Sports March 30, 2012 - 23 Pelham~Windham Sports On the Road Again for Area Gymnasts


submitted by Ruth Licata, Head Coach, Girls Teams The teams from Gym-Ken Gymnastics attended the Ocean State International gymnastic meet at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI. The girls have competed out of state for the past four weekends traveling to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont. Scores for Windham and Salem: Level 7 took home the sixth place trophy. From


Windham: Alexandra Masone scored 9.325 on vault, 9.175 on bars for second, and 35.775 All Around; Samantha Jezak scored 9.275 on bars for third, 9.125 on beam, and 36.5 All Around; Tori Sipes scored 8.9 on beam for third and 35.325 All Around. Level 6: Paige Butler of Windham scored an 8.75 on beam and 33.5 All Around. Level 5 earned the fourth place team trophy.


From Windham: Hannah Monahan scored 9.15 on beam and 35.3 All Around; Taylor Maffeo scored 8.525 bars and 32.35 All Around; Sydney


Te girls of the level 4 team wearing crowns Lindsey Brayer and Pace McKeon, both of Windham, were first place in their age division.


Positive Synergies Developing at All Levels of Baseball in Pelham With spring in the air, it’s time to start thinking about our American


Pastime ... especially if you ask baseball leadership in Pelham. Over the past three months, Pelham now has newly appointed people to all three key leadership roles within their baseball programs. They include Billy Beauchesne, Pelham High School Varsity Coach; Vic Brown, Pelham Middle School Head Coach; and Chris Mader, President of Pelham Little League Baseball. All three gentlemen have been getting together and speaking regularly to help bring Pelham Baseball back to its successful roots established in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the Pelham Schools and Pelham Little League programs were winning championships and baseball enrollment was at an all time high. But even more important than that, these leaders are hoping to infuse some fun back into the game with some terrific instruction and setting the positive culture that is needed in all youth sports programs.


President of Pelham Little League Chris Mader says the all


volunteer baseball board has been hard at work changing what needs to be changed while keeping many other strong and successful traditions intact. “Those are some big shoes to fill” now following in the footsteps of the late Bob Blinn and current Selectman Doug Viger said Mader. “But I am entering this role at a great time in Pelham. The winds of change are blowing in this town and we have eight newly elected volunteers on our Board. Everyone has fantastic new ideas to get our kids more interested in the sport of baseball.”


A former professional baseball player and current Managing Director for Randstad Technologies, Mader says his former baseball experience, coupled with his current people and business


experience, should serve him well in his new volunteer role as President. “I feel very lucky to have played this sport for more than 18 years at all levels and as a player, was an overachiever to say the least. To imagine that I actually received hitting instruction from Ted Williams, played under Terry Francona, and played alongside Derek Jeter was life changing. I also played alongside teammates like Michael Jordan and Carlton Fisk. So I learned from the best of the best. I’m also fortunate to have a great boss who is a friend and valued mentor, and my company is a five-time recipient of a ‘Best Places to Work’ award in the Boston, MA area. My colleagues at work are like my second family. So I’m now simply trying to share my life experiences and be a role model for all Pelham kids to help make them better baseball players and hopefully better citizens in society when they grow up.” He also makes some very keen observations through Pelham Baseball’s Website regarding some of the challenges kids are facing when it comes to youth sports. “It seems the total number of participants in baseball (in all towns) is declining ... so why aren’t more kids playing baseball? Partly because the game is hard, they are afraid of failing or letting their friends/parents down, they get bored, or their friends are moving onto other sports like Lacrosse, Flag Football, even Ice Hockey and spring Soccer. Kids also play more video games, are on the Internet, and generally just don’t play outside like we did when we were kids,” says Mader. He continues, “At the end of the day we need to ground our parents in the reality that there is a .0004 percent chance their child will ever wear a professional sports uniform. That is not to say that kids shouldn’t dream big because they should. But that needs to be the child’s dream and not their parents. Our Board Members view


our roles as the protectors of youth. Kids are only kids once, so let’s let them be kids and simply get lost in play a few hours a day.


I


think many youth sports programs are developing travel teams way too early in life. I mean, ‘under 8’ (U8) travel teams? Really? Kids can barely understand the basic fundamentals at this age never mind advanced game strategy.” In order to change this trend, all baseball programs are offering up some new ideas. Pelham High teamed up with Chunky’s to host ‘Sandlot Sundays’ where kids can get in free to watch some of the best baseball movies of all time. Pelham Little League is hosting a free coaches clinic on March 31 to help give these volunteers the tools to work with the kids and make them more effective baseball coaches. For the first time, Pelham Little League is also offering discounted pricing on items like baseball pants and cleats, and has a new fundraiser in 2012 where they are hoping to replace and purchase new batting helmets, catchers gear, and improve the fields at Muldoon Park. With the support from the town and the parents with kids in these


programs, many positive changes can occur in the very immediate future. And if you haven’t been to a local ball game in a while, give them a chance and drop by a game in late April and early May … because it appears that the quality of baseball is on the rise in Pelham.


Interested parties can follow the below links to their websites to learn more:


https://sites.google.com/site/pelhampythonsbaseball/home http://www.pelhamnhbaseball.com


Gymnasts have some ‘Fun in the Sun’ at Beach Party Meet


total score of 36.125. Sydney Bartlett of Salem took second on vault with a 9.425. Level 8: Ali Otis of Windham placed fifth on vault for her age


group. Level 9: Sara Fisher of Pelham scored an 8.875 on the floor routine, an 8.725 on beam and an 8.7 on vault.


Baldridge scored 8.95 on bars and 34.725 All Around; Delaney Cunningham scored 9.025 on beam and 35.375 All Around. From Salem: Mary Gallo scored 8. 5 on bars and 33.25 All Around, Kiana Roy scored 8.475 on beam and 31.375 All Around. Level 4 earned the third place team trophy.


From Windham: Shanni Zhou scored 9.275 on vault and 35.45 All Around; Sophie Sullivan scored 9.1 on vault and 33.85 All Around; Pace McKeon scored 9.0 on every event or above and 36.35 All Around for first place; Ava Gravell scored 9.5 on vault, 9.150 on floor and 35.50 All Around; Caitlin Higgins scored 9.3 on vault and bars and 36.0 All Around; Allison O’Connor scored 9.4 on vault, and 35.45 All Around; Lindsey Brayer scored 9.4 on vault, 9.525 on beam and 37.05 All Around for first place; Kaley Riley scored 9.025 on vault and 34.575 All Around. The teams are coached by Amberlynn Gifford, Jen Corsetto and Ruth Licata.


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Levels 5 and 6 girls, front row, from the left: Scarlett Souter (Windham), Keira Moon, Elizabeth Aldrich (Salem), Kasey Hartmann (Salem),


Sophia Viger, Bella Bouchard, Tristen Witkowski. Standing: Brianna Paleno, Elise Stahly, Katelyn Cadotte, Suzie Moore, Annika Pinyochon, Oliva Faro (Windham), Jordan Wakim (Salem), Sydney Chretien (Salem), Amilia Johnston, Kacie Blanchet (Salem), Emily Jones (Salem) and Morgan Suech.


Level 5: Kasey Hartmann of Salem took first place on vault (9.225) and floor (9.25). She won second place in the all-around for her age group with a 36.025. Sydney Chretien of Salem was second on vault with a 9.175, third on bars (9.25) and on beam and tied for second in the all-around for her age group with a 36.025. Emily Jones of Salem was fourth on bars with a 9.2. Level 6: Scarlett Souter of Windham was third


Levels 8 and 9 team, from the left: Taylor Keough, Hannah Tingley,


Sara Fisher (Pelham), Erin Carroll, Emma Tompson, Courtney Kamberalis, Savannah Gigandet, and Ali Otis (Windham).


submitted by Cathy Robertson-Souter There’s nothing like colorful grass skirts and flower leis to take the stress out of a gymnastics competition. The girls from Phantom Gymnastics in Hampstead enjoyed a whimsical, but exceptionally competitive, meet hosted by Exxcell Gymnastics of Newton, over the weekend of March 17-18.


Pitted against some of the best teams in New England, including one that boasts two recent Olympic-level athletes, the girls turned in a strong performance, taking many top individual spots and winning the overall team competitions for Levels 4 and 5. To round out the podium, Levels 6, 7, and 9 took home second place. Some of the highlights for the girls from Pelham, Windham and Salem include:


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on vault with a 9.475, fourth on bars and fifth on floor. Olivia Faro of Windham was second on vault with a 9.25, and fourth on bars with an 8.45. Jordan Wakim of Salem took fifth place on beam with an 8.6. Elizabeth Aldrich of Salem earned an 8.85 on vault. Kacie Blanchet of Salem scored an 8.9 on vault. Level 7: Rebecca Heath of Windham won first place on bars with a 9.350. She took second on vault (9.375) and beam (9.525). She won the all-around for her age group with a 37.475. Gabriella Palermo of Salem was third on vault with a 9.2 and fifth on bars. She took third place in the all-around with a total score of 36.025. Olivia Champagne of Salem took third on beam with a 9.175 and fourth place on bars. She was fourth in the all-around for her age group with a


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