December 2019 NEPSAC News Magazine by NEPSAC COMMUNICATIONS

NEPSAC News ®

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NEPSAC News NEPSAC®

New England Preparatory School Athletic Council

In this issue

President George Tahan Belmont Hill School Vice-President Martha Brousseau Greenwich Academy Secretary Leslie Guenther Hebron Academy Treasurer Jim Smucker Berwick Academy Co-Directors of Championships Tiz Mulligan Westover School Bob Howe Deerfield Academy Jamie Arsenault New Hampton School Director of Classifications Mark Conroy Williston Northampton School Past Presidents Bob Howe Deerfield Academy Jamie Arsenault New Hampton School Mark Conroy Williston Northampton School Richard Muther St. Paul’s School Middle School Representatives Ryan Frost Cardigan Mountain School Rob Feingold The Fay School District Representatives DISTRICT I

Leslie Guenther Hebron Academy Stefan Jensen Hyde School DISTRICT II

Matt Lawlor Brewster Academy Alexei Sotskov Vermont Academy Ryan Frost Cardigan Mountain School DISTRICT III

Rachel Horn St. George’s School Rob Quinn Berwick Academy Rick Forestiere Thayer Academy DISTRICT IV

Geoff Barlow Avon Old Farms School Rob Madden Taft School Tauni Butterfield Greens Farms Academy 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).

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NEPSAC Honors Milley and Gallagher at Annual Meeting Lakes Region League Hosts Leadership Symposium by Deep Wells Group

Mike Lynch Credits Exeter Public Speaking Class for Career Success Windsor School Models PE Program for International Visitors

Taking Their Shots: NEPSAC Women May Ref in the NHL Berwick Academy Hosts Leadership Summit for EIL Schools

Spotlights

Departments

Lauren Hinton ’18 ��31

President’s Letter ��4 Treasurer’s Report ��5 NEPSAC Calendar ��5 From the Archives ��5 Around NEPSAC ��6 Laurels ��8 #ICYMI �� 38

Loomis Chaffee School

Dempsey Arsenault ’15 �� 32 New Hampton School

Aiden Thede ’20 �� 33 Cardigan Mountain School

Erin Dromgoole �� 35 Roxbury Latin School

Mimi Duran ��36 Ethel Walker School

ON THE COVER: Incoming NEPSAC president George Tahan (Belmont Hill School), left, and outgoing president Bob Howe (Deerfield Academy).

NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020 | 3

President’s Letter George Tahan

Belmont Hill School

he transition to the winter season is always an exciting time of year. I am sure this year’s early arrival of winter snow has all of our ski coaches happy and our Heads of School grinding their teeth! That said, before we jump in earnest into the winter season I want to offer congratulations to all of the coaches’ associations for their outstanding work in staging all of our fall NEPSAC championships. Congratulations also to all of the teams that participated in post-season play this fall. It goes without saying that the success of those events are the product of significant efforts made by our tournament selection committees, participating schools, AD Liaisons, NEPSAC Directors of Championships, and host schools. Special thanks to Laurie Sachs, our outstanding NEPSAC Director of Communications, as she is the person who sets up the live streaming of our championship games and the posting of all of the tournaments and their results.

I hope everyone enjoyed the NEPSAC Annual meeting, which took place on Friday, November 15th, at the DCU Center in Worcester. I want to offer thanks to all the vendors who participated and contributed to the day. Their support of the event year in and year out is one of the keys to its success. The day featured some outstanding speakers, workshops and award presentations. Workshops included sessions for Middle School ADs, New ADs, and Female ADs, as well as topical sessions relating to concussed student-athletes (Headway) and an inspirational speaker (Muji Karim) on overcoming adversity. Our Athletic Trainers also gathered to participate in a workshop entitled “Fueling the Prep School Athlete: A Food First Initiative.” Our keynote speaker, Jennifer Bryan, Ph.D., offered an insightful and interactive talk on gender in sports. She offered a snapshot of current thinking about gender identity and development, and a look into how it applies to youth sports and our schools. As we do every year, we honored one of our own by presenting Ned Gallagher with our Distinguished Service Award. Ned served as AD at Choate Rosemary Hall from 1996 to 2017, NEPSAC President from 2002-2004, and a member of the NEPSAC Executive Board from 2000 to 2017. The Martin William Souders Memorial Award was presented to General Mark A. Milley, a 1976 graduate

of Belmont Hill School. General Milley is the 20th and current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highestranking military officer. You can read more about both honorees on page 11. The business meeting portion of the day saw NEPSAC President Bob Howe touch upon the following: »O nline Dues Payments – NEPSAC is headed toward the goal of 100% online payments and no more payment by check. »N ew Additions to the NEPSAC Directory (in bold in the Directory) • Page 16 – Classification & Classification Timeline • Page 17 – Eligibility roster deadlines; gender eligibility »A ll NEPSAC All Star Selections – The goal is to create consistency across all sports with respect to the number of All NEPSAC selections for each sport, as well as a consistent approach as to how they are determined. An All-NEPSAC certificate was created to be used by all sports.

» T he goal of the NEPSAC Executive Board is to try to find solutions that do the greatest good for the greatest amount of schools, knowing that no one solution may work optimally for all schools. »A Ds are encouraged to consider volunteering at the District level and in coaches’ associations and help to keep NEPSAC running smoothly. As we race toward the start of 2020, I want to wish the best of luck to everyone and their teams and programs this winter season. The work you do in support of your school’s athletic program is challenging work. Do not hesitate to use the ample resources your school’s NEPSAC membership provides. Whether it is simply talking to a fellow AD or reaching out to your District representatives or even the NEPSAC Board, your NEPSAC colleagues are always ready to help. The collaboration within our organization and support of each other is remarkable and special. I wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday season and wonderful winter break!

COMMUNICATIONS NOTE The NEPSAC AD email list is updated throughout the year. Please remember to check for the most recent version before sending an email blast. You will find it in the Athletic Directors section of the NEPSAC website.

4 | NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020

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AROUND NEPSAC

TREASURER’S REPORT Online Payments and Bank Transfers

NEPSAC Calendar

by Jim Smucker, Berwick Academy, NEPSAC Treasurer

JANUARY 2020

Reminders for making payments online

28 | District III meeting St. Mark’s School, 12:00 p.m.

7 | Executive Board Bancroft School, 9:15 a.m.

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. For the following sports: Field Hockey, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, and Ice Hockey, please do not pay for Tournament fees until your team has been selected. 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. If you have any concerns about this process please feel free to reach out to Jim Smucker jsmucker@berwickacademy. org or Laurie Sachs communications@nepsac.org

APRIL 2020

Coaches’ Associations Banking Transfers

19 | District I meeting Hebron Academy, 10:00 a.m.

Completed: Football, Girls Soccer, Volleyball, Boys Ice Hockey, Girls Ice Hockey, Alpine Skiing and Girls Basketball. If you have any questions or need any assistance please reach out to Jim Smucker. Boys Basketball: NEPSAC anticipates moving forward with transferring this account to TD Bank during December so that thisAssociation can comply with NEPSAC’s 501(c)(3) status. Jim Smucker will be in touch with Sean Kelly to begin the process.

FEBRUARY 2020 6 | District II meeting Tilton School, 9:00 a.m. 18 | Executive Board Bancroft School, 9:15 a.m. 25 | District I meeting Hebron Academy, 10:00 a.m.

2 | Middle Schools meeting Fay School, 10:00 a.m. 14 | District IV meeting Choate Rosemary Hall, 6:00 p.m. 21 | District III meeting St. Mark’s School, 11:00 a.m. 30 | District II meeting New Hampton School, 9:00 a.m.

MAY 2020 5 | Executive Board Bancroft School, 9:15 a.m.

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Looks like there was a NEPSAC newsletter back in the late ’80s. We hope this one is just as informative and timely, and maybe a little more user friendly. Want to see more archival photos from NEPSAC schools? Check out our archives slideshow, courtesy of Vidigami. Do you have photos to share? Get in touch with Laurie Sachs at communications@nepsac.org

NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020 | 5

AROUND NEPSAC

A Note from Outgoing NEPSAC President Bob Howe

Experience is everything.

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’m amazed at how quickly two years can pass by. It seems like yesterday I was sitting at the annual athletic directors’ meeting watching Jamie Arsenault conduct his last business meeting before turning things over to me. Fortunately for me, Jamie, along with other past Presidents Mark Conroy, Dick Muther, as well as long-time Board member Tiz Mulligan remained on the Board and have been huge resources for me throughout my time as president. That’s the best thing I can say about my service thus far on the NEPSAC Executive Board: you are never alone. In fact, I was always surrounded by incredible talent including Laurie Sachs (communications specialist) and Jim Smucker (NEPSAC treasurer). There isn’t a person on this Executive Board that I wouldn’t hire should I be on a board of directors with some company or school. As I look back over these past two years and further I’m struck by the variety of issues that have come before the Board. Some issues have been large with their outcomes potentially having long-lasting effects on how schools govern certain actions. However, most issues we see at the Board are smaller questions on policy, fairness, and maintaining a level playing field for the majority of the 183 NEPSAC member schools. We always say in those Board meetings that we “try to do the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of schools in our conference.” The NEPSAC league is hugely diverse and in so many ways that is one of the factors that makes this association of schools so strong. When you have co-ed schools with over 1000 students sharing bylaws and policies with single sex schools with a student population under 100 a leadership group needs to think carefully through the many issues that may arise between schools, between different coaching associations or among the many leagues within the NEPSAC umbrella. In all my experience over the years the most effective resolution to any concern comes when one athletic director communicates directly with another and they work to better understand each other’s concerns. As athletic directors we are constantly learning from one another, discovering new issues in an ever-changing athletic landscape, and managing the many issues already going on at each of our campuses. Sometimes this can be a thankless job, but I have found great confidence and energy in what I do through friend as athletic directors at other schools. I am excited to remain on the Board under George Tahan’s leadership. He is a talented and dedicated individual who you all should get to know. Martha Brousseau will begin her term as vice-president and one day will step into the role of NEPSAC president. NEPSAC will benefit greatly from their combined leadership in the years ahead!

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AROUND NEPSAC IN MEMORIAM

Richard T. Flood Jr.

ichard Thomas Flood Jr., 84, son of and Ellen (Holdrege) and Richard T. Flood, and the husband and best friend of the late Sally (Elliot) Flood, died on October 30, 2019. Born in Boston, Mass., on August 10, 1935, he was a graduate of Noble and Greenough School in the Class of 1953 and Williams College in the Class of 1957. He was a grateful Jamestown, R.I., resident for more than 50 years. Known to everyone as “Floodo,” he was an icon in the independent school world, especially in New England. He cut his teeth as a teacher, coach and mentor at Pomfret School and Charterhouse School, in Godalming, England, where he was a Fulbright scholar, Westminster School and for more than 20 years at Noble and Greenough School. Floodo was appointed headmaster at Salisbury School in 1988, where his energy and enthusiasm lifted the school community and infused the Hilltop with confidence and pride. With his trademark bold style of leadership, he and wife Sally rallied the spirit of the School to new heights. After retiring from Salisbury, Floodo created Dick Flood Education Services, inspiring young educators to find jobs in independent schools. Floodo was a Hall of Fame hockey coach who led Nobles across three decades. He founded the Summer Europa Cup,

On the Nobles baseball diamond.

which graduated dozens of NHL and Olympic stars. The prestigious Flood/Marr Holiday tournament honors Floodo and his college classmate, Lefty Marr, who together created the annual event. Floodo and Sally enjoyed wonderful relationships with generations of colleagues and students. Floodo was deeply appreciative of the many friends who supported him for a lifetime and in particular during this last year after losing Sally. All Floods are grateful for his amazing team of caregivers, whose love and companionship supported him until his death. Floodo found immense joy watching the teams he loved compete, tending to his garden, walking out at Beavertail and enjoying nature’s beauty in Jamestown. His greatest joy was his role as father, grandfather and best friend to his beloved Sal for more than 60 years. He is survived by his children, Richard T. Flood III and his wife, Jody, Samuel Elliot Flood and his wife, Jane, and Katherine Brewer Fritz and her husband Tom; his grandchildren, Hayley, Charlie, Hugh, Eliza, Sammy, John and Caroline; and his brother, Laurence Brewer Flood and his wife, Tyler Knowles. A memorial service was held on Saturday, Nov. 30, at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown. Memorial donations may be made to the Salisbury School Annual Fund or the Richard T. Flood Jr. Scholarship at Noble and Greenough School. Additional information is available at www. memorialfuneralhome.com Richard T. Flood, father and son.

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Photos courtesy Noble & Greenough Archives

NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020 | 7

BERKSHIRE SCHOOL | SHEFFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

Simmons Inducted into Cornell Hall of Fame by Michael Hayes

erkshire School’s girl’s varsity lacrosse coach Katherine “Kado” Simmons was inducted into Cornell University’s Athletics Hall of Fame this month. Simmons, a former All-American and twotime captain of the Big Red Women’s Lacrosse program, was recognized for her contributions to the team during a campus ceremony held on Oct. 5. Simmons ranks fourth in school history in career goals (128) and seventh in career points (152), and she earned All-Ivy League honors during her sophomore, junior, and senior years. “It was a really special moment,” said Simmons, who graduated from Cornell in 2008. “It was homecoming, and the weather was beautiful, perfect really, and to see all the Cornell students out in their gear again, it was really cool.” The Salisbury, Conn. native shared the special moment with family and friends, including her former coaches at Cornell and her twin brother, who waved a Cornell flag while Simmons’ name was

Coach Katherine Simmons has been head coach of Berkshire’s Girls Varsity lacrosse program for three years.

announced over the loudspeaker during halftime of Cornell’s football game versus Georgetown. Not long after graduating from Cornell, Simmons’ contributions to the team led the Big Red to name an award in her honor. The Katherine Simmons Brick Award is given each year to the

player whose hard work and effort contributed most to the team. Equally as important to Simmons is the bond she’s kept with her coaches from her playing days, including longtime Cornell coach Jenny Graap. “She’s still a mentor for me now as a coach,” Simmons said. “I’d say our relationship has even has gotten better and there’s a different depth to it now. My coaches have also inspired me to always give more love and support to my own players and to continue to support them after they graduate.” Simmons has been at the helm of Berkshire’s girls varsity lacrosse program for three years. As a high school lacrosse player at Taft School, she learned under then head coach Jean Maher, who now serves as her assistant at Berkshire. “Strong, quick, and explosive on the field, Katherine was a standout athlete, but what set her apart was her ability to motivate and inspire her teammates,” said Maher. “Her teammates were fueled by her energy and drive. She pushed them, and they loved her for it. She was the connector, and she brought the team together to compete, eat, dance, sing, practice... you name it, we did it, and we did it together under her leadership.”

KIMBALL UNION ACADEMY | MERIDEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Diamond Inducted into Syracuse Hockey Hall of Fame

imball Union Academy coach Bill Diamond, the Donald P. Herzog ’48 Chair in History, was inducted into the inaugural class of the Syracuse University Hockey Hall of Fame last month. Diamond, who also serves as the assistant coach of girls varsity hockey, was honored during a 60th anniversary celebration of the Syracuse ice hockey program. Diamond, a defenseman, served as captain of the club team during his final year. He graduated in 2002. While at Syracuse, he led the team’s transition to a new rink, where he scored the first goal. He was active in all aspects of the program, participating on the Club Sports Advisory Board and assisting in the hiring of a new coach. The inaugural class included members of the original 1960–1961 team and one player from each decade of the program. Current players honored the Hall of Fame inductees at a reception and expressed thanks for all the players who paved the way for their ESCHL Championship last season. Diamond joined KUA in 2015 and lives on campus with his wife Jennifer and their two sons.

8 | NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020

KUA coach Bill Diamond (fourth from right) and the other Syracuse Hall of Fame honorees.

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TABOR ACADEMY | MARION, MASSACHUSETTS

Cat Barry also named Gatorade Player of the Year Our apologies to Tabor’s Cat Barry, who was inadvertently left out of our roundup of NEPSAC Gatorade Players of the Year. And congratulations to her as well, for earning a second consecutive ISL MVP award!

he region’s lone award in girls soccer went to Tabor Academy’s Cat Barry, and with good reason. Her junior season turned out to be something most athletes could only dream of and to make it even better, she saved the best for last — two goals during a 4-3 shootout win over Thayer Academy in the NEPSAC Class B tournament final. Overall, Barry, who has made a verbal commitment to play on scholarship for the University of South Carolina next fall, helped lead the Seawolves to a 15-2-2 record with 33 goals and 11 assists for 44

points. The Independent School League’s Offensive Player of the Year will now head into her senior season nearly nudging the century mark in career scoring with 93 points on 61 goals and 32 assists. “Cat was so dominant,” said Milton Academy coach Peter Kahn, of the United Soccer Coaches All-American selection, “she still scored a ton of goals even though everyone was keying on her defensively.” Barry, who maintains an A-minus average in the classroom, serves as the head tour guide at Tabor and volunteers at the school as a peer tutor.

MIDDLESEX SCHOOL | CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS

Middlesex Boys Soccer Wins the United Soccer Coaches 2018–19 National High School Team Academic Award

Fall 2019 NEPSAC Championships Girls Cross Country

Division 1 Phillips Exeter Division 2 Thayer Academy Division 3 The Gunnery Division 4 Dublin School

Boys Cross Country

Division 1 Phillips Exeter Division 2 Middlesex Division 3 Landmark School Division 4 Chase Collegiate

Girls Field Hockey

Class A Sacred Heart, Greenwich Class B The Rivers School Class C Pingree School

Boys Football

Dave Coratti Bowl St. Paul’s School Todd Marble Bowl Brunswick School Kevin Driscoll Bowl Suffield Academy Ken Hollingsworth Bowl Pingree School Mark Conroy Bowl Middlesex School Mike Silipo Bowl Deerfield Academy

Girls Soccer

Class A Buckingham Browne & Nichols Class B The Rivers School Class C Canterbury School Class D Vermont Academy

Boys Soccer

Class A Worcester Academy Class B South Kent School Class C Concord Academy Class D Rocky Hill School

Girls Volleyball

iddlesex School soccer coach Ken Risley recently learned that the 2018 Middlesex School boys soccer team was awarded the 2018– 19 National High School Team Academic Award by the United Soccer Coaches. The nominations were due by September of 2019 to allow for the calculating of the year-long academic averages and the inclusion of the parts of the country that play their soccer seasons in the winter and spring. The application included calculating the grade point averages for the 20 rostered team members, including 36 unweighted AP courses

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taken by 15 upperclassmen, as well as the onfield team accomplishments. The United Soccer Coaches, formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), has more than 30,000 members across the country and this prestigious academic award caps the accolades for the undefeated 2018 Middlesex boys soccer team that went 18-0-3 while winning both the ISL championship and the New England Class B Championship. Congratulations to all of the boys who contributed to this prestigious team honor!

Class A Phillips Exeter Academy Class B King Class C Winchendon School Class D Storm King School

Boys Water Polo Brunswick School

Don’t forget to visit the NEPSAC online store for all of your championship gear!

NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020 | 9

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NEPSAC Honors Milley and Gallagher

Souders Award to General Mark A. Milley; Ned Gallagher honored for distinguished service SPONSORED BY SPORTSGRUB

by Bob York

or more than a half a century now, the New England Prep School Athletic Council has been presenting its prestigious Martin William Souders Memorial Award to men and women whom the council deemed to have portrayed the same characteristics of leadership, vision, high ideals and accomplishments that Souders, its first president (1942–1944), exhibited as a private school educator. Some recipients of this award, which was named in memory of a man who served as director of physical education at Milton Academy (1919–1929) and Phillips Exeter Academy (1930– 1962), need no introduction, Those would include the likes of George H.W. Bush (Andover, 1942), Mike Eruzione (Berwick Academy, 1973) and Bill Belichick (Andover, 1971). Others, such as this year’s winner, Mark Milley, may need a little primer. First and foremost, Milley, a 1976 graduate of Belmont Hill School, has checked off all the criteria needed to be a champion of this accolade With a title of U.S. Army General and the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this year’s Souders Award is now in the possession of the highest ranking military officer in the country. In soldier speak, being Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff means Milley serves as the principal military advisor to the President, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense. NEPSAC also presented its Distinguished Service Award during its Annual Meeting on Nov. 15 at the DCU Center in Worcester and this year’s recipient was Ned Gallagher, a long-time athletic director at Choate-Rosemary Hall School and a past president of NEPSAC. This award is annually presented to an individual who has contributed significantly to both the athletics and physical education of New England’s independent schools through his/her enthusiasm, dedication, leadership and vision.

Gen. Mark A. Milley The Belmont Hill community must have had a premonition that Milley had all the right stuff to reach the pinnacle of the U.S. military world back in 2015 when it presented the Winchester, Mass., native with the highest honor it gives to a graduate: its Distinguished Alumni Award. This award recognizes men who have exemplified in life those qualities that the school seeks to instill in its students: honesty, excellence, integrity, respect and caring for others. During his visit to the Belmont, Mass., campus to accept that award, Milley spoke to the students and told them, “At the end of the day, in the dark of the night, when no one is around you and things aren’t going well, it is your character that holds you together… Reflect on how privileged we are as Americans

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General Mark A. Milley, Belmont Hill ’76, received the Martin William Souders Award at the NEPSAC Annual Meeting. General Milley currently serves as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

to have the freedoms we have and never forget how we got them, who paid for them and how they were bought.” “One can’t help but feel inspired after spending time with General Milley,” Greg Schneider, the Head of School, was quoted as saying following the ceremonies. “I say that as a grateful American, but also as a leader of Belmont Hill. General Milley’s example of integrity and leadership continually reminds me that our mission of developing young men of character is more relevant than ever.” During his four years at Belmont Hill, Milley proved to be an outstanding student/athlete — and leader. As a student, his grades were good enough to eventually earn him an Ivy League degree in political science from Princeton University. He also served as vice president of the student council and editor of the

continued on page 12

NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020 | 11

NEPSAC HONORS MILLEY AND GALLAGHER continued from page 11 school newspaper. As for his athletic prowess, he played football, where, as a senior, he captained the team as a running back and linebacker, while he also competed in hockey and crew. “Sports teaches so many things: teamwork, resilience, the ability to handle temporary setbacks…how to get knocked down and how to get back on your feet,” said Milley reminiscing of lessons learned from the athletic arenas of Belmont Hill and Princeton. “There’s all sorts of things we can learn from team sports, and not just from the sports I played, but from any team sport.” “The country’s in good hands with General Mark Milley as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” said Ken Martin, who was Milley’s hockey coach at Belmont Hill. “He was always devoted and dedicated to whatever he was involved in and I’m very proud of him.” Martin remembers Milley particularly well because they both first stepped foot on the Belmont Hill campus in 1972, Martin as a rookie teacher/coach, Milley as a freshman. In fact, the two got to know each other quite well right off the bat, as Martin was assigned to help coach the freshman football team that fall, where Milley played on the offensive and defensive lines. Martin got to know his charge much better that winter, however, when Milley began a four-year run as a defenseman on the varsity hockey team. “As a player, Mark was reliable, steady, hard working and very coachable,” said Martin of Milley, who would go on to compete for four years in varsity hockey and varsity crew at Princeton. “At that time I don’t think we had an MVP award but if we had, he would certainly have been the player I would have recommended for it. “Mark still loves hockey,” added Martin, who keeps in touch with Milley. In fact Milley has invited his former mentor to his residence at Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, which is located next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., to partake in a couple of celebratory cookouts. “He had a cookout the day before he was sworn in as Army Chief of Staff in August, 2015, and another this past August, the day before he sworn in as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “added Martin. “His only request for those attending was to show up in a hockey jersey.” That requirement included the host as well, as Milley flipped burgers at both cookouts decked out in his Princeton jersey. Milley, who graduated from Princeton in 1980 with a degree in political science and a commission as an Armor officer through the school’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, comes from a military background. His father, Alex, was a Navy Corpsman assigned to the 4th Marine Division and participated in the island assaults on Kwajalean Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the battles for Saipan and Tinian in the Marianas. The elder Milley was spared the bloody battle of Iwo Jima, however, when the Japanese surrendered and World War II came to an end. He was later awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon with three Bronze Stars along with Presidential Unit Citation. His mother, Mary, meanwhile, served as a military nurse during the

12 | NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020

Distinguished Service Award recipient Ned Gallagher. Ned served as Choate’s athletic director for 21 years and is a former NEPSAC president.

war and it was his family’s service to its country that played a major role in Milley following in their footsteps. “What attracted me to a career in the military, fundamentally, was my parents, my uncles, my aunts, all of whom were World War II veterans,” explained Milley. “In the neighborhood where we grew up, practically all of the adults served in one way or another in World War II. “That’s the environment where I developed a desire to serve my country, as most of the kids in our neighborhood went into the military as well,” added Milley. “At Belmont Hill, most of the teachers…most of the faculty…were also veterans of World War II or Korea or Vietnam, so there was a very, very strong sense of service at the school, as well.” Milley’s father graduated from Somerville (Mass.) High School just prior to his enlistment in the Navy in 1943 and then in 2014, as part of a deferred graduation honoring several World War II veterans, he received a diploma from Tilton School. During Miley’s nearly four decades in the military, he has served with the 82nd Airborne Division, the 5th Special Forces Group, the 7th Infantry, the 2nd Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division. Among the awards he has received include two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, four Army Distinguished Service Medals, three Legion of Merit Awards and four Bronze Stars.

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According to Milley, much of the groundwork that has ultimately led him to become the highest-ranking member of today’s U.S. Military was formed while competing for Belmont Hill athletics. “By playing sports…not just by being a team captain… you’re developing teamwork and leadership skills,” said Milley. “You’re developing an ability to work as a group to overcome common problems and how to approach things that we see on a day-to-day basis. These skills are applicable in the military as well as on any playing field during a high school or college sport. “It’s the ability to work well together with teammates to achieve a common goal and to be part of something bigger than yourself,” added Milley. “There’s no “I” in team, so to speak. So if you’re on a football team, a basketball team, a baseball team or whatever kind of team you’re on, you’ve got to do what’s best for the team and not just for yourself. I think that carries forward into a life in the military. “There’s no doubt that young people are in their formative years while attending both middle and high school,” continued a reflective Milley. “We are formed by our parents and family first, and secondly, by the teachers and coaches that we experience during this time. This is true of me…the teachers, faculty and coaches at Belmont Hill had a tremendous influence on me. “Specifically,” added Milley, “the school emphasizes the art of critical thinking and how to be intellectually aware of everything you see, everything you hear, everything you read, and to ask lots of questions. I’ve carried this mindset with me throughout my life.”

Ned Gallagher This year’s Distinguished Service Award, which annually goes to someone who has contributed significantly to the athletics and physical education of New England prep schools via enthusiasm, dedication, leadership and vision, brought Ned Gallagher to the podium. For all the hats Gallagher has worn since joining the Choate faculty/staff in 1987, however, the council could well

George Tahan with raffle winner Cortney Duncan, Kent School, who won a football signed by Rob Gronkowski courtesy of Gronk Fitness Equipment.

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George Tahan (right) with raffle winner Bruce Saperstein of Marie Philip School at The Learning Center for the Deaf, who is headed to a Patriots game in December, courtesy of FieldTurf.

have handed him a separate award for all he has done for the school away from the athletic arena. “It’s very nice to receive the Distinguished Service Award from my peers at NEPSAC … I’m deeply grateful to them,” said Gallagher, who served as Choate’s AD for 21 years (1996– 2017) “I’ve climbed the NEPSAC ladder like everyone else in the council has and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute working with so many dedicated people in trying to make life more rewarding and less complicated for our student athletes.” Gallagher likened his position as a private school athletic director to that of a Secretary of State, ”because as an AD, you’re one of the few…if not the only member of an independent school’s faculty or staff…who maintains close contact with other schools and thus is aware of what’s going on around you, not only athletically but on other school issues as well.” Looking back on his presidency, which he quipped “was probably the longest in council history because Joe Gill (the AD at Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School) left with a little more than a year remaining on his term (2000–2002), so my term (2002–2004) ended up being a little over three years in length.” According to Gallagher, among the most challenging issues he and the council worked on under his leadership, and the one he was proudest of helping to solve, was that of school classifications — particularly in hockey and basketball. At the time, a number of smaller enrollment schools were raising their recruiting efforts in these two sports. The result was that they became very competitive, much more so than their peers of the same size and thus began making it all but impossible for other schools with similar enrollments to compete for championships. “So,” explained Gallagher, “we devised what we called an Open Division for teams such as these. Under this new format, these smaller enrollment schools that wanted to compete on a higher level, could. With these Open Divisions, they could compete against schools with larger enrollments, while the small schools could feel as though they now had a realistic

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NEPSAC AWARDS MILLEY AND GALLAGHER continued from page 13

accomplished at NEPSAC and at Choate than long-time friend and adversary, Bob Howe. The outgoing NEPSAC president has come to know his former Choate counterpart quite well while serving as AD at Loomis Chaffee and Deerfield Academy over opportunity to earn a tournament berth and even win a the past 15 years. championship.” “It’s well deserving,” said Howe of his friend’s award. “I During his two decades as Choate’s AD, Gallagher headed remember when I first started as AD at Loomis, I would always up an athletic program that listed more than 80 interscholastic look to Ned Gallagher whenever I had a question and needed to teams as well as an extensive array of intramural and find the answer and I think any young AD hoping to make his or instructional programs. He also oversaw the modernization her mark in this field would do well to pattern themselves after of its athletic and fitness facilities and introduced the school someone like Ned. to the emerging world of technology throughout the athletic “Another factor that makes Ned such a deserving winner program. of this award is his ability to be more than just an AD,” added Gallagher’s duties weren’t confined to the Oval Office of Howe. “In addition to his duties as an athletic director, he’s Choate athletics, however. He was also a three-season coach: also been a three-sport coach in cross country, squash and boys varsity cross country, boys varsity tennis and boys tennis, plus he has served as executive director of both the squash and has the rare distinction of winning New England New England Interscholastic Squash and Tennis Associations. championships in all three, and that’s not all. Gallagher also He’s done a great deal for New England prep school sports.” served for decades as executive director of the New England Away from the athletic scene, Gallagher, who was the Interscholastic Squash Association as well as the New England recipient of the Hubert S. Packard Chair for Distinguished Interscholastic Tennis Association. Teaching in 2009, has been a key component in the school’s It’s doubtful there is anyone associated with NEPSAC classrooms as well. Throughout the years, he has been involved who has more of an appreciation for what Gallagher has in the school’s History, English and Government departments, and serves as director of Choate’s John F. Kennedy ’35 Institute in Government, a public policy summer program that is conducted at the school and in Washington, D.C. by Bob Howe, Director of Athletics, Deerfield Academy For Gallagher, however, this evidently wasn’t enough of a workload. So, to keep n Friday November 15, 2019 the New England himself even busier, he has served as a Preparatory School Athletic Council held their annual resident house adviser at Choate. Plus, athletic directors’ meeting at the DCU Center in Worcester, there are a few extracurricular activities Massachusetts, with over 180 school members from all over New England, New he enjoys participating in at the school, York, and New Jersey in attendance. The day featured Dr. Jennifer Bryan, this which include coaching the debate team, year’s keynote speaker. advising various student clubs and Dr. Bryan addressed the group for 50 minutes and followed up the publications and hosting his own show presentation with a breakout session following the NEPSAC keynote and awards on the school’s radio station. presentations. With an ever-changing landscape in the world of secondary private Gallagher was on hand to receive school athletics Dr. Bryan spoke on gender in sports: “What are the questions? his award on Nov. 14, Milley, however, Who’s got the answers?” was not. He was busy back in In my role as president of NEPSAC I invited Dr. Bryan to the conference Washington — watching our backs. mainly because athletic directors in their roles as school administrators need to

Jennifer Bryan Addresses Annual Meeting

be better equipped in understanding immediate challenges of gender identity to the current binary system of organizing sports for kids. As advertised, Dr. Bryan provided an excellent snapshot of current thinking about gender identity development in children and adolescents. Throughout her presentation Dr. Bryan involved members of her audience asking for input to the question she posed. Learning more about gender, sex, and sexuality are key components to help with making decisions on how we treat all students. Issues on gender identity have arrived on all our campuses. We learned that these issues have been present for many years, but now schools are taking steps to better understand and accommodate students of all gender identities. NEPSAC would like to thank Dr. Bryan for her informative presentation. For many of us in the room that day, knowing just a little more on the differences in gender identity will help bring better and more conversations at our schools concerning gender identity in adolescence.

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“In The Arena”

2019 Lakes Region Leadership Symposium with the Deep Wells Group by Jonny Bray, Deep Wells Group; photos by Jamey McSweeney, McSweeney Productions

Lakes Region League students, coaches and administrators from Brewster Academy, Cardigan Mountain School, Dublin School, High Mowing School, Holderness School, Kimball Union Academy, New Hampton School, Proctor Academy, St. Paul’s School, Tilton School and Vermont Academy participated in the day long leadership symposium.

n November 7, 2019, The Deep Wells Group held a student-athlete leadership symposium at New Hampton School, in New Hampton, NH. The symposium brought together over 120 student-athletes, coaches, and administrators from the schools of the Lakes Region League (LRL): Brewster Academy, Cardigan Mountain School, Dublin School, High Mowing School, Holderness School, Kimball Union Academy, New Hampton School, Proctor Academy, St. Paul’s School, Tilton School, and Vermont Academy. The students were challenged to think about what leadership means, and how they can be the best, most effective leaders in the athletic realm, as well as in all other aspects of their lives. Dolph Clinton, founder and CEO, of the Deep Wells Group, was hired by the Athletic Directors of the conference to create an event that would bring athletes from the different schools together to engage with each other around issues of leadership, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Clinton enlisted nine presenters to help run the symposium, including high school and college coaches, Olympic hopefuls, and former collegiate athletes. The design was to have some of the most talented student-athletes across the league hear from strong adult leaders who in many cases traveled a similar journey that the students are currently on. “Having Deep Wells work with our students was unique and incredibly impactful,” notes Brewster Academy Director of Athletics and President of the LRL, Matt Lawlor. “The presenters

were authentic in their insight and relatable to our students. As a league, we can build from the momentum established coming off our Leadership Symposium. Additionally, it was special to have our students get together without the uniform to talk about being positive throughout our communities.” Clinton spoke about what leadership is and the different forms it can take, as well as the many responsibilities that come with being a leader. The students were eventually broken up into different leadership workshops where they learned from,

The conference forced me to reflect on what being a leader means, and how I impact my teams

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and had a chance to interact with, the presenters in a more intimate setting. The student-athletes were faced with different challenges and scenarios in each workshop, each designed to instill in them the values and traits that go into being an impactful, successful leader. “The conference forced me to reflect on what being a leader means, and how I impact my teams,” St. Paul’s School student Jack Hepp said. “I learned a lot about accountability on teams,

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LAKES REGION LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM continued from page 17 as well as about maintaining a positive team culture.” Each student had the opportunity to engage in two workshops (out of a possible five) that focused on issues of leadership in athletics. The topics of the workshops were navigating social media, being an upstander in your school community, personal leadership for team gain, accountability to self and team, and value clarification. It was the first time student-athletes from that many schools came together for an event promoting leadership and character. It gave students an opportunity to interact with their opponents in a non-competitive setting and relate to one another about the stresses and responsibilities of being leaders. Presenters included: Jonny Bray, Jeffrey Iyalekhue, Erin Fisher, Sarah MacLeod, Dolph “I liked having the chance to meet Clinton, Ashley Marsch, Tanasia Lea, and Fletcher Brooks. Not pictured: Melissa Lawlor people from different schools outside of and Makenna Newkirk. the playing field,” mentioned St. Paul’s School student Kashetu Oseni. “That’s an opportunity we don’t get too often and it’d be pretty cool if it happened more.” The symposium closed with a Q&A where the presenters answered a range of questions from both students and coaches. The questions were thoughtful and at times even playful as the participants welcomed the opportunity to engage authentically with the talented group of adults who were once in their shoes. In the very end, Clinton had several students do a “passionate” group read of President Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech, and sent all the schools off with the charge to “be the leader whom you would willingly follow.” The presenters included: Fletcher Brooks, Associate Head Coach at Iowa State University. Erin Fisher, the Director of Student Growth and Head Coach of Girls Varsity Soccer at Pomfret School, Jeffrey Iyalekhue, Asset Management Associate at Hudson Capital, NYC. Melissa Lawlor, Director of Equity and Inclusion and Head Coach of Girls Varsity Lacrosse at Brewster Academy. Tanasia Lea, Athlete and Consultant. Sarah MacLeod, Assistant Varsity Soccer Coach at Pomfret School and Consultant for Deep Wells Group. Ashley Marsh, Athletic Counselor at Springfield College and Sports Counseling Intern at Brewster Academy. Makenna Newkirk, Professional Ice Hockey Player, PWHPA, and Coach at North American Hockey Academy. Jonny Bray, Intern at Deep Wells Group. Dolph Clinton, Founder and CEO of Deep Wells Group and Director of Institutional Leadership at Brewster Academy.

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WINSOR SCHOOL | BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Winsor Models Girls’ PE Program for Foreign Leaders

n Friday, October 4, Winsor School welcomed 14 visitors and 3 interpreters as part of the U.S Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), the Department’s premier professional exchange program. Through short-term visits to the United States, the program enables current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields to experience this country firsthand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. Professional meetings reflect the participants’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States. Winsor’s involvement with the program, arranged locally by WorldBoston, and coordinated by Winsor’s Athletic Director Sherren Granese and Physical Education Head Kendall Quackenbos, centered around the field of girls’ physical education. All 14 visitors hold leadership roles in physical education within the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia. In keeping with the program’s specific objectives, the participants were given the opportunity to observe school programs and meet with Winsor faculty and staff engaged in physical education, including curriculum development, student testing, teacher training, and program design. Participants also engaged in discussion aimed to better understand laws and practices in place in the U.S. to encourage participation of girls and women in sports and to ensure access for underrepresented populations.

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“It was both an honor and an inspiration to meet so many fellow female physical education directors, teachers and coaches from Saudi Arabia,” says Ms. Quackenbos. “It is exciting to think that when they return home and continue to develop their physical education programs, they will be taking a little piece of Winsor with them.” In addition to school visits, the leaders in the program also gain insight into public and private collaborative efforts, including government, business and community programs, that support physical education and empowerment for girls and women. Each year nearly 5,000 International Visitors come to the U.S. on the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). More than 200,000 International Visitors have engaged with Americans through the IVLP, including more than 500 current or former Chiefs of State or Heads of Government.

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PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY | EXETER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Mike Lynch Credits Public Speaking Course at Exeter with Helping 37-year Career at Channel 5 SPONSORED BY SPORTSGRUB

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ometimes, those “father-knows-best” moments aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be. Sometimes, the adviser and the advisee just aren’t on the same page — at least not at the outset. Mike Lynch saw that scenario play out during a dad-and-lad moment his senior year at Swampscott (Mass.) High School. The younger Lynch was a three-sport standout — football, basketball and baseball — at the school and was no slouch in the classroom, either, as a diploma from Harvard University in 1977 will attest. His plans to obtain that Ivy League degree and compete in the Ancient Eight in football and baseball were put on hold for a year, however, when his father, Dick, deemed a post-graduate year at prep school would be more beneficial to his son. “I disagreed with his decision…at that time I felt as though I was ready for college,” said Lynch, whose exploits would later earn him induction into the school’s athletic hall of fame along side his father. “When I asked him, however, why he felt I needed a year of prep school, he responded, ‘because you’re not as smart as you think you are…because you’re not as mature as you think you are…because you’re not as good an athlete as you think you are.’ “Like I said, I disagreed with the decision back then,” added Lynch, who recently retired from WCVB Channel 5 following a 37-year career that made him the longest tenured anchor in Boston television sports history. “Today, though, as I look back,

Sportscaster Mike Lynch on the job.

unprecedented 16 Massachusetts Sportscaster of the Year awards while at WCVB, “and if it hadn’t been for my year at Exeter, I honestly don’t know if I would have made it in this field. “I took a public speaking course while I was at Exeter,” added Lynch, “and every day we’d have to stand up in front of the class and give a speech. As time went on, I began feeling more and more comfortable speaking in front of people and the more comfortable I got, the more confident I got. That one course helped me immensely over the past four decades.” Lynch was pretty much of a known commodity when he arrived at Exeter, at least as far as his prowess in the athletic arena was concerned. In a word, he was a winner. In football, this triple threat — quarterback, defensive back and placekicker — helped lead Swampscott to a pair of Eastern Mass. Class B championships during the pre Super Bowl days. He also helped the Big Blue to two Northeastern Conference titles each in basketball, where he earned All-Scholastic honors, and in baseball, where he was a pitcher/shortstop and led the league in batting his senior year. “Mike came to Exeter with a great reputation as a student/ athlete” said Bill Dennehy, who was the Big Red’s football athletic trainer as well as its baseball coach and the 46year veteran of the school started there the same year that Lynch showed up at its door. “He also came to Exeter with the reputation as an all-around great guy, and he didn’t disappoint

…if it hadn’t been for my year at Exeter, I honestly don’t know if I would have made it in this field my father was one hundred percent right…spending a post graduate year at prep school was one of the best things that I could have ever done.” With Lynch’s switch from public to private school, his athletic wardrobe underwent a radical color change — from the Big Blue of Swampscott to the Big Red of Phillips Exeter Academy. The academics at Exeter proved to be quite challenging, too, and in Lynch’s case, he pointed out one course in particular he took at Exeter that he felt played an integral part in his success as a sportscaster. “Needless to say, being able to communicate is key to being successful in that kind of job,” said Lynch, who won an

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MIKE LYNCH continued from page 21 in any of those characteristics.” Being a “great guy” is a trait that seems to run in the family, as Lynch’s father, Dick, a former assistant football coach and head basketball coach at Swampscott who passed away in 2018, is considered by this community of roughly 13,000 to be one of its true legacies — just like his son has become. While Lynch spent just one year at Exeter, he made the most of it by chiseling his name into Big Red football lore. He did so by helping Exeter grab a three-way share of the 1971 New England Prep School Football Championship and would later be named the team MVP. Heading into that season’s finale, Exeter had a shot at the crown, but needed to beat undefeated archrival Phillips Andover. The other school in the mix was Deerfield Academy, which had handed Exeter its lone defeat. So, prior to the existence of the Super Bowl format and titles were determined on regularseason play, Andover was 7-0, while Exeter and Deerfield were both 6-1. And the way Dennehy remembers it, it wasn’t a day that started out well for Exeter. “We were down, 20–3 at halftime,” remembers Dennehy, “with Mike accounting for our only points with a field goal. The second half was all Exeter, though, as Mike came out and put on an aerial show you wouldn’t believe … Andover just couldn’t stop him and he sparked an unbelievable 30–20 come-frombehind win. I bet I’ve seen around 45 Exeter-Andover football games in my time, and that one was the best ever. Lynch, who took a pass on playing basketball at Exeter, and described the decision, “as something I’ll always regret,” resurfaced in the spring to serve as the Big Red’s No. 1 pitcher and played third base when not on the mound. He led the team in hitting — but unfortunately gave up one of the longest home runs ever hit at Exeter, a clout both he and his coach can both chuckle about now. “We were playing Andover,” remembers Lynch. “We were up, I think, 3–2 in the top of the ninth. They had a runner on second and I think there were two outs and up to the plate comes their best hitter, a guy named Greg Cronin, who would go on to play football and baseball at Dartmouth.” “Mike got him to pop up, but our first baseman dropped the ball and gave Cronin a second chance,” said Dennehy, “so I walked out to the mound to give Mike a little advice. I said ‘just be careful, don’t give him anything good to hit,’ he already had three hits on the day and I said, ‘if you want to walk him, go ahead.’” “I told Bill not to worry, that everything was under control and that I could get him out,” remembers Lynch. “So, I headed back to the bench,” said Dennehy, “but just before I got there, I heard the sound of a bat hitting a ball that I’d never heard before or since…I mean he got every bit of that ball. Making matters worse, we didn’t have fences at Exeter back then and this ball must have traveled 450 feet in the air and probably another 100 feet or so rolling along the ground.” “I think it probably ended up down by the Hampton Toll Gate,” quipped Lynch. “But anyway, the ump tossed me a new ball and

22 | NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020

Mike Lynch, #16, with teammates after 1971 win over Phillips Andover.

I’m all ready to pitch again, when I hear someone yelling from the outfield. I turned around and its my centerfielder, he hadn’t even got back onto the field yet after chasing down the ball.” As the baseball gods would have it, this wouldn’t be the end of the Lynch-Cronin long-ball odyssey, however. Four years later, Lynch was playing for Harvard against Dartmouth in Hanover. Lynch is standing in the batter’s box while Cronin is in left field. “I hit a fly ball over the leftfield fence for a home run that put us ahead for good late in the game,” said Lynch. “Later, after the game, the two teams lined up to shake hands and when I greeted Cronin, he hands me the baseball. He’d retrieved it after the inning ended and as he handed it to me and shook my hand, he said, ‘there, we’re even now.’” The highlight film of Lynch’s collegiate heroics would undoubtedly include that home run, as well as another he hit to beat Yale. The reel would have to be led off, however, by the highpoint of his football career: a 26-yard field goal he kicked in the waning moments of The Game in 1975 to give Harvard a 10–7 victory over archrival Yale for its first outright Ivy League title in 26 years. “There were 68,000 people in the Yale Bowl that day, but I just tried to put that all out of my mind as best I could,” said Lynch. “I just concentrated on making the kick and I remember telling the holder, ‘just get it (the ball) down and I’ll get it up.” And he kept his promise. For a guy who had originally “penciled in law school,” as his go-to profession, Lynch was never quite able to get sports out of his blood and with the help of some hard work and a couple of breaks, he never had to. As Lynch put it, “I started cozying up to Ned Martin, who broadcast the Red Sox games back then. He also broadcast the Harvard football games on the radio when I played there and he’d stop by practice once a week and when he did, I began asking him all sorts of questions about the broadcasting business. It intrigued me, so I talked the station (WITS) into letting me serve as Ned’s assistant the season after I graduated.” Lynch enjoyed his broadcasting gig and the following fall, became Martin’s color man. The recent Harvard grad, who

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was making ends meet as a substitute teacher, high school basketball ref and bartender finally grabbed a full-time job on WITS doing pre-and post-game broadcasts for the Red Sox and Bruins. Lynch’s big break came on the Friday night of March Madness weekend in 1982. He was asked by Jim Thistle, who was in charge of hiring at Channel 5 back in those days, to do an audition tape, “and to be totally honest, I didn’t feel as though I did very well,” admitted Lynch. “Jim still hired me though…he told me I’d be doing the 6 p.m. sports segment the next night. “After I’d been at Channel 5 a while and after Jim Coppersmith hired me full time, I finally worked up the courage to ask Thistle why he hired me…that I felt as though my audition hadn’t gone well,” admitted Lynch. “ He said, ‘I just had a gut feeling you’d work out.’” As for career highlights, right up there at the top has to be those 16 state sportscaster awards, “because those awards are voted on by your peers, so that means a great deal to me,” said Lynch. His job also allowed him to meet two presidents: Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, “and who would ever believe a kid from Swampscott would grow up and have the opportunity to do that,” he added. Then, of course, there are all those championships the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics chalked up during his tenure in Boston. “I not only feel fortunate for being able to do what I did for so many years,” said Lynch, “but I also feel very fortunate to have been able to do that job here in Boston. When you’re a sportscaster in Boston, you never have to worry about what you’re going to put on during your sports segment, you have to worry about how you’re going to fit it all in.” Lynch will still be seen on Channel 5, however, as “I’ll remain in the sports mix at the station working on special assignments, major sporting events, the ‘High 5’ segments,

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which honor high school players and teams from throughout the Boston area, as well as our annual tribute to high school football with the ‘Salute to Thanksgiving Heroes’ segment on Thanksgiving eve.” Mike Lynch was big on promoting high school sports because he never forgot his roots…he never forgot his days of playing for the Big Blue and the Big Red and it’s back then, according to Dennehy, that Lynch, in a very subtle way, may have received his highest compliment of all. “While Mike was at Exeter, he worked in the equipment room with Ed Wilbur, our long-time equipment manager,” said Dennehy. “Now, you have to understand, Ed was a man of very few words. In fact, I don’t think he ever spoke unless it was absolutely necessary. He was very astute, though. So, right after graduation that year, I remember walking past the equipment room and mentioning something to him about Mike. I remember the moment well, because Ed said something in return. He said, ‘That’s a good kid!’” Just four words, but when you’re talking about Mike Lynch, they say it all. The NEPSAC SPECIAL NEWS is sponsored by SportsGrub. SportsGrub provides athletic teams with nutritional meals delivered directly to their event. We provide a diverse menu that athletes can order from directly in our app. Don’t just play to win, plan to win with healthy and delicious meals from SportsGrub. Contact us for more information at www.sportsgrub.com

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BERWICK ACADEMY | SOUTH BERWICK, MAINE

Berwick Academy Hosts Athletic Leadership Summit for Eastern Independent League by Molly Gabarro

n November 19, Berwick Academy (South Berwick, ME) hosted the first ever Student Athletic Leadership Team (SALT) Summit on campus. This event was the culmination of a year’s worth of on-campus work, following a challenge from Berwick’s Athletic Director Rob Quinn and Head of School Jim Hamilton, to create an honor statement for our athletic program that is not only recited, but lived. This statement captures the school’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and fairness in athletics. As a school, Berwick has been training and educating our players, coaches, and fans about what this environment should look like and how to positively maintain it together. In welcoming our fellow Eastern Independent League schools, Berwick aimed to celebrate the strength of our collective schools while creating a shared dialogue around preserving and promoting the highest standards for our athletic programs. Schools from the greater Boston area, and even as far away as Portsmouth, Rhode Island were in attendance (rumor has it the Ravens got into their school van

Amherst College’s Billy McBride, Assistant Athletic Director and Director of Diversity and Inclusion, gave the keynote address.

discussions. The summit concluded with lunch and it was impressive to see teenagers — who have competed hard against each other, often in intense League contests — work with each other rather than compete against each other, and shake hands after getting to know each other in a very different setting than a cold rink or slippery field. We, as both a school and league, are committed to the continued dialogue and collective work needed to continue a healthy culture of competition and respect on and off our athletic fields, courts, pools, and rinks.

Photos courtesy of Berwick Academy

at 5:30 a.m. to make the trek to Maine). Berwick’s Student Leadership Coordinator Molly Gabarro and her team of SALT leaders — Spencer ’21, Annabelle ’20, Zach ’20, Paddy ’21, Brit ’20, Sydney ’20, Tiffany ’20, Henry ’20, Abby ’20, Lilly ’20, and Gianni ’20 — planned, executed, and hosted a tremendous event focusing on sportsmanship, inclusion, and collegiality amongst our student-athletes and rivals from across the EIL. Faculty members and coaches Patrick Connolly, Meg Martinson, Haley Preston, Bobby Callahan, Travis Derr, and Lem Randall were also instrumental in the summit. From Amherst College, Assistant Athletic Director/Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Billy McBride, delivered the keynote speech and then the Berwick SALT members led breakout

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Kendall Hanley officiating at a USA Hockey game in 2016–2017. Visit our gallery for more photos of these trailblazing women.

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Taking Their Shots

Three former NEPSAC skaters could be first women to officiate in NHL SPONSORED BY SPORTSGRUB

by Bob York

heir profession requires a helmet. Their quest, however, calls for a hardhat. The choice of appropriate headgear is becoming somewhat of an enigma for women hockey referees who aspire to officiate on the National Hockey League level. Unlike the rest of its band of brothers: the National Football League, the National Basketball League and Major League Baseball, the NHL has yet to allow a woman to ultimately shatter the glass ceilings that sit atop its arenas by accepting them into its fraternity of on-ice officials. This past fall, however, the NHL opened that door just a smidgen and, for the first time ever, allowed four women to swap helmets for hardhats and take a test run at bringing down that ceiling after qualifying to officiate in the league’s Preseason Prospect Tournament in September. These puck pioneers were among the 30 selected from an original group of 96 officials – including 11 women – after participating in and passing various on- and off-ice testing during a four-day exposure combine held in Buffalo during the last week of August. Of those “Final Four” women, three have direct ties to New England Prep School Athletic Council schools. Those three are referees Katie Guay, who competed at Deerfield Academy and later coached at Noble & Greenough School, and Kelly Cooke, who played at Noble & Greenough. Linesman Kendall Hanley, meanwhile, played her prep hockey at Williston-Northampton School, while the fourth member of the group, Canadian Kirsten Welsh, who is also a linesman, spent her high-school hockey days in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League. “If it turns out to be someone from our group who ends up shattering that glass ceiling once and for all, I think Katie will be the one to do it,” said Cooke of her former assistant coach at Nobles, “and I say that because she’s already had a great deal of experience officiating men’s hockey games. “We’ve all been officiating women’s Division I collegiate hockey games for quite some time now,” added Cooke, “but Katie’s been mixing a good amount of men’s Division I and Division III college games into her schedule as well for a number of years, so she’s quite cognizant of the aspects that most differentiate the men’s and women’s games … speed and physicality.” “If the NHL ever decides to give a woman the opportunity to officiate its games, I think Katie is the right person to do it,” was the echoing sentiment of Paul Stewart, who stepped down this past spring following a 12-year run as the ECAC’s director of men’s and women’s officiating. “In fact, if I had anything to say about it, I’d pencil her in for some of the men’s Division I playoff games this season. She’s an outstanding official and she’s good for the game of men’s college hockey.“

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“Looking back, I felt as though I was treated the same as my peers were and as an official, that’s all you can ask for,” said Guay of her NHL preseason tourney experience that took her to the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., where she officiated a round-robin tourney featuring rookies from the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Las Vegas Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. “Overall, I feel good about my performance … I received a good amount of positive feedback from league officials and that was very encouraging,” added Guay, who is director of philanthropy for the USA Hockey Foundation. “As anticipated, I found the biggest difference between that level of hockey and the levels I’ve previously officiated at were the speed and physicality, but I felt as though I adapted to it.” Following her freshman season at Westfield (Mass.) High School where she was the only girl on the boys varsity hockey team, Guay transferred to Deerfield. Although she spent just three years with the Big Green, she culminated her stay by being elected captain and establishing the school record for career goals with 74. In fact, the final goal of her career came during the championship game of the 2001 New England Division I Girls Hockey Tournament – and it stood up to defeat Hotchkiss, 1-0. Guay would later earn All-New England and team MVP honors for her efforts. “Katie was one of our co-captains,” remembers Sean Keller, who was an assistant coach during that historic 2000-2001 season. “She was an outstanding leader … she led by example as well as by being a vocal leader. She had a way of getting the kids to play together and to play hard.” From Deerfield, Guay made her way to Brown University, where she accumulated 69 points on 29 goals and 40 assists over a four-year career and earned a captaincy and an MVP award during her final season with the Bears. Once Guay’s collegiate hockey career came to a close in 2005, however, “I quickly began to miss the game … the competition …the camaraderie,” she explained. “So, I began looking for alternatives to stay in the game and someone suggested I try refereeing.” Guay’s ascension up the officiating ladder began rather unceremoniously in 2006 by paying her dues via refereeing women’s recreational and adult leagues. By 2011, the experience she acquired along the way helped her reach the collegiate level where she began officiating women’s Division III games and some international tournaments as well. Thanks to Stewart, Guay was the first woman to ever officiate a men’s Division I collegiate hockey game, when, back

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TAKING THEIR SHOTS continued from page 27 in 2015, she refereed an ECAC game between Union and Sacred Heart. Then, this past February, another milestone was attained when she became the first woman to officiate in the prestigious Beanpot Tournament. The tournament features Boston’s four Division I men’s college hockey teams: Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard. Guay refereed a semifinal game between BC and Harvard, which BC won, 2-1, and following the game, Eagles coach Jerry York gave Stewart, who had assigned Guay to the game, his assessment of her performance when he said, “Wow, she’s terrific!” The firsts on Guay’s resume haven’t been monopolized by the men’s game, however. She has chalked up some pretty impressive credentials while officiating women’s games, too. Among her landmark appearances was an assignment that took her to Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she and three of her U.S. cohorts marked America’s officiating debut in women’s hockey during the 2018 Winter Olympics. Then, this past spring, Guay checked off another box when she and Cooke were named members of the first all-female crew to work the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four finale. Tom Resor, the head coach of the Noble & Greenough girls hockey team has had the distinct good fortune of having brought both Guay and Cooke into his Bulldog hockey program. Guay, served as an assistant coach for nine years (2008-2017), while Cooke turned out to be one of the most prolific scorers in school history during a three-year career (2006-2009) there. “I feel very fortunate to have had both these young women associated with the Nobles hockey program, they’ve both gone on to become outstanding ambassadors for their game and for our school,” said Resor, who coached the school’s boys hockey team for 14 years before taking over the girls program in 2000.

Kelly Cooke has been officiating since she was 12.

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Since then, Nobles has qualified every year for the New England Prep School Girls Hockey Tournament and has won six of them. Closer to home, his charges have captured 14 Independent School League titles. “Having Katie on our coaching staff created a really unique situation for us,” added Resor. ”In addition to the experience she brought to us as an outstanding player on both the prep and collegiate levels, she also brought a referee’s knowledge of the game. With girls hockey being a non-checking game, Katie was able to teach our players how to play the angles … how to effectively and correctly position themselves along the boards so as to effectively slow down an opponent’s progress without drawing a penalty.” As for Cooke, before heading off to make a name for herself at Princeton and later as a referee, the Andover, Mass., native helped lead Nobles to New England championships during her junior and senior seasons. She did so by putting the bite in the Bulldog offense, as she is one of just a few Nobles players to ever surpass the 100-point plateau – and in just three seasons. In only 82 games, Cooke accumulated 101 points on 53 goals and 48 assists. As was the case with Guay, “once I was done playing competitively, I knew that I wanted to remain involved in the game and officiating seemed to be a perfect way to do that,” said Cooke, whose day job is that of a corporate lawyer in Boston and whose claim to fame at Princeton was landing four consecutive berths on the ECAC All-Academic Team. Those honors were bestowed in part for registering 26 goals and 23 assists for 49 points during her career – with 27 of them coming her senior year via 15 goals and 12 assists. The senior co-captain then wrapped up her career with the Tigers by being named the team’s MVP. Cooke, who has been officiating on the NCAA Division I and International Ice Hockey Federation levels for the past decade, pulled on her first black-and-white striped jersey when she was just 12 years old. “My older brother, Evan, was a referee at the time, officiating youth hockey games in Andover on weekends and that’s how I got involved,” explained Cooke, who drew Nashville as her base for the NHL Prospect tourney, which featured rookies from the Predators, as well as from the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes. “Overall, I felt the Prospect tourney went better than I had expected,” said Cooke. “Everyone was super supportive and I was treated just like all the other officials at the tourney by the fans, by my peers and by both team and league officials. “I also received a good bit of positive feedback on my work from both team and league officials,” added Cooke. “I really came away feeling as though they were truly looking for people who could

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do the best job officiating on the NHL level no matter their gender. I am a firm believer that a woman will officiate in the NHL some day. I don’t know when that day will be, but I’m hoping it comes sooner rather than later and when that day does come, I’m planning on being there when that first woman steps out onto the ice to cheer her on.” “Kelly’s easily one of the 10 best players I’ve ever coached here at Nobles,” said Resor. “She’s a tremendous athlete … she’s an outstanding skater and what’s more, she was what made our offense go. Just look at her stats … 101 points in 82 games … that’s averaging well over a point a game … that’s pretty darn good.” Cooke, who was a captain her senior year, chalked up nearly half of those points (45) during her final season when Katie Guay has officiated both men’s and women’s games all over the world, from The she scored 23 goals and 22 assists to Beanpot and ECAC to the Olympics in South Korea. lead Nobles to the New England Division added Syfu, “so I’m not surprised at all at how successful she I title. Nine of those points came during the tourney and they has been in the sport as a player and as an official.” included the game-winning tallies in both the championship and Once she closed out her prep school career at Williston, semifinal-round games and if you haven’t already surmised, she Hanley made the first of two collegiate stops at Division III was named the tourney MVP. Elmira College then two years later, she transferred to SUNY Prior to her three years at Nobles, during which she also Oswego. The native of Raleigh, N.C., made the switch not led the Bulldogs to a pair of ISL titles in field hockey and because of hockey, but because of her passion for animal lacrosse and would later earn All-league laurels in both those biology and wanted to pursue a degree in zoology. sports, Cooke spent her eighth-grade and freshman years at Hanley, too, quickly discovered after her graduation from Groton School. While there she earned a pair of All-ISL hockey Oswego that she missed the competition and camaraderie the nominations to give her a rare five-year sweep of league all-star sport of hockey had always offered her, so, like her cohorts, she berths. found a remedy through officiating. She began her career as a “I was both honored and humbled to have the opportunity whistleblower on the local level around her home in Minneapolis, to be a pioneer and one of the first ever female officials to Minn. Before long, however, Hanley had made it to the coveted take part in the NHL’s most prestigious preseason tournament,” international level, where she was hired by the IIHF. Then, other was the way Kendall Hanley summed up her Prospect tourney opportunities quickly were presented to her from the NCAA for invite that saw her stationed in Detroit, where rookies from the Division I and III jobs, and finally an invite from the National Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks and Women’s Hockey League. Minnesota Wild competed, “I don’t think hockey should have any barriers,” said Hanley, “It was just an unbelievable opportunity for all four of us … “and I think it’s phenomenal that the NHL is embracing this the NHL is doing everything it can to put the best officials it can inclusiveness and allowing people an opportunity such as this. find on the ice for its games,” added Hanley. “In my opinion, this To me, no matter if you’re a man or a woman, if you prepare was an amazing first step and if any of those officials they’re properly … if you spend time making sure you’re physically looking for happen to be women, then I believe they’ll bring ready to do your job and know the rules of the game, then you them in.” should be treated just like every other official out there. I feel Hanley played four years of hockey at Williston-Northampton I’ve always prepared myself properly and so far, I feel I’ve been (2004) and during that span, “Kendall proved not only to be treated the same as any of my peers.” one of the most skilled players we’ve ever had here, but one of the most versatile as well,” said her Wildcat coach Christa The NEPSAC SPECIAL NEWS is sponsored by SportsGrub. Talbot Syfu. “She had a tremendous shot from anywhere on SportsGrub provides athletic teams with nutritional meals the ice and therefor, could play up front as a wing or back on delivered directly to their event. We provide a diverse menu that defense and it made little difference to her … she was totally athletes can order from directly in our app. Don’t just play to win, comfortable at either position and was a key contributor to our plan to win with healthy and delicious meals from SportsGrub. program where ever she played. Contact us for more information at www.sportsgrub.com “Hockey was always an important part of Kendall’s life,”

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NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020 | 29

WE ARE PREPS

For the best coverage of NEPSAC hockey, soccer, lacrosse and baseball from the leading prep school sports content provider in the Northeast, subscribe today. seamansmedia.com/subscribe 30 | NEPSAC News | Winter 2019–2020

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PLAYER SPOTLIGHT LOOMIS CHAFFEE | WINDSOR CONNECTICUT

Lauren Hinton becomes a model of consistency for Brown NEW ENGLAND SOCCER JOURNAL/SEAMANS MEDIA

by Nick Frazier

onsistency sometimes is in short supply for college soccer players, especially underclassmen with minimal game experience. So when a coach has a reliable second-year defender that plays like a senior, it’s like hitting the jackpot. Those qualities make Lauren Hinton (Middletown, Conn.) so valuable to Brown University. The Bears recently won the Ivy League for the first time since 1994, thanks in part to their sophomore anchor who rarely comes off the field. Underclassmen tend to be more inconsistent on the field because they’re still developing at the collegiate level. Hinton, a former star at Loomis Chaffee and Oakwood SC, quickly emerged as an exception. “Lauren is somebody who came in and took care of a lot of the things she could control in terms of her attitude, her coachability, her fitness,” Brown coach Kia McNeill (Avon, Conn.) said. “When you have all of those things working in your favor, you’re going to put yourself at an advantage.” One of 10 freshmen who arrived on campus last season, Hinton stood out due to her steadiness. McNeill knows what she’s going to get out of the defender each and every day, and that goes a long way toward Hinton’s playing time. Hinton has started all 32 games she’s been available for the Bears, and is on pace for just under 1,500 minutes played per season. By controlling what she could control, like her fitness level and long hours in the film room, Hinton was able to put herself in a position to become a mainstay in the starting lineup right away. “That was my main focus coming in as a freshman, making sure that above everything else I would have the ability to compete for a long amount of time at a high level,” Hinton said. “I think I really was

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David Silverman Photography/Brown Athletics

able to understand things more tactically in the back line. I’ve improved in those kind of areas this season, which is really good.” On top of it all, McNeill says Hinton is a warrior on the field who is laserfocused during games. McNeill, a former defender at Boston College and at the professional level herself, knows those traits all too well. “She takes the scouts very seriously that we put together and she really dials into the information and wants to do her best to implement things on the field,” Hinton said. “She’s just very competitive and wants to do whatever she can.” Of course, Hinton’s time at Loomis and Oakwood helped to shape her game and work ethic. She gives a lot of credit to her former Oakwood coach Todd Sadler, now an assistant at Hartford, for prepping her for Division 1. “He was a great help for me,” Hinton said. “His main point was that you need to prepare for college, you need to start preparing for the forwards you’re going to defend in college, and you need to get

out of these bad habits that in college are really going to be exploited. He really helped me develop technically as well.” Proving to be just as valuable was Hinton’s time at Loomis Chaffee. The defender won two New England Class A championships in high school, winning one her senior year on her home field. Even better, she won both titles while playing alongside her younger sister, Jessica, who is now a senior captain at Loomis. “I think I had one of the most fun experiences playing soccer at Loomis,” Hinton said. “We did so many difficult things in terms of the New England championships and playing those games. We all had good success in my last two years. That was fun, just gaining confidence and gaining experience as a leader as well.” She may have been named a Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017, but that doesn’t mean Hinton didn’t have

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PLAYER SPOTLIGHT NEW HAMPTON SCHOOL | NEW HAMPTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Growing Up Brave: Dempsey Arsenault ’15 Originally published in Hamptonia 2019, the magazine for New Hampton School.

empsey Arsenault ’15 continues in her success after four years as a Boston College lacrosse star. The #2 overall draft pick in the 2019 Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) helped carry BC to three consecutive National Championship games and now continues her playing career with the professional league’s Brave team. Her list of accolades is extensive, but Dempsey is much more than her statistics. Her coaches and teammates consistently acknowledge her humility, work ethic, and do-whatever-it-takes attitude. Conversations with her reflect her strong character. Her humble, unassuming nature could easily lead someone to walk away without realizing that she was the first BC player to be named National Midfielder of the Year, named to the AllACC Academic Team three years in a row, and a former captain of one of the best teams in college lacrosse history. Dempsey’s experience at BC was transformational. “I was able to push myself constantly and grow as an athlete and as an individual; competing at the highest level for some of the greatest

LAUREN HINTON continued from page 31 areas to improve in once she arrived at Brown. McNeill believes that before Hinton joined her team, the defender typically had to do other people’s jobs on the field. One of the first things Hinton had to work on when she got to campus was learning to focus on just doing her job well, and understanding she’s one piece of an entire unit. McNeill says once Hinton grasped the shift, she became a tremendous asset for the Bears.

coaches and with some the best players in the world was a dream come true. Not only was I able to challenge myself on the field, but I got an amazing education and made life-long friendships.” The New Hampton native grew up on campus as a faculty kid with her parents, Jamie and Lara Arsenault, and her older brother Ryder ’13. As a New Hampton School student, Dempsey was a twotime All-American, two-year captain, and two-time New England Prep School All-

Star. As if that was not enough to keep her busy, Dempsey was also a standout hockey and field hockey player. As a hockey player, she attended the USA Hockey National Camp and was twice named All-State. “Going to New Hampton School really changed my life for the better and I am so fortunate that I was able to call it home,” Dempsey said of her experience. “Growing up on campus with so many great role models instilled in me my work ethic and made me aspire to be the best student-athlete I could be.” The results from her final season with Boston College highlight the payoff for years of hard work: 92 points on the season while picking up a team-high 45 ground balls and winning a solid 100 draw controls. Now on the professional level, Dempsey has already announced herself on the field. Only two weeks into the season, she earned WPLL Star of the Week honors with a performance that included 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 caused turnovers, 8 ground balls, and 5 draw controls. We are eager to keep an eye on Dempsey as she continues to do big things in the lacrosse world.

“Sometimes last year she would be trying to do everything and do everybody’s role,” McNeill said. “As a defensive unit, you just have to do your job really well; that’s what our entire back-line unit has been able to do. You have to depend on each other. We just as a coaching staff had to rein her in a little bit and tell her that ‘You’re in college now, you’re going to have other phenomenal players next to you, all you have to worry about is doing your job really well.’” With another two years at Brown left, there’s no telling how much Hinton can improve as a shutdown defender.

Those final two years will be even more special for Hinton, as her sister Jessica committed to the Bears program in September. The Hintons played alongside each other on the back line at Loomis, but that may not be the case in college. “She’s a really versatile player, so I think she can play in the midfield, in the back, wherever coaches want her to do,” Hinton said. “It was really enjoyable playing with her in high school.” If Jessica follows a similar trajectory to her older sister, then McNeill may have hit the jackpot twice.

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PLAYER SPOTLIGHT CARDIGAN MOUNTAIN SCHOOL | CANAAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Aidan Thede ’20

Journeying to Finland for the Love of Hockey

or Aiden Thede ’20, it’s all about the cold. His home is in Florida, but he prefers temperatures well below freezing. He also prefers hockey. So much so that he asked his parents if he could spend the fall in Finland, where hockey is a national pastime. Cardigan has had a relationship with a school in Finland since 1979 when a group of Cardigan boys traveled to Europe to compete in a tournament. It wasn’t until they arrived in Finland that they learned that the tournament had been canceled. Fortunately, the principal of Vehkoja Koulu School in Hyvinkää stepped in to help. He found them places to stay, a rink for practice, and teams against which they could compete. Since that trip, Cardigan and many citizens in the town of Hyvinkää have maintained that relationship, building a bond that starts with a love of hockey but has grown to include so much more. Most years a Finnish student attends school at Cardigan, and every other year members of the Cardigan hockey team visit Hyvinkää. Members of the Cardigan basketball team have traveled to Finland as well. Last March Aiden was on that trip to Finland. Accompanied by his coaches and teammates, as well as Head of School Chris Day P’12,’13, Director of Athletics Ryan Frost, and alumnus John D’Entremont ’94, he stayed with a host family, visited schools in Hyvinkää and Helsinki, and played plenty of hockey. There was also a dance and an alumni hockey game; in all the years since its inception, the Finnish alumni have never lost to the Cardigan boys. Aiden liked Finland so much that he wanted to return and asked if he could spend part of the fall term there. “I wanted to play more hockey,” explains Aiden. “I also thought it would be interesting to spend time in another culture.” With the help of his parents and Cardigan, Aiden made plans to live in Finland from August through October. He

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stayed with two host families—first with the family of Oskari Hakkarainen ’20, who is a student at Cardigan this year, and then with Hanu Lignell, a Cardigan graduate from the Class of 1992. Aiden got his wish to play more hockey. In a culture in which hockey is almost a way of life, Aiden was able to practice 3-4 times per week and play games on the weekends. But he also went to school, taking chemistry, trigonometry and geography as well as Finnish and Swedish. “Learning new languages was tough,” says Aiden. “And their schedule was different every day. It was hard to keep up at first.” For Aiden, the biggest change for him was riding his bike to school every day. Because gas is expensive, he says, more than half his classmates pedaled to school. “The value of the program is tremendous,” says John D’Entremont, a

longtime supporter of the trip who was also an exchange student in the program when he was a student at Cardigan. “It demonstrates to the boys that the world is much bigger than Canaan, NH. They learn what it is like to be a minority and to not be able to speak the language.” Aiden agrees. “I’m much more open now to going to new places and learning new languages,” he says. Aiden returned to Cardigan in late October and is now busy catching up with the school work that he missed. He is hoping to return to Finland next summer, to visit his new friends, do a bit more sightseeing, and of course, play a bit more hockey. In the meantime, the ice is back in Turner Arena and snowflakes are in the air over Marrion Field. For now the air is cold enough for Aiden and he is looking forward to the hockey season in the months ahead.

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COACH SPOTLIGHT ROXBURY LATIN SCHOOL | WEST ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS

Where are they now?

Former Millbury track standout Erin Dromgoole shows way for next generation by Rich Garven, Worcester Telegram & Gazette

idway through her senior inducted into the Millbury High year at Millbury High, Hall of Fame in 2007, exactly 10 Erin Dromgoole was years after she graduated. awarded the Wendy’s High School Recruited by colleges from Heisman as the top female coast to coast, Dromgoole student-athlete in the country. selected Dartmouth over That was in December Stanford. Her run of success 1996, and yes, Dromgoole, who continued. many scholastic achievements As a freshman, Dromgoole included being a multiple helped the cross-country team state champion and class place fourth at the NCAA Division valedictorian, still has the 1 Championships, which prestigious trophy after all these remains the highest finish by an years. Ivy League school, and won the She has also retained — and, 3,000-meter run at the outdoor as a teacher and coach track league championships. at Roxbury Latin School, Injuries plagued her the imparted — her core belief that next two years, but she capped giving one’s all academically her collegiate career by being carries over athletically and vice named an All-American in crossversa. country and winning the 3,000 “It all plays into who you at the indoor track league are as a person,” Dromgoole championships. said Saturday via phone while “So, yeah, sort of book-ended heading to Vermont for a on a good note,” Dromgoole weekend getaway. “So I think said. that balance of being a scholarAnd, not to be overlooked, athlete is something I’ve tried to she graduated magna cum carry forward in my professional laude with a degree in history in life and pass on to another 2001. generation of kids.” Dromgoole has continued Dromgoole, who recently running after college and, in Roxbury Latin School cross-country and track coach Erin turned 40, entered Millbury what she termed a “career Dromgoole competes in the 3,000 meters at the 2008 U.S. High, which also serves seventhhighlight,” represented the Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston. Photo by and eighth-graders, as a shy United States in an international Victah Sailer/Photo Run. student. So not unlike many of relay competition in Beijing her classmates. in 2008. She still logs about 40 to 50 both years, finishing 14th and 10th, But over the course of six years, miles a week and is a member of the respectively. Indoor and outdoor track Dromgoole flourished and distinguished Battle Road Track Club. brought all manner of medals, ribbons herself from her peers. Especially when it Dromgoole met her husband, Paul and plaques. came to athletics, where she developed Rupprecht, at the club. The two were But to this day, it was the personal into a nationally ranked distance runner married two years ago (she kept her growth and friends she made through under the tutelage of coach Bob Nicoletti. maiden name) and bought a house in running that means the most to her. Dromgoole won the Division 2 Natick last year. “I think what stands out to me the state cross-country title as a junior That’s a short drive from Roxbury most are the relationships I developed in and a senior. She also qualified for the high school and the confidence I gained Foot Locker national championships in myself,” said Dromgoole, who was continued on page 36

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COACH SPOTLIGHT ETHEL WALKER SCHOOL | SIMSBURY, CONNECTICUT

Coach Mimi Duran Reaches 300th Win

ovember 2, 2019 marked the 300th win for Ethel Walker School’s head varsity field hockey coach Mimi Duran following a 4-0 victory against Wilbraham and Monson Academy. The Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Famer boasts a record of 300-15440. Instead of focusing on this milestone in her coaching career, Duran exhibited her typical students-first approach and focused Saturday’s game on the seniors who were being honored for their last season with Walker’s. In her 13 years at Walker’s as a field hockey coach, Duran has concentrated on every aspect of team building and the sport of field hockey. She has taken the students white water rafting and on international trips. She has hosted them at her house, planned team meals, and carved pumpkins. Next summer, she will take players to watch the Olympics in Japan. These are all the ways Duran is able to create a program that goes beyond the sport and builds a community. This career milestone adds to Duran’s long list of accolades in her nearly 35 years of coaching. Duran

ERIN DROMGOOLE continued from page 35 Latin, where Dromgoole has taught history for 14 years and coached middle school cross-country and varsity track for eight or nine years. The all-boys school was founded in 1645. Dromgoole is the first female varsity coach in school history. She understands the significance of that, but doesn’t want to be defined by it. “It’s something to be proud of I suppose, but on the other hand, I hope

was named ‘Coach of the Year’ from the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) and she was also selected to the Northeast Women’s Hall of Fame and the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame. Walker’s, under her leadership, won the Connecticut Independent School Athletic Conference (CISAC) League and tournament titles every year from 2007-2014 and she coached her team to become the Western New England Preparatory School Field Hockey

it becomes sort of more natural so it’s not a big thing in the future,” Dromgoole said, adding, “It’s notable, and it’s nice, but I think it’s not the only standard.” Dromgoole has maintained the high standards of the Roxbury Latin track program, which has won nine of the past 12 New England Prep School Athletic Council Division 3 championships. The team typically has about 60 members, or a quarter of the school’s eligible student body. Whether it’s in the classroom or at a competition, she imparts the same

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Association (WNEPSFHA) Class C Champions for four years, including the most recent three seasons in a row. Duran has taken her team to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) tournament in eight seasons, including every year since 2014. In addition to all of this work, Duran also found time to support the community. One of the longest-running traditions in Walker’s field hockey program is the team’s annual Play4theCure event held on campus every fall. Area middle schools and youth programs participate in a one-day tournament to raise money for breast cancer. To date, the team has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the cause. Currently, Duran has six players competing at the college level, including her daughter, Keeley Duran ’18, a sophomore at Hamilton. Lexi King ’17, who currently plays at Brown University, was selected for the AAU Junior Olympics, and was on the gold medal-winning team. In addition to her head coach duties, Duran serves as the associate athletic director, a middle school basketball coach and a middle school advisor.

message to her student-athletes. “I think the bigger picture for me now that I coach and teach is what I try to develop with the boys I work with, this idea that those aren’t independent of each other,” Dromgoole said. “Working hard in one arena means you’re working hard in all arenas. So it’s really important to make the most in all sides of yourself.” Whether it’s been at Millbury, Dartmouth or Roxbury Latin, that astute approach has remained the same for Dromgoole.

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