By Ron P. Coderre

This week’s RPC column is dedicated to former Putnam High School football lineman and track star Quentin Frost.  As a lineman he was a solid hole opener on the gridiron and strong shot-put performer for the Clippers of the ‘50s.  Today Frost enjoys a little golf and plenty of down time in retirement.  He celebrated a birthday on the Ides of March.

Once upon a time there was an athletic conference that featured a number of small high schools that competed very evenly for more than 50 years.  The teams, which were evenly matched and enjoyed the camaraderie that goes along with good sportsmanship, were sometimes ridiculed by their bigger brothers, the large schools, as being second class.

As a matter of fact they were far from being country bumpkins.  

Working together, the coaches, athletic directors and administrators cooperated in providing the athletes with conference tournaments in basketball, baseball, softball and many other sports that were the envy of conferences around the States.

The league was known as the Quinebaug Valley Conference.

One day two strangers, one from Putnam and another from Woodstock, stirred the pot, agitating for a move to join the big boys in the Eastern Connecticut Conference.  

Although not warmly embraced by everyone involved in the conference and the fans in the community, they moved the teams, forming a conference featuring 18 teams, generally playing in Large, Medium and Small divisions.  A move that since its inception, about 15 years ago, just hasn’t seemed to work, in plain English.

“The big boys are too overwhelming for their little brothers.”  “How can we do things so the competition is fair to everyone?”  “My school doesn’t fit into any format.  We’re not big enough to play with the big boys but too big for the little guys.”  These were the items and concerns that plagued the new group since the formation of the “super conference.”   

Very seldom could the grown men and women responsible for putting the pieces together for the student-athletes come to a consensus.

Was it the size of the schools?  The fairness of the schedule?  The travel distance between schools?  The safety of the athletes? Those were the items on the façade that were discussed, while in reality, little concern was paid to what was best for the student-athletes.

Finally, the conference, which on the surface was run by individuals who smiled in your face while sticking a dagger in your back, began to crumble.  Woodstock Academy, which has always been an enigma, large school unable to compete in some of the major sports, decided to get out of the sandbox and explore options in another league, the NCCC.

This move prompted four other schools, East Lyme, Fitch, Ledyard and New London to form their own league, the SCAC.  

This friendly foursome omitted one of its supposedly good friends Norwich Free Academy because the Wildcats boast a school population of more than 2000 students.  Or was it simply because they just didn’t like the people who run the programs at that school?

While all this was going on some of the smaller schools, Wheeler, Tourtellotte and Griswold threatened to investigate moving to other conferences of similar size.  

But fearing that the “grass isn’t always greener on the other side” the decision makers froze in fright, horror and panic.  They were unable to make a decision.

Remember the Quinebaug Valley Conference?  

The league that was the envy of others for miles around, which included the likes of Griswold, Tourtellotte, Plainfield, Putnam and even Woodstock.  

The league that was disrupted by two strangers who are nowhere to be found today.

For the benefit of the student-athletes, these schools, their administrators, athletic directors and coaches, should get together and act on behalf of the kids, who just want to compete on a level playing field.  

What a unique situation these student-athletes could enjoy, if only some adults with common sense and a touch of humility could come together and finally say, “Let’s do it for the kids.”  Bury the hatchet and not in each other’s heads.

Where are today’s men and women like, Chuck Haney, Dottie Morrill, Dave Vitale, Glenn Anderson, George Dropo, John Schiffner and Bob Demars, the founding fathers and administrators of the successful Quinebaug Valley Conference?  

If you’re out there step forward and identify yourselves, for the sake of the student-athlete.

PSA Grad Shines on TV

College basketball junkies are in their glory as March Madness is providing non-stop action with its annual event that creates a frenzy every year leading up to the Final Four.  

Early round games always provide conversation around the water cooler with its buzzer beaters and upsets.

The University of Dayton, which features former Putnam Science Academy standout Scoochie Smith, was featured on television despite being a #11 seed.  The Flyers kept their East Coast faithful up beyond 1 a.m. as they snuck by Boise State 56-55 in a First Round game played in the friendly confines of the Dayton Arena.

UD then played David versus Goliath, when it took down heavily favored and #6 seed Providence College 66-53, much to the chagrin of local Friar faithful.  The Flyers bubble finally burst but not without a fight as coach Archie Miller’s team lost in the Third Round, 72-66 to the University of Oklahoma.

Smith acquitted himself well, scoring in double figures in all three games, including a team high 16 points in the final game. 

 For those who remember him from his days on the Maple Street campus, there were plenty of smiles provided by Scoochie despite the sometimes late hours and weary mornings.

Cross-Country Touring

If you haven’t seen Dot Burnworth of the Sawmill Pottery lately it’s because she’s been away touring the country.  Burnworth, along with YMCA Camp Woodstock, Summer Camp Director Hannah Richardson, have been seeing the sights of the U.S. in a very non-traditional fashion.

Burnworth and Richardson recently completed an approximately three-month bicycle trip that started when they dipped their wheels in the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, Calif. and ended when their wheels touched the Atlantic Ocean in St. Augustine, Fla.  

The pair bicycled the more than 3000 miles without any support group or any specific route or time table.

According to a close friend, Tony Gronski, director of Camp Woodstock, the pair did encounter some obstacles along the way but by some miraculous manner were always assisted by generous individuals or organizations, who were willing to provide shelter, repair assistance or even a meal.

The bicyclists entitled their journey “Beaches, Bikinis and Bibles” and relied heavily on each other for support, as well as moral support from local folks with whom they maintained contact throughout the cross-country trek.  Any funds the pair raised will be donated to assist kids who wish to attend summer camp.  

Stop into Sawmill Pottery and congratulate Burnworth if you have the opportunity.  It may not even be too late to provide some post-ride financial support.

RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: Don’t major in minor things.

(If you have news worthy sports information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

 

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