Text Story and Video By Jesse Schwartz

There were a lot of new faces manning the oars on this year’s Crew team. It was a true re-building year for the team.

The rowers have very little experience, having only three rowers return from last year, Myles McFadden, Miguel Rojas and Connor Coughlin.

Although Crew’s record did not show a lot of wins throughout the season, team members held a positive overall look at this year’s season.

The path to the championship was not easy this year said Captain Keegan McCarthy, first-year rower Robert Smits, and the coach himself, Mr. Tim Henderson.

Although Keegan, a Sixth Former, is also a first-year rower, his original goal was to win the championship.  Keegan sends a positive vibe through the team.  It also shows how much he enjoys the sport.

“I really enjoy the sport and it is a true passion for me,” said Keegan. He plans on improving his skills and helping the team get better as well.

Robert Smits, a Fourth Former from Latvia, really enjoys crew.

“Yes, I enjoy the sport very much. The training in the ‘Tank Room,’ is very hard at the beginning of the year, but it did help me in the water. But you know, hard work does pay off,”  Robert said.

Even though he is a first-year boy at South Kent as well as a first-year rower, he plans on improving as much as he can and had hoped Crew could qualify for the championship.

“The team’s goal for the rest of the season, is just to get better and better with every time we hit the water, and of course to win a couple of big races, to get some of the trophies to where they belong, back home,” Robert said.

Coach Tim Henderson is in his first year leading the group.  He is very excited for the rest of the season.  He is very happy about the progress the team has been having through practice and their attitudes.

“The season is going well.  We are able to have 2-3 boats practice every day and we are rowing at Hatch Pond and at GMS in New Milford on the Housatonic River,” Mr. Henderson said.  “The roster has many novice athletes, who are quickly becoming proficient rowers.”

He is really looking forward to the final regattas. The team had hoped to qualify for the NEIRA championship at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA, but Crew learned this week that would not happen.  Overall, the rowers said it has been a great season.

 

 

Video and Text Article by Keegan McCarthy

With early struggles and growing pains, South Kent’s successful lacrosse program is aiming to get back on track.

The beginning of the season was rough on the Cardinals, sporting a 4-3 record, but the Cardinals are getting back on track suffering only one loss in the last five games. The team is now 8-6 heading into the championship game.

Captain Cody Champagne acknowledges the rough start, but touches on the latest success.

“The season started off a little rough we lost the first couple games but those teams were some of the top teams in the country. “The next few games for us were wins for us against teams that were more on our level,” Champagne said. “We had a few big wins.”

Captain Ben Welton thinks that the team is right where they need to be for this point in the season,

“This year the season has been going pretty good. We have had some big wins over King, Masters, Wilbraham and Munson and Master’s. A bunch of guys have really stepped up, and they are finding the back of the net for us,” Welton said. “I feel like we are right on par for where we need to be for the upcoming post season.”

In the midst of his fourth year coaching, Coach Dillon Duncan has seen it all, and he feels like his team is doing well so far this season.

“The beginning of the year we were playing against some of the top teams in the nation,” Coach Duncan said. “Our team had never played together, we only had a few returners this year. The beginning of the year was nothing but growing pains.”

Both Captains Welton and Champagne share the same long-term goal as Coach Duncan.

“Our long-term goals this year are obviously to win a New England championship and the HVAL championship,” Coach Duncan said. “Another one of our goals is to try and grow as a team and be a lot better at the end of the season as we were at the beginning. We’re trying to pull the team together and get everyone working together in order to succeed and reach our goals.”

Coach Duncan also shared his thoughts about the rest of the season.

“For the rest of the season I expect it to be better than the beginning of the season. We are starting to pull together and moving the ball well and getting goals,” Coach Duncan said. “The rest of the season should be successful. We have a few tough games coming up against Millbrook and a few other teams. The team will fulfill these expectations if we keep working and getting better everyday.”

South Kent Cardinal Lacrosse team will play in the HVAL championship against Harvey Saturday (May 19).

Video and text story by Alex Poulin

An alumnus from South Kent, Shayne Gotisbeshere, class of 2011, was playing his freshman year at Union College and made it to the Frozen Four which is the national championship of NCAA Division I hockey.

Last year, Shayne played for South Kent and helped Prep Hockey finish ninth in New England. He was wearing number 4 at South Kent, but now was wearing number 14 at Union College.

“My experience was awesome. It was really nice to go back to my home state, where hockey isn’t a big deal, and play in front of my family and friends,” Shayne said about his experience at the Frozen Four in Tampa Bay, FL.

Coach Eric Soltys was very proud of Shayne when he saw that he was going to play in the national championship.

“Shayne was a really good player for us last year, and I think that it shows that South Kent really helps players get to another level and Shayne is the perfect example,” Coach Soltys said.

Shayne was the only true freshman on the four teams that were at the Frozen Four, which means that he was the only player who was still 18 years old. He really loved his first years at Union and learned a lot.

“My first year at Union was really one to remember, as I did very well with not only hockey but with my school work too,” Shayne said.

His linemate last year, Anthony Florentino, a Fifth Former from Boston, was very proud of what Shayne accomplished this year and pursues the same dreams.

“Shayne was like my brother last year and playing with him helped me learn so much about myself and now I have to look up to him as a hockey player,” Anthony said.

Video and Text Article by Kevin Golden

Lacrosse is back on the Hillside. With the warm weather starting to roll in, thoughts are starting to change to the spring sport season.

South Kent is preparing to play an even harder schedule, featuring some of the best teams in the prep lacrosse league, including Berkshire and Gunnery.

“I can’t wait for the season to begin” said Ben Welton, a post-graduate at SKS. “It should be a lot of fun. There’s a lot of new kids, as well as returners, so it’s a solid mix”

One of these new players is Josh Watkinson, a one-year senior at South Kent School. Josh plays defense and will bring a lot of skill to the back end with with his quick speed.

“I’ve played lacrosse for long time now, including last year at my old high school, but I’m excited about this team and the strong schedule I hear we have,” he said.

South Kent allows its students to try different sports, that are physical, skillful or just something that they won’t really find around where they live and the lacrosse team at South Kent will allow them to do that, but on a competitive level.

Cody Champagne is a Fifth Former, who was on the team last year.

“Last year was fun. We had our ups and downs, but it was good,” he said.

Tryouts start the last week of March.

Video and Text by Alex Poulin

The tennis season is on its way at South Kent School. Last spring, the team won the HVAL championship with a win in the last game against Chase. The team finished 8-4 on its season last year and is trying to repeat last year`s championship.

A lot of new players are joining the team this year and only six players are returning from last year, which will make the South Kent tennis team a contestant to win another title.

The team is coached by Mr. David Macomber, a French teacher at South Kent. He has been a tennis coach for almost 17 years now. He is looking forward to the tennis season and he wants to repeat last year`s championship.

“I am looking forward to the tennis season. We are defending champions of the HVAL league,” Coach Macomber said.

The team will be formed of 20 players that will have to use quickness and intelligence on the court to win. Coach Macomber wants his players to start practicing as soon as they can so they will be ready for the upcoming season.

”They will start practicing right after we get back from (Spring Break) vacation” Mr. Macomber said.

Players say that playing tennis at South Kent is really fun and that they learn a lot from it.

”It’s a really great time playing tennis at South Kent because there are nice courts here at school and a group of friends gather up to play tennis and it makes it even more fun,” said Sotiri Athanasopoulos, a post-grad, who is a returning player.

Some players on the team started to play tennis at a young age. Yannick Crete, a senior from Montreal, Canada, brings lots of experience to SKS.

”I started when I was about 10 years old. I was just playing with my dad and he thought I was good, so I started playing tournaments,” Yannick said.

The players are looking forward to the tennis season and they want to have a good team again. The tennis season will start right after students return from March break.

Video and Text Article by Zach Carrano

The Varsity Baseball team is looking to revenge its loss last year in the finals of its division and the first round of the New England league, by coming back stronger and more prepared to do the little things to win a championship.

“The season went well last year with a couple tough losses in the end of the year in the finals and in the first round,” said Mr. Phil Darrin. He has been the head coach for seven years and is hoping this year will be the one that ends with a championship title.

The team has started working out earlier this year than they did last year. The pitchers have been getting their arms into shape and get the positions players arms ready for the upcoming season.

“Our guys could play will a little more confidence and swagger,” said Mr. Darrin. He believes that if the players can do that they will win a championship. As long as the pitching comes through the team should do just fine, said Mr. Darrin.

“It was a pretty strong season. We did not know how we were going to be at the beginning, but it turned out pretty good,” said Pat Magliano, a pitcher and a senior. He also looks to redeem last year’s loss against Chase and beat them this year.

His role as a captain is to “be there for the boys and keep everyone’s head up if they make an error,” said Zach Sugar, a Sixth Former. In his last year at SKS, Zach definitely wants to go out and win a championship. He looks forward to having more pitchers on the team to help them throughout the season.

The Varsity Baseball team is looking well this season and looks to make a run at the title and league championship this year with new pitchers and a different attitude. The players said they plan to give it their all to be number one in both the league and New Englands.

Documentary by Ben Welton, Advanced Digital Communications

Dedicated and hard-working are just some of the ways to describe South Kent School’s Prep Hockey team during the 2011-12 season. SKS attracts players from all over the world, including many from Canada and across the United States.

Head Coach Eric Soltys worked diligently this season to bring this group of players together into a cohesive team that captured the second place seed in the Small Schools Tournament.

“We try to call South Kent the Red Army because we try to go about our business like the Red Army did,” he said. “Being disciplined in our actions (and) making sure that we stick to our systems on the ice, making sure we’re there as a brotherhood together, having each other’s back on and off the ice is just a small way of putting us into the Red Army.”

Documentary video by Danny DeRocco, Advanced Digital Communications

For many, when they hear South Kent, they think of basketball – a game these boys have shaped their lives around.

They came to this school to be basketball players, with hopes they will carry on the legacy of past teams.

Prep Basketball ended its 2011-12 season with an 18-11 overall record. The final game was a tough 1-point loss, 69-70, to New Hampton in the NEPSAC AAA quarterfinal playoff match Feb. 29 at Endicott College in Beverly, MA.

Video and Text Article by Jacky Han

JV Basketball is a team sport that teaches players how to play and improve their skills. Success is not measured solely by the wins and the losses on the schedule but the individual growth the each player has and the collective effort of the team.

This year’s team had a different type of practice compared to last year’s, when players would scrimmage for 45 minutes. This year the team was coached by Mr. Michael Daniels, who taught the team to run plays and execute on offense.

The team this year did not have a very successful season like last year. The final game record was 3-7.

“This year we didn’t have a really competitive team. I think we just won two games, but play on the team is really good. We have really fun training sessions. Everybody tries to learn something on the team. The students are well engaged with the JV Basketball team,” said Anil Ozer, a Fifth Former from Turkey, who was also a leading scorer on the team.

“Basketball is a group sport and we need to play it as a team. Our coach is really good. He makes our team strong. We won some games by playing as a team,” said Ziaqio Han, a two-year participant of the JV Basketball program.

Video and Text Article by Joe Zaccara

For a small group of students at South Kent, every weekday afternoon in the Winter Term is spent shredding the slopes at Mohawk Mountain in nearby Cornwall, CT. Led by Science Department Coordinator Derek Richardson, the ski and snowboard program focuses primarily on improving the skills of the skiers and riders, and of course, to have fun!

“It’s an opportunity for students to get outdoors, learn something new, or practice something they’ve done before,” said Mr. Derek Richardson, the Ski/Snowboard coordinator.

Students participating in prior years have been able to practice their skills on a solid base of snow, but this season, the weather did not cooperate. With no substantial snow storms, and bad weather patterns, the ski and snowboard program jumped on any and every opportunity to get to the mountain.

“It’s been a ridiculous season,” said Mr. Richardson.

“We don’t ski in the rain, Mr. Richardson doesn’t take us if it is,” said Weijie Zhang, a Sixth Former who skis.

Weijie, who skied last year, remembers the large amount of snow that Connecticut received over the winter. This year, however, was drastically different. Although mother nature has not been so cooperative, Mohawk Mountain has done a tremendous job making artificial snow for their trails, according to Mr. Richardson.

“They have, I would say, anywhere from 24 to 60 Inches of base on every trail on the mountain,” he said.

For a first-year snowboarder, the lack of snow has definitely had an impact on improving his skills.

“The man-made snow is a lot harder, and makes it hard to turn.” Yue Chen, a Sixth Former who snowboards.

Although the weather has been sub-par this ski season, the ski and snowboard team has made the best of the conditions. Skiers and boarders have definitely improved their skills, and will continue to pursue this activity in the future.