By Shawn Bates
Middle School
Boys
The Wolfpack played their final regular season game Jan. 22 and had a convincing win over Canterbury 61-27. Jack Rindge led the Pack with 10 points followed closely by Alonzo Henries and Karson Bates with 9 points apiece and Anthony Romagnano with 8.
In the second game of the week the Wolfpack traveled to Parish Hill where again the boys are performing in tournament form with a dominating 60-16 win over the Pirates. Karson Bates would lead all scorers with 15 points followed by Carter Morissette with 11.
Girls
One game was reported as the girls won against Canterbury on the road 39-15. A special congratulations goes out to Jon Miller and his new Bride that married on the weekend. As in basketball and life much success and happiness coach!!
Putnam High
Boys
The Clippers hosted the Saints Jan. 22 and met another ECC foe that they should see twice next year when they rejoin the conference. The Saints, with only two losses, showed why with an intimidating full court press that lead to an early lead. That held the Clippers to only 23 in the first half while the Saints would pour on 47 points. The second half saw the same press and the Clippers would lose the home game 89-48. The Clippers’ Colby Livingston would lead all scorers with 15 points and Sebastian Ramos netted 12.
Jan. 25 the Clippers would bounce back with a road win over Norwich Tech 67-52. The Clippers’ Tyion Harris would drop 26 in the contest where Putnam would lead the whole game. Sebastian Ramos had 11 points and Colby Livingston had 8.
The Clippers are now 6-5 and should pick up the magic # 8 win to gain a seeding in the CIAC Tournament with 9 games left on the schedule.
Girls
The Lady Clippers bounced back this week with two wins — over  St. Bernards  51-40 away and a home game win over  Norwich Tech  50-23. That brings the Clippers to a 11-3 record on the year.
 Against St. Bernards freshman Abby St. Martin would give the Clippers some scoring off the bench netting 10 points in the contest and Molly Mckeon and Ashley Burke both scored 13 points each.

caption:

Makes Try
Simon Becher, center, of Woodstock Academy tries out for a national soccer team. Courtesy photo.


For The Woodstock Academy senior Simon Becher, now is the worst part. The waiting game.
He recently returned from the U(nder)-20 Men’s soccer National Team camp in Bradenton, Fla.
Becher was one of 36 players invited to the camp.
“I think I did well,” Becher said. “I think there is a chance that I will get called back in.”
There are more camps to come in Europe, Central America and Brazil, all in preparation for the U-20 World Cup qualifying tournament in the fall of 2019.
The ultimate goal would be to make the National team.
“The less you think about it, the better,” Becher said. “It’s a great opportunity, but if I don’t get called back again, it’s fine, it’s not the end of the world. At the end of the day, I’m doing what I love. As long as you’re doing it because you love it, the pressure doesn’t get to you.”
But even if he doesn’t, Becher has a lot to look forward to.
One of five siblings from a soccer playing family in Brooklyn, Becher grew up playing the game and the large family doesn’t hurt when it comes to improving one’s skills.
 “We try to get together as much as we can. My older brother played (at The Academy), my two sisters and my younger brother and my Mom and Dad (Mary and Mike) will come and kick it around with us. Whenever we can, we get a few friends and come up to The Academy or Bentley and play a good 6-v-6 game,” Becher said.
His older brother, Adam and two sisters, Emily and Elaina, all played at Woodstock Academy. But he, and his younger brother, Nathan, have never played for the Centaurs.
Becher made the decision to play for the Oakwood Soccer Club, based in Glastonbury and his younger brother has followed in his footsteps.
Simon has scored 45 goals over the last three seasons for Oakwood, but the success has come at a cost. One of the rules of playing for a program like Oakwood is that, according to USA Soccer, an Oakwood or similar Academy athlete cannot play high school soccer. “I think it’s the price you pay, it’s a sacrifice,” Becher said.
But it’s still only an opportunity and it’s the athlete who must make the most of it.
Becher said he has teammates at Oakwood who are going on to play Division I soccer - like he will at the College of Holy Cross in Worcester -  some who are not going to play in college. There are some on National teams, some aren’t.
“It’s an opportunity, but it’s a risk. I put a lot of hard work into it. I would have loved to play high school with all my friends, but it was something I had to give up,” Becher said.
One of the advantages to playing at Oakwood is the more likelihood to be seen and evaluated by those up the ladder.
USA soccer scouts generally attend Oakwood matches.
Oakwood also travels to showcase events in December and June in Bradenton where the different Academy clubs play one another. College and National scouts are always in attendance.
“It’s one of the reasons why I went there,” Becher said.
Becher plays center-attacking midfield for Oakwood and caught the eye of the National team scouts.
The U-20 head coach, Tab Ramos, called Becher personally and invited him to Bradenton for the camp in early January.
“I was really happy. It’s something that I have been working toward for quite a while,” Becher said. “There were possibilities that I was going to be called down before, but it never fell into place. It was a surprise to me. I wasn’t expecting it at all.”
But he was one of the few high school products in attendance.
Twenty-five of the 36 players who were called down play professional soccer.
“It’s their full-time job and they’re training every day with grown men who are in their 20s and 30s,” Becher said.
What made it worse for Becher was that he suffered a concussion in late November. He was cleared to play in the showcase in Florida, but then the team took a break for the holidays.
“I had probably three weeks off because of the concussion and had to go down and play three games in the Florida heat which was brutal,” Becher said.
Due to the experience of the players around him, Becher quickly learned play was a lot faster, something that took a little adjustment on the part of The Woodstock Academy senior. That, finishing and scoring, and fitness were areas that Ramos said Becher had to work on.
“(Ramos) said I did better than expected. I think there is a chance that I get called back in,” Becher said.
In the meantime, Becher is getting ready for the next level.
“Holy Cross is the focus,” Becher said. “I’m really looking forward to it. I want to come in and make an impact.” To help make that happen, he plans to train and work out with his uncle’s United Soccer League franchise, the Penn FC, this summer. “I’ve trained with them before, but this will probably be a longer stint,” Becher said. The 18-year-old hopes that and Holy Cross will be another stepping stone to the National team.
“(Ramos) told me that the U-20 team won’t play together fully until (the qualifying tournament) begins. They are always calling in different kids, seeing different faces and how they work together. I have college, I will always be able to play. This is what I love to do, it’s another opportunity, and a chance to represent my country. I’m not putting the pressure on myself. I’m just having fun doing it,” Becher said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director

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Jason Akana, a former TriTown American Legion baseball standout, was named recently to take over the coaching reins of the TriTown American Legion Sr. baseball program, according to Executive Committee chairman Ronald P. Coderre.
“We feel we’ve been fortunate to find the right person to take over our program.  Jason Akana is a quality person with great baseball knowledge and a love of the game.  It’s the committee’s feeling that he is able to impart the values of American Legion baseball on and off the field to the young men in his charge,” said Coderre
When it comes to baseball knowledge, the 45-year-old Akana is a giant.  As a player in high school and college, he’s always had to battle for the right to prove himself despite his size. Akana has succeeded and surpassed expectation at all levels.
Akana not only brings a solid playing resumes to his new position, he’s also enjoyed success as a coach along the way.  He’s served as a coach for many years in the Thompson Little League and organized coaching clinics in Thompson.  He’s also served as the TriTown assistant coach for the past two seasons.
A 1991 graduate of Tourtellotte Memorial High School, he played three years of varsity baseball as a middle infielder for legendary coach Tom Auclair.  He also enjoyed three summers on the diamond as a player for Auclair with the TriTown American Legion program.
“Playing for coach Auclair provided me with the solid fundamentals of the game.  Many of the techniques and basics of the game that I espouse and teach were gained during my high school and Legion years,” said Akana.
“My goal is to transfer the knowledge I have of the game to my players.  I want to instill a winning attitude on and off the field in these young men.  I’m hoping to improve on our wins and losses but most of all I want them to learn and master the nuances of the game,” concluded Akana.
As a baseball fundamentalist, Akana expects his players give 110 percent effort.  A taskmaster for the little details that make the difference, his philosophy is work hard, practice hard and the wins will come.  This is a philosophy he learned playing for his earliest coach, his dad, Michael Akana.
In addition to coach Auclair, Akana played briefly at Eastern Connecticut State University for coach Bill Holowaty and one year at Manchester Community College, where the team went to the National Junior College World Series before bowing out in the championship game.
Akana enjoyed his greatest success on the collegiate level at Worcester State University where he played for coach Dirk Baker.  In three seasons with the Lancers he achieved significant success, eventually emerging as the leading Div. III hitter in the nation with a .514 batting average, which coincidentally was tops in the country on all NCAA levels.  He also enjoyed a brief stint in professional baseball with the Meridian Brakemen in the Big South Independent League in Mississippi.
“In all my years in baseball I’ve learned you have to respect your opponent.  In so doing you push yourself to do better in all aspect of the game.  I hope to infuse this respect in the TriTown program,” said Akana.
Akana inherits a good group of returning players from his predecessor John Foucault.  The Towners are returning the majority of last season’s team and a good crop of players ready to make the jump from the Jr. to the Sr. level.
Akana and his wife of 20 years Christie live in Thompson.  The couple have three children, Kobe, 17, a senior in high school; Brayden, 14, an 8th grader; and 10-year-old Grace.  Akana’s employed as a health and safety engineer in the bio-tech industry in Worcester.