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.

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!

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.

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!!!

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.

https://speechandvoicetherapycenter.com/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/exercise-induced-asthma/symptoms-causes/syc-20372300

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/expert-answers/vocal-cord-dysfunction/faq-20058019

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC164364/

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.

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).