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MARCH 23, 2017 WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 11
Sports
PHOTOS | ANNE MARIE TOBIN
Nick Kinnon is working with assistant coach Adam Dell’aria on a resistance drill. At right, boys lacrosse seniors are, from left, Jimmy Whalen, Kingsley Corona (captain), David
Mineo and Ryan Freitas.
Now batting: spring sports
By Anne Marie Tobin
There is nothing like a sunny spring day to chase away
the winter blues.
Unless you live on the North Shore, where a late winter
blizzard a week ago Tuesday buried the region with snow.
The storm dumped anywhere from 10-12 inches, leaving
many area high school athletic directors scrambling to
schedule indoor space for spring season tryouts, which
began on Monday.
In Lynnfield, the boys and girls track teams and the
boys lacrosse team took advantage of the 50-plus degree
temperatures on Monday and Tuesday, running outdoors,
stretching indoors in the gym, and working on proper
techniques.
The boys lacrosse team was in its customary location,
working on conditioning and stick skills in the student
parking lot in the late afternoon, while the girls team was
inside the gym at night.
The baseball team had a strong turnout and worked
out in the gym, while the softball team was at the middle
school in double sessions.
Coach Peter Marinelli was disappointed with the small
turnout.
“This is as frustrated as I have ever been, and that says
a lot,” said Marinelli. “I mean, I was at Brookline High
when we lost 59 straight games, and it wasn’t as disappointing.
We had only 10 girls in the first session for 9th
and 10th graders, and only seven in the second session for
juniors, seniors and returning players, so unless something
changes, it looks like we will be down to just one team this
season.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, all Lynnfield fields were still
covered in snow and likely would remain snow covered
through the weekend after cold temperatures returned to
the region Wednesday.
The boys lacrosse team was scheduled for a scrimmage
day this Saturday.
“I don’t know, we know we aren’t allowed to shovel
the field, so hopefully we can get the games in,” senior
captain Kingsley Corona said. “We have a pretty good
turnout, but we lost several guys to track, so the sooner we
can get out there and see what we have the better.”
Athletic director Michael Bierwirth said Lynnfield is
ahead of the curve when it comes to baseball and softball.
“Everyone is in the same situation with lacrosse and
tennis, but with baseball and softball, with the turf fields,
the minute the snow is gone, the fields are playable, which
Softball pitcher Hayley O’Brien warms up during tryouts
Monday.
isn’t the case with teams that have grass fields,” he said.
The girls tennis team had a limited practice on the
middle school courts.
“I knew we could get out on at least one court that was
clear, so we had both the varsity and junior varsity teams
practice outside for about an hour and a half,” coach Craig
Stone said. “The boys team had a meeting, but rumor has it
the DPW will be getting out the snowblowers and clearing
the courts today (Tuesday), so hopefully we will have full
access, unless we get the snow the weather people are
starting to talk about for the weekend.”
In Peabody, most of the tryouts were held in the field
house, which was jam packed Monday and Tuesday from
2 o’clock through nearly 10 p.m.
The boys lacrosse team kicked off the week of tryouts at
2 p.m. with a solid turnout of about 45 candidates. Girls
lacrosse followed from 4-6 p.m. following which girls
softball (6-8) and baseball (8-9:30) held their first session.
With the high school courts still snowed under, both
tennis teams did not practice.
“We still don’t know if there will be enough kids to have
a boys team, but we are doing everything we can to spread
the word and get a few more kids to come out,” athletic director
Phil Sheridan said. “They have struggled with numbers
the last few years, and it’s tough to find the kids who
want to play, but we are hoping to be able to get enough to
keep the team going.”
The lacrosse team is scheduled to host its annual
jamboree for the benefit of the Bruce Lerch Memorial
Scholarship fund beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Senior captains Tim January, Jake Destefano and Nick
Merryman were adamant that neither rain, nor snow nor
sleet would keep the team from its appointed date.
“We will be playing no matter what,” January said
during a break on Monday.
“If we have to shovel the field ourselves, that’s what
we will do, said Destefano, with Merryman nodding in
agreement.
The spring season is the most challenging in terms of
weather.
The MIAA is considering a proposal to move the start
date for the season back a week to the fourth Monday in
March to allow for better weather and field conditions and
reduce tournament conflicts that seniors have with graduations,
proms and awards nights.
The proposal, submitted by Dartmouth High athletic director
Jeff Caron (who also submitted a proposal to move
the winter start date season back a week) claims that by
moving the season back a week, those conflicts along
with the associated distractions, would disappear because
spring tournaments would not begin until after senior
weeks.
“Most Massachusetts schools have senior weeks and
graduations during a three-week period, so I’m not sure
that moving the season start in either direction would solve
the problem,” MIAA spokesperson Nathan Bonneau said.
“It may help, but the rationale behind this proposal really
is more about field readiness so that game postponements
due to bad weather of fields not being available
would likely be reduced.”
Don’t hold your breath waiting for anything to change;
the proposal has not been favorably received.
So far, 17 sports committees have voted on the proposal
with only one (gymnastics) approving it.
Of the six spring sports committees that have voted, the
proposal has been overwhelmingly rejected by a combined
0-72-1 margin.