first one of the year

OK, first off, sorry that I haven't been blogging. The problem, in all honesty, is that I haven't been at enough games lately to feel really comfortable talking about local players and teams. Our deadlines at the paper changed to 10 (hopefully a temporary problem) in December, and it means somebody has to stay in the office all night rather than covering a game to handle the phone calls from coaches. That's almost always me, because I am best at quickly putting things on pages and because I'm an editor.
I'm not complaining, but I do miss covering stuff.
So, since the start of basketball, hockey and wrestling season, I've seen exactly three games. I'll say what I thought about the last two of those first, and then try to get to what reporters Ken Lipshez and Andrew Lovell seem to be saying, and what I'm getting from coaches.

I made sure I got to see the New Britain girls basketball team at least once. They're simply too much fun. In the past four years this has consistently been one of my favorite teams to cover. They play an uptempo style starting with swarming backcourt defense which usually leads to a lot of fastbreak opportunities and flashy plays.
Perhaps it is ironic, then, that I feel the two most critical players to their success (not the best players, but the difference makers) are their least flashy. Sarah Sideranko's defense, as I've said before, makes Symone Roberts 100 times more dangerous. But the one who's been impressive lately is Tyler Kimball. If Kimball can be a constant post presence all on her own, which she's shown flashes of for three years, then this team has few weaknesses (outside a drastic lack of depth). But I doubt anybody can find a better three-headed attack in the state than those three players.
I really like the improvements I see from Heather O'Bright and Emily Polkowski as well. Neither is a star, but both find ways to contribute when they get in the game, and any winning team needs that.
I happened to see Sideranko and co-captain Monica Malec at the CCSU women's game on New Year's Eve. I'm sure they were rooting on former coach Beryl Piper, but in either case that's a good thing for young players to do. Go see players at the next level up close to see how they do things. You can get a lot better at basketball by watching it. It won't replace practicing, but it's a useful addendum to it.

Yesterday I got to see the Hall-Southington co-op hockey team, and I must say I'm very impressed. Now, I've never understood the strange system that determines hockey playoff divisions, so I don't understand how a co-op between one of the biggest schools in the state and a solid Class L school could leave this team in the lowest division, but since they are there they've got a good shot at a title run.
The combo seems to have been kismet. Hall was a defensive team looking for scoring power last year. Meanwhile, Southington had to sacrifice some of its incredible scoring potential at times to use Joe Harvey in goal, lest the score end up 10-9. Together the team seems to have a lot of very good pieces.
What a wild game, though. Apparently 6-1 leads in high school hockey aren't safe. The Warrior-Knights (I wish I could call them that officially. It's pleasantly excessive.) had to go back on offense in the third period to avoid losing.
I love what Eric Muroski was able to do, taking control and making two great shots for late goals, and there were a lot of other contributors. Harvey, Andrew Green and others made great plays as well.
I'm not a big hockey guy, but this team, any one that can post nine goals in a game, is dangerous in D-III.

As for stuff I haven't been able to see in person, a couple things stand out. First off, for those in Berlin fretting over the girls loss to Capital Prep before the new year, don't worry about it too much. That Prep team is legit, perhaps one of the top 15 in the state, and they will be one of the favorites in Class S. Besides, the Redcoats had to scramble to adjust midgame to losing Zarotney, and even though they played without her for much of last year, having to change plans on the fly is never easy. It's not hard to get distracted or thrown off.
Early on I thought Berlin was better than Wethersfield, now I'm not so sure. Both are very good, but I think the Eagles might have a little bit more firepower. Erin Verre is making a big case for some all-state consideration with her play, I honestly believe that based on what I'm hearing. I wish I could get out there and see her in action. I've been watching her and the rest of that team play for a few years, and there's always been steady improvement. That's also a team that knows how to play together.
I'm quite honestly shocked at how well Rocky Hill's been playing. Credit goes, as always, to coach Pete Egan, for bringing out the best in his talent. But a few players deserve particular mention. First off, Joyce Grodovich is the star that folks in RH envisioned when she was a talented freshman. She's clearly playing with far more confidence than before. It always appeared she deferred to some of the older players before like Meghan Daley, Meaghan LeMay and Sam Avery. Now Grodovich must know this is her team to lead.
The next key has been Ashley O'Connell, who looked promising last year, but also was playing behind Avery and LeMay in the post.
The surprises have been Amanda Biella and Krystina Chudy, who have both turned into solid ball handlers. It's made Rocky Hill far more competitive than expected this year.
I'm not completely sold on Southington, but they are a solid team. I haven't seen the Knights at all, so it's tough to say how close they are to last year's very good team. Marissa Chapman is another one who has never completely come into her own, but maybe this is her year. The team needs some other performers to really step up to get back to where it was.

On the boys side, I wish I could see Wethersfield. By all accounts the Eagles found some of the magic they had late last season on Friday night. It's too bad P.J. Santavenere didn't return to the team this year, because with him they'd have four or five good to very good players on the court at the same time. Vic Anderson can take a game over, Adam Williams and Tyler Murphy are potent weapons and they have some good role guys.
Keep an eye out for Wethersfield. If one's things certain with this team, inconsistency is almost always an issue. But remember, it took them awhile to get going last season but they were very dangerous by the end. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same this year.
But the most buzz is back in New Britain where coach Stan Glowiak really does have all the pieces. Darius Watson is almost unguardable lately according to Ken Lipshez (and the numbers support it), Raheem McKinley is a very good second scorer, Tebucky Jones has all the athleticism in the world (shocking, right?), Robert McKinnon brings experience off the bench and the team has actual depth in Quashon Moore and Tarik Hightower.
The most interesting thing to note is that this team doesn't have a big problem it's had for several years. New Britain's always played competitive even during some "down" years lately. The problem has been fourth quarters. No lead was safe as the team didn't always have somebody to trust with the ball in the closing minutes. Well, Steven Glowiak is one of the purest shooters around. Put the ball in his hands and the free throws will fall. If that's his only role on the team, it's a big one, and he's a good complement to the flash and dazzle of the rest of the lineup.

Hopefully I'll have more in the coming weeks. I really want to get back out there at games and see these teams in person. In the meantime, go see the CCSU women. They're very competitive, and although the first four games on the NEC slate, all wins, weren't against great competition, this team should be in the upper half of the league. They also play a similar style to New Britain: pressure the ball and watch the fast-breaks come.