june 2012 enfield edition

June 2012

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The Sports Department

Somers Falls Short In Class S Boys

Lacrosse FinalBy Eliot Schickler and Reid L. Walmark, The Sports Department

Despite falling short of the Class S title, the Somers boys lacrosse team takes many positives from the experience.The main positive for sixth-seeded Somers, which lost 15-2 to top-seeded Joel Barlow June 9th at Brien McMahon High in Norwalk, was the fact that it has defied the odds all season. The Spartans, who finished the year at 15-5, weren’t expected to finish above .500, let alone play in the state championship game. Somers edged two, higher-seeded teams before facing Barlow in the pinnacle game. “I’m very excited to get here because everyone thought we’d be under .500, but we proved everyone wrong by making states as the sixth seed and showed something,” Spartans senior co-captain Chris Hamilton said.

Somers entered the game as heavy underdog to the Falcons, who lost only one regular-season game to a Connecticut team (7-6 at Class L Simsbury on May 11), but hung tough with them for one quarter. Spartans senior co-captain Alex Geas made it 1-1 with 8:18 remaining in the first quarter, and four, Hamilton, who is long stick defenseman, went down the field and scored with 2:58 left to give Somers a 2-1 lead.

The Somers boys lacrosse team prepares for its Class S title matchup with Joel Barlow. The sixth seeded Spartans lost the match, 15-2. Photo by Alan Bastarache, The Sports Department,

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Kiernan Wyllie tries to maneuver around the Joel Barlow defender. Photo by Alan Bastarache, The Sports Depart-ment, www.basta-rachephotos.com. For more photos from the game, please visit www.thesportsdept.com

June 20122

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The Sports DepartmentP.O. Box 746, Ellington, CT 06029

860-872-0TSD (0873) • 860-614-5866 • thesportsdept.comPublisher: Kevin Hayes • [email protected]

Editor: Brendan FahertyProduction Manager: Patty Hunter

Contributing Writers: Jon Buzby • Tom Ainsworth • Steve SmithReid L. Walmark • Damian Frasinelli • Nate Owen • Steve Krajewski

David Heuschkel • Amy Locandro • Tim Larew • Erin QuinlanRobert Tedford • Brendon Willis • Katy Sprout • Katie Powers

Steve Krajewski • Matt Lebel • Ryan Kane • Bruce Watt • Mike Bidwell Jennifer Charette • Melissa Green-Maltese

Photography: Steve Palmer • Andre Dumais • Rich Tanguay Bernie Sheridan • Sherrene Wells • Alan Bastarache • Robert Pospisil

Steve Smith • Andre Garant • Melanie Oliveria

The Sports Department is published on the first and third Wednesday of each month and is available at more than 250 locations across eight towns in North Central Connecticut. More than 50,000 readers currently enjoy The Sports Department’s comprehensive coverage of the local sports scene. If you know of an establishment that would like to carry The Sports Department, please call our office at 860-872-0873 or email our publisher, Kevin Hayes at - [email protected].

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Be sure to read our July edition of The Sports Department when we name our first ever “Student Athletes Of The Year” Eighteen outstanding student athletes have been nominated by their respective schools for this honor. The Sports Department will select one male and one female player as Student Athlete Of The Year and provide a short biography and story about the athletes.

Who Will Be Named

OF THE 2011-12

June 2012 3The Sports Department

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All-Star Teams Are Overrated

The votes are in, the phone calls made and your son or daughter never gets one. What it means: He or she was not selected for the local all-star team. The “good” news is that there are no more practices, games or team func-tions as your summer vacation begins. But having your son or daughter shunned from an all-star team is hard to swallow — often more so for the parents than the players themselves. As parents, we all want our kids to be the best. Ask any parents and they’ll tell you that if they had their way, their children would get perfect grades, have terrific manners and excel in every sport or activity in which they participate. But that’s just not realistic, despite what we parents sometimes think. So the sting we feel when our kids are let

down in any facet of life radiates through us like no other feeling. And all-star teams are no different. So what do we do as parents? The first thing is to not make a big deal about it before the team is announced. The more attention we pay to it, the big-ger the disappointment for us and our child should they not make it. And the child may be even more shattered than he or she would have been had we, as parents, not harped on its importance before the news was received, or, in this case, not. Secondly, if you objectively thought your child had a legitimate chance to make the team, it probably means he or she was on the fence come selection time. Remind your child about this and praise him for it. You might even suggest that you go support the team to see just how good the players are and what level of skill is necessary to maybe make the team next year. Lastly, never publicly blame league politics on the all-star selection deci-sions. Even if you truly believe a child was selected only because of a parent’s role or reputation in the league — and I’m not naïve enough to think this never happens — using it as an excuse sends the wrong message to your child that isn’t necessary at such a young age.

Being selected to an all-star team in any sport can be the highlight of the season for a very select few. But for most players, they will have to face the reality that although they are good, they just aren’t good enough to be an all-star. And that’s OK. The most important thing is that we, as parents, realize that it’s OK and instill that fact in our children. Because if we do, our children will realize it too. Reach Jon Buzby at [email protected] and follow him @JonBuzby on Twitter.

June 20124 The Sports Department


Baseball NotebookBaseb

all

Enfield Loses Heartbreaker To Gilbert Tech In First Round of Class M Tournament

By Danny Atkinson The Sports Department

Enfield had an outstanding regular season, going 16-4 and advancing to the NCCC conference finals. However, the Raiders immediately learned that regular season success does not guarantee post season success. Enfield, seeded sixth in the Class M tournament, lost 4-3 to 27th-seeded Gilbert Tech in the opening round on Tuesday, May 29th. “The loss was heartbreaking for us,” said head coach Jay Gaucher. “It will take a while for our players to get over it. We had a number of opportunities to score late but failed to get the clutch hits we needed. John Cerrato, who started for us, did not do a great job executing on the mound. On the other hand, Gilbert Tech’s Devyn Oakes pounded the zone and had our hit-ters uncomfortable all game.” Though Enfield did not make it as far in the tournament as they hoped, Gaucher believes the Raiders regular season per-formance speaks for itself.

“At the end of the day, our win-loss record demonstrates how strongly we performed this season,” he stated. “As a team, we competed hard every day and got much better as the season went on. Our kids did things the right way.”Stafford No matter how well your team played in the regular season, it must play even bet-ter to win a state championship. Stafford went 17-3 and earned the No. 3 seed in the Class S tournament, but did not back up the seeding in an 8-1 loss to Terryville, seeded 14th, on Wednesday, May 30th. “Baseball’s a funny game,” said head coach Scott Martin. “We had a great regular season, but we played poorly against Terryville. Their pitching shut us down, and Zach Rollins wasn’t as strong as he usually is on the mound.” Though it did not live up to their tourna-ment seeding, Martin believes Stafford’s season more than lived up to his expecta-tions. “I was very pleased by our season,” he stated. “If you had told me coming into the

season that our team would have such a great season and earn the third seed, I would have been thrilled. Our players competed hard every day. We couldn’t ask more from our players than what they gave us.”Somers The young Spartans played well in their opening round game on May 29th versus seventh-seeded Lyman Memorial in the Class S tournament, but failed to capital-ize on a number of scoring opportunities in a 4-1 loss. Somers, seeded 26th, left the bases loaded three times and scored only one run despite having more base runners than Lyman Memorial. In all, the Spartans left nine runners on base, wasting a strong start from Nate Czelazewicz “I would have liked to have won the game, but I’m glad we were able to get some valuable tournament experience, head coach Eric Sharon said.”Now our team understands how tournament base-ball works and will hopefully handle the pressure of it better next season.”Somers ended the season 8-13.

Justin Thomas was the ace of the staff for the Raiders this sea-son. Courtesy of: Lifetouch Pho-tography

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June 2012 5Enfield


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Congratulations To The Class of 2012

Congratulations To The Class of 2012

The Sports Department Salutes All Of The Fine Student Athletes From The Class Of 2012FalconsFalconsFalcons FalconsFalconsFalcons

The Scholar-Athlete Program annually recognizes two high school seniors - one male and one female - from each member high school whose academic and athletic careers have been exemplary, whose

personal standards and achievements are a model to others, and who possess high levels of integrity, self-discipline and courage.

Fermi High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

Enfield High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

Fermi High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

Enfield High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

RaidersRaidersRaiders RaidersRaidersRaiders

Academic and Athletic Accomplishments: Principal’s Leadership Award, Fermi Athletic Scholar, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Rensselaer Medal Award, Saint Michael’s College Book Award, Journal Inquirer Scholar Athlete, awards for excellence in Spanish and World History, CIAC Class M Fist Team and Second Team All-State and All-Conference in field hockey, Field Hockey MVP, All-Tournament Team for the Enfield Rotary Girls Basketball Classic, Varsity Field Hockey and Basketball captainWhat it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: It means a lot to me to be named Scholar Athlete of the year. It makes me feel like all my hard work in academics and athletics was recognized.Favorite athletic moment in high school: I have had so many favorite athletic moments in high school, it is hard to pick one. I think my favorite two would be when the field hockey team made it to the second round of states my junior year and when the basketball team made it to the second round of states my sophomore year. Another one of my favorite memories was the Joel Barlow tournament game this year in field hockey. Even though we did not win, we went into double overtime and I have never played in a game where both teams were so intense. My team played its heart out, which made it an unforgettable game.Favorite class: Chemistry Hidden talent: CeramicsIf you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: I would want to meet Albert Einstein because he completely revolutionized the world of science and would probably give me a different outlook on life.Most influential person in your life: My parents.Favorite activity outside of sports and academics: I love to be with my friends.If I could change one thing in the world, it would be: To end all war.What are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: I plan to engage in a lot of research in my undergraduate and graduate years and receive a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in chemical engineering. I am most looking forward to becoming part of the big community of the University of Connecticut and attending sporting events when I am not studying.In 10 years I’ll be: A member of the Astronaut Core with a steady job at a research or pharmaceutical institute.

Kerry DavisField Hockey,

Basketball, and Softball

Academic and Athletic Accomplishments: School record for shot put, Qualified for Nationals in javelin, Class Rank: 4, All-Conference indoor and outdoor Track this yearWhat it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: It means a lot to me. To be recognized for my academics and athletic ability is a great honor.Favorite athletic moment in high school: Breaking my school’s shot put record with a throw of 46’8”, then moving it up to 47’1”Favorite class: AP ChemistryHidden talent: Know how to play saxophone.Most influential person in your life: My fatherFavorite activity outside of sports and academics: Listening to music and hanging out with friends.If I could change one thing in the world, it would be: Finding a cure for cancer.What are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: Attend UConn and study Chemical Engineering. I’m looking forward to the different atmosphere college has, and meeting new people.In 10 years I’ll be: Working as a chemical engineer and starting a family.

Ryan SadoskyFootball,

Indoor/Outdoor Track

Academic and Athletic Accomplishments: All-State in soccer, three time all-conference in soccer, three time all-conference in indoor track, two time all-confer-ence in outdoor track, J.I. All-Academic Team, member of National Honor Society, Senior Class President, and captain of soccer, indoor track, and outdoor track.What it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: It means to have a high level of accomplishment in both academics and athletics, being a role model for others, and possessing high levels of integrity, self-discipline, and courage.Favorite athletic moment in high school: Sophomore year, when the JI wrote an article titled “Patience is Enfield’s Virtue” about how I scored a header goal in the last 8 minutes of the game to break a 2-2 tie.Favorite class: Gym classHidden talent: CeramicsIf you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: Amelia Earhart, because she was a confident woman who was determined to ac-complish her dreams.Most influential person in your life: My mom, for always being there for support my whole life.Favorite activity outside of sports and academics: Biking and going to the beach.If I could change one thing in the world, it would be: To increase the amount of job opportunities worldwide.What are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: I am attending the UConn School of Business and am most excited to go to games and join some of UConn’s many clubs.In 10 years I’ll be: Working my way up through the business world, towards my ideal goal of being CEO of my own company.

Patience BearseSoccer,

Indoor/Outdoor Track

Academic and Athletic Accomplishments: Awards for Excellence in Biology, Algebra 2, Precalculus, French, and AP Chemistry. Governor’s Scholar Semi-finalist, Fermi CIAC Scholar Athlete, JI All-Academic Team, Clarkson University High School Achievement Award, CCC All-Conference and All-Academic Team, Varsity Basketball Captain, National Honor Society officer.What it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: I’m really proud of myself for working my hardest and being able to keep up with both my academics and athletics.Favorite athletic moment in high school: Hitting a three-point, game winning buzzer-beater my Junior year against Rocky Hill.Favorite class: ChemistryHidden talent: EatingIf you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: Steve Jobs, I admire his intellect and creativity.Most influential person in your life: My father, he taught me a ton about sports and working hard.Favorite activity outside of sports and academics: Going to the beach.If I could change one thing in the world, it would be: How humankind resolves its conflicts.What are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: I’ll be attending Northeastern University to major in chemical engineering. I cannot wait to keep playing sports and pursue my career.In 10 years I’ll be: Working at a good job as a chemical engineer.

Gregory ZaylorBasketball & Volleyball


East Windsor East Windsor


Congratulations To The Class of 2012The Sports Department Salutes All Of The Fine Student Athletes From The Class Of 2012



E. Windsor High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

E. Windsor High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

PanthersPanthersPanthers PanthersPanthersPanthers

Youth Photos

Academic and Athletic Accomplishments: I am captain for my soccer and indoor and outdoor track teams, a Uni-versity of Connecticut Leadership Scholarship recipient, the President of the National Honor Society, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Technology Scholarship for Excel-lence in Math and Science Recipient.What it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: It’s a great honor to be recognized for the two most impor-tant things in my life: academics and athletics. It’s a great way to end my high school athletic career.Favorite athletic moment in high school: Making states with my sprint medley team in indoor track this season.Favorite class: UConn English.Hidden talent: I can do the best monkey imitation around.If you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: I would want to meet Stephen Colbert because he is my hero.Most influential person in your life: My brother, Alexavier.Favorite activity outside of sports and academics: Enjoying the small amount of free time I have with my friends and family.If I could change one thing in the world, it would be: I would definitely make col-lege less expensive.What are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: I will be attending the University of Connecticut in the fall and majoring in Physiology and Neurobiology.In 10 years I’ll be: Hopefully finishing up with Dental or Medical School.

Varsity Soccer, Indoor/Outdoor Track

Demitria Estrada

Coach Adam Recla preps his Cubs AAA Team for a victory over Windsor Locks.

Martin Resto aims to get the runner out at first.

Mike Stavalone waits for the call after sliding into home plate.

Photos by: Andre Garant, The Sports Department, www.ajgphotoguy.com

Academic and Athletic Accomplishments: Gov-ernor’s Scholar, JI Scholar Athlete, and winning pole vault in several meets.What it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: It is a great honor, one that I am very proud of. It speaks to my well-roundedness.Favorite athletic moment in high school: Clearing 8’ 6” in pole vault at Avon in my sophomore yearFavorite class: CalculusHidden talent: Playing the tubaIf you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: George Carlin, just to see what other crazy ideas were going on in that mind of his.Most influential person in your life: My father.Favorite activity outside of sports and academics: ManhuntIf I could change one thing in the world, it would be: IgnoranceWhat are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: University of Connecticut, Storrs. Majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I am looking forward to the free gym membership the most.In 10 years I’ll be: An engineer for Pratt and Whitney.

William KehoeTrack & Field


“I just got a good pass on the fast break and saw the open lane, and I went up and scored,” Hamilton said. “I don’t know what was going through my head. It was exciting to score in the state championship game.” Things were looking good for Somers at this time. “We thought we could play them, and in the first quarter, we proved we could play with them,” Spartans coach Ken McCar-thy said. “At the start of the game, we neutralized their face-offs and didn’t al-low fast breaks. On offense, we focused and controlled the ball.” However, Barlow, which ended its season at 19-3, scored the next 14 goals of the game and showed that it’s one of the top five teams in the state. Nolan Stauffer (five goals, three assists, four ground balls) tied for the Falcons with 1:15 to go in the quarter off a feed from Tom Samaritano (one goal, three assists). “They were happy to be here and their adrenaline was high,” said Barlow coach John Distler on how he felt the Spartans ap-proached the game. “They didn’t go into the game

Continued from Page 1

Somers Struggles In Championship Lossthinking they would get beat, but once we regrouped in the second quarter, it was the turning point of the game. I told my players we were rushing things and to be more pa-tient on offense. They took advantage and were able to go down the field on us.” Stauffer just started the run. Only 12 seconds into the second quarter, Liam Rooney (three goals, one assist) gave the Falcons the lead for good off a feed from Matt Billy (one goal, one assist). Barlow led 5-2 when Somers senior Ja-son Moustafa (two ground balls) commit-

ted a slash, a two minute non-releasable penalty. The Falcons scored four man-up goals to go up 9-2. Wyatt Tompkins (five assists) set up the first three goals.“It was the turning point of the game,” Gaes said. After the penalty was released, Barlow added four more goals to go up 13-2. Only 30 seconds into the second half, Stauffer scored from Tompkins to make it running time. “I wish we could redo the second quar-ter,” McCarthy said. “They are a great team with talented players and are the state champions. I’m proud of our kids for playing hard.” Pat Tynan made six saves for Somers and Ryan Lynch had five ground balls.

Falcons goalie Cooper Brown made 11 saves. “It was a team effort to get here, we win as a team and lose as a team,” Gaes said. “We played hard to the end and that’s Somers lacrosse.” Tough ending stretch The Somers girls were 5-4 on May 1 and needed two wins to qualify for the Class S tournament. The Spartans lost six in a row before closing out 2011-12 with an 18-17 win over Ledyard to finish at 6-10. In that losing streak, the margin of defeat was two goals in one game and just one goal in another.

Kristen Steidler tries to make a play for the Somers girls team. Photo by: Alan Basta-rache, The Sports Department, www.basta-rachephotos.com

June 201210 Stafford


Stafford Stafford





Stafford High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

Stafford High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

Youth Photos

Photos by: Andre Garant, The Sports Department, www.ajgphotoguy.com

BulldogsBulldogsBulldogs BulldogsBulldogsBulldogs

Academic and Athletic Accomplishments: Varsity and Captain of all three sports, NCCC relay team each year in outdoor track for the 4x800 team, Freshman Track Award.What it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: It means so much that the time I have invested in both sports and academics is being recognized and I am honored to accept the award.Favorite athletic moment in high school: Earning varsity for Indoor Track my freshman year.Favorite class: AP BiologyHidden talent: Saying the alphabet backwards.If you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: Lance Armstrong- his battle with cancer and his comeback is so remark-able and inspiring.Most influential person in your life: My sister Elizabeth.Favorite activity outside of sports and academics: Sleeping!If I could change one thing in the world, it would be: The ease of illegal im-migrants to enter our country.What are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: I am attending Northeastern University in the fall as a Health Science major. I am most looking forward to experiencing both the lifestyle of a college student and living in a city.In 10 years I’ll be: In the process of attaining my PhD.

Cross Country, Indoor/Outdoor Track

CharlesCormier

Hunter Alexander practices his catching skills.

Pia Garreffa shows amazing accuracy while pitching for the Marlins.

Tristan Julian makes the out for the White Sox at second base.

Name and Sports Played: Vivian Ojeda - Track and FieldAcademic and Athletic Accomplishments: Class Vale-dictorian, Captain of the Indoor and Outdoor Track teams for 2012. For the fall: All-State Scholar Athlete Field Hockey TeamWhat it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: Being Scholar Athlete, to me, means being able to accom-plish two very great and time consuming tasks. You have to maintain your school work while dedicating hours to the track at practice and at meets. I am very proud to have received this award as I have lost a good amount of sleep working for it.Favorite athletic moment in high school: Being whacked in the face by an oppo-nent’s field hockey stick this fall. My fat lip was like a battle wound I wore proudly.Favorite class: AP CalculusHidden talent: Belching like a truckerIf you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: I would like to meet who ever built Stonehenge.Most influential person in your life: My entire family and their Spanish baby talk that they spoke as I grew up. It was quirky yet it really let me know that weird people loved me.Favorite activity outside of sports and academics: Dancing (Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap)If I could change one thing in the world, it would be: The cost of airline tickets. That would make it easier for me to travel, and I believe the world would benefit in it being more affordable to coalesce.In 10 years I’ll be: I’m planning on attending Brown University as a Pre-Med stu-dent. My major for the next four years is biology. Beyond that, I’m not exactly sure where I’ll be. I want to complete Med School in a timely manner. Eventually, I want to be a doctor as cliché as that sounds.

Vivian OjedaTrack & FIeld


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Fermi’s Volleyball Season Ends On Tough NoteBy Brendon Willis & Danny AtkinsonThe Sports Department

It was a tough end for the Fermi vol-leyball season, as the No. 3 seed in the Class M tournament dropped to No. 2 Oxford, 3-2 (18-25, 31-33, 25-20, 25-22, 15-11) in the semifinals. Fermi’s experience and collective tal-ent was fully on display in the first two games. Their execution was impressive in their opening seven-point victory, but it was in the second game that the Falcons firmly gained an upper hand on their op-ponent. Fermi came back from a 16-12 deficit to take a one-point lead. Fermi and Oxford then traded points, with neither team willing to back down from the other. The Falcons ability to block shots and work cohesively on offense eventually won out, and gave Fermi a 2-0 lead and significant momentum heading into the third set. Going forward, that momentum largely disappeared. Oxford won the third and fourth games by five and then three points. Fermi did not communicate as well as it did earlier in the match, and could not prevent Oxford from earning winning shots. By the deciding match, the Falcons were tired and clearly on the defensive. Oxford jumped out to a 5-3 lead and Fermi was unable to generate one last rally. Fermi’s magical 2012 season came to a bitter end. “It’s frustrating, because I thought we had it,” said a visibly upset Alexandra

Pyznar, the Falcons head coach. “I told our guys we weren’t going to give them more than that third game, but our play-ers had a tough time coming back in those last two games and ran out of gas.” The Raiders’ golf team got an amazing performance in the Division III tourna-ment from junior Ryan Zetterholm. The co-champion of the tournament knocked down some long puts on his way to shooting a 74 to lead his team. Other Raider golfers did what they were asked to do and played well behind senior Brenton Buchholz, who was a very solid #2 golfer for Enfield. With a .500 record this year, the Enfield Raiders track team finished right in the middle of the pack in the NCCC. Freshman Tyrik Henry had a great season, high jumping 5’8” and sprinting to a 3rd place finish at the NCCC meet in the 110 hurdles. Fel-low sprinter Matt Buanno placed in three events at the conference champion-ship and teammate Reece Williams is continuing his training for the decathlon, in which he hopes to excel in pole vault. Thrower Ryan Sadosky was outstanding in shot put, discus, and javelin this year, breaking his own school record at the class

Enfield’s Mike Knapp eyeing his shot against Granby. Courtesy of Life-touch Photography

meet in addition to qualifying for nationals in javelin. The Panthers of East Windsor finished ninth in the NCCC this year after post-ing a respectable 6-7 overall record. The boys were solid on the track and in the field, with nine athletes qualifying for states. The team’s most outstanding per-former was Matt Graham, who defended his pole vault title in the NCCC and won the event for the second year in a row.

Fermi’s Cody Brown makes a play at the net.

June 201212 Somers

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Youth Photos

A meeting on the mound is in order between pitcher James Chaisson & catcher Johnny Poitras.

Anthony Barile yearns for the ping of his bat as he slams one out to left field.

Somers Trevor Parks gets ready to battle during the Paul Bowers Tournament.

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Somers batter Matt Vecchiarelli sets his sights on a home run for the Yankee Casting team.



ASK THE TRAINER

Staying Cool During Summer SportsCertified Athletic Trainers (ATC’s) are allied health care providers trained in the prevention, evaluation and rehabilitation of sports injuries. They work under the direction of a physician and they are board certified nationally and licensed in CT. Visit www.NATA.org for more information. Certi-fied athletic trainers at Enfield High School and Enrico Fermi High School are pro-vided by Eastern Rehabilitation Network (www.easternrehab.net ), a department of Hartford Hospital (www.harthosp.org). Eastern Rehabilitation Network (ERN) and The Sports Department have partnered to bring readers a monthly column on sports medicine topics. Readers may submit questions related to injuries, training advice, rehabilitation or any other sports medicine topic. Submit questions to:Ben Stralka, ATC (Enrico Fermi High School) – [email protected]; Kyle Hicks, ATC (Enfield High School) – [email protected]; Wendy Nichols, Physi-cal Therapist (ERN Enfield) – [email protected] As school gets out and both kids and adults vacation and participate in summer sports, this is a good time to talk about heat illness. Approximately 400 deaths oc-cur annually in the U.S. so it’s paramount that people understand the prevention, signs/symptoms and treatment.Heat illness is the result of the body not

being able to maintain a safe temperature through its regular cooling mechanisms (sweating is a very efficient coolant). Untreated, heat illness symptoms progress so the earlier it’s recognized and treated the better the outcome. Many factors can contribute to heat illness, including: poor hydration, increased heat and humidity, improper clothing, lack of conditioning for the activity being undertaken and obesity. Certain medical conditions and medica-tions can also predispose people to heat illness, so it’s important to understand your medical history and the side effects of any medications. The good news is that heat illness is rela-tively easy to prevent. As the hot weather arrives get acclimated over a period of a few weeks. Be cognizant of the heat index and avoid or modify activity as appropriate (do a reduced workout early in the morning or at dusk, for example). Wear loose fitting clothing in light colors. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate (more on that later)! Swelling of the hands and feet is a com-mon symptom that is generally not of any consequence, but it should be noted so you’re on alert for possible worsening of symptoms. Other symptoms with treatment are listed below:Heat Cramps - This condition presents during or after event as an acute, painful involuntary muscle contraction, usually in large muscle groups such as the quad-

riceps and/or hamstrings. The activity should be stopped immediately and the athlete should drink fluids containing so-dium. Mild stretching and massage of the muscle spasm can be helpful.Heat Syncope – This is fainting or loss of consciousness resulting from decreased cardiac output, dehydration and/or lack of blood flow to the brain. The athlete should be moved to shade if possible, have legs elevated above the head, have vital signs monitored and should be rehydrated. If a loss of consciousness has occurred emer-gency medical services should be called.Heat Exhaustion - Symptoms of heat ex-haustion include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, excessive sweating, muscle cramps, and dizziness, and this can easily become a life-threatening situation. Ascertain core temperature via the axillary (armpit) region with a thermometer if possible. If tempera-ture is elevated, remove excess clothing and begin to cool the person rapidly by placing ice packs or ice towels to the groin, armpit, and neck. Move the athlete to shade if possible and begin rehydration. Symptoms should rapidly improve, other-wise emergency medical services should be called.Heat stroke - This condition is life threatening and can be fatal unless treated immediately. Symptoms include a core temperature above 104 degrees, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, and altered

mental status and/or coma. In fact, altered metal status and/or coma is the symptom that differentiates heat stroke from heat exhaustion. Emergency medical services must be called immediately for this person. The person’s core temperature must be lowered as quickly as possible with ice bags/towels or immersion into a pool. Vital signs need to be monitored. Cool-ing should continue during transport to a hospital.Exertional Hyponatremia - This is an-other life-threatening situation. It occurs when the blood’s sodium level drops below an acceptable level. This is the result of an athlete over hydrating with water and is usually seen when an activity exceeds two-four hours. For longer athletic events hydration should be with a sports drink to replace sodium and other electrolytes. Symptoms include disorientation, head-ache, vomiting, lethargy, extremity swell-ing, and seizures. Emergency medical ser-vices need to be contacted immediately. It is recommended that anyone who has suffered from heat illness be cleared by his/her physician before returning to sport. However, there is no reason to skip summer sports with proper planning and awareness of the preventive measures, signs/symptoms and treatment of heat illness.

June 2012 15Somers



SpartansSpartansSpartans SpartansSpartansSpartansThe Scholar-Athlete Program annually recognizes two high school seniors - one male and one female - from each member high school whose academic and athletic careers have been exemplary, whose


Somers High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

Somers High School CIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year

Name and Sports Played: Heather MacLauchlan - la-crosse and cross countryAcademic and Athletic Accomplishments: CIAC Schol-ar Athlete of the Year; captain of cross country junior and senior year, Coaches Award for cross country sophomore and senior year, Athlete of the Month for cross country ju-nior year, minds in motion fall, citizenship award freshman year, excellence in geometry freshman year, excellence in French 3 sophomore year, excellence in history sopho-more year, excellence in functions junior year, Rensselaer medalist junior year.What it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: I feel like all of the compromises I made for school and athletics were worth it.Favorite athletic moment in high school: Running my state championship race in the snow in the fall.Favorite class: AP ChemistryHidden talent: PhotographyIf you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: Dr. Suess, just to see what he was truly like.Most influential person in your life: GrandparentsFavorite activity outside of sports and academics: SkiingIf I could change one thing in the world, it would be: The energy crisis.What are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: I'm going to Resnnselaer in the fall. I am most looking forward to meeting new people.In 10 years I’ll be: I'll be undergoing government treatment to become a super soldier.

Heather MacLauchlan

Lacrosse & Volleyball

Academic and Athletic Accomplishments: National honors society, all conference Defensive back for foot-ballWhat it means to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year: It means a lot. It shows that maintaining a balance between school and sports is difficult but attainable, and Im honored to be one of the students awarded with such achievementFavorite athletic moment in high school: Being apart of and scoring the first touchdown in Ellington/Somers football’s first playoff game and first night game at El-lington.Favorite class: Research and Development If you could meet one person throughout history, who would it be and why: Ayrton Senna. One can only benefit from meeting someone as driven, motivated, and full of faith as he was. And he is arguably the greatest Formula One driver ever.Favorite activity outside of sports and academics: DrivingIf I could change one thing in the world, it would be: To bless third world coun-tries with the infrastructure and modern day technology to improve their quality of life up to the standards that we live with everyday and take for granted.What are your plans for college, and what about going to college are you most looking forward to: Clemson University for mechanical engineering and hopefully club lacrosse. Im most looking forward to learning subjects and information appli-cable to my desired career.In 10 years I’ll be: A graduate of Clemson with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and PhD in Automotive Engineering and working for BMW or BBI Auto-sport as an automotive engineer.

Jason Moustafa

Football & Lacrosse

june 2012 enfield edition

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