BY SAPNA PATHAK
The coach called two of them warriors. Another possesses a toughness he envies, and one has a sly sense of humor the coach will miss. Heck, Tony Carnovale is so fond of his seniors, he’d let one of them date his own daughter.
It’s a pride most coaches take years to develop. Carnovale needed one campaign.
Despite the season coming to an end, the head coach of the Goffstown High boys basketball team taught the Grizzlies how to change the culture of a struggling program. Goffstown capped off its inaugural season under Carnovale with a 57-43 loss to two-time defending Class L champion Central on Thursday, March 8.
“My seniors really led the team … We got such a tremendous year out of Owen Hendry. He’s such a good kid you’d have no problem if he went out with your daughter. I’d have to decide where they’d go, though,” said Carnovale with a laugh. “I’ll miss Mike Sullivan’s daily wisecracks, too.”
Along with Sullivan and Hendry, Carnovale loses Alex Sobolov and Greg Meighan, two of Carnovale’s toughest players, and Zach Clark, the squad’s leading scorer, to graduation.
With Clark out more than 10 games with an ankle injury, the loss of point guard Tommy MacDonald and, for one game, sophomore Alex Stoyle, Carnovale said the team couldn’t find consistency.
Against the Little Green, Goffstown trailed by one point in the middle of the third quarter, but Central took control after hitting three consecutive 3-pointers.
“Coach put in some new offense, and that really made us think we had a chance,” said Sobolov, the senior co-captain slated to play for Goffstown’s baseball team this spring. “Motivation wasn’t really a problem for us this year because Coach had a way of saying the right things to keep us positive.”
Carnovale, who signed a five-year commitment to the Grizzlies program, said making the playoffs was the goal at the beginning of this year. The former Pinkerton Academy head coach added patience and a good attitude eased the transition into his new team.
While it’s evident Carnovale has a serious side, like when the former drill sergeant yells out plays, the high school history teacher let his lighthearted side show during practice.
Playing up his love for history, Carnovale would draw up a new identity for his squad each week.
“One week we’d be the Spartans, another we’d be ninja warriors,” said Sobolov. “It was funny how he’d connect us with people in history. He’d come in every week, compare us to some people from the past, and we’d have fun with it. We definitely all got better grades in history class this year, too.”