Westford Academy senior Ryan Mumford has been elected to play in the first ever Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches Association (MSHCA) High School All-Star Hockey game. Mumford will be representing the Northern All-Stars as they play the Southern All-Stars on Saturday, March 20th. The game will be played at Tsongas Arena in Lowell at 3:00 PM. Tickets are $10 and admission pays for the all-star game as well as the Lowell Devils vs. Portland Pirates AHL game at 7:00 PM.

While Mumford has been elected to the roster, he has the opportunity to be voted into the starting lineup. To vote for Mumford, text ALLSTAR8 to 24587. To purchase tickets to the game and support Ryan, visit the website, www.lowelldevilshockey.com/tickets/mscha_allstar.php.

Mumford is extremely excited to have the opportunity to play in this game. Mumford considers it a great honor as he was voted in by all Massachusetts high school coaches. Mumford described it as “a good accomplishment,” and said it “means a lot to be considered to be one of the top 45 players in Massachusetts.” One reason why Mumford might be so ecstatic to play in this game is his immense love for the game.

While describing how he felt when he was playing, Mumford said that hockey is “exciting to play,” and when he is on the ice, Mumford “forgets about everything else, and just focuses on hockey.” No matter why Mumford is looking forward to playing in the game, he would like to be voted into the starting line-up.

Mumford, who will be playing forward for the team, has been playing hockey for over ten years. His interest in hockey arose when he was only two years old. Mumford’s babysitter took him ice-skating, and his love of hockey has grown ever since.

Mumford, who captained the WA Varsity Hockey team this year, plays for two club teams in addition to playing for WA. Mumford said that the biggest challenge he had to overcome in hockey came this year. Before the season, Mumford believed that WA’s team wasn’t strong as it was “young,” but he was proud, as he believed that they turned it around together as a team, and that they turned out far better than he once thought.

After this year, Mumford is “undecided” on what he would like to do, either play for his college or just play club. Mumford “is leaning towards club,” but will “definitely be continuing with hockey.”

January 20, the varsity girls’ ice hockey team drove all the way into Waltham to face the Waltham team after three consecutive wins against Wayland, CC and Newton-South.

“We have a lot of confidence going into this match,” sophomore Steph Arno said. “We know how Waltham plays and we have a good strategy and mindset going into it.”

The game started off strong with WA challenging the Waltham offense. Arno and senior Hannah Grisichuck had four shots on net combined.

Second period rolled in with Waltham showing who was boss. Right away Waltham was on the Ghost’s defense but despite strong defensive efforts from sophomore Katie Lowe and senior Lauren Brett , Waltham’s Michelle Hinley was able to blast the puck past Socolow assisted by fellow teammate Annabelle Rogers.

The third and final period rolled in with WA trying to get the puck past Waltham’s stacked defense, but despite tied efforts from everyone on the rink, Hinley was able to get another assist off of Annie Gagnon with 54 seconds left in the match leaving the Ghost’s with a 2-0 loss overall.

“Yeah, losing was disappointing but we learned how to play against them [for] next time and we know what to work on. It was a good match and we had fun,” said freshman Jen Grisichuck.

As Westford Academy heads into the second half of the year, its cross country ski team races towards the finish line.

WA XC Ski team has had two races so far this season, both in Weston, on January 5th and January 12th. The Boys’ team has consistently earned 5th place in both races thus far, while the Girls’ team placed 4th on January 5th and dropped down to 5th on January 12th.

Their ranking is out of seven, as there are seven cross country ski teams in the Mass Bay West Ski League. The other teams in the league are Acton-Boxboro, Lincoln-Sudbury, Concord-Carlisle, Winchester, Wayland, and Newton South.

Also captain, senior skier Raelyn Carlyle had been the top scorer for WA so far this season. With a 21st and a 25th ranking out of 100 Girls’ skiers in both the races, Carlyle has earned her team a total of one hundred and fifty six points. Her time was 18:40 in the first race and 22:02 in the second race.

The top scorer for the Boys’ team so far is senior captain Jake English. He came in 21st place in the first race with a 14:36 time and 20th place in the second race with an 18:05 time. In total, he has earned one hundred and sixty one points for his team.

XC Skiing is scored on a 100 point system. The first one hundred skiers to finish a race are given a specific number of points depending on their place. These points are on a descending scale. For example, the 1st place skier would earn one hundred points for their team, whereas the 100th place skier would be awarded one point. Any skiers to come in after 100th place are not scored. The team with the most total points wins that particular race.

WA Girls’ team was awarded a total of three hundred forty points in the January 5th race and three hundred forty three points in the January 12th race. The Boys’ team received two hundred and ninety two total points on January 5th and bumped it up to three hundred and twenty points on January 12th.

Not all cross country skiers are so competitive, though. A large amount of people on WA’s team do not even race and merely do it for the fun and the exercise. New skiers are always welcome at Greatbrook Trails in Carlisle, where the Westford Academy team practices.

“It’s like difficult to learn, but then once you get it down, you really don’t forget how to do it,” says new skier Julia McCoy.

If you are interested in XC Skiing, talk to one of the six captains. Besides Carlyle and English, they are Ellen Haynes, Amanda Pease, Cam Close, and Kevin McCall.

It does get cold out there on the trails, admits some skiers

“But we love it!” says senior skier Tyler Kalaijian.

The gymnastics team here at Westford Academy, have had 5 meets and are still waiting on a win with a high score of 126.7. Their average score for the season is 123.9. Stephanie Anderson, coach of the team, says that this year is a rebuilding year for the team. There are only nine members on the team, two and a half of which have been injured.

“The two injured gymnasts were both vital to the team”, says Anderson. One of the girls has recently acquired a no-activity note from her doctor, and the other one sprained her ankle one day before their first practice.

Hannah Goodwin, a gymnast that was referred by Anderson as the “half”, got injured and can only compete on bars, which is one event out of four.

The top scorers are Sarah Cusson, Amber Diluzio, and Danielle Craig.

The gymnastics team, which has existed since 1972, is made up of nine gymnasts. The two team captains are Sarah Cusson and Danielle Craig. The team manager is Bria Doherty. The other gymnasts are Amber DiLuzio, Hannah Goodwin, Chrissy McLean, Julie Apicco, Jenna Amato, Shana Hardy and Rebecca Order.

The team often practices at All-Star Gymnastics, which is owned by Tom Boncci, the assistant coach for the team. Anderson says that it is much easier to practice in the gym because there is no need for setting up or cleaning up.

The team usually practices at WA the day before a meet so that they are comfortable with the equipment. Practices at All-Star usually last for about one and a half hours and practices here at WA last for about 2 with cleaning up and setting up.

Anderson says that even though the team is not faring so well this year, they are doing pretty well, taking into account that this is a rebuild year for them. Their score this season so far is a 126.7.

The gymnastics team made a record score in 2006 with a score of 142.7. Records were also set in the years of 2009,2005, and 2004.

Anderson expects the team to do better in future meets because she says the girls are improving. The equipment supplied to the team by the school is the best equipment that is offered, giving the team a competitive edge.

“Bob Conley, the director of sports, has done a great job with the quality of the equipment he has provided. He is really big on safety and making sure that the equipment does not break or snap. Especially the bars and the beam”, says Anderson.

Every Thursday and Sunday night, Westford Academy’s Alpine Ski Team practices with Coach Ruhmann, a Blanchard Middle School teacher, and Senior Captains Helen Webb and Ben Andrews.

Races are held weekly at Nashoba Valley Ski Area on Tuesdays, from three to five. In downhill skiing, there are two different kinds of races, Slalom and Grand Slalom, also known as GS.

Slalom is more difficult and is characterized by its short and quick turns through closely spaced gates. The most difficult turns in slalom are called “flushes.” These gates are arranged in a row down the mountain, so that getting around them requires only the slightest movement. These are the sharpest turns.

GS is less difficult and has wider turns, but can be completed in a shorter amount of time. This means that racers are going at a greater speed.

More advanced skiers often have two different pairs of skis. Giant slalom skis are usually longer and are made of different materials than slalom skis, which are shorter and lighter to accommodate for the closely spaced flushes.

Practices focus mainly on the dynamics of finding balance when ski racing. Balance is one of the most important aspects of ski racing. The racers use their edges, both sides of the ski, when turning. This is rather difficult, as many people use only one edge of their ski without realizing it, similar to favoring your better foot.

One of the methods used to teach skiing on edges is going down the mountain on only one ski. Each skier leaves one ski at the top, and then struggles to get down the mountain at a high speed while only balancing on one ski.

There is a range of talent on the team. Senior skiers are not necessarily better, just as freshmen are not necessarily worse. Finley Payne, a sophomore, holds the top varsity position.

Helen Webb, one of the team’s captains, is very proud of the way this season is going.

“Being a captain I focus on teamwork and bringing all of the grades together. I like how there are students from each grade on the team. Building a team is just as important as practicing the skills to become a better skier,” says Webb.

Although skiing is an individual, competitive sport, there is also a sense of community on the ski team. The skiers are not only competing against their own teammates, but are also competing as a single unit against other schools.

“It is an individual sport but I feel that there is a strong sense of community on the ski team,” says Webb.

This is the second article in a series on the dynamics of girls’ sports teams.

Many coaches and players, alike, point to spirit days as a point of friction among team members. Josh Vadala who assistant coaches Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse and coaches Girls’ Varsity Cheerleading

“In girls’ sports in particular, spirit and team dinners… can do one of two things. It can bring a team closer if it has a healthy dynamic, but if it doesn’t have a healthy dynamic those team dinners and those spirit days are really going to highlight the social issues that are already there and split the team apart even more,” said Vadala.

Kelly Huber, the only freshman teammate on the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team this fall, agrees with Vadala’s comment.

“At spag. suppers there are definitely people who are all friends and then there are those… that sit at the end of the table and listen instead of participating,” said Huber.

Lauren Brett, a senior on the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team, did not see spaghetti suppers in the same light as Huber.

“You go, you eat, and then you get out,” Brett said after joking about how much soccer girls like to eat. “For WAGS, spaghetti supper isn’t a social pressure- it’s just about eating.”

Brett believes that there isn’t any divide. She said that if teammates feel like they do not fit in, it is a personal issue, not a result of team dynamics. She explains that though she has felt left out, it was about her own feelings, not an actual divide.

“I wasn’t getting much playing time so I felt inadequate, so I was less open,” said Brett, explaining she thinks most girls who perceive divisions may actually be causing separation due to insecurity.

According to Vadala, as a coach, he has watched teams become divided and says their performance has suffered because of it.

“Our most talented class had the worst and the most unhealthy dynamics,” said Vadala. “That year the most talented team underachieved.”

Additionally, he saw that once divisions had developed, spirit became a point of friction that exacerbated the problems.

“That year that we had negative dynamics, if the seniors picked a grand thing to do and everybody didn’t follow it, it became a real social problem.”

For volleyball players, there is added social pressure regarding “team spirit” though it is not coming from within the team.

A group of mostly upperclassmen boys have taken it upon themselves to attend the Girls’ Varsity Volleyball games and cheer on the players. They call themselves the Superfans and, according to team members, boost morale during games with their original cheers.

A senior volleyball player who prefers to remain anonymous discussed how the Superfans can put pressure on the players and emphasize divisions between captains and other players.

“They [captains] are the people that the Superfans love the most, which is a big deal because it is a group of guys who follow the team around.”

Lorraine Harhen was one of only two seniors who did not have a Superfan assigned to cheer specifically for her. Though Harhen wasn’t a starter, according to her, there were other non-starters who did have a Superfan, so not having one made her feel left out and inadequate.

“They create cheers based on the starting players. Then Henderson will throw you in [to the game] and they’ve got nothing,” said Harhen. “All you can think of is I wish I had one.”

Russ Coward, who has coached Varsity Girls’ Basketball, JV Girls’ Volleyball, and JV Boys’ Volleyball in his time at WA, also believes that divisions and unhealthy dynamics are a problem on girls’ sports teams.

Like Vadala, he saw spirit as a point of friction. He believed that rather than having a team-building effect, spaghetti suppers and sleepovers created problems by mixing social activities and pressures in with the athletic activity.

“We talk a lot about the chemistry of the team and the dynamics of the team, and how we can enhance them,” said Vadala. According to him, spirit only emphasizes the dynamics already present while getting issues out into the open and actually discussing issues is the way to foster a cohesive team.

If you have additional information you would like included in the series, or a personal experience on a sports team, please email me at morrisonb55@gmail.com.

Senior Shane O'Neal run the 600 meter run

In the 55 meter dash, Captain Max Elliott, senior, placed third, finishing the race with a time of 7.16 seconds. Brendan Sullivan, sophomore, and Captain Jung Park, senior, placed second and forth, respectively, with times of 8.52 seconds and 8.63 seconds.

In the sixth event, the 300 meter dash, senior and Captain John Wells took forth (40.19 seconds), and Captain Matt Newman, senior, placed fifth (42.47 seconds).

Senior Captain Adam Pickersgill took home first in the 600 meter run finishing with a time 1:29.75 minutes, placing sixth overall in the DCL. The tenth event of the night was the 1000 meter run, Senior Captain Shane O’Neal and sophomore Andre Lacroix ran this event grabbing fifth and third, respectively.

The boys’ one mile run finished with junior John Ryan placing second with a time of 4:37.51 minutes and placing third overall in the DCL. The two mile ended with junior Mike McGee running second, 10:44.15 minutes, also placing fifth overall that night. Then senior Captain Alex Inman captured forth with a time of 11:39.99 minutes.

The boys’ 400 meter relay placed forth overall but falling just short of finishing before Newton-South. They finished with a time of 3:46.63 minutes.

The field events started with high jump. Sullivan took home first, jumping 5-6.00 feet.

In long jump, Elliott took forth, jumping 18-07.00 feet. Junior Adonis Carrasco and O’Neal placed fifth and sixth, respectively, both jumping 17-10.00 feet.

Shot put concluded the field events with Westford Academy taking first, second, and third. Senior Captain Mike Townsend took first, throwing 44:04.50 feet. He threw the farthest of anyone in the DCL that night. Senior Pat Martell threw 39:09.50 feet; and junior Eric Meredith threw 39:09.00, placing third.

Head coach Phil Archambault, commented, “there were some great performances by runners on the team, but it was just not enough to win.”

He went on to say “the team is a young team, and although there are many seniors, last year we have exceptional athletes and for the current seniors coming in third was a good job because we had people locking first and second in. This year they have to win and they are still getting there.”

Martell thought that injuries played a big part in the score. “If we didn’t have so many injuries then the score could have been closer. John [Wells] just came from having mono and Joe [Calitri, senior Captain] is injured.”

The boys have their next meet Thursday January 21, vs Lowell at Lowell High School.

Week three of basketball was strong for the Varsity Girls Team. The Ghosts defeated the Boston Latin Wolf Pack 56-25 on Tuesday night. The win of both the freshman and Junior Varsity teams before them encouraged the varsity to acheive victory. The Grey Ghosts quickly took the lead and had Boston calling a time-out less than half way through the first quarter.

Rachel Secrist had assists to Asia Ewing throughout the game. Defense by Westford Academy kept the Wolf Pack to two points in the first quarter while clean passing got the Ghosts eighteen points.

The Ghosts only fouled a total of nine times. This is a great improvement for the team since last game the team fouled more than ten times each half.

The defense led seamlessly into an unselfish offense. No girl was taking advantage of a steal when another player down court was better positioned and wide opene. This week’s game was well rounded offensively and defensively.

The next time the lady ghosts take on an opponent will be on Sunday in the Christmas Tournament at Masconomet High School in Boxford. It is a two day tournament stretching from this Sunday to the following Tuesday. Last year the team won all of the games during this tournament. The girls are hoping to be just as successful this year.

Correction: Originally printed Rachel Cloutier. Corrected 1/7/2010 Rachel Secrist.

This part one of a series of articles on girls’ sports dynamics

At Westford Academy every sport excluding football has a highly competitive and often successful female counterpart to the men’s sports teams, a requirement of title IX. The girls’ sports are renowned; our Girls’ Cheerleading team is the division 1 State Champions, and our Girls’ Soccer team went all the way to the division finals last year, and the division semi-finals this fall.

Yet there is a less healthy and productive side to these teams. The relationships among players, whether friendly, exclusionary, or even vindictive, have become a problem that both coaches and student athletes in Westford and nation-wide are aware of.

“Girls do [worry about being friends off the court] and it affects what they do on the court,” said Russ Coward, former JV Girls’ Volleyball coach and current Varsity Girls’ Basketball coach.

Coward says that he sees the problem of poor dynamics as a given at any high school with a strong female athletic program. He said that he felt it was partly due to pressure to be the best- and for girls that means being a starter and a captain.

“For girls it is more important to start than it is to finish,” Coward said. “They [town and club teams] are so good at getting the girls to play but that means that the pressure… starts earlier.”

A senior athlete who prefers to remain anonymous agrees with Coward saying that, “the people who start are separate from those who don’t. There isn’t a lot of intermingling.”

Senior volleyball and basketball player, Lorriane Harhen, said that in girls’ sports it is a common theme for players to try hard to fit in with the other players. It does not always work, though, according to Harhen.

“It [unhealthy dynamics] makes the girls who don’t get enough playing time feel like they’re not good enough- like they can’t fit in with the other girls,” said Harhen.

The difference between the captains and other players seems to also be exaggerated. According to the anonymous senior athlete, captains seem to be the “popular kids.”

Harhen agreed, saying. “they [the captains] are always talking to each other, and when you try to say something they look at you like you’re weird, like you said something wrong. I hate that feeling. It’s like they are best friends and we’re [other players] all on the outside.”

While Coward found fault with this, Physical Education teacher and Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse coach, Shaun Hart believes that this dynamic between starters and non-starters is natural.

“We make it abundantly clear that our best eleven girls are playing. Being in the eleven means you’re a starter- everyone else falls in line behind them.”

He makes sure to say that when they are all together there are not divisions, but that there is a hierarchy based on talent, and more importantly, effort.

He also said that he feels that though people will bring baggage to the field, they should deal with any issues themselves. He explains further saying that while other coaches worry about the female athletes’ “feelings,” he does not believe in that.

Ten season veteran Varsity Cheerleading coach Josh Vadala offered a different opinion.

He emphasizes putting a purposeful focus on team building and plainly discussing any problems between players.

“Openly discuss it- if you’re having issues let’s get over them so that we can move forward.”

He and Coward agreed that dynamics of a team are important because it affects the athletes at games and competitions.

“Our most talented class had the worst and the most unhealthy dynamics…that year the most talented team underachieved,” said Vadala.

He said that a team with strong, healthy bonds could have the opposite effect.

“Last year we had a lesser talented team that over-achieved due to team dynamics,” said Vadala.

He wet on to say that he emphasizes team building for these reasons. He also makes sure that the leaders of the team- captains and seniors- are not singled out.

“Captains are helpful but aren’t there to boss the players around,” said Vadala.

Other players disagree that there are divides or cliques on sports teams. Senior and Girls’ Varsity Soccer player, Lauren Brett does not see cliques on her team.

“I’ve never really felt that I couldn’t talk to one of the captains,” said Brett.

She also said that she never felt that cliques from school translated to the soccer team.

“We have a big team in general, so that means more than half don’t start. So to have a divide between those who start and those who don’t would be too much animosity,” said Brett.

Senior field hockey, hockey, and lacrosse player Rachel Socolow said that despite being a starter, she also noticed cliques.

“Yeah, I’ve felt like I didn’t ft in with the team. It would get me down that I would have to be around that… I tried to not let it affect my play,” said Socolow.

Both Vadala and Coward felt that team spirit and team spaghetti dinners either create fissions on the team, or emphasize problems already present. The issues surrounding spirit on girls’ sports teams and players’ opinions will be discussed in the next section of this series.

If you have additional information you would like included in the series, or a personal experience on a sports team, please email me at morrisonb55@gmail.com.

Correction: Originally printed the Varsity Girls’ Soccer team made the state finals. Corrected 1/7/2010 the team made the division finals  in 2008 and the division semi-finals 2009.

Confidence and adrenaline pumping, the undefeated Varsity Girls’ Basketball team got on the bus at 3:45 to travel all the way to rival team’s home turf, Lincoln-Sudbury.

“This is going to be our year,” senior captain Asia Ewing states before the game. “We have a stacked team and we all know how each other plays. We have a huge advantage going into LS.”

Coach Coward concurred with Ewing’s statement.

“We have been training hard and everyone has poured themselves into the game. All we can do is be optimistic,” said Coward.

The game starts off tough with Lincoln Sudbury’s defense defending the posts, Ewing was able to dribble past ten points for WA. With fellow seniors Erica Wright and Becca Webb adding another ten points to the scoreboard.

Lincoln-Sudbury’s Amelia Murray was only able to get eight points past WA’s Lauren Gallant and Suzanne Parker.

Second half rolled in and right away Westford could be seen playing hard with senior Aly Boyle and Ewing getting twenty eight points with the help of junior Rachel Secrist and senior Marissa Malbouef. Lincoln’s Betsy Mahoney and Murray got twenty two points onto the scoreboard.

By the first half WA was winning 48-30.

LS came back stronger in the second half getting thirty points in the third quarter.

WA came back just as strong with Ewing adding another twelve points to the scoreboard along with senior Lauren Napolitana, Wright and Webb adding another twelve points onto the scoreboard with a tied score by the fourth quarter.

Fourth quarter rolled in and everyone was tense. This was it; these final twelve minutes meant a big win or a loss for either team.

With the efforts of Gallant, Malbouef, Ewing and Webb, WA was able to score ten points on LS’s defense, Kelsey Wright and Lauren Jones.

LS scored five points with a final score of 70 – 65. WA was able to bring home a big win with an undefeated record of 3-0.

“Bringing home a win has given all of us a major confidence boost for our games ahead. Now we know how LS plays and we have even more confidence going into games like AB and Newton-South,” said junior player Nicole Morano.