RallyNorth.net: High School Sports – Merrimack Valley and Southern NH

There’s a ton of conjecture out there on both the boys and girls sides of the Gr. Lawrence Christmas tournament … and it’s future.
I will tackle a few of these pieces, one at a time for all to chew on over the long holiday weekend.

There is no official yet, but it sounds like the Gr. Lawrence Tech’s boys and the Lowell High girls most likely will be out.
Certainly, calls are out to Haverhill, maybe even St. John’s on the boys side. Couldn’t tell you who on the girls.

The word is out that the tourney is trying to move back to Merrimack. I’ve heard some absurd things over the years, this one might be number one.
Have you been over Merrimack lately? There just isn’t a ton of room. Parking is tough. The gym was small in the past, and will be again. Kids can run around and stretch out at Lawrence, not at the Mack.
I can remember sneaking in their through the back door, just because I knew people, when the fire chief, had locked it down for overcrowding. That will definitely happen again.
There is little or no allure to Merrimack, especially now that LHS has the fieldhouse.
There is space, room for people to move and park.
LHS has a bigtime feel.
I asked Tim Finn why they are moving out of Lawrence. Is someone afraid that the Lancers are skimming the pot, allowing people in free, too many people on the payroll, etc.
He’s heard none of that, just that Merrimack is a better venue. I couldn’t disagree more.
Now, does Lawrence have a fault or two? Sure… The concessions could use an upgrade. We don’t have to run out of pizza in the middle of the first game. we could add to the menu. I like Trips 100 times more than the next guy, but how about something a little different once in a while.

I love the idea of the open space on the end of each baseline. Would love to see it used for pre/post game student/alumni gatherings or something like that.

Lawrence isn’t just a good option. It’s the best one.

The boys tournament is a couple clicks from “Great” It’s not in distress. It’s solid, to superb. Make it “young fan” friendly and it’s fine.

So, let’s say we find a suitable replacement for the Reggies. St. John’s, the Hillies, whoever.

I state to people that seeding the tournament properly is the top priority, so we don’t get Andover-NA in round one, followed by Central-NA in round 2 and a ho-hum final.
“The coaches will never go along with it,” is the absolute most repeated response. “Central is too good.”
To which I say, “Shame on them.”
I think of one of the alltime greats, late Methuen High football coaching legend Larry Klimas. Who whined about Central more than Larry? NOBODY! I heard it when I was in junior high, high school, college and in my years at the Trib when Larry roamed the sidelines.
Larry complained all the time. Then, he went out and fought tooth and nail to beat the Raiders. Larry made his teams stand up and fight. His teams never backed down from Central.

The hoop coaches should do the same. Seed the tournament fairly on a year-to-year basis.
And if Salem’s Rob McLaughlin or Methuen’s Matt Curran or any coach complains about it and threatens to leave, I call on every hoop alum from the said school to go nuts about it.
THIS IS NOT TO SAY THEY WOULD COMPLAIN … BOTH GUYS ARE SOLID, BUT I JUST USED THEM AS RANDOM EXAMPLES!
Any Methuen alum or player who doesn’t look forward to a battle with Central … in hoops, football, chess, tiddly-winks, whatever … shouldn’t get a uniform.
So back to the seeding. Get a committee to seed the field correctly, using history, returning players, Hoops for Hope, etc., as measuring sticks.
Let the coaches do it, listing teams 1-7 (not including their own) or let me do it, whatever.

If you don’t seed, my thought is then you have to go to two four-team divisions, an A and a B.
Now, A and B … Let’s take 2012 for example.
A. Lawrence, Andover, CC, NA
B. Salem, Pink, GLT and Methuen …
I wonder in my heart if those Methuen kids and coaches aren’t kicking and screaming about playing down. The competitor in guys like Curran, and Cooper Hamel, and Sicard and TGB tell me they want the big boys.
So no, you’ll never satisfy everyone. But was Pete Rosinski satisfied when he and the Astros drew CC like five straight years by random draw in the opener? No.

It’s time to use some imagination with the boys tourney, sure. I’ve been saying that for 5 years now, but it’s not broken. It needs a tweak or two, not a venue change.

Again, every time I say something I get shot down by the same naysayers, so we will see.

All I can say is that a lack of imagination has brought the Christmas tourney to the point where I’m told, each of the 16 teams were given a $100 scholarship.
To me, that is laughable. With those crowds, that’s a slap in the face to the athletes who compete.

As for the girls, I again like NA as a venue. I like the re-shaping of the fields, trying to bring in bigger, better teams. I went to the girls semis this year, and honestly saw decent crowds. Andover, NA and CC all draw enough to pay the bills.
The rest of the teams don’t.
Love to see the Pentuckets, Archies, Westfords, teams with tradition and strength, invited in.
The first step is a solid 8 teams. And in the girls case I’m all for seeding and divisions.

It seems like every time Tyler Nelson hops off a plane onto a basketball court, he racks up another scholarship offer.

The latest for the Central Catholic junior guard is George Washington University.
GW joins Dartmouth, Bryant and Jacksonville on the offer list for Nelson, who saw one offer go away when Greg Herenda left UMass Lowell.
For now, Bradford’s Nelson remains focused on finishing off a power spring with his BABC team in the Nike-sponsored Elite Youth Basketball League.
So far this spring, Nelson has played events in California, Texas and Virginia, with a Memorial Day weekend stop in Minnesota followed by the Finals in South Carolina from July 10-14.
“I’m pretty happy about the way things have gone,” said Nelson. “I’m playing well right now, shooting the ball well, playing a lot of minutes. I think I can play even better.”
Even the icey-cool was a bit surprised at the offer from George Washington, which competes in the Atlantic-10. The A-10 is one of the NCAA’s strongest conferences, having placed five teams in this year’s mens tournament.
“To play at that level, I definitely have to get better and stronger,” said Nelson. “But the first time playing in EYBL, I didn’t know what I’d be getting myself into. I’m playing against the top guys in the country, playing at such a high level and I’m holding my own.”

BASEBALL BONANZA

There is plenty of diamond intrigue as the penultimate weekend of the high school baseball season comes upon us.

First, the MVC Large Race couldn’t be tighter with Central Catholic and Chelmsford each having three leagues losses.

Central can lock down a piece of the crown with wins at Andover today (3:45) and then at the Warriors (Tuesday). Chelmsford beat Methuen last night and closes today at home against Lowell.

Billerica has the inside position against Lawrence in the MVC small. If the Lancers can take care of Dracut Saturday night at home, it will mean Lawrence needs either Haverhill to beat Billerica today or Tewksbury to take out the Indians in the opening round of Spinners Cup action Monday.

As for the Hillies, they remain one of the spring’s pleasant surprises at 9-7.

Don’t pencil Haverhill in as a sure “state tourney” team yet, though. Not with this schedule.

Haverhill sends junior Matt Burns to the hill today to conquer the Indians today. Haverhill will come back with sophomore Josh Goldstein, who dazzled Lawrence last week, against Tewksbury on Saturday. Sunday, it’s a trip to Whittier Tech with a 1 p.m. showdown with Whittier Tech.

Talk about a quality matchup, that one will be 4-1 Sean Wrenn on the mound for Haverhill vs. Andrew Wells (6-0) and the Commonwealth Large champions Wildcats.

Haverhill’s one other chance to qualify should disaster strike three straight times would be a rested Nick Comei going Thursday at Masconomet.

According to sources at Salem High, girls basketball coach Annie Alosa is stepping down. More on this coming up in The Eagle-Tribune.

Bryant University has offered Tyler Nelson.
The BABC standout out of Central Catholic has had a huge AAU spring.

We’re into the spring season.
And let’s just put it this way, it’s a tough baseball scene to embrace and cherish.
Checking out the MVC, Billerica stands head and shoulders above the rest right now, although the Indians are a mere shadow of MVC beasts of the past.
As one fan said to me yesterday, “They don’t approach Lowell of last year or Lawrence of 2010, not even close.”
I said it before, and I feel it in my heart. I wouldn’t be surprised if the MVC large champ wins 13 or 14 overall, which is a tad scary.
If the Super 8 were in play this spring, the Valley would not be represented, which is kind of scary.
Everyone in the large is bouncing around 3-1 or 3-2. and certainly we’re looking at a 3-4 team race into the final week with Chelsmford, Andover, Central, Methuen all in the mix.
Is it all lacrosse? Is it all volleyball?
Not for anything, but here’s a rant I went on last week about the level of baseball around.

Barely two weeks into the season, and I am depressed to the core about the state of high school baseball in the region.
How can this be? How did it happen? And all so fast.
Do we really have this little to look forward to this spring.
Honestly, I did and probably do have some high aspirations for Central Catholic. But back-to-back losses to Dracut and Bishop Fenwick will wear the gleam right off that freshly waxed finish. By the way, this is going to sound like I’m pounding on CC here, but you are 6-4, not 6-3. The loss to St. John’s Prep counts. You may not count it, but everyone else on the planet does.
We cover 21 baseball programs in our region. Come June 1, I foresee three teams right now showing a pulse – Division 3 defending state champ North Reading, Division 4 defending champ Georgetown, and Londonderry in the NHIAA Division 1 playoffs.
Contrast that for one second to this past March when the Central boys, North Andover, Andover, Whittier Tech, North Reading all were considered serious threats in hoops.
I can hear former colleague Tim Bresnahan screaming all the way from Southie with that one nasty word, lacrosse.
I don’t believe it. Why? It’s just two different breeds of kid.
Let’s use North Reading High as exhibit A. Last spring, North Reading came up one game short in lax and went all the way in baseball. That’s two legit programs existing together.
And don’t even forget that North Reading’s 1A or 1B starter, Mike Driscoll, was last seen a couple Mondays ago wearing a St. John’s Prep uniform and stifling Central Catholic for five scoreless innings.
If the Hornets can spread the wealth, other schools should too.
Look around the Merrimack Valley. Indoor hitting schools and AAU groups keep popping up like the dandelions on my lawn. They’re everywhere.
Fields are busy as soon as they are potentially playable.
Yet, look around. We’re staring at a whole lot of mediocrity.
Individually, sure there are stars around. But the great teams, the mini-dynasties we once saw at Andover or Central or Salem are a thing of the past.
So far, I’ve seen Central, Lawrence, Haverhill, Methuen and North Andover.
Lowell’s 2012 North champion squad was certainly a throwback to the days when an MVC team – usually Andover or Central – perennially factored in the North sectional race.
The Red Raiders were 2-4 heading to the weekend, so that run might be one and done.

My baseball rant is done. Got to get to see Andover soon. And then we will know for sure.

Some folks had blogged in about Christmas tourney news.
I haven’t heard much. I know folks met. I’m not sure how much it’s going to matter, until they get all the ADs on board with the idea that upgrades and changes in the tourney have to happen.

No word out of North Andover yet, either. Yet. But I guess that decision has to be close to imminent.

Anyone got anything out there.

Love to chat with you guys about the local sports scene.