UMass-Boston's Berry double-dips in awards
Myles Berry wears two hats in the Little East Conference and does it better than anyone else.
The Quincy resident begins the school year at the University of Massachusetts at Boston as the men's soccer coach and ends the year in the spring as the men's lacrosse coach.
He does both quite well. The Little East Conference on Nov. 9 selected Berry as its Soccer Coach of the Year. Last spring, Berry earned the Little East's Lacrosse Coach of the Year. It is the third time he has been the top lacrosse coach.
This is the first time in the history of the Little East, however, that anyone has garnered the top coaching honor in two different sports. Berry is also the first Beacon soccer coach to earn the award for that sport in the history of the program.
This season, his fourth year as the men's soccer coach, Berry led UMass-Boston to an 11-7-1 mark, its best record in seven years. He surprised his peers. The Beacons were picked to finished eighth in the eight-team league in the pre season coaches' poll. Berry served as the first women's soccer coach at UMass-Boston from 1995 to 1997 and his team holds the school record for wins with 16.
Berry went to UMass-Boston from neighboring Boston College High School, where he served as soccer coach from 1980 to 1991. During his tenure, the Eagles were 104-58-38 and won two Catholic Conference championships.
Two role models
for young women
Olympic hockey player Cammi Granato and Mary Pratt of Quincy, who played in the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League in the 1940s and 1950s, were the keynote speakers at a Young Women Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship program Nov. 8 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough .
Funded by the Direct Federal Credit Union, the program is designed to "recognize and lend monetary assistance to female high school students in the fields of basketball, ice hockey, field hockey and softball," according to organizers.
"I wish there were more programs like this when I was growing up," Granato said. "It is so important for young girls to see that they're appreciated and that they, too, can grow up to be world-class athletes."
Pratt said: "Young women have many issues to face in their adolescent years. For that reason, the Young Women Leaders of Tomorrow program will encourage them to continue to succeed in high school and beyond. I may be in my 80s now but I remember how hard it was back in the day. That's why this is a program that I simply had to support!"
The organization's first order of business was to provide uniforms for the girls' teams at Medfield High School.
Locals play key roles
for Endicott football
Even though Endicott College is in Beverly, 15 of the Gulls' football players this season were from the region south of Boston.
And several of those 15 played key roles, as the squad finished with a respectable 6-4 record -- not bad for a school that did not admit male students until 1994 or organize its first football team until 2003.
Ryan McLean of Mansfield was the Gulls' top pass receiver, collecting 37 receptions for 538 yards and five touchdowns.
Former Rockland High running back Mark Killinger was Endicott's second-leading rusher, gaining 344 yards on 88 carries. He scored four touchdowns.
Three local players led the defense.
Defensive lineman Joe Leaver of Stoughton was third on the team in tackles, making 27 solo stops and assisting on four others. He also had one fumble recovery.
Linebacker Mike Kelley of Abington and Cardinal Spellman High School had 20 tackles and intercepted three passes.
Defensive back Jared Giblin of Mansfield had 21 tackles and two interceptions.
Other players on the team included senior running back Tim Boyd of Rockland and South Shore Voke, freshman running back Tyler Felix of Foxborough, freshman defensive back Richard Giblin and senior defensive end Matt Quinn of Mansfield, freshman running back Colby Hawkins of Scituate, junior split end Lance Hayes of Stoughton, senior defensive lineman Matt McDonnell of Foxborough, junior defensive back Jarron Randall of Brockton, and Tom Sieminski of Plymouth and Darren Smith of Pembroke, both of whom are freshman defensive linemen and played at Archbishop Williams High School.
Easton's O'Brien
runs away with title
Katy O'Brien of Easton doesn't let a little bad weather stop her.
Despite the winds and rains of Oct. 28, the Tufts University cross-country star won the 6 -kilometer New England Small College Athletic Conference championship at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, Conn.
O'Brien finished with a time of 22 minutes 49 seconds, about 18 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
A year ago, she finished in 25th place and, as a freshman, she was 30th in 2004.
This weekend she is in Wilmington, Ohio, representing Tufts University in the NCAA Division 3 Championships.
Swiniarski breaks
Trinity kicking records
Former Plymouth North High School football standout Kevin Swiniarski ended his collegiate career in style for Trinity College in a 41-0 victory over Wesleyan University on Nov. 11. The New England Small College Athletic Conference all-star broke the school record for field goals and extra points. He finished his career with 23 field goals and 102 point-after-touchdowns for 171 points.
He isn't the only local player on the squad. Three linebackers are from the region -- senior captain Christian Allen of Abington; junior Matt Stafford, who was a team of Swiniarski at Plymouth North; and freshman Nnabugwu Ekwelum of Randolph, who attended the Belmont Hill School, played for Trinity, along with freshman wide receiver Winston Tuggle, who was a standout at Milton Academy.
Stonehill to host
a basketball clinic
Derik Malone, assistant basketball coach at Stonehill College, will hold a basketball clinic on the Easton campus during Thanksgiving weekend for girls and boys in grades 3 through 12.
The Developmental Basketball Clinic will be held from from 9:30 a.m. until noon Friday through Sunday. For information, call Malone at 617-821-7990.
