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10WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 MARCH 19, 2020Springsportsput onhold fornowBy Mike AlongiThe MIAA Board of Directorsvoted on Monday to update thestart date for the 2020 springsports season, stating that springsports will begin on April 27. Thedecision was made in accordancewith recent mandates and recommendationsfor health safety fromMassachusetts Governor CharlieBarker, the Center for DiseaseControl and other governinghealth agencies.As has been the case with everyupdate during the COVID-19coronavirus pandemic, the Boardof Directors stated that the situationremains fluid and couldbe readdressed at any point.Previously, the start of the springseason had been pushed back toMarch 31.The Board of Directors alsoapproved a vote to have the entirespring season, both regularseason and tournament games,completed by June 20. Thatmeans there will be a total of 54days for teams to complete theseason.Considering the tightenedschedule, the MIAA TournamentManagement Committee willaddress details regarding thestructure of the spring season.There will be plenty to consider,including things like how manygames to play, whether thosegames should be league or nonleaguegames, the mandates onpractice time and tournamentqualification standards.St. Mary’s Athletic Director JeffNewhall sits on the TournamentManagement Committee.“There is a lot that needs to beaddressed, first and foremost thefact that the current rule is thatthere needs to be 11 days of practicebefore the games can start,”said Newhall. “We might need tolook into potentially shorteningthat, but even if we don’t thenwe’re still looking at roughlyfour weeks to play a full regularseason. I think we have to haverealistic expectations that wemight be able to play a little morethan half of the normal 20 games,if that. There is a lot to be consideredat this point.”An update on the new structurewill be provided by theTournament ManagementCommittee and reviewed by theBoard of Directors on March 25.The MIAA has delayedthe opening of the springsports season until the endof April. This means manyathletes may miss theirlast high school hurrahs,and others an importantspring season. Top, AprilLuders placed sixth in the400 hurdles; Below her,the boys lacrosse captains,elected last year, are, fromleft, Peter Razzaboni,John Simonetti, MitchMcKay; below them arebaseball captains, fromleft, Luke Martinho,Christian Maney, ClayMarengi and John Singer;above, softball playerBreanna Serabian; and,lower left, Ben Kramich,who finished second in thepole vault at the Division 4state meet.FILE PHOTOS
MARCH 19, 2020WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 11Sheehan pilots Triton icemenThis winter, RyanSheehan, center, in hisfourth year as head boyshockey coach at Triton,led the Vikings to theirsecond sectional final inprogram history. TheVikings, who have neverwon a state championship,last advanced tothe finals in 1990. ButSheehan came up emptyagain as the Vikings lostto Lincoln-Sudbury, 8-1.COURTESY PHOTOFormer Pioneer hockey forging a legacy with VikingsBy Anne Marie TobinLYNNFIELD — Lynnfield resident Ryan Sheehanis no stranger to MIAA sectional championship games.As a three-sport standout athlete at Lynnfield High,Sheehan played in four North sectional championshipgames, two each in hockey and baseball. In his fouryeartenure as assistant coach of the Lynnfield baseballteam under head coach John O’Brien, Sheehan hashelped lead the Pioneers to four straight Division 3North championships from 2017-2020.This past winter, Sheehan, in his fourth year as headboys hockey coach at Triton, did it again, leading theVikings to their second sectional final in programhistory. The Vikings, who have never won a statechampionship, last advanced to the finals in 1990.That’s the good news.The bad news is unfortunately Sheehan has comeup empty every time, the latest loss coming at TsongasArena March 9 at the hands of Lincoln-Sudbury by ascore of 8-1.“I guess you could say I’m pretty good at gettingthere and I’m pretty good at not being able to finishit off,” laughed Sheehan. “We got off to a bad start.Lincoln-Sudbury scored three goals in their first fiveshots and were down 4-0 quickly. I thought we gainedsome momentum when we scored a goal near the endof the first period, but they came out and scored offtheir first shot of the second period, and that was it.”Sheehan earned nine varsity letters at Lynnfield.A senior captain, he was the starting catcher on thebaseball team, leading the Pioneers to the north finalshis junior and senior years.In hockey, Sheehan was a three-year starting goaltenderfor the Pioneers, leading them to two northchampionship finals, the first as a sophomore and thesecond as a senior.He also started for three years at linebacker, tightend and fullback on the football team.Following graduation in 2004, Sheehan spent ayear at Hebron Academy in Maine where he playedfootball, hockey and baseball. He moved on to Eastern“The key was greatleadership and a lotof talented players.It was an unprecedentedyear mainly becausewe had a greatgroup of kids, maybethe most enjoyablegroup I have ever coached.”RYAN SHEEHANTriton coachConnecticut State University, playing two years ofbaseball before injuries put an end to his playingcareer.“I just fizzled out after shoulder and knee injuriesmade it impossible for me to play,” said Sheehan.A physical education teacher in Lynn, Sheehangot his start in coaching after college when his olderbrother Pat was named head football coach at Triton.“That was not my original plan at all,” saidSheehan. “I majored in economics. My brother Pat hadjust gotten the head football coach job at Triton and heasked me to come and coach with him. I had wantedto stay with sports as long as possible as I love thecompetition. The best way to stay around that was tobe with the kids, so I fell into teaching, and coaching,for that matter.“Teaching has made it possible for me to coach,so it has really worked out well,” said Sheehan. “Irotate to all the elementary schools in Lynn, so I’mthe ‘utility player,’ kind of the first man-off-the benchtype teacher.”Sheehan began coaching high school hockey as anassistant coach at Lynnfield under his former coachVin Mirasolo. When Mirasolo left two years later tocoach Melrose, Sheehan followed and spent four yearsas an assistant before getting the Triton job in June,2016. He inherited a team that made program historythe previous season when the Vikings qualified for theDivision 1 state tournament for the first time.After failing to make the D1 state tournamenthis first two years, Sheehan broke through in 2019,leading the Vikings to the semifinals of the Division 2North tournament.Sheehan also spent four years as an assistant baseballcoach at Triton and three years as an assistantfootball coach at Lynnfield starting in 2017.When not coaching, Sheehan manages to steal around or two of golf at Nahant Country Club where heplays to a 5.5 handicap.“A neighbor introduced me to the club and I love itthere,” said Sheehan. “I’m done by 11:30 every dayand the course really gives me the chance to work onmy short game. To play well there, you have to be ableto chip and putt.”Triton punched its ticket to the championshipgame with a 2-1 win in overtime over top-seededMasconomet. Sheehan said the team’s success boileddown to two things.“The key was great leadership and a lot of talentedplayers,” said Sheehan. “It was an unprecedented yearmainly because we had a great group of kids, maybethe most enjoyable group I have ever coached.”Sheehan and his wife, Amanda, moved back toLynnfield in 2015 where they are raising two daughters,ages two and one.
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