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Hooksett player can’t be varsity at West as population shrinks

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:31:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Although Bedford is the new high school on the athletic landscape, it is Manchester West that is left looking to build from the bottom up once again in order to continue to field competitive teams. The spring sports season will mark the final group of West teams that will include Bedford residents, and Blue Knight coaches and school officials are continuing to search for the best way to continue to keep roster numbers up.

This is creating an issue for at least one Hooksett student, who won’t have varsity hockey available to him next year.

When the process of moving students to the new Bedford High School began, a total of about 65 percent of Blue Knight athletes were from Bedford, according to West Athletics Director Sarah Dumais.

“It was a big hit initially,” said Dumais. “We had some openings and blank spots on rosters. The more the word gets out, we’re coming back. This year was the worst it’ll be. After they’re gone completely it’ll start to turn around because the Manchester kids will know that they’re our focus.”

West’s hockey team is expected to take a significant hit next season, an issue that was brought up during a recent Hooksett School Board meeting by a Hooksett resident whose son attends West and played on this year’s squad.

Because so many Bedford athletes played on the hockey team this year and normally make up the team’s roster, there is a chance the school will be unable to put a varsity team on the ice next year.

“If kids who want to participate come out, they’ll have the opportunity,” said Dumais. “If we have, say, six freshmen and three sophomores with no varsity experience, we probably wouldn’t expose them to varsity play just because of the safety issues.”

If enough students try out for the team but aren’t experienced in the sport, Dumais said it is possible the school will only have a junior varsity team or possibly a club team.

“Socioeconomic is part of it too,” said Dumais. “It’s really expensive to play hockey, and in junior programs you have to pay for ice time. On the West Side, there just aren’t kids playing hockey.”

Hooksett students are typically sent to Central High School if they live east of the Merrimack River and to West High School if they left on the west side of the river, but may choose a different school. Dumais said the number of Hooksett athletes on teams at West is minimal.

Hooksett School Board member James Sullivan said that while West has some advantages, one of the drawbacks of the now smaller school, due to Bedford’s withdrawal, could come in a situation such as the hockey team.

“A small school can offer smaller class sizes, better ability to compete and ability to stand out more with their talents,” said Sullivan. “On the other hand, a smaller school, because of its population, may not be able to offer the breadth of course selections, and or extra activities, such as varsity hockey.”

While Dumais said she would be thrilled to see more Hooksett students choosing the Blue Knights, it is difficult for her to convince those students to select West.

“We would love for the Hooksett kids to choose West instead of Central,” she said. “We have more room and things to offer here. They have a contract that states they can choose, so there’s no way we can really nail them down and have them come here.”

Several teams had low numbers this year, including the West boys basketball team, which still managed a run into the quarterfinals of the Class L tournament.

Head Coach Sam Carey was down to about eight players on his roster by the end of the year, as he was forced to remove several players from the team for academic reasons.

“I teach at Parkside, so now I know that I need to push it and get those kids motivated,” said Carey. “The biggest issue between Manchester kids and Bedford kids that I had was the grade issue. I’ve got to get kids focused on their grades, and that starts before they get to the high school.”

Though it is a small sample size, of the students Carey had to remove from the team, none were from Bedford.

West softball coach Dan Drewniak expects to have a large group of athletes trying out for the team, but the amount of experience they have will likely be lower without Bedford students.

“The only difference is that a big percentage of the kids are novice players who don’t have game experience,” said Drewniak. “There were at least three girls at open gym who have never played competitive softball and are planning on coming out for my team. That’s the difference.” Drewniak said coaches at the school will need to begin stirring up interest with younger students.

“We’ve got to actively recruit and get the kids more involved at the middle school age,” said Drewiak. “I coached the middle school basketball team and took them over to see games at West. We’re stepping up and trying to get the kids interested in the programs.”

Dumais said the biggest difference between West and Bedford athletes is the amount of exposure they have to the sports they play.

Despite the loss of Bedford students, Dumais is optimistic about the Blue Knights’ future, and is looking forward to working with an increased number of Manchester student-athletes.

“There are athletes out there, but athletes that haven’t had the same opportunities as Bedford kids,” said Dumais. “An athlete is an athlete. If they’re athletic we’re going to take them and coach them.”

Dealing with rules, harassment and stereotypes, girls are finding success competing with the boys

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:19:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

It’s uncomfortable, but it’s a conversation both parties know must take place. As practice begins, Bill Walton, the John Stark wrestling coach, pulls Morgan Belanger aside.

“You know if anything inappropriate happens, you have to tell me,” he says. Belanger nods. She’s had this talk before. “I mean anything,” he continues. “If a guy touches you the wrong way, or a grab turns into a grope, I need to know about it.”

“No problem, coach,” she replies. Thus far, she’s been right.

In the 10 years since Walton started the wrestling team at John Stark, he said an issue has yet to be brought to his attention concerning any of the eight female grapplers he’s supervised. But he knows it takes only one brazen adolescent male to put the program in a very tough spot.

So the awkward conversations continue.

Look past the potential issues associated with high school co-eds wrestling on a mat, however, and Walton said there are some very talented female athletes holding their own against testosterone-laden counterparts – and that holds true in other traditionally male-dominated sports as well.

From the gridiron to the baseball diamond, the wrestling mat to the hockey rink, and on every surface in between, these girls are proving they can play with and beat the boys.

The challenge
Marc Noel knows a thing or two about female athletes. The Pembroke Academy boys hockey coach has also mentored the Lady Monarchs the past 10 seasons.

He’s sent eight females to play college hockey. His 20-yearold daughter, Stephanie, played for the Concord girls club program while attending Bishop Brady, and she’s now enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology, where she played hockey her freshman season.

Noel’s Spartans currently feature two female players, forwards Jennifer Poulin and Alyssa Caruso.

Poulin, said Noel, is an impact player who will compete at the college level. She tallied seven goals and 12 assists during the 2007-08 season, her junior campaign.

“Jen’s a big girl that puts the puck in the net,” said Noel. “She’s been playing boys sports ever since she was little, so it’s the only thing she knows.”

Kaira Ellis understands that concept well.

Ellis began playing ice hockey when she was 4 and grew up competing with boys in the Concord Youth Hockey League and for the New Hampshire Selects.

As a goaltender for the Pembroke Academy girls hockey team, Ellis said she had to earn the respect of her teammates.

Now an assistant coach for the Spartans – after playing three years for the Saint Anselm College women’s team – she said she once again had to earn the players’ esteem. Yet she doesn’t believe it’s a male/ female thing.

When she stepped onto the ice as a high school freshman, she, like any other newcomer, had to prove herself. As a coach, her players needed to understand she knew what she was talking about before they would listen to her.

Ellis knows full well, however, that’s not the case at all schools. She’s thankful for the consideration the Pembroke players have shown her through the years.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ve walked on egg shells either. As a four-year starter in net at Pembroke, Ellis shared the same locker room with her male counterparts. All parties went into separate stalls to change and respected each other’s privacy, but she shared in the same off-color jokes typical of sports locker rooms throughout the country.

Ellis was just one of the guys, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I went from playing boys high school hockey to girls hockey in college, and the boys game is a lot faster,” she said. “You have to be mentally prepared.” It’s more than just being prepared that allows females to compete with males, said Noel. It’s a state of mind, a desire to excel when others tell them they shouldn’t be there.

Belanger said she struggled as a 77-pound freshman grappler and only found success when Walton taught her to enter a match believing she had just as much chance to win as her male foe. This year, as a senior in the 112-pound weight class, Belanger finished in the top four at the Class I wrestling championship and earned a berth at the Meet of Champions.

To Walton’s knowledge, one other female reached the Meet of Champions, and only Belanger walked away with a victory at the event.

The past four years, Belanger said she’s always been outmuscled, but has learned to use her speed and flexibility to gain a winning edge.

She’s also discussed her teammates’ mentality when they enter matches with females. Walton said he’s seen a male wrestler’s psyche totally destroyed by losing to a female.

Belanger learned to take advantage of any opponent’s apprehension. “I tried to get into their head and make them feel like they didn’t want to touch me, let alone wrestle me alone on the mat,” she said, adding she wishes other females would have the courage to wrestle. “It’s really not that scary. It’s actually a pretty fun sport once you get out there and learn to enjoy it.”

Getting physical
“Wrestling is a contact sport, and it’s not just football contact, it’s close-knit contact with no pads and no real barrier,” said Walton. “I always talk to the girls about the fact there is grabbing, and you’re going to have opponents grab legs and grab arms.

But it’s the other areas they might try to grab, or grope, that concern me.”

In turn, Walton said he advises his male competitors that expediency is key when facing a female. “I tell the guys to try to pin them as quickly as possible – nothing good can come of spending too much time on the mat,” he said. “You don’t want to go out there and embarrass the girl or belittle her either. You want to respect her like any other opponent.”

It’s not the sanctioned match, where refs, coaches, parents and fellow wrestlers are all watching closely, that gives Walton anxiety. It’s the practice room.

“I can’t see any guy ever trying to do something in an environment that they are being so closely scrutinized, but at practice, I can’t be watching everyone all the time … I always like having two girls because they can (practice) and work out together. It’s less looking out of the corner of my eyes for me.

“Thankfully, no issue has come up,” added Walton. “It’s tough enough trying to explain and get people to understand all the hard work and time that goes into wrestling, let alone having to go to the school board or administration and trying to explain something like that happening.”

That doesn’t mean it’s never happened.

Belanger said the one time she thought an opposing male wrestler took advantage of the situation, she went to her teammates.

They spoke to the offending opponent, explained it was inappropriate and warned him to avoid repeating his mistake. It wasn’t a problem again.

Ice hockey’s environment is different.

“(Girls) play a physical game against each other. There’s no checking, but they bump each other, and it gets a little nasty sometimes,” said Noel. “But when the girls play with the guys, they’ve got to be able to take (hard checks), there’s no doubt about it. Jen (Poulin) has been checked over and over again. She takes her lumps and bumps, but she keeps coming right back at them.”

It’s the hard checks, however, that keep some girls away from the sport, said Tom Ackerson, coach of the Concord High School girls hockey team, state runner-up in the inaugural year of the New Hampshire girls varsity hockey division.

“(Hockey) is physical for both girls or boys … There’s no checking in girls hockey, but players still get knocked around, it’s just not as ‘goony’ as it is on the boys’ side,” said Ackerson. “They’re not going out there trying to hurt each other.”

“Jen (Poulin) started getting a lot of grief (for being a girl), so when the boys were picking on her, she beat them up, and they left her alone,” said Noel.

Harassment
Lighthearted banter and roughhousing aside, many female athletes deal with both verbal and physical harassment that is sexual in nature.

Former University of Colorado placekicker Katie Hnida absorbed abuse in every form during her two years with the NCAA Division-I squad. According to a Feb. 23, 2004 article by Rick Reilly in Sports Illustrated, Hnida said teammates groped her, called her vulgar names, threw footballs at her head and worse. She also said she was raped by a teammate she considered a friend.

She dropped out following her sophomore year and, according to the story, was depressed for two years, suffered insomnia and gave up kicking.

But Hnida rebounded. In 2002, three years after the alleged rape, she walked on at New Mexico. In August 2003, she became the first female to score in a Division I game when she notched two extra-point kicks in a 72-8 win over Texas State-San Marcos.

A league of their own?
Not for everyone
Hannah Paitchel could be playing softball with other girls her age. Instead, the 11-year-old is striking out boys on the Pelham Little League diamond.

Paitchel, who has two older brothers, has played baseball since she learned to walk, said her father, Steve.

During the 2007 Little

League all-star season, Paitchel was not only the lone female to compete, but she was one of three 10-year-olds to play on Pelham’s 11-year-old all-star squad. In fact, Steve Paitchel said two other girls Hannah’s age joined the Little League this year.

“I think she’s led by example by giving them the comfort to play the sport they love without having to feel uncomfortable about it,” he said.

Hannah also excels playing flag football with the boys, said her father. She accounted for 30 of her team’s 35 touchdowns last year.

“In all fairness, the best boy athletes are actually playing real football, so the competition level is a little watered down,” said the elder Paitchel. “But that just makes her accomplishments in baseball that much more impressive because the competition isn’t watered down, and she’s dominating.”

While the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association restricts female athletes from playing male sports when an equivalent female-only option is available, R. Patrick Corbin, executive director of the NHIAA, said that rule does not apply to baseball because the sports have sufficient differences. Still, Corbin defended the restrictive policy because he said it promotes female athletics.

“We haven’t determined what to do yet because we don’t know where (Hannah) will be when she is 13, so we always said we would re-evaluate at that point,” said Steve Paitchel. “If she continues to be as dominating on the pitching mound as she is now, I think it would just be wrong to make her stop.”

Corbin added the NHIAA discourages females from playing baseball because, when freshmen and sophomores become upperclassmen, the playing field, in general, heavily favors male athletes.

“I’m going to try to play baseball as long as I can,” said Hannah. “And if I can’t, then I’m going to switch to softball, which I think will be a lot easier.”

Ellis said the formation of the NHIAA’s all-girl hockey division restrains female hockey players.

“For any girl that has the talent to play on a boys hockey team, it’s a great opportunity for them, and they should take it because when they get into college they have to play with the girls,” said Ellis. “If you take Jen (Poulin), for example, you put her on a girls team without the numbers and the depth, and it’s not as beneficial to her. It’s tough for me to endorse taking that away from the girls who have a lot of potential and are playing first or second line on a boys team.”

Ellis said that’s proof enough girls shouldn’t be restricted from playing where they’re most comfortable.

Still, Ackerson said female hockey has its place.

“I think if you have a girls team it allows more girls to play,” he said. “There are very few that can compete at the boys level. I’ve watched some girls play for some of the local (boys) teams in this area, and I’m not sure if they get to excel at the rate they would like to.”

Walton said he’s excited to see the creation of the girls hockey division because it signifies forward thinking by the NHIAA.

“Right now, we’re drawing more females into those perceived male sports and, who knows, maybe eventually we’ll have female wrestling in New Hampshire,” said the John Stark wrestling coach. “I know California has female wrestling, and the Olympics have female wrestling.

Unfortunately for New Hampshire, I think we’re still a long way away from that.”