Medway & Millis August 2018

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Page 20 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com August 2018 Sports Kraby Replaces Olson as New Millis Football Coach By Ken Hamwey, Staff Sports Writer Brian Kraby is the new varsity football coach at Millis High. The 41-year-old Kraby, who has a long and rich tradition at Millis, played football and baseball for the Mohawks, was a member of the 1994 Super Bowl championship squad, coached as an assistant there for 15 years and currently is in his eighth year as a social studies teacher at the high school. Kraby replaces Dana Olson, Your Vision; Our Mission Michael T. Damon Financial Adviser* Damon Financial, LLC** 45 Milford Street, Suite 3 Medway, MA 02053 (508) 321-2101 Mike@DamonFinancial.com DamonFinancial.com Registered Representative offering investments through NYLIFE Securities LLC (member FINRA/SIPC), A licensed Insurance Agency and wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance and an agent licensed to sell insurance through New York Life Insurance Company and may be licensed to sell insurance through various other independent unaffiliated companies. *Financial Adviser offering investment advisory Services through Eagle Strategies LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser. ** Damon Financial, LLC is not owned or operated by NYLIFE Securities LLC or its affiliates. who led the Mohawks to a pair of Super Bowl crowns the last two years. Olson will be working on a bachelor’s degree in the future, and he’ll also be returning as an assistant coach. He’ll be the defensive coordinator at Milford High this fall. “I’m honored and humbled to be selected as the school’s football coach,’’ Kraby said. “Millis has a great tradition with winning football, and its previous coaches have built and sustained a rich history with the program.’’ No stranger to the Millis program, Kraby previously spent eight years as an assistant to Dave Sperandio from 1997- 2005 and his last stint with the Mohawks was as their freshman coach (2012-2014). He also was an assistant at Framingham High for two seasons. Kraby is acutely aware that taking the head-coaching reins after Olson guided Millis to bowl victories over Maynard and Hoosac Valley the last two years will be a Herculean task. But, he’s eager to get started. Opening night for the Mohawks will be Sept. 7 against non-league Brighton. “It’ll be a challenge to keep the success going, but I know we can sustain it,’’ Kraby emphasized. “I’ve got confidence in myself, and I know what’s needed to get the job done. Coaching at the lower levels is a plus, because that’s where much of the teaching goes on.’’ Kraby intends to work vigorously with the youth program and the middle school team to ensure that Millis’ participation numbers increase. “My goals are to build a thriving culture from the ground up and to make sure the program feeds itself,’’ Kraby noted. “And, we want to continue with a winning tradition. I’ll stress fundamentals, repetitions and being in top-notch physical condition.’’ Although most of the Mohawks’ skilled-position players will be graduating, Kraby sees strength in both lines and believes his forces can contend for another Tri Valley League Small Division crown. “We’ll need to replace 18 seniors and a lot of players at the skilled positions —he said. “But, we’ll be good enough to compete for the division title. Our nucleus (about eight players) is solid, and we’ll have some new faces. Our kids are blue-collar types, and they’re inspired and hungry to excel. And, our captains are quality leaders — seniors Thomas Sallon (linebacker/tight end) and Stephen Melia (fullback/linebacker.’’ Labeling his style as “intense,’’ Kraby, nevertheless, has a keen knack for connecting with youths. “The most important aspect of my job is to teach our kids to be young men with strong character and good morality,’’ Kraby said. “Football is a way for them to build a good foundation for those attributes.’’ Chuck Grant, the athletic director at Millis, is pleased Kraby is on board, and he’s a big fan of his style. “As a former captain of the football program that won a Super Bowl in 1994, Brian is rich in Millis tradition’’ Grant said. “He also was an assistant coach when we won the 1999 Super Bowl. We’re excited to have him lead our program and to enhance its success in all the key impact areas with his passion and enthusiasm.’’ Kraby recalled the atmosphere of that surrounded the 1994 squad. “We had gone 1-9 the year before,’’ Kraby said. “But, there was a special energy and a sense of brotherhood. We weren’t big, but we worked hard and we were fast. Our team chemistry was phenomenal.’’ Kraby played guard, linebacker and nose tackle at 5-8 and 190 pounds. He also was a catcher in baseball. After graduation in 1995, he enrolled at UMass-Dartmouth, played linebacker and center for two years but later transferred to Framingham State where he earned a degree in history. He also has master’s degrees from Cambridge College and American International College in education and school leadership. A native of Millis, Kraby and his wife Mary have three sons and a daughter. Aware that he’s following outstanding coaches like Ernie Richards, Sperandio, Dale Olmsted and Olson, Kraby mentions their efforts in superlatives. “I played for coach Sperandio and he was a great motivator whose football knowledge was so expansive,’’ Kraby said. “All of these coaches were outstanding and excelled in different ways. Another coach Kraby admired was his late father (Don- KRABY continued on page 21
August 2018 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com Page 21 Sports Millis Girls Soccer Aims to Defend State Title By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer Prior to last fall, the Millis girls’ soccer team had qualified for the Division 4 South Tournament three out of the four years. Unfortunately during that time frame, the Mohawks were knocked out twice in the Quarter Finals and once in the Semi Finals. Last season was a different story, and Millis was able to exorcise all their demons. After finishing the regular season 12-2-2 the squad was awarded a two seed in the tournament where they quickly showed that this year was going to be different. Millis dispatched of Rising Tide (8-0), Cohasset (3-1) and Coyle and Cassidy (4-0) to grab the Division 4 South Title. Next up was uncharted waters for these girls – the Division 4 State Tournament. Millis edged Amesbury 2-1 and then Millbury 1-0 to grab their first State Title in eight years. Millis Coach Steve Bailen knew last fall was going to be different. “The year before we won the State Title, the girls felt strongly that they could have gone further (Millis went 10- 4-4 in the regular season and was eliminated in the Quarter Finals), so leading up to tryouts last season they were focused,” the Coach said. “It was a team that had athleticism, speed, skill, persistence and aggression. We started off roughly with a tie, a loss and another tie before finally pulling things together.” Coming into this season, the Mohawks will be without the help of nine seniors from last year’s squad. Bailen considers it to be a rebuilding of the team where he’ll have to do some shuffling of players to find that right consistency. “I’m going to have to figure out where everyone will play and what they bring to the team. That’s all part of being a coach,” Bailen said. “I’ve already had a group meeting with the team setting the tone for the upcoming season.” The Millis Coach let his team know that this was the time to get start getting into soccer shape and putting their heads in the right frame of mind. While winning a State Championship was great, it’s now in the past, and everything going forward should be what they can contribute to the team this upcoming season. Looking to lead the team back onto the field and in the right direction will be the three senior captains in Riley Donovan, Jess Krauss and Caira Moynihan. They all know what is needed to not only get back into the Sectionals but return to the State Tournament. “Coming into the season, we need to prepare as much as we did last year when we fell short,” Krauss said. “This is a new team, and we need to bond to become successful. As captains, we are pushing the conditioning, so that we are fit to play in the TVL season.” With 12 girls returning to the field, things shouldn’t be all that bad as to knowing where to play and what they bring to the team. Bailen is hoping that the new girls can come in right away and gel while creating a chemistry with the rest of the team. Moynihan and the rest of the captains already have the incoming girls working out to get ready for the season, but have been going to camps and bonding. Winning the States was a team effort, and will once again, everyone will have to be on the same page if they want to defend their title. “We all showed determination throughout the regular season, but once we got into the tournament we needed to raise our game,” Donovan said. “In order to be successful, we had to work hard and everyone gave 150% on the field; we worked our butts off to get those Championships.” Capturing the State Title was another success story for Millis High School, the last time the girls’ soccer team was in 2009. In order for the Mohawks to do that last fall the team found themselves on the right pace entering the tournament. “Everyone was clicking, and once there they were calm, cool and collective and knew what had to be done,” Bailen said. “If it’s not broken don’t fix it. They shook off the nerves and went on the run.” Millis Soccer Captains Riley Donovan, Jess Krauss and Caira Moynihan are shown here with their team’s state championship plaque. This year, having graduated nine seniors last year, the team is starting from scratch defending the title. While being a part of a team to capture the State Championship was a thrilling experience, the squad wanted to win it for one of their coaches. “It was really emotional winning the States, but we wanted to win it for Coach Olivia Zitoli, a member of the 2009 team,” Donovan said. “We wanted to win it for her as well as bringing it back to the school.” When the season opens up, Millis is hoping to avoid the start they had last year and go out and play Mohawk soccer. “The Tri Valley League is very tough and definitely makes us better,” Moynihan said. “As long as we play them tough, it sets us up to be successful.” KRABY continued from page 20 ald), who helped him coach the 2014 freshman team at Millis. “My dad previously coached at Xaverian,’’ Kraby noted. “He showed me how to mold players into responsible young men. He was such a high-caliber mentor.’’ Kraby’s philosophy of competing will be linked to competing hard to win, to reach one’s potential and to enjoy an athletic experience. And, when the moment is right, he’ll let his players know that their sport is a fertile venue to learn real life lessons. “Life isn’t easy, and at times, people have to deal with issues,’’ Kraby said. “Sports can teach how to overcome adversity, how to be responsible and accountable, and how to be a good teammate, no matter whether it’s in business, education or sports.’’ The new football coach at Millis has exceptional perspective on his new responsibilities. For all your Automotive Needs Both Import & Domestic 1461 Main Street, Millis, MA 02054 508-376-2557 • 800-894-2557 • www.stevesautoparts.com Steve Bullock
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