Hudson - Litchfield News May 27, 2011 - 13
Campbell Softball is Big on Development, JV Lady Cougars Wrap Up Undefeated Season
by Marc Ayotte Advertising dollars streaming in, exorbitant ticket prices, not to mention $7 hot dogs and $5 soft drinks—all contribute to lining the bottomless pockets of professional sports’ team owners. Money, sad to say, that allows them to go fishing in the free-agent market and hook the ‘catch du jour’—inking the players to multi-million dollar contracts and instantly making the team a playoff contender. In high school sports, it’s much less dollar-oriented. A few bucks for a yearbook ad, reasonable concession stand prices, and no ego- induced contracts to ink—just local athletes playing for the love of the game, whichever sport it may be. Accordingly, individual communities with their ‘feeder’ programs play a very important role in high school varsity sports. In addition to rec leagues, AAU, ASA, and a host of other off-season opportunities is the junior varsity program. The JV program in all high schools is an integral component of the effectiveness and success of the varsity teams. Epitomizing the importance and success of the ‘farm system’ mentality and approach is Campbell High School JV softball head coach Kirk Romein. In this era of videos on demand, mobile Internet access,
watching movies in the family SUV, and tweeting, to name a few, we have become a society of instant gratification. The ‘need to know’ and to ‘own things now’ permeates our entire mindset and existence. We want to know what is happening, where it’s happening, and how it happened before it’s even done happening—and will pay whatever we have to in order to own the most current technology devices that will enable us to do so. Fortunately, for pencil and paper dinos like myself, it’s nice to see and appreciate some things that still move slowly, not in archaic fashion, but just methodically, like the development of young athletes.
As the head coach of the Lady Cougar JV softball team, Romein brings to his position an extensive background in coaching youth sports. Subsequently, the ‘program-oriented’ coaching style he brings to the diamond is paying nice dividends at the varsity level. It takes a willingness and commitment, by players and coaches alike, to put the program’s needs ahead of the ‘instant gratification’ of solely recording a ‘W.’ At the beginning of every season, it’s
natural to be optimistic and excited. It’s the competitive spirit that drives you to think you will have a successful year by assembling a cohesive team with good chemistry, whether it’s on the field, court or rink. However, as Coach Romein points out, “you don’t always end up with the team you start with. We expect to be good [at the beginning of the season], but our record is secondary. Player development for the varsity program is our primary objective.” The successful implementation of that philosophy is what makes the Cougar programs, in general, as successful as they have recently been. Let’s try applying a little quantitative analysis to this coaching philosophy. On Tuesday, May 24, the Junior Lady Cougars traveled to Farmington to wrap up their schedule. After Emily Paquin threw a two-hitter in the Campbell 8-2, it concluded a perfect season— perfect as in 12 wins against zero losses. For the season, Campbell outscored their opponents 132-24. They had a team batting average approaching a staggering .500 and they scored 15 or more runs in a game five times. With Paquin and Shelbie Trompke in the circle shutting down opponents’ bats and five batters, including Erin Frost and Shannon Lavigne with atmospheric-like base percentages, it’s no doubt the softball program is a hit. The subtle effectiveness of Romein’s coaching approach is reflected in his ability to achieve a winning record while combining it with excellent player development and having all kinds of fun. “These are the nicest group of girls I ever had,” recounts Romein. “We gelled as a team [this year]—we had a good time,” added the CHS coach. Romein also alluded to the fact that playing at the JV level is not all peaches and cream. He noted that playing at that level, in particular for Campbell softball, there is a “musical chairs approach” to player positioning. As mentioned, the main focus is to make the varsity team better. As a result, players are often moved out of their comfort zones and repositioned as to make them more versatile and ready to fill in where they are needed most. To consistently develop and produce quality players and individuals, along with keeping the campers happy, takes talent and a common goal. And as far as any ‘gravy’ is concerned, the third-year CHS JV coach observed that “winning is always fun, especially against Conant.”
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by Sue LaRoche The Lady Broncos continue to gather victories in the final week of the regular season heading into the NHIAA Division I softball playoffs. On Friday, May 20, Alvirne defeated Central, 2-0, on the road. Taylor Carbone continues to rack up strikeouts as she fanned 11 and allowed only three hits. Jenna Giannelli had two hits and scored both of the runs for the Broncos. Erin Craven also had two hits for Alvirne, while Kaela Craven, Chelsey Drew, Katie Donovan, and Jess Underwood each had a hit for the Broncos, with Donovan providing an RBI. Captain Katie Donovan is the only senior playing for the Broncos squad this season. The defense played stellar behind Carbone with no miscues in the contest. On Monday, May 23, the Broncos used Carbone for offense and defense, as she struck out 12 and allowed only four hits on the mound and went 4-4 at the plate, scoring both of the Broncos runs for a 2-1 victory against Dover. Chelsey Drew drove in Carbone with the first run in the fifth for a 1-0 Alvirne lead. Dover then tied the score 1-1 in the top of the sixth. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, it looked like there would be extra innings, but Carbone stepped to the plate and delivered a home run for the walk-off, 2-1 victory. Chelsey Drew had two hits on the day, while Jenna Giannelli, Kaela Craven, Delaney Burns, and Brooke Kennedy all had a safety for Alvirne. With a 14-3 record, the Broncos are anxiously awaiting the playoffs. In another tight battle on
Tuesday, May 24, Alvirne defeated Manchester Memorial, 3-2, getting the contest in just before the rains came. This improves Alvirne’s record to 15-3, with one game remaining this week.
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