Thursday, April 30, 2020

Hockomock League Announces Winter All-Stars 2019-20

Jonathan Chery
The Hockomock League recently announced its official All-Star teams for the winter 2019-20 season.  As usual, many Bulldogs were honored amongst this talented group of student athletes from throughout the League.

Several teams earned League/Divisional titles and Sportsmanship honors as well.

Girls Basketball-
Team earned 2nd place in the Sportsmanship Award
All-Stars- Sydney Gallery, Kiara Cerruti, Honorable Mention- Fay Gallery

Boys Basketball-
All-Stars- Eric Mischler, Honorable Mention- Nick Cushman

Girls Swimming- 
Alexa Maffeo
Hockomock Davenport Champions!
All-Stars- Shanua Harney, Jessica Hart, Honorable Mention- Brianna Gilchrest

Boys Swimming-
Team earned 2nd place in the Sportsmanship Award
All-Stars- Javier Ferstler, Matthew Thompson, Honorable Mention- Ben Guerini

Girls Indoor Track-
All-Stars- Bronwyn Mahoney, Honorable Mention- Kayla Wong

Boys Indoor Track-
All-Stars- Jonathan Chery, Zach Goldstein, Junior Sainvil, Cam Sanchez, De'Yontai Dennis Honorable Mention- Kyle Downing

Gymnastics- 
Team earned 2nd place in the Sportsmanship Award
All-Star Honorable Mention- Emily MacKay
Johnny Hagan- MVP

Wrestling- 
All-Stars- Eddie Marinilli, Honorable Mention- Zack Peters

Girls Hockey- 
Hockomock Davenport Champions!
Hockomock Sportsmanship Award Winners!
All-Stars- Lizzie Tassinari, Alexa Maffeo, Olivia Maffeo, Meg Aldrich, Honorable Mention- Carolyn Durand

Boys Hockey- 
Hockomock Davenport Champions!
Hockomock Sportsmanship Award Winners!
All-Stars- Johnny Hagan (MVP), Chris Lavoie, Jock Connolly, Owen Lehane, Honorable Mention- Ronan O'Mahoney

Click Here for Boston Globe All-Scholastic Blog Entry.







Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Phaneuf heading to Providence College Cheer

Phaneuf in action at Gillette Stadium
The CHS Athletic Office is happy to announce that Nicole Phaneuf- class of 2020- has committed to attending Providence College in the fall and will be joining the Friar Cheer team where she will be cheering for the Mens Basketball team and participating in at least one NCAA cheer competition.

Phaneuf has been a key member of the Canton High School competition cheer team for both the fall and winter seasons for all four of her years her at CHS. She has served as captain this year, leading her teams through very successful seasons.  Coach Stephanie Parker had this to say about her four-year star heading to PC-

"Nicole has been an integral part of the team's successes this year- never missing a practice or game, always with the team's best interest at heart and wanting to be better. She is an outstanding leader, kind young woman and a strong advocate for her teammates. I am so proud of all of her accomplishments and to have been her coach. I cannot wait to see hier hit the mat at PC and cheer her on!"
Phaneuf with her coach and parents

Aside from excelling in cheer at CHS, Phaneuf has made her mark in many other areas including serving on the Board of Directors for the Canton Character Crew, Link Leader, and is also a member of the National Honor Society.

Phaneuf joins a long list of members of the CHS class of 2020 in taking her athletic skills to the collegiate level next fall. Keep an eye out on this blog for more info in the coming weeks about more of our college-bound student athletes!

Congratulations Nicole!






Friday, April 24, 2020

Final Statement on Spring Sports Season- 4-24-2020

An empty Walsh Softball Field at CHS in mint condition.
With the announcement by Governor Baker on Tuesday that schools will remain closed and operate remotely for the remainder of the school/academic year, comes the sad reality that our 2020 Spring interscholastic athletic season will not take place. The following bullets provide some information around this decision.
  • Today, the MIAA officially announced the cancelation of the spring season- regular and tournament. Click here for a press-release from the MIAA.
  • We are currently working on how to best wrap up the 2019-20 Bulldog athletic year.  Our coaches all care so much for their players and everyone wants to make sure the appropriate closure takes place, particularly for members of the class of 2020. 
  • We will soon be making information available on the awarding of varsity letters for the spring 2020 season. 
  • As we are in uncharted waters, please feel free to reach out to the CHS Athletics office with questions, thoughts, etc. during this time. I can be reached via email.  ericksond@cantonma.org
A personal note from the AD
In looking back at a history of CHS Athletics, I am unable to find any instance of this ever happening in our past -- ever. My research is basic as I have checked out old CHS yearbooks, etc, but at least since the WWII era, I can find no time when our Bulldogs were unable to participate in a sport season. If anyone with a longer history than me can provide any evidence to the contrary, I will stand corrected. But for now, I assume that what our spring student athletes are experiencing, in losing their season, is completely unprecedented.

As a fellow Bulldog for my entire life, I know that I can speak for Bulldogs everywhere -- and from every era -- in saying that we are all with our Spring 2020 student athletes.  We stand with you.  We feel for you. We are in awe of your resilience. We can all TRY to empathize with you, but in reality, we can only imagine what it must be like to have one of your passions taken away from you. 

Whenever asked, I have always said that the greatest lessons that high school sports can provide are around how we can handle setback and adversity. Well..game on.  This group of hundreds of Bulldog student athletes have been dealt a major, unthinkable set-back -- the complete loss of one of their precious seasons of play.  It is so difficult to see today, but this will ultimately be a defining moment. It will impact each and every one of you and forge who you are and will be. I would never wish this set-back on any of our Bulldogs, but this is the moment we are in.  So in this moment, lean in on another value of sports -- TEAM.  Although you and your teammates are apart -- in many ways -- you have never been closer, as you are all going through this together.  The mark that our spring 2020 teams will leave behind at CHS will be powerful and profound.  Your season that wasn't will certainly provide all future Bulldogs with an unshakable appreciation of what we have.

Thank you 2020 Spring Bulldogs.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Guest Blogger- Trainer Kristen- Posture

Athletic Training Blog Series #8
Home Office/School Posture

All of a sudden we are all faced with working and learning from home, and away from the traditional desk spaces to which we are all accustomed. So before we all develop hunchbacks, carpal tunnel, and neck pain, I thought I would share a few tidbits on how to best set up your space to avoid injury.
Everyone has the tendency to slouch when sitting for long periods of time, this is why standing desks have become popular in many office settings giving employees the opportunity to vary their days between sitting and standing. Since that is most likely not an option at home, here are some quick ideas for your space:
  • Knees and Hips should be at 90°. Feet Flat on the floor
  • Desk/Table Height should allow forearms and wrists to lie flat 
  • Screen should have 10-20° of tilt, and be 15”-20” away from you
  • Keep shoulders square-think of holding a pencil between your shoulder blades
Some other tips:
  • Avoid Eye strain by staking screen breaks to look at items 20’ or so away
  • Get up and move! When  your fitbit or apple watch buzz it means you’ve been in one place too long. Do some jumping jacks, or take a lap around the house. It will help refocus too
  • Set a schedule and allow yourself breaks. 
  • Stretch regularly
  • Reward yourself for jobs well done
  • Eat Healthy snacks
  • Work when your most motivated
  • Get outside in your yards when the weather allows. 
  • Listen to music


Stay Healthy and Well!!!

Monday, April 20, 2020

Guest Blogger- Trainer Kristen- Exercise Induced Asthma?

Athletic Training Blog Series
Is It Exercise Induced Asthma or Paradoxical Vocal Cord Dysfunction?

Mr. Erickson and I received an email back in December (man does that feel like a million years ago) from a parent of an athlete from a different town about this very topic, so now seems like a great time to explain the differences of these two syndromes.
Exercise Induced Asthma is a narrowing of the airways in the lungs caused by strenuous exercise. It causes shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and other symptoms during or after exercise. The prefered term is Exercise Induced Bronchoconstriction as it differs from the root causes of Asthma. Many athletes are still able to participate in their chosen activity while taking preventative measures, and alleviating symptoms with common asthma medications such as Albuterol or Pro Air.
Paradoxical Vocal Cord Dysfunction (PVCD) is the abnormal closing of the vocal cords when you breathe out. It also can be triggered by strenuous exercise, allergies, environmental irritants and upper respiratory infections. The symptoms are identical to asthma. However with PVCD asthma medications do not work to alleviate the symptoms.  So how can they diagnose the difference? There are a few differences that you and your MD should take note of:
  • Harder to breathe out when symptoms flare
  • Asthma medications don’t work
  • Typical Asthma/Breathing tests are normal, or only show minimal changes
  • Tightness tends to be in the throat versus the chest in asthmatics
Now that you have the diagnosis-how should you treat PVCD? Exercises focusing on the breathing technique are the way to go. Each athlete has to learn to be self aware of his/her breathing. Then re-training to use diaphragmatic breathing during exercise. Visualization also helps. Focusing on keeping the throat/airway as wide as he/she can during rapid breathing. All exercises start in a supine (lying down) position and progress to sitting, then standing, walking, then finally running. It is a re-training of the neuromuscular system, and how the systems react to exercise. 

If you think this describes your experience with asthma-please let me know, there are several local people who specialize in this. I have also included below a link to one such person that was included in that email from way back when, and more informational links as well.

Stay Healthy.


Friday, April 17, 2020

Guest Blogger- Trainer Kristen- Turf Toe

Athletic Training Blog Series #7
Turf Toe

We’ve all heard it. Some professional football player (most famously Antonio Gates) does not suit up on a Sunday because they have Turf Toe-and it ends up sidelining them for weeks. It’s just a toe, right? How can it be such an issue that he can’t play? 
In simple terms Turf Toe is a sprain of the joint of the big toe at the ball of your foot. In fancier terms it is a sprain of the MTP joint (Metatarsal Phalanx) and the structures surrounding it. Turf Toe is caused when the MTP joint is forced into extreme hyperextension, such as being on your toes and pushing a lineman back, or taking off out of the blocks running track. 
It got the name Turf Toe when NFL teams began playing on Astroturf (grass rug on cement) because many players developed it as the surface had very little give in comparison to grass fields, or today’s field turf fields with 7 or 8 layers of substances under the “grass”. 
Turf toe can be treated fairly easily once diagnosed. Typically it presents with pain in the MTP joint area. There can also be swelling, and limited motion. Turf toe could cause you to change how you are walking. The best thing, like for many injuries is rest. Ice is also helpful in reducing pain. Once the pain has begun to subside, and range of motion has returned, there is a fairly simple taping that can provide extra support to allow you to return to sport safely.
Like any injury it takes some people longer than others to heal. If you speak up early, the chances of quick recovery are much greater.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Bulldogs honored as Globe All-Scholastics

This blog does not always share news of our regional newspaper All-Scholastic team announcements, but given the abrupt end to the winter season, I wanted to make sure that nobody missed this great news!

Four of our Bulldogs were honored by The Boston Globe the past weekend when the newspaper officially announced their All-Scholastic recipients:

Girls Hockey Freshman Phenom Olivia Maffeo was named to the Girls Hockey All-Scholastic squad. If you caught any of our games this past winter and saw her on the ice you would fully understand how this 9th grader rose to the very top of the Massachusetts high school game.  Joining her on this elite team is Bulldog Girls Hockey net-minder Carolyn Durand- also a freshman.  Durand was the backbone of the CHS defense this year. Yes- that's two 9th grade Girls Hockey Globe All-Scholastics. Amazing!
Click Here to view the entire Boston Globe All-Scholastic Girls Hockey team. 

Boys Hockey Senior Johnny Hagan was not only named to the Boys Hockey All-Scholastic team, but was also recognized as the D2 Player of the Year by the Globe.  When you watch Johnny skate into the open ice you can see that he is at a level that is very rare and special.  He has been a great Champion at CHS over the past several years.
Click Here to view the entire Boston Globe All-Scholastic Boys Hockey team.

CHS Indoor and Spring Track Coach Anna Amico was honored with the D4 Indoor Track Boys Coach of the Year by the Globe.  Amico- a CHS graduate- has been at the helm of the Bulldog track programs for the past 6 years. She is also a coach with our State Championship Volleyball program.
Click Here to view the entire Boston Globe All-Scholastic Boys Indoor Track team (with COY winners).

News and Updates around the Spring Athletic Season- 4-12-2020

Hello Bulldogs everywhere.  I hope you are well during this challenging time. I hope all of our student athletes are finding ways to grow during this hiatus from our normal routines. It's not easy, but a Championship Mindset applies now more than ever.  It's not easy to train when nobody is watching you work, but that is our challenge now and that is what Champions do.

Below is an update on the planned spring season.  There has been some communication put out by both the MIAA and the Hockomock League that help to shape what the spring season may look like.  Here are the key points as of today:

1. As has been the case from the start of the Covid-19 impact, all of this information is subject to changes based on further actions by Federal, State, Local and School officials.

2. Tryouts/Practices are scheduled to begin upon our anticipated return-to-school date of May 4th. That's less than 3-weeks away!  As that date approaches, we will share a blog entry about details concerning each sport.

3. Sometime in the coming weeks, we will be re-opening the registration window for the spring.  Details around registering for the first time or un-registering, as well as User Fee info will be made available at that time.

4. All Spring Sports Schedules are now posted on the Canton High School page on the MIAA website, on the MIAA app or on our schedule page on our website. See links below.

5. There will be an MIAA Tournament that will culminate in Sectional Champions from around the state. Details can be found in the MIAA links below.

6. The first contests of the season will be played on Monday, May 11th.

7. At a recent MIAA Board of Directors meeting an earlier decision around waiving the physical rule for student eligibility was put on hold. Although we understand that many students will struggle to get an up-to-date physical exam (within 13 months) as of now, the rule stands. Please do NOT go to extremes to get a physical at this time. We are hopeful that the rule will once again be waived. We will keep you posted.

8. We are continuing to prepare in every way possible for a spring season. We want our Bulldogs back in action as soon as is possible and safe.

9. If you have any questions regarding CHS Athletics, please feel free to reach out via email- ericksond@cantonma.org.

Important/Informational Links:

CHS Athletic Team Schedules Page

Hockomock League statement on Spring Schedules

Most Recent MIAA Board of Directors meeting notes












Guest BLOGGER- Coach Hughes- PLT4M

What is PLT4M and How Does It Work?


Two years ago when the conversation of improving strength and conditioning at Canton High School started, one of the first thoughts revolved around, “How do we get all of our student-athletes and students at Canton High School unified in their efforts to improve overall strength and conditioning?”  As this conversation grew the idea of utilizing an app-based and online program called PLT4M (platform) became intertwined with how we would accomplish helping all of our students and student-athletes gain traction and provide high quality consistency in their training and overall fitness. 

 PLT4M is a program that I had the pleasure of learning about and using while at a previous school where I worked with the creators of the program.  Through that connection I knew that it would be a tremendous fit at Canton for what we were attempting to do with increasing the consistency and availability of high quality and impactful workouts for Canton High School.  

So what is PLT4M?  PLT4M is an online, app-based program that we use with all of our fitness classes and sports teams at Canton High.  This program allows me as Head Strength and Conditioning coach and as a wellness teacher to program workout programs specific to what students and sports teams specifically need in order to grow and be successful.  This program is one that is provided and paid for by our athletics and wellness departments that services our entire student population. We currently have 752 active accounts out of our 1,000 available accounts. Our goal with this program is to ensure that every student at Canton High School has an account that they can access for either wellness class or for their sports team.  Once students have access to an account, they can download the free app and log-in to their account. On their account, they have direct access to custom fit workout programs for their specific needs whether if it is generalized fitness or a sport specific workout that targets direct needs for the sports they play.

As students and student-athletes access their workouts, they find and locate the workout program they are working on and select the workout they need for that specific day and select “Start Workout”.  Once the workout is started a timer starts timing the duration of the workout and the exercises completed. This feature is not only beneficial to the student or student-athlete but it is also beneficial to the teacher or coach for that particular student.  As exercises and workouts are completed, a coach or teacher can see on their “Coach” app who has completed workouts, how long it took, and when they completed them as well as how many workouts have been completed in a selected time frame. This feature not only promotes great consistency but even greater accountability for students and student-athletes while working out.  

One additional benefit to having PLT4M is that while it promotes accountability and consistency, it also brings a great deal of flexibility for workouts to be completed.  A great example is to imagine that a student-athlete is working out during the summer and has been attending workouts with their team for most of the summer like their coach has promoted them to do.  At some point we acknowledge that everyone goes away or goes on vacation. This is where PLT4M flexes its flexible muscle so to speak! If and when students or student-athletes are going to be out of town, they still have access to their PLT4M app on their phone and can continue to work and make progress on their custom workout plan so that they are not simply taking a week off.  This feature is one of the many great benefits to having PLT4M at Canton is that it allows for the instances in which someone may not be able to attend a workout session at the school. Our first and primary option that we want EVERY student and student-athlete to take advantage of is the FREE state of the art facilities we have at Canton High School and to come and workout with their friends and teammates to build chemistry and have a sense of belonging at Canton High with their peers.  

Along with providing high quality and custom workout plans to all individuals, PLT4M also has other great features like an exercise vault full of video descriptions and progress tracking through workouts.  Within each workout, all exercises that students view carry with them an explanation video, all the sets and reps they need to complete, and the weights or resistance they need to use. This ensures that all students and student-athletes are performing safe, fundamentally sound, and appropriate exercises, sets, and repetitions throughout all of their workouts.

PLT4M in conjunction with the two state of the art fully equipped training room facilities we have at Canton provide all of our students and student-athletes with the greatest training experience they could possibly ask for at ABSOLUTELY NO COST!  It only takes getting a PLT4M account and being committed to showing up consistently to get a full and impactful experience through strength and conditioning at Canton! If your student has an account it is worth the time to sit down and look through it with them to see all of the great features it offers to our students.  If your student needs an account, it’s FREE and all you have to do is email and ask.  

Please check out the links below to get a view of how PLT4M works at Canton and all of the great offerings it has for your student.

NOTE from the AD-  Special shout out and thank you to the CHS Athletic Booster Club and to the Scott Herr Foundation for their continued support of our Herr Training Centers. 







Monday, April 13, 2020

Guest BLOGGER- Trainer Kristen- Pantar Fasciitis

Athletic Training Blog Series #6
Plantar Fasciitis

So going on daily walks or runs to curb the quarantine crazy and now your foot/heel is in pain? You are probably developing Plantar Fasciitis. It is very common, and luckily something that can be treated with easy things at home. 
Plantar Fasciitis is inflammation of the fascia (thick band of tissue that runs from the base of the heel to the ball of the foot). It is a stabbing pain that typically occurs during the first steps of the morning and gradually gets better once you are moving around for a bit. It can then come back after long periods of standing, or after you get up from binging an entire series of something on Netflix. It is more common in runners. It also can be caused by wearing shoes without appropriate support, or worn out shoes.

Some risk factors for Plantar Fasciitis:
  • Age- more common in the 40-60 age group
  • Obesity
  • Occupations that keep you on your feet for long hours
  • Certain types of exercise-
    • Distance running
    • Ballet
    • Aerobic Dance
  • Foot Mechanics
    • Flat Feet
    • High Arches
    • Abnormal walking pattern
So how should we treat this? This can take a couple of months to resolve, so we have to play the slow long game. One of my personal favorite things to help with Plantar Fasciitis is to freeze a water bottle (poland springs or the like) and use it to roll the bottom of your foot. Do this a couple of times a day. Stretching is also of the utmost importance. There are a couple of stretches that will really help. The first is to stretch your foot itself. Using your hand pull your toes into flexion (like you are standing tip toe). Next up is calf stretching to help the Achilles tendon. There are 2 main muscles in the calf- the Gastrocnemius and the Soleus. My personal favorite stretch for these two muscles are similar but isolate differently. Use the wall/door frame/stair/fence post and place your foot up against it as seen in the photo below (this stretches the Gastrocnemius).
Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Make sure to do both in the morning and in the evening before bed. The way to stretch the Soleus is exactly the same except you will bend the front knee slightly.
There are some other things to keep in mind with Plantar Fasciitis. As with any pain and inflammation NSAIDS (Advil, Ibuprofen, Naproxen etc) can be helpful, but be mindful of dosing and how often you are medicating because these medications can have long term effects. Get new sneakers. Sneaker soles are good for 6 months or 500 miles before they break down. Adjust your activity-maybe instead of running or walking, get on the bicycle that’s been collecting dust and go for a ride.
If these do not seem to help a visit to the MD may be called for to rule out stress fractures or worsening tears in the Plantar Fascia.