Hopedale August 2016

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Page 12 Local Town Pages www.hopedaletownnews.com August 2016 Sports Rogers To Coach Hopedale High Field Hockey Team By KEN HAMWEY Staff Sports Writer Jessica Rogers seems like a dynamic choice to coach Hopedale High’s field hockey squad. The 24-year-old Rogers played the sport at Uxbridge High and Franklin Pierce College, was an all-star selection at both levels, and she’s got coaching experience. Rogers was Nipmuc High’s junior-varsity coach last year and she’s coached a club team (Worcester County United Field Hockey Academy) for two seasons. She’s also served as the director of her club team’s elite program. Rogers has replaced Caitlin McInnis, who relocated to Pennsylvania when her husband’s work involved a transfer. McInnis led the Blue Raiders to three straight Dual Valley Conference championships. “Hopedale has tremendous tradition in field hockey,’’ Rogers said. “Their teams have left lasting legacies, especially in qualifying for the playoffs. At Uxbridge, I played on a Southern Worcester County League championship team my sophomore year and we went to the tourney all three seasons. In my senior year, we were eliminated from the tourney by Hopedale.’’ Rogers, who lives in Uxbridge and teaches Grade 1 in Serving Needham & Surrounding Towns Ashburnham, inherits a team that’s lost nine players to graduation and is very young. Her goals, however, are objectives that she believes will keep the Blue Raiders tourney-bound. “We’ll focus on one practice at a time, one game at a time, and improve our skills and technique daily,’’ she noted. “That approach should help us to reach the tourney. Our league is balanced and competitive and we’re aware that no opponent will be easy.’’ Rogers’ coaching style combines both old-school and modern-day approaches. She’ll be an instructor and she’ll stress discipline. “It’s important to be a teacher of the sport first,’’ she emphasized. “I also want my players to be disciplined and follow the rules. We’ll stick to basics but I’ll also be flexible, teaching new skills and techniques.’’ Rogers met her squad on June 20 and she was impressed. Her captains — juniors Micayla Vail, Cassidy Adams and Jenny Holland, and senior Courtney Smith — discovered that their new mentor prefers her leadership group to offer advice to younger players, to ensure that team bonding occurs quickly and to be welcoming role models. “I stressed the importance of team play, learning new concepts at practice, accepting constructive criticism and being able to overcome adversity,’’ Rogers noted. “I also talked about being flexible and able to adjust to different situations, especially when mistakes are made.’’ At Nipmuc, where her jayvee team enjoyed success, Rogers liked the way her players “grew, became better-skilled and stayed true to their commitment.’’ Her philosophy at Hopedale will be more of the same. “I want our players to compete to win,’’ Rogers said. “I also want them to develop passion for the game and to reach their potential. I want us to be defensive-oriented and aggressive on offense. But, also important is a good field-hockey IQ. Players must develop field awareness and know where the ball is going.’’ Rogers also expects her players to learn quality life lessons as they compete. She knows the game “will help them become leaders and be responsible, help them overcome adversity and help them develop character.’’ A midfield and defender in high school and college, Rogers helped Franklin Pierce gain national ranking in Division 2 her sophomore year. She was a captain in middle school, high school and in college. “When I was in middle school, I got enough girls to sign a petition to form a seventhgrade team,’’ Rogers recalled. “In the eighth grade, our team went unbeaten. I was attracted to the sport at age seven when I saw my first game. I liked the sport because it requires speed, endurance, passing and motion.’’ Rogers liked playing in a small-town atmosphere and she knows she’ll like coaching in a similar environment. “Hopedale is a close-knit community and I’m familiar with that,’’ Rogers said. “And, the fan base is so supportive. I’m eager to get started.’’ The transition to a new coach should be smooth. Jessica Rogers may be only 24 but her approach at Hopedale will be like a seasoned veteran.
August 2016 Local Town Pages www.hopedaletownnews.com Page 13 Sports ESPANET continued from page 1 Championship.” While at Hopedale this past spring Espanet played shortstop for the Blue Raiders, but on the Milford squad he is back in his old stomping grounds of playing second base, a place he has not only learned but grown over the past three years. As Milford was streaking toward a State Championship in 2014, Espanet was taking in legion baseball. “My freshman year I was the next man up with some talented athletes ahead of me so it was not a problem to sit and learn,” Espanet said. “When I was able to get into a game I played hard and whatever happened, happened.” With legion ball Espanet had to quickly adjust to the faster pitching and the very competitive play on the diamond. He also found out that it was a good wake up call for the then freshman. “Playing legion baseball made me realize that I had to work as hard as I could and do everything in my power to get better,” he said. “It showed me that no one was entitled to anything; you needed to be competitive at all times. It kind of put a chip on my shoulder to continually prove that I belonged and could play the game with the best of them.” As the Milford season rolls into the home stretch of the season Espanet is not only hoping that his team can continue winning, but is also looking to improve his relations with those on and off the field. “Obviously winning is enjoyable, but baseball is baseball no matter who you are playing for, “ Espanet said. “I’m just looking to be a great teammate, while building relationships with the athletes on the other legions teams.” Milford currently sits in third place within the Zone 4 standings with a 12-4 record at the time of this writing, while its second baseman is looking to turn around his lack of production at the plate over the past few contests. As Post 59 rumbles toward capturing another championship, Espanet knows that baseball will not always be in his future. The incoming high school senior has committed to the University of Maine to play wide receiver on the Black Bears football team beginning in the fall of 2017. Getting the Financial “Junk Drawer” in Order with Charles River Bank Everyone’s got a junk drawer, and although it can be a daunting task, it feels good to reorganize that drawer once in a while. That feeling is twofold when the reorganization involves finances. Tomas Cern, VP/Director of Financial Services at Charles River Bank, specializes in helping customers take stock of and reevaluate all of the different pieces that comprise their financial “junk” drawers. “I think I have more passion with helping you – just by having a conversation with you on finding opportunities to help you get better lined up – be a happier person in relation to your finances. That’s the reward,” says Cern. Tom Cern, who has been affiliated with Cambridge Investments since 2013, helps provide clients with a “family financial office”. “There are so many services that we provide,” he says. “It entails a conversation with clients about all of their financial needs – not just mortgage, not just savings, not just commercial lending for businesses, but how are you handling all your assets? Where are you in relation to retirement savings or estate planning, and how can you manage your cash flow better? The fun part is working with the clients and finding what works for them,” says Cern. The starting point, says Cern, is to take an assessment at all of a client’s accounts and determine what is or is not still working for them. “It could be a collection of life insurance policies, wills, trusts that you created five, 10 years ago, looking at retirement accounts through work or an old employer 401K that you’ve left behind. In most situations, we have a simple questionnaire that clients can fill out,” he says. The second step in the process is simply having that conversation, says Cern. “What do you want to get accomplished? What are your biggest fears, or your biggest highs? Do you want a second house on the beach in Florida? Do you want to buy that classic Camaro that you had your eyes on? Do you want to get your kids through private instead of public college? Do you want to go to Europe? This gives us a good idea of the type of person you are, and helps us figure out how to get that accomplished,” says Cern. Cern, whose background began in engineering, explains that his job is to figure out the map to get client’s through life’s roadblocks. He explains, “The investments are the easy part. Those are just the bricks. The house design is the more important.” Registered Representative. Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Charles River Bank and Cambridge are not affiliated. Not FDIC Insured, Not Bank Guaranteed, and may lose value. Information contained in this email is privileged and confidential. Tom Cern’s office is located at 70 Main Street, Medway, MA 02053. (508) 321-3144
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