Franklin June 2016

Page 26 Local Town Pages www.franklintownnews.com June 2016
Franklin Sports
Sidwell’s Tenure at Franklin High Was All Positive
By Ken Hamwey
The calendar is rapidly approaching
mid-June, and at
Franklin High, that means an
era is coming to an end for
its athletic department. Brad
Sidwell, who coached football
for 20 years and was the Panthers’
athletic director for 15,
will soon close the door on his
two-decade career.
The 46-year-old Sidwell may
be leaving Franklin, but he’s not
leaving the Hockomock League.
He’ll be Taunton High’s varsity
football coach and also serve as
its wellness coordinator. Coaching
and teaching at the same
school no doubt is a plus and as
Sidwell said when he announced
his new roles: “It was time for a
change and Taunton seemed
like a good fit.’’
But, leaving Franklin High
will be emotional — he’s lived
in town for the last 19 years
with his wife and three children,
and he’ll continue to call
Franklin home. The commute
to Taunton won’t be difficult
but leaving a place where fond
memories were created won’t be
easy. After all, the Panthers’ athletic
squads enjoyed lots of success
during Sidwell’s tenure, the
most recent being a state championship
in boys’ ice hockey.
“State, sectional and league
championships are nice, but
what I’ll miss the most is the
people,’’ Sidwell emphasized.
“Franklin has good studentathletes,
supportive fans and
great coaches. I’ll also miss the
top-notch facilities and the way
our kids got involved with the
strength and conditioning program
that we introduced.’’
As the days speed towards
.D. MURPHY
JCONSTRUCTION
Since 1976
Sidwell’s final day on the job,
he keeps his focus — “I’ll keep
working to finish what we started
at Franklin. It’s important to give
the kids the best opportunities.’’
Franklin’s athletic menu blossomed
during his reign. Twentyfive
sports are available and there
are 54 teams, counting freshmen,
junior varsity and varsity
squads. Swimming became part
of the mix and next year gymnastics
returns. Others sports
that were already offered when
Sidwell arrived have flourished.
Girls ice hockey comes to mind
along with powerful squads like
soccer, volleyball, field hockey
and lacrosse, to mention a few.
“The single most important
thing an athletic director wants
to get right is hiring coaches,’’
he said. “We have an excellent
staff here and even when the
process was on-going to find a
new coach, it seemed like the
candidates that applied were
all outstanding. Having a staff
that has stayed with their programs
for long stretches was a
big plus.’’
Coaching football again
seems so natural for Sidwell.
His father, Steve, coached in the
National Football League for 30
years and served as Bill Parcells’
defensive coordinator when the
pair labored in Foxboro. The
younger Sidwell played football
(linebacker) and baseball (outfield/DH)
at Brown, and later
coached at Providence Country
Day. He also was a graduate assistant
at Tulane.
Now, Taunton follows his
time at Franklin and he’s acutely
aware that taking over a 1-10
grid team means he’ll be rolling
up his sleeves to reverse the
Tigers’ fortunes. “We’ll figure it
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Brad Sidwell is leaving Franklin High to coach at Taunton. Although his
successes were sweet, he will miss the people most.
out,’’ he said. “I’ve met with the
70 or so candidates (grades 9-11)
and I was impressed. There’s
lots of potential there and the
players want to do well. The key
is to connect with the kids and
build a positive culture.’’
Sidwell’s most recent football
teams at Franklin didn’t enjoy a
plethora of success in the win
column but his 2009 team that
compiled an 11-1 record and
lost in the playoffs by a whisker
to Natick evokes fond memories.
But, as positive as 2009 was,
Sidwell prefers to look at participation
numbers. He derives joy
when students opt to compete in
sports and he admires studentathletes
who become solid citizens.
“There’s nothing better
than to see kids who played
at Franklin and discover what
they’re doing now,’’ Sidwell
said. “Turning out good citizens
is really what the job is all about.
That’s far more important than
wins and losses.’’
An athletic director’s job
today is demanding and timeconsuming.
But, during Sidwell’s
15 years in that role, he gave
100 percent, never complaining
about weekend work or long
hours dealing with budgets and
scheduling. “I’ve got no complaints,’’
he said. “Being A.D.
was demanding but it also was
very rewarding.’’
He soon will be wrapping up
his career at Franklin and his
time wearing Panther blue and
white is almost complete. Brad
Sidwell was a loyal and faithful
servant in his athletic roles at
Franklin High and his there’s
no doubt that his personable demeanor
will be greatly missed.
Krystal Ortiz Head Coach of
Women’s Lacrosse at Dean College
Dean College is happy to announce
that Krystal Ortiz has
accepted the position of Head
Coach of the Women’s Lacrosse
team. She will begin her new
position immediately and will assume
additional duties within the
athletic department.
This past spring, Ortiz was
an assistant coach at Frostburg
State University (MD), where
she assisted the head coach in
all phases of operating a NCAA
Division III program. Prior to
her stint at Frostburg, she was the
head coach at Methuen High
School, where she led the team
to two Merrimack Valley Conference
Small School championships
in 2013 and 2014, and was
voted the MVC Small Conference
Coach of the Year in 2013.
She played collegiately at Lasell
College, where she was named
academic all-conference in both
volleyball and lacrosse, and
earned First-Team All-Conference
Honors, as well as the college’s
Rookie of the Year Award
and Unsung Hero Award.
Ortiz will build a program at
Dean that is moving from the
National Junior College Athletic
Association and entering the first
phase of NCAA membership, as
the athletic program will be in its
exploratory year of the NCAA
membership process. The college
will be moving to the New
England Collegiate Conference
in 2017-18.
“I want to thank Dean College
for this amazing opportunity
to lead the women’s lacrosse program,”
said Ortiz. “It is an exciting
time to be a Bulldog during
the transition. I look forward to
getting started and making an
impact on the student-athletes
and the Dean community.”