Sports 08-16-2018

Through dedication and commitment,

Courtney Finn is finding success off the court

By Jonathan Chang

The night before the 2014 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship game, Bentley head coach Barbara Stevens gathered her team for a message: no matter what happens, she was going to be proud. “I just want this for you guys so badly,” Stevens said to the team.

Silence ensued as emotions arose. The student-athletes didn’t know what to say or do. The Falcons had been upsetted as the number-one-seed the previous year. Then, the captain made it clear what was to come.

“Don’t worry, coach,” Courtney Finn said. “We’ve got this.”

Bentley went on to win the championship game, defeating West Texas A&M, 73-65. While that marked Finn’s final game as a Falcon, four years later, her success at Bentley still continues.

“[Athletics Director Bob DeFelice] knew that there wouldn’t be anybody who would work harder, be more dedicated, and certainly more committed than Courtney Finn because that’s just who she is,” Stevens said of her now-colleague.

Upon completing her athletic career, Finn joined the Falcons staff as an athletics operation assistant until 2017. Last season, her role switched to the assistant director of financial operations.

“She has this quiet drive to be good in everything,” DeFelice said. “Not to be good—to be exceptional. It’s like an innate goal I think she has.”

Coaching and playing overseas were options, but Finn said neither appealed enough. She had completed her playing career with a perfect storybook ending and wanted to keep it that way.

While posting a 35-and-0 record en route to a national championship alone is enough, but Finn’s unlikely story goes even further back when as a freshman, Finn tore an ACL on her left knee during preseason practice.

“You always hold that slim hope that it didn’t happen,” Stevens said, “but it did.”

The injury was devastating: an entire season missed with an extra period with a brace, something Stevens said bothered Finn even more. But it was an instance when Stevens observed Finn’s competitiveness. “She came back with a vengeance from her injury,” Stevens said. “She worked really, really, really hard to get back on the court.”

With her second season as the assistant director of financial operations quickly approaching, Finn said her experience has taught her that she really enjoys the new role. While operations called her to do a little bit of everything, Finn now prefers her role in finances.

“I love my job, and I love to come to work every day,” Finn said.

One of the two players in Bentley history with at least 1,500 points, 750 rebounds and 100 three-pointers, Finn was named an All-American following the 2014 season. She also remains the all-time leading scorer at Winthrop High School.

“It’s a wonderful thing for me having coached young people as long as I have, to see them grow up and be successful, to see them actually blossom as people, as professionals,” Stevens said.

“It’s been just great to sit back and watch how successful she continues to get,” DeFelice said. “She doesn’t miss a beat.”

Veteran Alex Stone connects service members to college sports

By Kate Anslinger

Winthrop resident, Alex Stone, finds passion in helping athletes who are veterans, navigate their way through college sports. In 2016, Stone launched Athletes of Valor, an organization that provides veterans with the tools needed to transition from active duty service to college athletics. As a veteran himself, Stone’s desire to help vets is one that stems from his own personal story of being an athlete who enlisted in the Marine Corps, serving from 2004 until 2008.

“I always wanted to serve and I knew that I needed to grow up before I went to college,” said Stone, who completed two deployments while assigned to an infantry unit.

When Stone went to work for Under Armour in 2010, he realized that there were several programs available to high school students looking to further their athletic careers in college, but there were limited resources for veterans. Knowing firsthand that veterans gain invaluable skills and thrive on camaraderie, Stone came up with the idea to provide a platform for veteran athletes who are transitioning to civilian life and want to be a part of college sports.

“These are guys that are 22 and 23 and have real life experience, but no direction for navigating the college recruitment process. Athletes of Valor helps get their foot in the door,” said Stone. “Vets think that because they enter the military, they lose their eligibility for playing college sports, but that’s not true. Once their service has ended, athletes are allowed to play, regardless of age.”

The platform allows the prospective athlete to create a recruitment profile which consists of all the critical information that a college coach would want to see, including highlight films, bios, high school transcripts, and training videos, giving them a means to promote themselves in a seamless way. Once an athlete is signed up, they have their own personalized link that allows them to streamline information directly to college coaches.

Currently there are around 2,000 athletes registered on the platform now, and 100 who are starting their college sports careers this fall. Stone has seen the biggest interest amongst football athletes, but all athletes are encouraged to use the platform as a resource.

“Being part of a team and the camaraderie alone, can be instrumental in a successful graduation,” said Stone.

For more information on Athletes of Valor, see:

www.athletesofvalor.com

 

From the Press Box

The Tennis Family

By: Jim Lederman

Salem State University has named Ken Hodgkins, the new men’s tennis coach.  Ken is a 2013 graduate.

Ken was captain, most valuable player and ‘Little East’ all-star player for the Vikings.

Ken returned to his alma mater, the Winthrop Vikings to coach the Lady Vikings tennis team in 2016 and 2017.

The Lady Vikings posted their best records in WHS girl’s history (11-4). In 2017 Ken was named coach of Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. Kenny coached the men’s team in the fall and the women’s team in the spring.

The Hodgkins family has two ex-Salem State captains who have graduated. Ken was captain and his brother Luke had the distinction of wearing the ‘C’ on his shirt.

Kenny will coach his young brother Noah, who will be a junior this year at Salem State. The little East Conference consists of UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, Bridgewater State, Southern Maine, Western Connecticut, Castleton in Vermont and Rhode Island College.

Ken is tennis co-ordinator for Winthrop Parks and Recreation this summer. Ken is a teacher’s aide at Revere High School.

“There is a special feeling, like going home,” said coach Ken.

Lift the Racquets!

Go, Vikings!

Let the Match Begin!

 

50 Games

With 42 games to go the odds are very much in favor of the (85-35) Boston Red Sox breaking the franchise record for wins of 105, set in 1946.

The record (as of Monday) is “50 games” over 500. All the Sox have to do is play .500 ball and go (21-21) In order to finish with 106 wins.

The Sox are now (10-2) in their last 12 series and have a dozen sweeps on the season. David Price (12-6) and Chris Sale (12-4) have been super in their last starts.

Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez rank first and second in the batting race. Martinez has 37 home runs and has a shot at 50!

The Sox have Ian Kinsler, Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez on the disabled list.

Let’s Go Sox!

Let The Games Begin!

 

First and 10

Are you ready for some football? The Patriots kicked off their four game exhibition schedule defeating the Washington Redskins (26-17).

The Patriots play host to the super bowl champions – the Philadelphia Eagles tonight (Thursday) at Gillette Stadium.

Two rookies – running back Ralph Webb (two touchdowns) rushed for 46 yards. Linebacker Jawhaun had six tackles and with the return of Dont’a Hightower and Deatrich Wise the defense should be stronger.

The return of Julian Edelman after his four-game suspension and the good health of Rob Gronkowski is the key to the offense.

Are you ready for some football?

Let’s Go, Patriots!

Let the Games Begin!

 

The Tiger is Back

Tiger Woods shot 64 for his lowest final round on Sunday at the PGH Championship at the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.

Bruce Koepka won the PGA and Tiger Woods finished second. The 28-year old from Florida won his second major in 2018.

Tiger has not won a major in 10 years. Koepka is ranked number two in the world.

When they pick the players for the Ryder Cup, I think Tiger Woods will be on the team.
I watched the four-day PGA Tournament and it was not decided until the final two holes.

The 42-year-old Woods should win a major in the next years.

 

Extra Points

“We love you Cooz – Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy is 90 years old. “The Cooz” turned 90 on Aug. 9. When they honored Cousy at the Garden – a fan shouted “We Love You Cooz.”

Joe Caponigro has been named Swampscott high school baseball coach. Joe was head coach at Lynn English for 14-years. He was an assistant to coach Frank DeFelice (2000-2004). Coach DeFelice won 450 games coaching the Big Blue. Caponigro is a Swampscott High 1978 graduate.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.