A leap of faith. That’s what many of those who made their first appearance last week on the Alumni Fieldhouse floor at The Woodstock Academy took.
“This is some of the guys first time at Alumni Fieldhouse,” said Woodstock Academy prep basketball coach Jacque Rivera. “They have trusted our process, trusted our tradition here at The Academy, to come here sight unseen. They could not come and tour (the campus) in the spring or summer.”
The majority of the 31 players that will make up the prep program this season arrived in late August.
But unlike past years where the first thing they may see is the basketball court, this group had to weather the pandemic-created environment.
That included testing for COVID-19 before leaving home and, once they arrived on the Woodstock Academy, staying in quarantine for 14 days and being tested again.
The only athletic activity took place on the South Campus turf where players, in small groups and socially distanced outside, took part in drills with strength and conditioning coach Brenden Ostaszewski.
Those same small groups of six were later allowed to take part in skill drills inside the South Campus gym.
Last week, the Centaurs were allowed to reduce the number of groups to two with approximately 15 players in each.
Those players live on the same floor in the residence halls.
“They are in family pods,” Rivera said. “Credit our residential life staff for all the work they have done in making sure that we maintain distance and follow all the guidelines. It’s been slow and steady.”
The entire team has not been allowed to practice together as of yet.
All Rivera wanted to see last week was how his players looked going up-and-down the court. Not an easy task considering some of the players hadn’t been in a competitive situation since March and that was complicated by the fact that the floor inside the fieldhouse is college length.
The fatigue was evident at times.
Twenty-seven of the players are post-graduate players.
“We have unbelievable kids. I know I say that every year but this group is very unique. To be three weeks into this thing and they’re all wearing masks; going to school; we haven’t had any absences; in this time, is a testament to their character. We have some really high character kids,” Rivera said.
Rivera was pretty happy with what he saw on the first night of the 5-on-5 scrimmages between his players.
“I thought that was pretty good for the first time out,” Rivera said. “I thought we got our hands on a lot of shots. I thought we shared it better than I thought we would, I was impressed with that. I thought they played hard and physical.”
The Woodstock Academy coach was pleased with the play of 6-foot, 9 ½-inch post player Isha Mohammade, a Nigerian native, who altered a lot of his teammates’ shots. He also praised guard Gerald Gittens (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for taking a charge, something not always seen in scrimmage play. Rivera also pointed out the play of 6-6 Pipe Ajayi (Alberta, Canada) for making several nice lob passes and playing strong around the rim.
Rivera still has a tough task ahead of him, determining who will be on each of the two teams, the Gold and Blue.
That, however, may take some time and it’s a luxury that Rivera may have this season as no one truly knows when the season will start.
The state of the pandemic will dictate that.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
.
PHS boys’ and
girls’ soccer
previews
By Shawn Bates
PUTNAM — The 2020 Clippers boys’ soccer is looking to bunch back from the 2019 season and is pushing for a .500 plus winning percentage. The team needs to rely on the upper classmen leadership to guide the younger players. The record was 1-13-2 last year.
Coach Jon Miller is in his seventh season. Key losses this year are: Kyle Haynes, John Espinosa and Michael Ionkin. Key returnees include: Karson Bates, Colby Livingston and Jacob Benzie. There are two new top players: Aysaiah Charvez and Jack Rindge.
Named as captains for the year are senior Colby Livingston and junior Karson Bates.
With a challenging preseason like nothing anyone has seen before the Lady Clippers are looking forward to competing with the teams in the ECC bubble. The goal for the team it’s to be above .500 this year. Last year’s record was 3-13.
Coach Tommy Derosier returns for his fourth year, his third as head coach.
Key losses include: Kayleigh Lyons, Jill Gray and Hannah Smith. Key returnees are: Laylah Chavez, Emma Braithwaite, Bailey Touchette, Beth Smith, Amayah Chavez and Kayla Morrison. The top new player is Chole Kerr
Captains include: Laylah Chavez, Emma Braithwaite and Bethany Smith
.
Laurie (Perreault) Hall
STERLING — Laurie J. (Perreault) Hall, 57, died Sept. 19, 2020, at Hartford Hospital.
Laurie was born June 16, 1963, in Putnam, daughter of Irving and Dorothy (Thomas) Post. She lived in Sterling for more than 15 years, moving from Danielson. Laurie thoroughly enjoyed crafts, in particular making jewelry. She especially enjoyed spending time with those she loved, her grandchildren most of all.
Laurie worked for the USPS in her younger years as a mail delivery person. She sometimes worked in the Post Office itself. Her last position was as a health care assistant to a disabled person. Laurie had a big heart and always gave of herself.
She leaves her husband Thomas A. Hall; her son Jeremie Hall of Sterling and her three grandchildren: Ethan Salony, Bryleigh Purcell, and Layla Hall; her sister, Lynn Krajewski; and her brother, Lee Post. She was predeceased by her daughter, Tabitha Hall and her dad, Irving Post.
A Celebration of Laurie’s Life will be announced at a later date. Donations: The family to cover expenses (c/o Lynn L. Krajewski, 10 West Palmer St., Danielson, CT 06239); or to your favorite charity in Laurie’s name.
Kathleen L. Aubin
DANIELSON — Kathleen “Kathy” (Crandall) Aubin, wife of Dave Aubin, lost her battle with lung cancer Sept. 19, 2020. She was determined to pay her respects to her family for the loss of John Firlick (her brother in law and the man who officiated a family wedding in 2013); she stopped living shortly after.
She was born Kathleen Louise Crandall to the late John Crandall Sr. and Wanda (Pasternak) Crandall in Lackawanna, N.Y., on Thanksgiving Day Nov. 25, 1965.
She was their “Butterball.” Kathy was the youngest of five, Dianna (and late John Firlick) of Sterling, John Jr (Carol) of Plainfield, David (Lori) of Central Village and Steven Crandall of Moosup; nieces and nephews.
Kathy graduated from Plainfield High, also QVCC where she was certified as a vet assistant and UConn as a Master Gardner.
Kathy was originally married to the late Leo Aubin Jr. They were divorced in 1998. They had a son together-Mike Aubin.
Kathy loved being outdoors and working with everyone at Hart’s Greenhouses. She also spent almost 25 years working for Delta Rubber Company. Halloween was her favorite holiday, she loved decorating and dressing up to hand out candy.
She was well known for her little yellow 67 Volkswagen Beetle.
There will be a Celebration of Life for Kathy at 4 p.m. Oct. 31 at David’s residence to honor her love of Halloween.
Feel free bring a bag of candy as this is something she would have loved.
Donations: Consider adopting an unwanted cat or dog as Kathy could never understand why people could just turn their backs on these helpless creatures. Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.
Rene F. Gatineau
N. GROSVENORDALE — Rene F. Gatineau, 83, of Pompeo Rd., died Sept. 22, 2020, in Day Kimball Hospital.
He was the husband of 61 years to Joanne (Smalarz) Gatineau.
Born in 1937 in Putnam, he was the son of the late Eugene and Loretta (Poulin) Gatineau.
On May 16, 1959, at St. Joseph Church in N. Grosvenordale, Rene was united in marriage to the former Joanne V. Smalarz.
Mr. Gatineau worked for Pratt & Whitney for 10 years and then was a tool and die maker for Ivanhoe Tool for 37 years until his retirement in 2003.
He enjoyed gardening and fishing.
He was a member of the Knights of Columbus St. Bernard’s Council where he was a 4th Degree Knight.
In addition to his wife, Rene leaves a son, Peter Gatineau (Karen) of Biloxi, Miss.; a daughter, Melissa Notis (Paul) of Woodstock; a brother, Robert Gatineau of Killingly; and sisters, Arline Santerre of Rhode Island, Sandra Ward of Florida, and Linda Lannon of N. Grosvenordale; a daughter in-law Cynthia Gatineau of N. Grosvenordale; six grandchildren, Rebecca Gatineau, Peter Gatineau Jr., Kyle Notis, Christopher Gatineau, Jessica Gatineau, and Keira Notis; nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by a son, Mark Gatineau.
The Mass of Christian Burial is at 11 a.m. Oct. 3 in St. Joseph Church, N. Grosvenordale.
Valade Funeral Home & Crematory, 23 Main St., N. Grosvenordale.
.
Virtual 10-Day
Do It Your Way 5K
Due to COVID, the 13th Annual Abolish Breast Cancer 5K has gone virtual. This year it is a “Do it your way” 5K. You can run, jog, or walk, bring a friend and talk. You can take a hike or ride a bike. You can do it on a track or by kayak. It can be done all at once or spread it out over 10 days, from Oct. 1 – 10.
If you want to try to better you time from a prior race, we have marked the regular course for you.
To register online go to abc5kct.com or send a $25 check made to Dana- Farber Cancer Institute (or DFCI) and mail it to Bev Champany, 146 Fay Road, Pomfret Center, CT 06259. Please include your T-shirt size and address and we will send you our great ABC 5K shirt.
The race was organized when the Champany’s daughter-in-law Laurie was fighting breast cancer. She died in March 2010 after a tough 10-year battle. All the money raised goes to a fund for breast cancer research at Dana- Farber Cancer Institute. For info, go to: abc5kct.com for more information.
..