It’s going to take a little bit for the Woodstock Academy boys’ basketball team to get used to, not only to one another, but to the rigor of playing varsity basketball.
“We just need to get better in our roles. I look at the court and I see Aidan (Morin) out there as a returning starter and everybody else was getting their first varsity experience,” said Woodstock Academy coach Marty Hart.
It showed a bit in the season opener for the Centaurs Dec. 20.
Playing against an experienced Fitch team, Woodstock Academy stuttered a bit in the second quarter, fell behind by double digits at halftime and lost to the Falcons in Groton, 58-41.
The Centaurs hung tough in the first quarter. A pair of 3-pointers by newcomer Logan Talbot and another trey by senior point guard Nick Bedard meant Woodstock Academy only trailed, 16-12.
Talbot, who comes in from Holy Name in Massachusetts, got his first taste of playing ECC basketball.
Success like that early means a player will get some attention.
“(Fitch) tried to shut (Talbot) off, he was 2-for-3 in the first quarter and had a couple of tries later that didn’t find their way. He’s a little banged up from the physical play, but he will make the adjustment. He’s a strong competitor,” Hart said.
With the Falcons working hard to shut down the perimeter game, the Centaurs (0-1 ECC Division II) had no choice but to look inside but that produced only eight points in the second quarter.
Fitch was able to double that and as the Falcons made more baskets, also made it more difficult for Woodstock Academy to get the ball down the floor.
“They put a couple of runs on us with their fullcourt pressure which we were handling well but in spurts, we did not, and those spurts happened pretty quickly in the second quarter,” Hart said.
The Centaurs were down at the half, 32-20.
It was a 14-point differential going into the final quarter.
“What I’m really happy about is that we maintained our composure and a good team attitude. We’re willing to learn from this and put in the work that’s necessary. It’s a good eye opener, because we can’t replicate that in practice,” Hart said. “Now that they have seen it firsthand, we have their attention and commitment. I’m hoping that will put us on an upward path.”
Morin finished with 11 points while Bedard added 10.
“He looked solid and he works hard,” Hart said of Bedard’s effort. “He put in some shots, was able to score by driving to the basket. He may not be a shooter (by Bedard’s own admission) but I think he is a scorer. He works hard at it. He and Aidan really carried the load. We just have to get the other guys to learn their role and develop their confidence.”
The Centaurs get a break for the Christmas holiday.
They don’t return to the floor until 7 p.m. Friday when they play at Killingly. “It’s a strange year so far. Basketball started so late because Thanksgiving was so late. We played a full week and now we don’t have a game until Friday and Christmas Eve and Christmas are going to come at us. It’s nice to have some time and, hopefully, the guys will stay active and loose and will be ready to get back. We have a short prep, one day, after Christmas to get ready for Killingly. All coaches want more time but it’s a grind and it’s early in the year so we just have to keep climbing the mountain,” Hart said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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New London’s
quickness causes
trouble for
Centaurs girls
The Woodstock Academy Centaurs girls’ basketball team knew its first real foray on to the court was not going to be easy.
They invited the fifth-ranked team in the state, New London, to the Alumni Fieldhouse Dec. 20.
A shaky start put the Centaurs behind early, but they didn’t give up and acquitted themselves pretty well in the end, falling 41-26, in their season opener.
“(New London) has lightning fast feet, quick hands, they try to get a steal on every pass,” said Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton.
To make matters worse, the Centaurs had troubles handling the ball early, committing some 18 turnovers in Fleeton’s guesstimate and not all of those turnovers were forced by the Whalers.
“There were passes that should have been stolen,” Fleeton said.
Fortunately for the Centaurs, New London’s shooting wasn’t exactly perfect either.
The Whalers (2-0, 1-0 ECC Division I) scored the first eight points of the game but it took them most of the first quarter to do so.
Woodstock Academy’s first basket wouldn’t come until senior captain Rachel Lambert (3 points) scored with 2:16 left in the first quarter.
The Whalers would own a 12-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and then scored the first 11 points of the second quarter. Sophomore Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick had four of those and freshman D’Nazia Uzzle added a 3-pointer.
The Centaurs scored seven of the last eight points of the half, five by sophomore Aurissa Boardman and only trailed at the half, 24-10.
“Once we relaxed a little, did the things we know, took care of the ball and made better passes, it wasn’t as effective,” Fleeton said.
The Centaurs did get it down to as few as 11 points in the third when Boardman hit a putback with 2:51 left in the quarter to make it 27-16.
Boardman finished with a team-high 11 points.
“This was her first varsity game. She played last year and got some spotty minutes but this was her first varsity game with huge expectations and I think she did a good job. I think she did a better job on defense than she did on offense to be honest,” Fleeton said.
New London re-took control, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to put the game out of reach.
Wendy Gethers led the Whalers with 13 points, Jayden Burns added 10.
Fleeton said he thinks the experience of playing a fast, aggressive team like New London right out of the gate may help down the road.
“I think it’s just a matter of relaxing,” said the Woodstock Academy coach. “Their speed and aggression took us out of the game early and forced us into some bad decisions. We dribbled it into trap spots and got trapped. That’s going to happen. You are going to turn it over. I think the experience of learning from those mistakes and making better decisions will keep us out of those spots.”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Wed. Dec. 25
Merry Christmas!
Thur. Dec. 26
Art Exhibit
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will host a winter art show through the end of December at the Grassland Bird Conservation Center on Day Road. 860-928-4948.
Art Exhibit
THOMPSON --- The Friends of the Thompson Public Library’s Art @ the Library will present “Transitions” artwork by Anna Mancini through Dec. 28. 860-923-9779.
Sun. Dec. 29
Wee Wander
WOODSTOCK --- The Wyndham Land Trust Inc. will present “Wee Wander Year End Roseland Romp” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Roseland Park.
Mon. Dec. 30
Blood Drive
DAYVILLE --- The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Dayville Fire Company on Hartford Pike. 1-800-RED CROSS.
Sat. Jan. 4
Art Exhibit
THOMPSON --- The Friends of the Thompson Public Library’s Art @ the Library will present “Thompson Congregational Church—The Spirit Endures” through Jan. 30. An opening reception will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Jan. 6. 860-923-9779.
Fri. Jan. 10
Fish Fry
N. GROSVENORDALE --- The Knights of Columbus 2087 on Riverside Drive will hold a fish fry from 5 to 7 p.m. Takeout available. Prices vary. 860-923-2967.
Fri. Jan. 17
Fish Fry
N. GROSVENORDALE --- The Knights of Columbus 2087 on Riverside Drive will hold a fish fry from 5 to 7 p.m. Takeout available. Prices vary. 860-923-2967.
Sat. Jan. 18
Bald Eagle Hike
CENTRAL VILLAGE --- The Last Green Valley will present a Bald Eagle Hike from 10 a.m. at the Quinebaug Trout Hatchery. This is a mostly flat terrain, one-hour walk on rough surfaces. Register at: 860-774-3300.
Fri. Jan. 24
Fish Fry
N. GROSVENORDALE --- The Knights of Columbus 2087 on Riverside Drive will hold a fish fry from 5 to 7 p.m. Takeout available. Prices vary. 860-923-2967.
Eagle Program
BROOKLYN --- The Last Green Valley will present “Eagles with Horizon Wings” at 1:15 p.m. at Creamery Brook Village. Limited space. Register at: 860-779-8700.
Public Lecture
POMFRET --- The Schwartz Public Lecture by Steven Johnson will be presented from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Hard Auditorium at Pomfret School. Free. Open to all. RSVP required: www.pomfret.org/lecture.967.
Sat. Jan. 25
Acorn Adventure
WOODSTOCK --- The Last Green Valley will present Acorn Adventure – Bald Eagles and Big Nests at 10 a.m. at Roseland Park. Bring binoculars or a spotting scope if you have them. Toward the end of the adventure Horizon Wings of Ashford will join us with some special guests. Free to families thanks to the generous sponsorship of Putnam Bank.
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In my house, the word gingerbread is a verb, not a noun. Since I can remember, my Mother would, every year at Christmas time, make a gingerbread house. Her completely edible gingerbread house, although rather simple in its design, was a true innovative masterpiece in engineering.
The construction of the house took two days, with the mixing of the gingerbread dough, chilling of it, baking and then cutting out the pieces on the first day, and, then, after everything had an evening to settle and harden, the second day consisting of decorating and constructing. Due to the nature of the process, my Mother never had to ask us for our assistance or schedule our time to help because the unbelievably amazing baking gingerbread aromas filled the house and brought all of us into the kitchen for tasting the very few pieces that were left over. We knew that the next day would bring the happy occasion of decorating our house.
My Mother’s gingerbread house never changed in its structure and overall look, but the choice of hard candy placement on the roof and side walls, would be completely left up to us kids, and with four walls and two roof pieces. That meant a complete wall of our own and ½ a roof to adorn, each. After the decorating, my Mother would refill her pastry bag with her frosting “glue,” gather some toothpicks and wooden popsicle sticks, saved from the summer for this very purpose, and make sure that she had us back away from the table and be in the ready stance for assistance in securing a sagging roof or toppling chimney.
If all went well, and, after holding up gently for five (or 10 longggg) minutes for a roof to dry, only a couple of well snapped popsicle sticks and one toothpick were needed to secure the drying house, and the Year’s Christmas Masterpiece was complete. It was proudly displayed on the middle of our dining room table until New Year’s Day arrived, wherein, we could break it apart and eat it!
For me, it was the most important holiday tradition that I made sure I carried on with my own family.
Although I ultimately ended up constructing more varied and slightly intricate gingerbread houses (all of Hogwarts Village one year), I still maintained the tradition of cutting and baking the pieces one day and then constructing and decorating the next.
Over the years I have embraced a few time saving tips, like using a gingerbread cake mix for my dough, but, with these mixes now scarce to find in stores, what with all of the pre-made gingerbread house kits available (ahhhh—the Instant Success world we now live in…), I am now back to making my own dough from scratch, which truth be told, only makes the aroma now emanating and lingering in my own kitchen, that much better. I still have the old stencils and recipes my Mother passed on to me and, soon, I plan to pass them along to my daughter, who is getting married in a few short days, with the hope that, when she has her own children, she will construct her own HOMEMADE Gingerbread House.
Tradition! Tradition!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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