North Edition November 2013

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WHAT’S INSIDE

Local football squads get ready for Thanksgiving

Page 10

Local soccer teams have impressive years

Page 6

Suffield of dreamsErika Studer | Staff

The Suffield girls soccer team receives the Class LL runners up trophy, (left), and boys captains Sean Sullivan, (left), Colin McFarlane and Ben Woodhoue boast the Class M championship trophy.

By Kevin HayesThe Sports Department

Tradition.It can be a nebulous concept, and in

the lexicon of sports the word is thrown around so much it is borderline cliché.

But for the Suffield High boys and girls soccer programs, tradition is not only alive and well, but growing. The Wildcats added another chapter to the school’s winning tradition on Satur-day as the boys captured the Class M state championship while the girls team dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 decision to St. Joseph-Trumbull in the Class LL

state final.For the boys it was their third consecu-

tive Class M state title and ninth overall. The girls have won six state titles since 1998 and have made 10 appearances in a championship game.

If you are counting that makes for 15 state championships between the boys and girls programs. There are only a handful of schools in state history with more combined titles and in Suffield the explanation for such success always seems to come back to that word: Tra-dition

“Tradition is something that is carried on. Tradition is something that is prac-

ticed and that is celebrated. It’s some-thing that most importantly is built upon by each graduating class,’’ Suffield coach Mark Beigel said. “When you ask how we do it I think that word (tradi-tion) has been spread around and each graduating class ultimately buys into it. Each graduating class leaves a legacy and that has been happening in this town for a long time.’’

The legacy left by the seniors from 2013 boys’ soccer team is remarkable. The past four years Suffield has com-piled 72-4-2 record with three state championships. Beigel’s squad also won a title in 2006.

The legacy on the girls’ side of things is equally impressive. David Sullivan – whose son Sean was a key figure in each of the boys’ past three state cham-pionships- took over the girls program in 1998. Since that time the Suffield girls have won 10 NCCC championships and six state championships, including three undefeated seasons.

David Sullivan said one of the things that impressed him the most about the state championship games on Saturday was the amount of young kids from town that came to the game.

See ‘TRADITION,’ continues on PAGE 8

Title runs are latest in Suffield soccer tradition

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Index of Advertisers The Sports DepartmentP.O. Box 746, Ellington, CT 06029

860-872-0TSD (0873) • 860-614-5866 • thesportsdept.comPublisher: Kevin Hayes • kevin@thesportsdept.com

Editor: Evan Macy • Production Manager: Patty HunterContributing Writers: Jon Buzby • Tom Ainsworth • Steve Smith • Reid L

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Suffield Soccer strikes twice

Wildcat Championship mayhem Imag-es from each Suffield soccer squad in respective state finals. For more visit www.TheSportsDept.com.

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Of all the youth sports seasons, winter is naturally when the majority of kids on a team get sick at one point or another. And this just isn’t because it’s cold and flu season, but also a result of parents, players and coaches not always taking appropriate steps to prevent germs from spreading once they join the team.

Parents need to make smart decisions when sending their child to practices or games. I always use the rule of thumb that if you wouldn’t send your child to school in his or her condition, he or she certainly does not need to go play a sport — regard-less of what he or she wants to do.

I also have the rule that if a child is sick enough to stay home from school, what-ever the extra-curricular activity is on the schedule that night is not important enough to attend. It’s not always a pop-ular decision, but I believe it’s the correct

one.But not every child will keep his or her

germs benched at home. There will be times when players on your team just have bad colds, and while each parent certainly needs to make an individual decision, I don’t think having a cold al-ways warrants missing youth sports (or school).

As a result, there will be germs at youth sports practices and games, and it’s up to

everyone involved to help fight them.Kids should never share water bottles,

which is the biggest germ-spreader of them all. I always make sure to have ex-tra bottles of water in my trunk in case a player forgets his or hers. It’s still import-ant to drink water, just not out of a team-mate’s bottle.

You hear all the time people spread germs the easiest by shaking hands or through any skin-to-skin contact, and yet in youth sports, the most popular way to congratulate a teammate is with a high five. Just picture the germs that are passed along every time a goal is scored. Try to encourage teammates to invent another way to celebrate, one that is still not taunting but also not a pas-sageway for germs.

And lastly, sometimes the responsi-bility has to fall directly on the players’ shoulders, especially as they get older and learn how to “fake” being sick or not. It’s important to teach early in the sea-son that it’s a long one, and trying to play through an illness not only hurts the team at the time when a player can’t give 100 percent, but it could also affect the team in the long term if that same player gets a more serious illness.

Hopefully by involving all three parties — coaches, parents and players — strat-egies can be implemented to prevent germs from spreading. It will make for a healthier, happier winter season.

Contact Jon Buzby at JonBuzby@hot-mail.com and follow him @JonBuzby on Twitter.

Keeping germs off your team

SUFFIELDStudent Athlete of the Month

Sean is a scholar athlete and an honor roll student, but he is also a recognized varsity performer. Sean was the MVP in the Class M championship game (last

year), an All-State and All-New England soccer player, and helped lead his team to the Class M title game this year.How Sean prepares before a game: Team usually gets together night be-fore the game to have dinner. Before the bus leaves or other team gets to the field coach goes over reminders of what to watch for in the game. Finally warm ups (same routine every game). How Sean has improved this season: I have improved my first touch and one on one skill the most this year. I focused on using my right foot more too.Sean’s most memorable moment as a Wildcat: Winning 2012 class M state Championship game and receiving the MVP award for that game.Sean’s proudest accomplishment this year: Making it to the Championship game and having a chance to win three straight championship games in a row.Sean’s favorite pro athlete: Cesc Fàbregas.Sean’s College Plans: Going to a four year college to study business and play college soccer.

Sean SullivanSoccer, Basketball, Golf

FERMIStudent Athlete of the Month

Mackenzie is ranked 10th in her class, is in the National Honor Society, and has received the Clarkson University Award for High School Leadership. Athletically she is the captain of the varsity volleyball squad and holds the scool record for shot-put in indoor track (32’2.5”).How Mackenzie prepares before a game: I listen to music, I go over what I need to work on in my head, and if it’s a re-ally big game I watch motivational videos specific to my sport. I’m also actually pret-ty superstitious when it comes to games so I always wear the exact same thing every game.How Mackenzie has improved this sea-

son: I think I really improved not only as a player, but also as a leader this fall. Being nominated captain gave me the chance to help our team grow as individual players and teammates. There is no better feeling than knowing you made a difference in someone’s life, even if it’s as small as mak-ing them a better athlete, or helping them to understand the game even better.Mackenzie’s most memorable moment as a Falcon: The most memorable mo-ment I had in my school volleyball uni-form would have to be this past volley-ball season. It being my senior year, all of the moments were special to me, but I’d have to say being able to play (and beat) our cross town rivals on our senior night is something that is definitely memorable. Either that game or when my best friend and I, co-captain Sam DelConte, collided during one of our first home games this year! Both events are something I will never forget.Mackenzie’s proudest moment of the fall season: My volleyball team’s most impressive accomplishment would have to be being able to play a few close games with some of the tougher teams in our con-ference.

Mackenzie VermetteVolleyball, Track, Softball

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ENFIELDStudent Athlete of the Month

Ryon is a consistent honor roll student at Enfield High, and is the senior cap-tain of the Raiders football team.How Ryon prepares before a game: I like to listen to music and zone out. I think about what I need to do to win. How Ryon has improved this season: I got a lot stronger physically and men-

tally. I worked hard in the weight room as well as studied film and took notes on what I need to do to succeed. I took what I did in the class room as well as the gym and incorporated it onto the field.Ryon’s most memorable moment as a Raider: Getting my first touchdown. As primarily a defensive player I rarely get an opportunity to score, so the fact that it was a “pick six’ made it so much better.Ryon’s proudest moment of the fall season: We had two games this season against Hyde and Cromwell. The games were right after each other. They are very well-rounded teams and we were favored to lose. We came out fighting and won both despite being the under-dog in both games.Ryon’s favorite pro athlete: Jared Al-len.Ryon’s college plans: Attend a four year college to become a nurse.

Ryon GatesFootball, Indoor Track

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Youth Photos

GRIDIRON GLORY Images from an October battle between Ellington and Suffield’s C and A squads, and from playoff action for the Enfield A’s and B’s. For more youth photos be sure to visit www.TheSportsDept.com.

Erika Studer | Staff Suffield defenders get a last minute hit on Ellington’s C-Squad quarterback.

Erika Studer | Staff Suffield’s Luciano DiCioccio breaks a tackle and heads for the end zone.

Tom Powers | Staff Cooper Lorenz makes a big stop for the Ramblers’ A-team. Enfield lost Sunday’s championship game to the Colchester Cougars 20-12. For more on the title game visit www.TheSportsDept.com.

Tom Powers | Staff Enfield’s B team runs over the Tolland Eagles in the first round of the NCFL playoffs at Enfield High School, (left), A run during the Rambler’s B-team win over Tolland in the first round 44-14, (above right), and the Enfield Ramblers’ A-team defeated the Ellington Roadrunners 22-8 in the first round at Enfield High school earlier this month, (far right).

Tom Powers | Staff Enfield’s A-Team quarterback gets a first down in a 22-0 second-round victory over Stafford in Putnam on November 10th.

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By Brendan FahertyStaff Writer

The Fermi girls soccer team snuck in as the 26th and final seed in the Class L tournament with a regular season record of 6-9-1. With the team’s back against the wall, the Falcons were able to dispose of both Rockville (1-0) and Hartford Public (4-0) to clinch a spot when prospects looked dim.

Coach Matt Hay said the right thing to his players before the final two games.

“The players knew the challenge of our schedule and tough opponents we faced. I focused on the parts of those losses that were positive,” Hay said. “There were 6-10 minute stretches of those games that we were the better team. I stressed those aspects and the need for heart and desire. All the play-ers shared the same goal of making the tournament and simply went out to get the job done.”

The Falcons did drop the first round match to Westbrook, 6-0, eliminating them from the tournament.

“While I am slightly disappointed in our tournament result,” Hay said. “I am extremely happy with the season, and definitely consider it a success. A few facts to back this up are: the girls adapted to a new coach and a new system and challenged the top teams in the CCC we gained invaluable ex-perience from playing them. And about 8-9 of my starters this season got little to no varsity time last season, includ-ing starting 6 sophomores. There was a steep learning curve and my players were up to the challenge.”

The team will lose Ashley and Kaley Kennedy, Hannah Raftery and Kristen Tolo. Hay said their contributions were invaluable, but is happy that 90% of his starting lineup will be returning.

SomersSomers suffered a heartbreaking de-

feat to end its season in the first round of the Class S tournament as Shelbie Carr of Windsor Locks scored six sec-onds left in regulation to stun the Spar-tans.

"I could not be any happier than how the kids played," Pantousco told The Sports Department after the game.

"We had 12 seniors play in the game and every single one of them played as hard as they can play. I never have any doubt that they gave everything they have. I couldn’t be prouder."

During the season, the Spartans fin-ished 7-6-3, with a win and a tie against a tough Canton team, a win against NCCC and tournament team, Enfield, and a tie against tournament-bound Granby.

Windsor LocksThe Windsor Locks Raiders may have

had the most exciting win in the entire girls soccer tournament in the first round of the Class S matchup against Somers as Shelbie Carr took the ball down field after a pass from Carley Hoynoski and scored with six seconds left to give Wind-sor Locks a 1-0 win.

After the game, Jim O’Brien told The Sports Department "It was a brilliant goal. It was an absolute bomb. There's no chance that keeper could stop it. It was upper left, perfect."

The Raiders momentum was stopped however in the second round against No. 3 Coginchaug as they fell behind 2-0 in the first half before eventually losing 3-1. Carr had the lone goal for Windsor Locks.

EnfieldThe Raiders had a tough end to a solid

season. as they lost 2-1 to No. 13 Valley Regional in the first round of the Class M tournament on Nov. 4. Enfield was seed-ed 20th.

After falling behind 1-0, Rachel Bearse scored to tie the game in the second half, but Jill Cayer’s goal in overtime sent the Raiders home. Shayenne Gonzalez was solid in net as she had seen saves on the day.

The Raiders rebounded from a slow 1-3 start to begin the season, but started to gain traction after a win over Coventry and started their run of winning five of six games. the five wins helped propel them into the Class M tournament.

StaffordStafford had a 2-13-1 record in Rachel

Caneen’s first season. The Bulldogs had wins over East Windsor (2-0) and SMSA (6-0). They were outscored 57-13 on the season.

The team was young this season, with 11 sophomores on the team, so a year under their belt should prove well for them in the long term.

Local girls squads have seasons to remember

Evan Macy | Staff Windsor Locks’ Angela Quaglaroli, (left), and Hailey Johnson try to steal the ball away from Somers’ Erin Pfeifer during the first round of the Class S tournament, a 1-0 Raiders victory.

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Congratulations to theSUFFIELD WILDCATS

BOYS & GIRLS SOCCER TEAMS for making the State Championship

It’s not just about style, it’s about self expression

Suffield has rich soccer traditionContinued from PAGE 1

The Suffield Soccer Club serves as a feeder system to the high school pro-grams and Sullivan said there is a real sense of community and belonging when it comes to soccer in Suffield.

“We have a preseason camp with the younger kids from the soccer club and we have a night where the kids come to practice,’’ Sullivan said. “It’s a real com-munity affair and it’s the same thing with the boys.’’

Sullivan coached in the Suffield Soccer Club and worked with the majority of the players from the boys’ team from the time they were nine-years old. For the girls’, Sullivan enlisted the help of his soccer rich family to take on the responsibility of getting the young players in town ready for the high school ranks. Sullivan’s father Danny (a CT High School Hall of Fame coach) and his brothers Brian, Mark and Danny all helped by coaching teams in town through the Suffield Soccer Club.

“We just have a community of kids in

Suffield that, right from the beginning know what it means to have the right at-titude and how to approach practice and games and to be ready for whatever is thrown at them,’’ Sullivan said.

Ben Woodhouse, who handled the goalkeeping duties for the boys team, said the belief in team and togetherness

is shared by both girls and boys teams. “We’re all one big family,’’ Woodhouse said. “We’re all together and we all stick up for each other.’’

David Sullivan offered a perfect exam-ple of that family unity following his team’s tough loss Saturday “One of things I am extremely proud of with my girls is that

not one of them wanted to leave (Satur-day),’ Sullivan said. Even though we lost a heartbreaker I asked them if they want-ed me to get them a bus to go home and they all said “of course not coach. We want to stay and support the boys.’ That is what tradition is all about.’’

Evan Macy | Staff The Suffield girls line up after their 2-1 loss to St. Jiosephs to receive their runners up medals.

Erika Studer | Staff Suffield boys coach Mark Beigel embraces goalie Ben Woodhouse after their win Saturday.

••••

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By Evan MacySports Editor

MERIDEN — There are many impres-sive stats from the Suffield boys soccer team's 2-0 Class M state championship win against Ellington Saturday afternoon.

But the most impressive number is not the three straight titles the soccer pow-erhouse has accumulated in as many years. And it is not their perfect 20-0 re-cord this season.

It isn't the spectacular play from senior captain Sean Sullivan, No. 2, or from the captain of the defense Colin McFarlane, No. 17.

The most impressive statistic comes from the senior class, which has argu-ably done more for Suffield soccer than any that preceded it. It's their record: 72-4-2.

"It definitely doesn’t get old, it gets better," Suffield head coach Mark Beigel said. "We are lucky, this school and com-munity is lucky. This group of seniors is an unbelievable group of guys. To accu-mulate a 72-4-2 record, that doesn’t hap-

pen very often. To somehow pull off three state championships in a row, it hasn’t happened since the 80's. They really set the tone for future generations in terms of the tradition of our program. They will be up on the wall of the auditorium for a long time."

Suffield was dominant not only offen-sively but also on defense, as proven by the game's eventual MVP, sweeper Col-in McFarlane.

"It was who I would have picked actu-ally,"Beigel said. "I think in the first half he showed his poise. He calms everyone down. As good as our offense is, we are able to have that because we are able to possess the ball. It was well deserved and it’s a guy who doesn't get a lot of rec-ognition."

McFarlane set the tone early as a field general, leading by example and by making smart decisions with the ball. He also helped keep the ball in the offensive zone for most of both halves.

“I would definitely say we had a sol-id defense this year," the senior said. "I

wasn’t happy that I had to play sweep-er because they wouldn’t be pressuring me at all. I kept my cool back there and tried to move it up the field as good as I could."

For McFarlane and eight other depart-ing seniors, the victory is validation of their legacy, and will surely help to fuel the Wildcats soccer program for years to come.

"Suffield soccer is a deep soccer tradi-tion," Beigel said. "This is a really talent-ed class, a talented junior class a deep program, and they are in there with the rest of them. Everyone believes in the tradition and the torch keeps getting passed from graduating class to gradu-ating class. Every class leaves a bit of its legacy."

With so many great memories to choose from, McFarlane says this final dance, as a senior captain was the best.

“This one was better," McFarlane said. "Definitely more special for me. My se-nior year. I have been apart of it since my sophomore year and a bigger role my junior year but to be a captain with Sean [Sullivan] and Ben [Woodhouse], this one was the best."

Suffield boys win third straight Class M crown

EAST WINDSORStudent Athlete of the Month

Adam is an honor role student, was se-lected as the most improved AP English student of the year and was a student spot-

light. He is just as gifted athletically, hav-ing earned the coaches and 3D awards as a varsity player on three teams.How Adam prepares before a game: By listening to music and talking with my teammates.How Adam has improved this season: I improved most by working hard every day.Adam’s most memorable moment as a Panther: Scoring a head ball on my senior night.Adam’s proudest accomplishment: Im-proving our record from the past years and beating teams we have not in the past.Adam’s favorite pro athlete: Stephen CurryAdam’s College Plans: To attend a four year college in the fall. Majoring in busi-ness.

Adam FisherSoccer, Basketball, Baseball

Erika Studer | Staff The 2013 Class M state champion Suffield boys soccer team poses with their medals and trophy.

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Open Under New OwnershipSince October

By Brian MazzoneStaff Writer

As is tradition across the gridiron, Thanksgiving day means both football and turkey for local football fans. Here is a look at the slate of games prior to this year’s feast.

Fermi Falcons vs. Bloomfield Warhawks

Series: Bloomfield leads 2-0Last Year: Bloomfield 38-13Things just aren’t the same in Enfield.

This game is played on a Saturday, it isn’t a traditional rival, and it is often a lopsid-ed affair. Bloomfield has dominated the last two games, and Fermi longs for the days of their traditional matchup. Fermi is currently in the middle of a 34 game losing streak.

“The 2013 was a tough year, the team is focused, but with lack of experience and depth we struggled,” said Fermi head coach Joe Tata Jr. “We also lost 7 major varsity players out with some major injuries. Charles Fields RB/LB, Andrew Wilcox K/P and Tim.Butler OL/DL have led the way for us.”

Enfield Raiders vs. SMSA/University Tigerhawks

Series: Enfield 2-0Last Year: Enfield 50-16Barry Bernstein must have had an

affinity for strange birds when he found Enfield and Fermi these rivalries. Both teams wanted to keep Thanksgiving matchups and Enfield, after toying with the Granby Bears for one year, acqui-esced and forged a matchup with SMSA. This is not the ideal game, but they play on Thanksgiving’s Eve at Dillon Stadium

Enfield has been led by QB Jason Da-vis running back Tom Watson and wide receivers Tyrik Henry and Nick Joren. On Friday night they dropped a heartbreak-er to Coventry when they scored on the final play of the game, but were stopped twice (one penalty) on two point tries by the Patriots.

“Defense has been our strength the past few weeks,” said Enfield head coach Jay Gaucher. “We’ve been led by- se-

niors- Bryan Murphy, Ryon Gates, Jake Watts, Travis and Tyler Bonanno, and Kyle Whalen.”

Stafford/East Windsor Bulldogs vs. Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby

RaidersThese two teams will square off on

Thanksgiving’s Eve in Windsor Locks. The Raiders will clinch their first winning season since 2006 with a win this week-end over Lewis Mills. Stafford has domi-nated this series for the past five years, but this year they have struggled to a 1-9 record, while Windsor Locks is 5-4. Ju-nior running back Jarvis Miller will be the one player who Stafford needs to stop in order to win the game.

Ellington/Somers Knights vs. Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton

PatriotsSeries: Ellington/Somers Leads 6-0 Last Year: Ellington/Somers 38-14This is the first time since this rivalry

has been renewed (2009) that there are not playoff implications on the line. Each year the playoffs have been on the line for Coventry. In each of the last two years both teams had the playoffs on the line, and in 2011 it was a battle of undefeated for the conference championship. This is never a dull event, but this year it will be played on Wednesday evening. This is the first time that the two teams have squared off at night. This season, the di-vision title will also be on the line. Elling-ton can claim the Pequot North with a vic-tory, or they will have to settle for possibly a four way tie—Coventry would be one of the teams in position to grab a piece of the title.

Ellington will rely heavily on the right arm and legs of QB/S Joe Leslie and RB/LB Christian Schneider. Ellington’s first year head coach Sean Byrne notes that the team relies heavily on a strong group of seniors as well as a cast of freshman who see varsity time. Aside from Les-lie and Schneider, Byrne has received strong contributions from lineman Ben Bahler, Sean McKillop, and Trevor Printy, as well as skill players Mike Casciano, Andrew Pearce and Kyle Ross.

Thanksgiving means football for local squads

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Preventing skin infectionsBy Julie Dutton ATC, LAT, Director of

Athletic Training

Infections of the skin are common in high school and college ath-letics because of environmental conditions, close physical contact and trauma associ-ated with sports. Athletes need to be aware of the potential to contact bacteria, virus and fungi on a regular basis. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association has published a Position Statement on Skin Diseases in athletics, which addresses hygiene and cleanliness.

Athletes must follow good overall hy-giene practices. Good personal hygiene decreases the colonization of bacteria and can be a first line of defense against trans-mission of infectious agents (Luke, A. Pre-vention of Infectious Disease in Athletes. Clin Sports Med. 2007.) . Good hygiene practices include:

l Showering after every practice with an-timicrobial soap and water over the entire body. Athletes should also be discouraged from cosmetic body shaving (other than face and legs), as this has been shown to

exponentially increase the risk of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus au-reus).

l Clothing worn for practice and games, including undergarments, outwear and uni-forms, should be laundered daily.

l Equipment, including knee sleeves, braces and pads, should be disinfected as di-rected by the manufacturer on a daily basis.

l Athletes should not share towels, ath-letic gear, disposable razors or water bottles.

l Athletes must report all abrasions, cuts and skin lesions to their athletic trainer for proper cleansing, treatment and dressing. If no ATC is available, athletes should see their doctor for any suspicious lesions. Return to play guidelines following skin in-fection should be clearly stated and under-stood.

A clean environment must be maintained in locker rooms, athletic training rooms, weight rooms and all athletic facilities.

Parents and coaches must demand that athletes be responsible for good hygiene to minimize the risk of skin infections and outbreaks, and consult with medical pro-fessionals immediately if and when they occur to minimize worsening or spreading to others.

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Bbush@bollesdodge.com

By Tom PowersStaff Writer

The WIndsor Locks boys soccer team (7-7-3) earned a seventeen seed, their highest seeding in five years, in this year’s Class S State Tournament, but lost to 16 Wamogo 4-2 in the first round.

All NCCC Defensive Back Ryan Wil-son lead the Raiders much improved defense. In 2011, Locks had a -42 goal differential.

Last year it was -10, and this year +13 due in large part to the defense’s ability to stop attacks.

Wilson, a junior, will return next sea-son with fellow defensive anchors Glenn Smith and Reed Lynch. The Raiders will also return their top scorers Mike Smalley and Kenan Omerbasic.

Unfortunately, Windsor Locks will lose nine seniors including captains Jonathan Oliveira, Tyler Labbe, and Nick Russo.

“The boys have completely adapted to a new style of play which improved their fitness, skill, and teamwork,” head coach Daniel Eckert said of his team. “The boys won or tied all of the games they should have won or tied, and other than one blow out, competed well against some of the division power houses.”

East WindsorThe East Windsor Panthers showed

significant improvement from last sea-son’s 2-13-1 season. The Panthers went 5-10-1 this year, and looked ready to qualify for the Class S State Tourna-ment for the first time in nearly a decade by mid-season.

Unfortunately, East Windsor was not able to muster enough points to qualify for the tournament this year, but will re-turn freshman Jack Pelley to lead next season’s campaign.

The Panthers, under the direction of head coach Mike Mosher, had big wins this season over Canton and Somers, two teams that qualified for the tourna-ment. The team will lose senior offen-sive contributors Kevin Mocadlo and Adam Fisher, and goalkeeper Bryan Perron.

SomersThe Somers Spartans started off

the season hot, winning their first five games, but then cooled down, largely due to costly injuries.

The Spartans were 12-4-0 in the regu-lar season, finishing fourth in the NCCC. Somers was an eight-seed in the Class S State Tournament and earned a first round bye before falling to 9 Old Lyme 3-1 at home.

Led by head coach Rick Kelley, the Spartans were able to defeat Canton twice and hand Avon one of its three losses on the season. Somers will lose their most consistent goal scorers se-niors Brian Rossini, Austin Ficara, and Brandon Scanlon, but will return Nich-olas Murzda, who missed a part of this year’s season due to injury, John Poitras, Michael Ryan, and Corey Brown.

EnfieldThe Enfield Raiders had a disappoint-

ing, injury-plagued season this year. Enfield finished with a record of 3-12-1, beating SMSA twice and East Granby.

The Raiders were close in games, however, losing six games by a frustrat-ing one-goal margin.

Enfield’s offense had difficulty estab-lishing a rhythm in a challenging NCCC schedule. The Raiders were only able to score 20 goals in 16 games.

The defense played well for the most part, but Enfield’s lack of depth and strong offensive opponents proved often to be too much for the Raiders to handle. On the bright side, head coach John Mancuso will return his most reliable scorer, Anthony Romei, next season.

FermiAfter a disappointing 0-5-1 start, the

Fermi Falcons turned their season around and ended up finishing 5-9-2, bringing them close, but not close enough, to qualifying for the Class L State Tournament.

The Falcons were incredibly young and inexperienced, as this year’s squad featured eighteen new players.

Head coach Jim Russell said this year was about his young team learning to

compete and play as a singular unit, something Fermi was able to do after overcoming their slow start. Fermi will lose senior Zack Isabelle. The highlight of Fermi’s season was a big win over a tough Rocky Hill team.

Boys soccer squad’s make early exits

Evan Macy | Staff Windsor Locks’ Matt Hallett heads the ball.

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By Stephen ConcaConca SportsThis past World Series (and the entire

MLB season for that matter) was an ex-citing display of power arms. It’s every young pitchers dream to fire off a 90mph fastball. For many, that dream is a lot closer then they might think, if they can put all the pieces together.

At the 2013 Perfect Game Showcase held in Minneapolis, the top high school players in the nation were featured. Over100 pitchers cracked 90mph and many hit the 95mph mark.

Throwing velocities have made a dra-matic increase in the last 10 years. If you were throwing 90mph in the early 2000’s, you had a good chance of being drafted right out of high school or having a big D1 scholarship locked up. If you look back as recently as 2011, there were only 35 ma-jor league pitchers who’s average fastball was 95mph or higher. Now, by compar-ison, if you look at the top pitching pros-pects across the nation in 2013, all are throwing in the mid 90’s.

So what’s contributing to this increase in “Power Arms?” The goal of this article is to provide some answers as to how this phenomenon is developing and how it is going to catapult the game into new di-mensions.

Reason #1 - Specialization & More Opportunity To Play

Kids just have more opportunity to play, throw and receive specialized coaching then ever before. Specialization has spun into Fall Ball, multiple Showcases, multi-team playing opportunities, and “yes”, an increase in throwing velocity. But beware, more opportunity to play can often lead to a downward spiral of mismanagement in a young player’s career.

The risk is that with this “new special-ization” focus the likelihood of a shoul-der and elbow injury have dramatically increased over the last decade. In 2008 Outlett et al, reported that over the course of a season 57% of the pitchers will expe-rience some sort of shoulder injury.

Continued at TheSportsDept.com.

So you want to throw Gas?

Suffield girls soccer impresses in Class LLBy Evan MacySports Editor

MERIDEN — It’s hard to look at a 19-1 season and call it anything other than a huge success. And for the Suffield girls soccer team, though the season ended with a 2-1 loss to St. Joseph's, the very fact that they were in the Class LL title game was a remarkable feat all by itself.

"Once we went up to LL nobody thought we would be here other than ourselves," Suffield head coach Dave Sullivan said, referencing the continual success of the formerly Class M squad that had it 'pro-moted' to Class LL.

But the Wildcats deserved to be there, and they nearly completed a come-back victory when Brittany Champagne tripped, got back up while maintaing pos-session of the ball, and booted it into the back of the net for Suffield's first goal of the championship game.

Down 2-1, the Wildcats finally looked like themselves after a dismal first half, a half that saw St. Joseph's outshoot them, 6-2.

But the comeback wasn't to be, as the

clock turned into Suffield's biggest ene-my.

"Once we settled down, in the second half the last 25 minutes, that’s Suffield soccer," Sullivan, who was attempting to

earn the girls their 10th title, said. "I told them at halftime 'if you keep playing like that you will be upset no matter what the outcome. If you come out and play Suff-ield soccer you can hold your head up and play.'"

The Wildcats got a shot on goal from Nicole Stryjek ten minutes into the first half, and one from Ashlie DaCruz with 11:22 left in the half. But that was it for Suffield, as St. Joes converted a Jenna Bike pass to a Samantha Grasso goal at the 19:27 mark, and a goal from Bike at the 17:30 mark.

Things were luckily better in the sec-ond 40 minutes.

“I'm glad we showed up in the second half," the coach said. "That’s how we play with the pressure. I think in the first half we gave too much respect to Sammy and to Jenna, which you have to, but in-stead of keeping on them, we gave them space."

Suffield goalie Merideth Ouellette was fantastic in the loss, showing magnificent growth over the length of the season. Ouellette didn't even play soccer last

year, she played volleyball instead. But her athleticism allowed her to make four spectacular saves to keep her team in the game.

"She works hard," Sullivan said of the junior. "She's never been technically trained, she's one of the best athletes Suffield has ever had. She would go 20 minutes without facing a shot and then go up and come up with a great save."

As for the seniors that populated most of the starting lineup for Sullivan's squad all year long, it is a bittersweet ending to a four-year endeavor fighting alongside one another with one common goal.

"I think they are upset now but when they look back at what they’ve done," Sullivan said. "I have seven seniors and I have no doubt that it is going to hurt the program a little bit, but I put a coupe younger ones in to get a feel of what it is like. Losing those seven is probably the biggest class of talent, losing the number two and four all-time scorers. To have those two play together and to have them on the same team has been great for four years."

Evan Macy | Staff Suffield’s Nicole Stryjek, (left), and Reilly Williams.

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WINDSOR LOCKSStudent Athlete of the Month

Alex is the president of the National Honor Society at Windsor Locks High School and is a state qualifier in the 100 meters in outdoor track. He also is an NCCC qualifier in the 55, 100 and 200 meter runs.

How Alex prepares before a game: Mainly just listen to some music.How Alex has improved this season: I went from playing defense to playing striker mid-season, then back to defense.Alex’s most memorable moment as a Raider: That would be a tie between scoring the first goal that Suffield let up all year, and running down a Coventry player on a break away from 30 yards back on senior night. Alex’s proudest accomplishment so far this year: This year was varsity’s first winning record since I have been in high school.Alex’s favorite pro athlete: Adrian Pe-terson.Alex’s college plans: I have applied to a few colleges like Marist, Ithaca College, and Westfield State. I plan on majoring in computer science. One of my other goals is to be able to participate in their track programs.

Alex BouchardSoccer, Track

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Check out all four of our editions at thesportsdept.comTSD The Valleyl Farmington wins Class L boys soccer title

l Girls volleyball falls in dramatic 5-game Class L Championship game

TSD Southl The boys soccer team shares the LL title with Ridgefield

l GHS Football preps for Simsbury

TSD Eastl Ellington boys soc-cer is Class M runner up

l Tolland XC wins the Class M, and State Open championship

SOMERSStudent Athlete of the Month

Julianne is currently ranked No. 1 in her class, and is just as dedicated on the playing field. She has played varsity soc-cer and softball for four years apiece, and is the last defender in soccer.How Julianne prepares before a game: I like to mentally prepare and physically prepare. Mentally, I like to get into “game mode” meaning think of my goals for the game and find out who the other teams best players all. As for

physical I like to stretch, practice vol-leys, and practice my first touch on the ball. How Julianne has improved this sea-son: I have become a stronger and more aggressive defensive player. I have also improved on my communication to my surrounding teammates.Julianne’s most memorable moment as a Spartan: Beating our record from last year. As a group of 12 seniors and some younger girls it is likely that there will be a lot of drama. This is not the case. We have a really strong team bond. I feel confident saying I will stand up for any of my team mates and they will do the same. It is sad to think this is my last year playing with girls I have been with since elementary school. Julianne’s favorite pro athlete: Derek JeterJulianne’s college plans: City Univer-sity in a pre-med track.

Julianne FolgerSoccer, Softball

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