some posturing, perhaps

I watched the Southington wresting team, now 17-4 on the season, dismantle a young East Hartford squad. Despite their youth, the Hornets have traditionally been a solid wrestling program and are well coached. Even with three forfeits, the Knights went on to a 51-28 win. They earned two forfeits themselves, and of the other nine matches won seven, five on pins, one on a tech fall and one on a major decision. To add to it, they were shorthanded due to injuries.
And yet all the talk around the team seems to be one of disappointment. Manager Mary Boissoneault (I hope I got that right, and coincidentally Mary is probably the most competent and hard-working manager I've ever met. She's going to go far some day.) spoke despairingly before the match about how injuries have left the team relatively noncompetitive. Coach Derek Dion said afterwards that the team has reassessed its goals since the start of the season. They appear to be without hope of winning a Class LL title, despite being ranked 10th in the current coaches' poll.
17-4. Just a reminder.
Now, with a powerhouse like Danbury standing in the way, there may always be little hope for the rest of LL, but surely Dion and the Knights (not the Belmonts for you fans of an earlier generation out there) have more confidence than this.
I'll say this. Southington may not be as strong as they were last year. But they still have enough talent to finish at least in the top three at the state tournament, if not better. And they still are a very good team. I hope they realize that before all is said and done, because it has certainly been another successful year in Southington.
Maybe they just want to stay under the radar. Could there be some Belichick in Dion?

sad times in the Hill

It is an unfortunate time to be a Rocky Hill fan (or alum). The Terriers, who have never been a powerhouse in the winter season, scattering successful years including a boys Class S basketball title in 2002, are struggling through their worst collective season in years.
One editor in our office, who takes phone calls from coaches, pointed out that she has not taken a call from a Terriers coach after a win in weeks, be it basketball, boys or girls, wrestling, swimming, or hockey.
That is an exaggeration. But, the basketball and hockey teams have a combined 9-15 record since the start of the new year. The last win was the skaters, coming on January 21, while both basketball teams swept RHAM on January 18.
Meanwhile, the wrestling and swim teams continue to struggle with low numbers, a long-standing problem for both.
There is still hope for the basketball and hockey teams to make the state tournament, and maybe get things going. There was high hope in Terrierland for the girls in particular starting the season, and while I'm sure the girls are working as hard as ever, the results have been disappointing.
Here's to hoping February treats the teams better than January, and that there will be time to turn the seasons around.

better than advertised

I've spent a good deal of time lately covering a pair of sports for which I have not always hidden my distaste: wrestling and hockey.
Now, I want to preface this. I still greatly prefer in the winter season to cover basketball. And I am not ready to call myself a big fan of either other sport. But, as far as high school sports go, there are worse things than having to watch competition on the mats or the ice.
First, I'll talk about wrestling, and while I could never imagine a situation in which I would want to participate in wrestling, I will say that the unique team/individual format leads to exciting moments. Nothing is more intense than seeing two entire teams screaming from the sidelines as two men battle it out with key team points on the line. The Art Powers Duals a few weeks ago were riveting, as Berlin knocked off three very good teams. The clinching matches are among the best spectator events in high school, and there is an excitement that cannot quite be described when the ref slaps his hand on the mat to signal a pin.
Ironically, for an individual sport it is the team aspect that makes wrestling so interesting.
Now, on to hockey, a sport I think is severely flawed. All sports (soccer, field hockey, lacrosse come to mind) in which a team can regularly outperform another and still lose frustrate me. It happens because there is simply so much luck involved in scoring a goal in those sports. A great play may result in nothing and a fluke play might become a goal. While hockey is not quite as guilty of this as the others, it can still be bad.
But what I do like about hockey at this level, at least when the referees keep the whistles in their pockets as much as possible, is the purity of play. There is less banging and bruising and more stick and skate control. With constant action, the sport is exciting to watch from up close, although I still find it hard to write about descriptively. I saw a perfect example of this in a game between Glastonbury and Southington earlier this week. The first penalty was called late in the second period, and up until that point the pace was good and the game exciting.
So keep it up wrestling and hockey. I won't often be complimenting you.

and you thought Danbury was dominant

Check out this story from the world of Florida wrestling. Dominant doesn't begin to describe this.
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/06/Sports/Brandon_wrestlers__lo.shtml