”

Ayers maintains a 3.17 GPA in the classroom and will begin his senior year at Proctor in the fall. He volunteers locally as a community center recreational leader.

Soccer

Kaan Inanoglu produced a career year as a junior at Milton Academy last fall as he led the Mustangs to a 17-1-4 record and all the way to the NEPSAC Class A finals by scoring 23 goals and setting up four others. He was later named the Independent School League’s Offensive Player of The Year as well as a first team selection to the NEPSAC All-New England Boys Soccer Team.

“Kaan scored goals that aren’t often seen at the high school level,” said Mike Karin, Milton’s head boys soccer coach. “Kaan compares to some of he great ISL players of the past … players who were so talented they raised the level of play of both their teammates and their opponents.

Inanoglu produced an A-minus average in the classroom during his junior year and volunteered locally as a pianist as part of multiple community service initiatives through his school.

Cross Country

Meg Madison, a cross-country runner out of the Winsor School in Boston, certainly didn’t leave herself much wiggle room for improvement following her sophomore year of competition. The 5-6 speedster placed second at the New England Division I Cross Country Championships as she crossed the finish line in a time of 18:52. Her performance also secured a seventh-place finish in the team listings for her Wildcat teammates.

Madison proved to be a dominant runner during the regular season as she captured 10 of the 13 meets she entered, including a blue-ribbon performance at the Eastern Independent League Championships, which she won by nearly two minutes. The 2022 Boston Globe All-Scholastic, wrapped up her campaign by finishing 14th at the Eastbay Northeast Regional Championships.

“Meg was easily the top runner on our league this year … her results speak for themselves,” said Brian Cook, the head coach

of the Dana Hall School. “ She goes out hard and fast, running with intensity and determination, challenging her competition to keep up.”

Madison maintained a 3.74 GPA in the classroom as a competitive backcountry skier as well as a lacrosse player, she volunteered locally as a lifeguard and served as a contributor for the Winsor School newspaper, the Banner.

Track and Field

Junior Byron Grevious ran away with the boys track and field award in New Hampshire. No one could catch up with him as he proved to be Phillips Exeter Academy’s go-to guy this past spring after sparking the Big Red to the New England Track Association Division I crown.

There’s more, however, as the 5-7, 125-pound junior later raced to an individual championship at the Nike Outdoor Nationals meet, where he broke the tape in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 14:24.04. Earlier in the season, he ran a 14:04.44 in the event, an age 16 national record. During this spring’s NEPSTA Championships, Grevious also swept the 1,500- and 3,000-meter events in 3:53.95 and 8:32.72 respectively.

“Despite his amazing success in the athletic arena, Byron’s most invaluable contributions to his team stem from his passion to foster teamwork and a supportive environment,” said Rich Gonzalez, editor of PrepCalTrack.com. “While winning the Nike Outdoor Nationals 5.000 might seem like his most logical season highlight, he takes just as much pride in sharing the team’s victory in the NEPSTA Division I championships.”

Grevious owned a 3.83 GPA in his classroom work this year and he serves as programming director of the school’s public radio station, hosting a weekly music show. He is also a member of a peer-elected student attendance committee.

Sophia Gorriaran wrapped up her track and field career at Moses Brown School this spring as Rhode Island’s Gatorade Girls Track and Field Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.

This year marked the first year she competed in the Outdoor Track and Field State Championships, missing her freshman year because of COVID-19, her sophomore year she was away competing in the Olympic Trials and was MIA last year due to an injury. She made up for lost time, however, winning the 800- and 1,500-meter races, setting a meet record in 2:06.52. She also anchored the 4X400 relay team. She captured the New Balance Nationals Outdoor title in the 800 in 2:04.49 as well.

The Harvard-bound Gorriaran posted a 3.99 GPA in the classroom, while she volunteered locally as a track coach for her church as well as an elementary school in Providence. She also donated her time at a food bank.

Ed Griffin: Under Pressure

Story and Photo by Corrine Sczarkowicz, Assistant Director of Story and Content Development

For the last eight years, chief financial officer Ed Griffin has managed Pomfret School’s finances. And for nearly thirty-five years, he has also been officiating ice hockey. Officials must make split-second decisions in the midst of a fastpaced game, while CFOs must make quick decisions in response to changing market conditions or financial emergencies. In both instances, they are under pressure.

WHEN DID YOU START PLAYING ICE HOCKEY?

I was about five or six years old, and two of my best friends wanted to play hockey. Hockey is not something you start when you are thirteen you have to start it young. And we did. Some of us stuck with it longer than others. One of my friends went on to play at Lake Forest College, and his son is going to play at Air Force Academy he obviously got the hockey gene that I did not.

IS THERE A PARTICULAR MEMORY YOU RECALL WHILE PLAYING HOCKEY?

In 1980, we had a game on the road. All anyone could talk about was the Olympic gold medal game between the United States and Russia that was going to air later that night. We had to hurry home to watch. I also recall scoring my first goal. My sister made a big deal of it at the dinner table. I played defense, so I didn’t score a lot. It meant a lot to me.

HOW DID YOU START OFFICIATING HOCKEY?

As body checking was introduced, I was too small to compete, and I got cut from my youth team. My mother suggested I try officiating, and I did. I took a break while in college. But after college, I was living in a hockey town and got back into officiating youth hockey. There were a lot of games, and it was a lot to manage. I had a work life, a hockey life, and a family life a wife and three kids. It was tough sometimes, but it reminded me that I love hockey and being a part of the hockey atmosphere.

HOW HAS BEING A HOCKEY OFFICIAL MADE YOU A BETTER CFO?

I put on my resume a long time ago that I was a member of the Connecticut Chapter of National Ice Hockey Officials of America, along with a description that included the statement “able to mediate disputes.” It has helped me learn to work with others

and successfully communicate my side of the decision, under pressure. On the ice, you’re speaking with high school-aged boys and girls, coaches, parents, and administrators. There’s a lot to navigate, just like there is here at Pomfret.

HOW HAS OFFICIATING CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?

When I first started officiating, we were not required to wear helmets. That changed when I returned to officiating after college. There was a time when I was hit near the eye with a puck. It was a bloody mess. After, I decided to wear a half-face shield. Now it is mandatory. That shield has saved me many times from getting a stick or elbow in the face. I am lucky I haven’t lost any teeth.

The spectators have also had an impact on officiating. There has been an increase in the abuse the officials receive and reactions to the calls we make. There is a shortage of officials right now. It’s due, in some part, to the abuse from the fans. The abuse is not at all levels the older the players, the fewer incidents we experience. It is one of the reasons why I now only officiate independent and public high school games.

WHAT IS AN IMPORTANT SKILL A HOCKEY OFFICIAL SHOULD HAVE?

It is imperative to be knowledgeable about the rule book. Each league has its own. Knowing when to enforce the rules game management is also critical. Not every game is the same. Not every period is the same. Not every situation is the same. You need to understand your environment. Sometimes a glancing blow of the shoulder to the side of the head should be a penalty, perhaps a major penalty. It depends on that particular game and where the standards have been set. You need to understand your environment to manage the game effectively and communicate. It’s an essential skill to be a good official.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST MOMENT YOU EXPERIENCED WHILE OFFICIATING?

It is a tie between two. The first was when I was officiating the girls state championship game in 2012. It was just such a great game up and down, and it went to double overtime. There was never any controversy it was a high-quality game. West Hartford was so excited when they won, and it was fun to be a part of the experience. It’s important to note nobody was talking about the officiating. The fans were there to watch the players, and they wanted the best team to win. If the officials are doing a good job, they are in the background, playing that supportive role.

My second favorite memory was the Hartford Whalers’ final game in Hartford but not for the reason you might be thinking. I had been a Hartford Whaler fan my whole life. They used to have youth games between periods or before the game. I officiated the youth game before the final Hartford Whalers game. I was on the same ice as the team on the day of their last game before they moved to North Carolina. There was a lot of excitement around that particular game. It was pretty cool.

HOW MANY GAMES HAVE YOU OFFICIATED?

I don’t keep track. For me, it’s not about the number of games. It’s about the quality of the officiating and doing so to the best of my ability.

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL SOMEONE CONSIDERING BECOMING A HOCKEY OFFICIAL?

The abuse aside, being a hockey official is one of the best part- time jobs any young person could get. You make the same money officiating for three hours as someone who has worked an eight-hour shift at a minimum-wage job. It is a way to stay connected with the sport and stay fit. It is also a way to keep young people involved in the sport. There is such a demand for officials right now a couple of games were canceled this season due to the lack of officials. I love that I’m doing something so that hockey can continue to be played.

DO YOU PLAN ON HANGING UP YOUR SKATES ANYTIME SOON?

At the end of each season for the last several years, I have thought about it. But I’m inspired by some of my fellow officials. At a game a couple of weeks ago, the crew was me, a fifty-three-year-old referee; my partner, a sixty-two-year-old referee; and our linesman, a sixty-nine-year-old. I was the young one of the three which is usually not the case. I wanted to ask the players, “do you realize your linesman is sixty-nine years old? He’s out there, on the ice, doing what he loves.” How can I think about hanging it up when I’m only fifty-three? I get sore and hurt here and there, so in some ways it would be a lot easier not to officiate. I know I’ll struggle with the decision to hang up the skates for good. I doubt I will be a sixty-nine-year-old official, but I’ll probably do it for a few more years. I just love hockey, and officiating has been a great

How to Give Respect to Get Respect from your Team

As a coach, you likely have certain assumptions around receiving respect from your athletes. However, when was the last time you really considered what respect means to you—and how your athletes define it? Respectful behaviors might seem obvious to you, but often, what you consider signs of respect are things that athletes simply haven’t learned or don’t understand.

Here, board-certified family physician and TrueSport Expert Deborah Gilboa, MD, explains how coaches can better model and teach respect to their athletes in order to help the athletes grow and mature.

DON’T EXPECT RESPECT FOR NOTHING The first thing Gilboa stresses when talking to coaches and other adults about respect is that respect isn’t something that should be automatically owed to you. “A lot of people think, ‘Kids just owe me respect,’” Gilboa says. “But when I give talks about respect, I’ll often ask someone, ‘May I please have $1,000 in cash?’ And they smile and laugh, and they say, ‘No, I don’t have that.’ And I’ll respond, ‘Part of being here is that you need to be able to give me $1,000 cash, and you should just know that without being told.’ And that’s exactly what you’re doing when you’re demanding some behavior from young athletes without earning it, and without explaining what behaviors are respectful.”

DON’T EXPECT STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE “RULES OF RESPECT” You may think “respect” is an obvious behavior that everyone understands. But as Gilboa’s example above points out, not everyone has been told “the rules.” It’s often assumed that parents have taught their children how to be respectful, but that’s not always the case, and different cultures may even have different connotations around the word “respect.” Adults tend to assume that student-athletes inherently understand what “being respectful” means—and that puts many young athletes at a disadvantage. “There are many people who would respond to the request for $1,000 by saying, ‘I’ve never had $1,000 in cash, and I don’t come from a world where I would just happen to have $1,000 dollars in my pocket,’” Gilboa adds. “Some kids don’t come from a world where they just happen to know what respect looks like and can easily give it to someone. We have to start by giving it to them and helping them learn what respect looks like, rather than demanding it from them.”

MODELING RESPECT EARNS YOU RESPECT

The golden rule—do unto others as you would

have them do unto you—applies here. If you want athletes to respect you, you need to treat them with the respect you want for yourself, says Gilboa. This may be a perspective shift for you as a coach, but modeling respect by giving it to the athletes is the fastest way for them to learn how to show respect back. “Rather than expecting people to guess what feels respectful to you, modeling it is the most effective way to show it,” says Gilboa. “If you want your team to address you as Mr. Smith or Coach Smith, you could choose to model that behavior by referring to the athletes as Mr. X—using the appropriate pronouns, of course. The athletes will never forget that you treated them with respect by using their honorific and their last name rather than a nickname or just their last name. This is a simple way to teach the lesson rather than nagging them to call you a certain name.”

YOUR BAD BEHAVIOR IS EVEN MORE NOTICEABLE “You have to practice what you preach, or you are teaching something else,” says Gilboa. If you demand that students show up to practice on time but you’re usually several minutes late, you’re teaching them that

About TrueSport

punctuality isn’t actually important. Similarly, if you’re telling athletes to be sportsmanlike to the team they’re competing against but you’re yelling at the referee, you’re not modeling the respect you’re telling them is necessary.

SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS While respect seems like a quality that athletes should just ‘know,’ your athletes will be better served if you lay out your expectations around respect in a clear set of rules, with a defined set of consequences, says Gilboa. If you consider being punctual to practice a sign of respect, make being on time a rule for the team and have a consequence if an athlete is late. The important part here, though, is sticking to the consequences, even if it means benching your star player. “Athletes need clear expectations and reliable consequences,” says Gilboa. “Reliable consequences mean that no matter who you are on the team, the consequences for not living up to those expectations still apply.”

TAKEAWAY

In order to receive respect from your team, you need to lay out clear expectations and reliable consequences around respectful behaviors. Make sure you’re modeling these behaviors and ensure that all teammates face the same consequences when they don’t model those same behaviors.

TrueSport®, a movement powered by the experience and values of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, champions the positive values and life lessons learned through youth sport. TrueSport inspires athletes, coaches, parents, and administrators to change the culture of youth sport through active engagement and thoughtful curriculum based on cornerstone lessons of sportsmanship, characterbuilding, and clean and healthy performance, while also creating leaders across communities through sport.

For more expert-driven articles and materials, visit TrueSport’s comprehensive library of resources

This content was reproduced in partnership with TrueSport. Any content copied or reproduced without TrueSport and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s express written permission would be in violation of our copyright, and subject to legal recourse. To learn more or request permission to reproduce content, click here.

An invitation to explore mental wellness and the modern coach…

symposium:

november 6, 2023 – 9 A.M. - 3 P.M.

Please join TrueSport and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency as we explore mental wellness and the modern coach. Together, with coaches, experts, and sport administrators, we will address the unique mental health stressors facing coaches and chart an evidence-informed path forward with actionable takeaways for sport influencers.

In recognition of the contributions you make to sport, we welcome you to join us virtually for this important discussion on Monday, November 6.

REMEMBER TO TAG #NEPSAC IN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS!