On this day in 1974, the Bridge ran an account of Muhammad Ali’s April 27, 1974 visit to Northfield Mount Hermon.
“The world’s greatest fighter in this one-horse town!” the front page of the Bridge reads.
Ali had been invited to campus by the Afro-American Society to attend the Black Arts Festival. He spoke about the purpose of life and the meaning of friendship.
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Corey Atkins takes you through some of the basics in Ultimate…don’t forget to check them out tomorrow, April 28th!
The typical defense the NMH Girls Ultimate team plays, is called zone defense. The zone consists of a Safety position who prevents the deep down-field throw, two Wing positions who prevent mid-field throws, a Wall of three girls preventing the immediate close-range throw and a Chase position who follows the disc and starts the Stall Count. This type of defense is what the NMH girls usually play and isgenerally what our opponents set-up as well. When playing against a zone defense, the offense sets-up in a zone offense as well. But when opponents set up a man-to-man defense, the offense has to change.
This week, the girls began working on the Stack offense that is played against man-to-man defense. There are two types of stacks; the Vertical stack, which is lined up parallel to the sidelines, and a Horizontal stack, which runs perpendicular to the sidelines. The Vertical stack is much more popular, and the girls have been running it since the first week of practice. Recently though, we have been focusing on the Horizontal stack, hopefully a play that will surprise and confuse other teams. The interesting thing about the Horizontal Stack (or Ho-Stack as we call it) is that each offensive player gets a number 1-4; or a name, Alpha, Beta or Charlie. The handler that picks up the Disc has the power to call two numbers and a name to get the offense started.
This week has also been full of excited preparation for the Annual NMH Tournament, which will take place on Campus this Saturday, April 28. Four local teams will be arriving early Saturday Morning to play in a Bracketed Tournament against each other. The boys will be having their tournament on campus this Saturday as well, so there is sure to be a lot of Ultimate activity. One of the unique aspects of the NMH tournament, is that there is first, second, and third place trophy, but also a Spirit of the Game Trophy. This trophy is awarded to the team who receives the most Spirit Points, which are given by the other teams after each game. Last year, the girls NMH team won the spirit award, for having good integrity and spirit. We hope to continue our reputation of fairness and sprit of the game, as well as use our new tactics to improve our record! Hope to see you there!
This Girl’s Ultimate blog is brought to you by Corey Atkins
As soon as the first warm weather came out, so did all the discs. Almost every Sunday, passionate players can be found playing a quick pick-up game in the middle of Beveridge Bowl.
Down on the Lower Fields though, things get intense. On the girls’ field, the collective JV and Varsity team, a total of about thirty girls, can be found enhancing their ultimate ability. This year, we’ve had a lot of new players come out for the team, and as we don’t make cuts, every girl was given the opportunity to play. Our first few weeks were spent teaching the girls how to throw, and about the rules and regulations of the game. Our first game, against Four Rivers ended up being a close game but a tough loss. The girls didn’t let that discourage them though. By the next game, the girls had the game of Ultimate figured out, and dominated St. Johnsbury and then Charlemont. Next Saturday, the girls face Miss Porters, a strong team that will surely be tough to beat. But with all the improvement we’ve seen since the beginning of the season, it looks to be a promising spring!
On this day in 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball.
The athlete delivered the commencement address at his son’s graduation from Northfield Mount Hermon in 1970 (pictured above).
The NMH baseball award is given today in his name.
The program for Northfield Mount Hermon's 1970 commencement services. (Click to view larger.)
There are several disadvantages to playing on an all grass field. The bounces are less than ideal and a ball that is hit soft dies. A big advantage of this field, however, is that the other team has to play on it too. The beauty of baseball is that you can always redeem yourself. That was the story of our week, especially Saturday. We had very productive practices on Monday and Tuesday. Mondays and Fridays are coach’s practices. We work on the minute details of the game (aka run-downs, bunt defense, first and third situations, etc.) The game on Wednesday started at 3. Choate arrived at about 2:30… bold strategy if you ask me. We got a great pitching performance from Sam Downes, who went 5 and 2/3rds. He handed the ball off to Alex Raab with the bases loaded. A-Raab Money came in and threw strikes and got his opponent in the box to hit a pop fly into foul territory behind third base. Ryan Gouveia made a Willy May’s over the shoulder catch to end the inning and stop the bleeding. Timely hitting helped us take the game 4-0. By timely hitting, I mean a 400 foot homerun by senior/catcher/captain/good guy David Rose. It was a no-doubter, but D-Rose decided to run hard through first, then hard to second. I have to cut Rose a little slack though.. I mean it was his first dinger of the year. Defensive specialist Tim “big Tim” DiPretoro has made a name for himself in the seventh inning. Calm, cool, and collected, Big Timmy D came in against Choate and Deerfield to make some clutch plays. We got great pitching performances from Stephen “Snax/Snacktus” Hultgren, Ben “Uncle Rico/Hammer” Csiernik, and a sub-par effort from myself (Blaze). Tanner Jillson, David Rose, Hammer, Snax, and myself (Blaze) had big days at the plate. Josh Hayden had maybe the best at bat I’ve ever seen, drawing a twelve pitch walk. Suspect fielding has been a bit of an issue. Ironically, I am the main suspect. It can only get better, though.
Batting Leaders to date:
Average: Tanner Jillson (.615)
Hits: Tanner Jillson (8)
Home Runs: David Rose (1)
RBI: Tanner Jillson (9)
Stolen Bases: Will Blazer (1)
Pitching Leaders to date:
Innings Pitched: Stephen Hultgren (8)
ERA: Will Blazer, James Neary, Alex Raab, Sam Downes (0.00)
Strikeouts: Ben Csiernik, Stephen Hultgren (7)
Wins: Ben Csiernik, Alex Raab, Sam Downes (1)
Saves: Will Blazer (1)
This Spring, the NMH Athletic’s blog will feature posts written by several different student-athletes representing each team. The thought being that the bloggers will provide a distinct and unique view of their sport/team and capture what it is really like to wear the NMH uniform. We start today, with Will Blazer’s recap of last week’s baseball games.
As the 2010 academic year kicks off at NMH, another fall sports season begins as well. Already with some games and scrimmages under their belts, this year’s teams show considerable promise for the coming season. This year the boys’ crew team sees more boys than ever before, while the football team’s newest coach is a former NFL player and having lost eight seniors last year, the newest players of the girls’ varsity field hockey team is out to prove itself.
Girls Sports -
Crew: When asked about the girls on this years fall crew team, head coach Vicky Jenkins responded in an email response, “I have a great group of girls this year.” While Jenkins is excited to work with a solid group of returning rowers consisting of Eliza MacLean ’11, Mel Allan ’11, Beth Gillig ’11, Nora Hefner ’11, Kelly Goonan ’12 and Hannah Solis-Cohen ’12, her biggest worry is that the girls on her team, who are also busy students, musicians, and student leaders, overstretch themselves.
The next race for girls’ crew if an away race on Sunday, October 10th, at Lake Quinsigamond.
Volleyball: Joining the ranks of many returning students on this year’s varsity volleyball team are five new girls. According to head coach Lara Freeman, girls’ varsity volleyball aims to earn a spot in the championship tournament. English intern Janae Peters is also a new addition to the coaching staff. On the JV level, Freeman adds that all the players show athleticism and commitment that is sure to lead to an exciting season.
The next game for girls’ varsity volleyball is an away game on Saturday, October 9th at Stoneleigh-Burnham School.
Field Hockey: Having lost 8 seniors from the team last year, this years’ girls varsity field hockey team is made up of almost all new players. Despite this, head coach Mace Hemphill reports no divisions between the grades. With the leadership of two captains, Mackey Hemphill ’11 and Maire Barktus ’11, who have both been on the team for 4 years, Mace hopes that this relatively young team will come together for the coming season.
The next game for varsity field hockey is an away game on Wednesday, October 6th, at Deerfield Academy.
As the 2010 academic year kicks off at NMH, another fall sports season begins as well. Already with some games and scrimmages under their belts, this year’s teams show considerable promise for the coming season. This year the boys’ crew team sees more boys than ever before, while the football team’s newest coach is a former NFL player and having lost eight seniors last year, the newest players of the girls’ varsity field hockey team is out to prove itself.
Boys Sports -
Crew: According to head coach David Reeder, this year boys’ crew has more boys on the team than before, more races scheduled than last year, and more depth as a team than any previous NMH crew team. With 17 oarsmen and three coxswains, this year’s team has both a number of upperclassman, some with three years of experience, as well many new excellent recruits. Usually placed among or close to the top 10 crews (out of around 75 crews) at races last year, Reeder hopes to build on last year’s success.
The next race for boys’ crew is on Saturday, September 25th at Saratoga Lake, New York.
Football: This year the football team welcomes three new coaches: Drew Inzer, a former NFL player for the New England Patriots and the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sam Keator, an experienced high school football coach, and Sean Foley who played as a 3 year starter on the Wesleyan Football team. Along with these new faces, there are plenty of new players as well, with six new post graduates joining the team. Head coach John Walsh added that this year the team has a nice blend of new players and returning seniors who will be able to provide strong leadership for the team.
The next game for boys’ football is an away game against Deerfield Academy on Saturday, September 25th.
Soccer: Already with an impressive win under their belts, a match that resulted in a score of 6-2 against Bridgton Academy, boys’ varsity soccer is in great shape for the coming season. According to coach Charlie Malcolm, all the players showed up in excellent shape at the beginning of the season, ready to achieve the season goal of playing for the championship. But ultimately, Malcolm believed that the most important goal of the season was to develop the players on the team into quality members of the community.
The next game for boys’ varsity soccer is a home game against South Kent on Wednesday, September 22nd.
Cross Country: This year, members of the boys’ varsity cross country team came in at the beginning of the season prepared and ready to make their mark in the league. According to coach Grant Gonzalez, the varsity team is adding more miles and harder workouts to their plan this year. New English teacher Katie Simon is also this years’ new head coach of boys and girls cross country. In addition that, the JV team has a large group of new runners, with 33 members of the team, most of who are new to the sport.
The next race for boys’ varsity cross country is a home race against Williston Northampton on Saturday, September 25th.
To read about fall prospects for girls sports look for an upcoming blog post.
It was a great day for women’s soccer at NMH on Sunday, as six decades of NMH players and coaches were on hand for the occasion — with the most senior alumna, Christine Fleuriel, Northfield Class of 1969, and the most junior member of this year’s team, RuthAnn Zientek ’14, flanked by players and coaches from the 1970s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and 2010s on the same field. The guest of honor was former captain and all-star Cathy Kleiner ’84, who was unable to attend last year’s ceremony inaugurating a new girls’ soccer award bearing her name.
The GV won the game, 3-1, on goals by Megan Burns ’12, Emily Lefebvre ’11, and Rachel Cope ’13. Coach Moriarty left the sidelines in the second half to have a run for each team, while former faculty member and girls’ soccer coach Mark “Commander” Jander ’50 coached the alums.
NMH heads off to Cushing on Wed, Sept. 15, for the season opener at 3:00pm, then comes home to play Westminster at 3:00pm on Saturday.
As some of you might know, I am currently in Manchester, England competing for Team Finland in the world lacrosse championship. The tournament begins on Friday, and will last for ten days. There are 30 countries competing, and in the group stage, we will play Denmark, Bermuda, and Poland. If you are interested in following our progress, I will be posting updates on the boys lacrosse blog.
Additionally, you can find information about the entire tournament here including how to watch the top tier games online (USA, Canada, Iroquois, Australia, England, and Japan).
Lastly, you might be interested in reading about the hot topic for debate here. The Iroquois Nationals, who created the game of lacrosse, have their own team and have encountered passport/visa difficulty leaving the United States. As of a few days ago, it looked like their participation in the tournament could be in doubt. You can read about it here.
NMH Athletic Results
