WMS Field Hockey team experiences memorable season

By Carrie Colby
Special to The Windham Eagle

I was excited to see 14 fresh faces when we started our Windham Middle School field hockey season this September. This was my second season coaching at this level and I knew our journey would be an exciting one.

Members of the 2022 Windham Middle School Field Hockey
Team included, front left to right, Anica Messer, Maria
Rossetti, Mirabelle Kri, Ella Klimko, Peyton Archibald,
Lucy Stretch, Chloe Inzerillo, Hayley Johnsen, Olivia
Byther, and Lexie Beach. Back left to right are Brenna
Small, Natalie Hayes, Evelyn Robinson and Ella Pasquini.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

The previous year we only had a team of 10 girls. With the limited schedule of just practicing and no actual games in 2020 due to COVID protocols, a lot of the players had lost interest in middle school field hockey. So, 2021 was much more exciting for the team. We had a winning season despite a low number of players and as a smaller team, the girls really got a lot of playing time.

I believe that this is how the team’s numbers increased this year. The program is run by the JV and Varsity coaches and players on Saturdays for younger players and it contributed to more players as well.

I was especially pleased that five players from the previous year returned to play again this year. Three of the eighth-grade middle school players from last year went on to play at the JV and varsity level.

We were fortunate to have Jodi Carroll help us with the team this year. She has many years of field hockey experience and was a great asset bringing her enthusiasm and love of the game.

“One of the most wonderful things about our team this year was observing their success in skill development and seeing the confidence that brought to not only the player but to the team overall as a side effect leading them to many victories on and off the field,” Carroll said.

Another way the players learned about the game and positioning was watching the Windham High varsity team play on several occasions. We were able to see how the game is played from a different perspective and discuss different plays and calls by the referees.

The team topped the season off by joining the Windham JV and varsity teams to watch some World Cup matches. We followed it up with a pizza party with lots of laughs by the whole team.

”This season has been great,” said WMS seventh-grader Lexie Beach. “We worked together as a team and got better and better each time, it was a great year.”

JSMS six grader Anica Messer agreed.

“This year’s field hockey team was fun and a rewarding experience,” Messer said. “It was great to be outside playing against other schools. We made a lot of progress throughout the season. I really appreciated the skills our coaches taught us.”

The coaching team welcomes any players new or experienced to join the team in the future to expand their skills as an athlete in general or to try something new for next season.

The Windham Middle School Field Hockey Program welcomes all sixth, seventh and eighth graders in RSU 14. If anyone would like more information about playing next year send an email to me at cmcolby1777@gmail.com <

Eagles’ summer basketball camp great opportunity to make friends, learn skills

Windham varsity senior and volunteer JC Chouinard teaches
basketball skills to students during the Eagles' summer
basketball camp on Wednesday, July 27 at Windham
High School. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

By Matt Pascarella

For as long as Windham varsity boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen can remember, Windham basketball has had a summer camp, where younger kids can learn the skills of the game as well as meet new people, who could one day be their teammates.

Pulkkinen has been running the camp for six years and next winter will begin his eighth year as the head boys’ basketball varsity coach. He’s had a tremendous response to his annual camp with almost 100 kids signing up.

Things are starting to come back to normal as far as kids’ camps go following the pandemic and Pulkkinen and his assistant coaches Geoff Grigsby and Noah Estey say that they were glad they could help the younger, aspiring players of the community out by hosting the K to 8 basketball camp at Windham High School during the last week of July.

“The No. 1 goal is to have fun,” said Pulkkinen. “It gives them an outlet to learn the game and have some fun.”

Every day of the camp there were themes like teammate, hustle, body language or coachability. Along with essential basketball skills, Pulkkinen and his coaches teach the kids the importance of being kind on the court and what it means to be a good teammate.

 

Basketball has given Pulkkinen a lot of life skills, so part of his goals for this camp is to teach life skills to the future group of varsity players.

“Overall basketball has been a tool for me to apply in all that I do,” said Pulkkinen. “Commitment, dedication, discipline, how to handle adversity, how to be a good teammate. It's shown me when you work hard at something and put the time in it pays off. You get what you put in.”

Players from freshmen to seniors volunteered their time and set a good example for the young athletes and participants appreciated the new skills they worked on at the camp.

“I’ve learned new ways to dribble and new ways to throw,” said Windham fifth-grader Kingston Mack.

Mack’s goal is to make over 1,000 shots in his lifetime.

Windham senior and varsity player JC Chouinard remembered attending this camp himself when he was much younger and how he looked up to high school varsity players.

“It’s pretty cool it’s come full circle now that I’m a senior here,” said Chouinard.

Chouinard has volunteered at the camp for the last four years and likes that it brings the community together. He likes seeing the younger kids learn the game.

Basketball has helped Chouinard out a lot in his life, so if he can use basketball to help another young athlete, that means a lot to him.

Chouinard said that his goal during the week was to have the kids remember the camp and the fun they had, skills they improved upon and new friends that they made.

Windham second-grader William Hanf had been working on making baskets and drills during the Eagles’ Basketball camp. He said he wanted to become better at playing basketball and has been having fun learning new skills and meeting new people.

“I just think it helps everybody come together and get to know each other. The camp shows you how to be a good teammate. And that really goes beyond the court in everyday life,” said Chouinard. <