Since joining the fray here in the Lower Cape, I've heard numerous rumors about head coaches that use local youth clinics and programs to “recruit” players to the high schools they coach at. I'm here to encourage that to stop. I have many reasons for this, but let me start with a clear conflict of interest. If you're a coach at a particular high school and are holding clinics or youth programs in the town of a...

HARWICH ─ School spirit is something Riley Demanche and Jason Masiello have in spades, which made the student athletes the ideal duo to serve Monomoy High as MIAA ambassadors. The pair is taking their roles seriously, and along with cheering on teams when not playing, are looking to help their school community through a new and ongoing fundraising effort. At the moment, the Shark Fund is a giant jar that Dem...

HARWICH ─ Summer always brings something new to the teams of the Cape Cod Baseball League. New players. New host families. And this summer at Whitehouse Field, something everyone will love: new restrooms. Construction officially began on the facilities several weeks ago when ground was finally broken, beginning a project decades in the making. “The building has begun. The hole has been dug. The forms have...

HYANNIS ─ The Hyannis Youth and Community Center was hopping on Sunday, with fans packing the stands of the gym for one more chance to see their favorite high school hoop stars in action in the 30 th Cape and Islands High School Basketball All-Star Games. Players representing each of the schools on the Cape and Islands took part in the annual event, with Christine Friedel stepping up for the Monomoy girls a...

HARWICH ─ Monomoy students came through in a big way for the local Dollars for Scholars program on Friday, netting nearly $2,000 by shooting some hoops as part of a special Hoop-A-Thon. The event drew a healthy representation of Monomoy Regional High School students to the gym after school on Friday, where participants had five minutes to sink as many free throws as possible. Successful shots earned money in...

This is a message for specific people. For the kid who helps out each year with a particular team, secretly longing to join the competition, but just...can't. For the one who dreams of getting in the game or racing down the track to beat the clock, but who instead listens to the voices of others saying “nope” and remains sidelined. I was there. I get you. Now hear me: your time is now. When I was a kid, my sib...

BROCKTON ─ When the Monomoy boys basketball team stepped onto the court in Brockton for their Div. 4 South final game against Cathedral, they knew they’d be in for a tough battle. Though the Panthers cruised to a 100-44 victory, the Sharks took it in stride, knowing they’d already made history. The moment Monomoy reached the finals, not only had they become the only Cape team to make it that far in tournamen...

HYANNIS/HARWICH/SANDWICH ─ When the regular season of the Monomoy boys basketball team ended and the postseason began, head coach Keith Arnold had some important words for his Sharks. “You guys are winners,” he said. So far in the MIAA Div. 4 South Sectional tournament, Arnold hasn’t been wrong, as the Cape and Islands League Champions have now defeated Sturgis East, Southeastern Regional, and as of Tuesd...

HARWICH ─ The Monomoy girls put forth an admirable effort in last Thursday's tournament game at Cathedral, but the No. 4 Panthers ultimately overtook the No. 13 Sharks en route to a 62-38 first-round victory. “The first quarter went well,” said Monomoy head coach Pete Richer. “We were behind 10-8 after the first and did a very good job defensively containing their three-point shooters and their center, a six...

HYANNIS/HARWICH ─ Two games, two opponents, and 116 total points later, the Monomoy boys varsity basketball team has made its way to the MIAA Div. 4 South semifinals, thanks to big wins against Sturgis East in the first round and Southeastern Regional in the quarterfinals. The noise was nothing short of deafening in the gym of the Hyannis Youth and Community Center last Thursday when the No. 9 Sharks faced t...

It's been quite a season for Chatham's Carlisle Nash, whose prowess in the pool with the Nauset swim team not only earned him a trip to the state championship, but has also made Nash one to watch next year during his senior season. Just don't blink when he's in the water, or you'll likely miss him. Nash started competitively swimming about six years ago, having gotten his start in the sport after being enrolle...

ORLEANS ─ Dan Eberly put his hockey pads away some time ago, but each year without fail he can be found on the ice in Boston once again, presenting a key award at the annual Beanpot Tournament. It's an award he knows well, especially since the Eberly Award is named after him and his brother. First presented in 1974, the award is given annually to the goalie with the best save percentage in the tournament. Th...