Sports 03-23-2016

Refelections on great season for Revere High girls hoop

By Maritza Scott

Revere girls basketball came into this season with a pretty solid group of girls. We had finished the previous year 17-5, losing to Billerica in the second round of the playoffs and we were ready for more.

We started off the 2015-16 season with 7 straight wins before our loss to Swampscott. “The Swampscott game was a huge turning point for us. It made us realize that we can’t walk on every court and expect to win,” senior captain Ally Hinojosa stated. “We need to work harder everyday if we want to win.” There is no doubt in any of our minds that we wished we had played harder. However quickly moving on from the loss, we responded better with a win over Medford, a former GBL rival.

The team had four strong seniors who had brought a lot to the table. Adanna Hector, Natasha Iacoviello, Ally Hinojosa and myself, Maritza Scott. We were all outstanding leaders on and off the court. There’s no question in whether or not the seniors had played a huge role in the season but some underclassmen stepped up and brought heat as well.

Sophomore guard, Pamela Gonzalez, averaging about 12 points a game really stepped up offensive and defensively. She was a leading scorer and always had a smile on her face no matter what the situation was. Another big contribution to Revere’s successful season was sophomore center, Valentina Pepic. She  averaged 19 points per game and was a big presence in the paint. Many people spoke highly of her, including her teammate Gonzalez. “Valentina is a great, hard working player and she deserved getting MVP.”

Our team started the season with many goals which we all hung up in our lockers as a reminder of why we had 8am Sunday practices. “Our main goal was to get to the Garden. We got pretty close and we played together well, I just feel like we could’ve been better.” Pamela Gonzalez always felt like there was some improving to do.

We Lady Patriots went deep into the tournament, knocking out some tough teams. “I think the tournament was a huge accomplishment for our team since we were the first girls basketball team to ever make it that far.” Freshman Emily DiGiulio was very excited to have been a part of such a talented group of girls. We had a big win against the number 1 seed, Lowell, to advance to the Division 1 North finals.

It was Saturday March 12 that we lost to the Woburn Tanners in the finals. It was a sad ending considering how far and how hard we all worked but it was a good loss. Some comments included, “I think the whole team put everything we had into the game… It just came down to them [Woburn] scoring more points than we did.” “The Woburn game was upsetting and I think we could’ve played better as a whole. We couldn’t finish and it was the little mistakes that cost us the game.”

Despite the loss in the finals to Woburn, every single player left that court happy knowing they made history in our city. We became more of a family than a team. “We’ve all been playing together since we were little. We have so much chemistry from not only being teammates but from being best friends off the court.” Pepic says she wouldn’t have wanted to go as far with anyone else.

Maritza Scott is a senior at Revere High School and played on the Revere High School Girls Basketball team.

Strength Gaine

Pope John adds a big name to its administration

By Cary Shuman

The name is the biggest there is in Massachusetts high school athletics, one that is instantly recognizable by anyone who has played or coached interscholastic sports in the past 35 years.

Yes, Bill Gaine III is the proud son of Bill Gaine Jr., the current executive director of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and one of the founders of the organization.

Bill Gaine III is in his first year as the director of athletics at Pope John XXIII High School in Everett, who is coming off a superb run in the MIAA State Basketball Tournament with both teams reaching the North sectional final. Gaine, 33, has made the transition from the private sector to sports which he describes as “one of my passions.”

Thomas Mahoney, principal at Pope John, an alumnus of Pope John and Boston College, and a longtime booster of BC sports teams, is happy to have Gaine on board.

“We’re very pleased and excited to have Bill at the helm of our athletic program,” said Mahoney. “He is a tremendous asset to our school and we look forward to Bill continuing to have a positive impact on our student-athletes.”

Gaine grew up in Ashland and excelled in football, hockey, and baseball at Ashland High School. In his senior year (2000) Gaine was the All-Star catcher and captain of the state champion Ashland team that finished with a 24-2 record.

He continued his baseball career at Westfield State College, receiving his degree in Communications in 2004. He moved to San Diego and worked in the mortgage industry before returning home to work for Josten’s, the leading manufacturer of school rings and yearbooks.

During visitations to high schools while working for Josten’s, Gaine said his interest in interscholastic athletics was rekindled in a big way.

Gaine began coaching baseball at Keefe Tech in Framingham and later at Mount Hope High School in Rhode Island before becoming the baseball coach at Pope John in 2015. He was appointed director of athletics at Pope John at the start of the 2015-16 year.

Gaine understands his family’s outstanding legacy  and the high esteem in which his father is held statewide. He is incorporating his father’s principles and values in his administration of the Pope John program.

“I’ve learned everything from my dad – character, how to conduct yourself like a gentleman on the field, sportsmanship, leadership, and how to hold yourself with this honor and respect in treating people the way they should be treated on and off the field. My father is an honorable, principled, noble guy. And he taught me hard work. That’s the big thing – work ethic.”

Bill Gaine III is putting his own imprint on Pope John’s athletic program that has ten varsity sports including cheerleading. He has hired two new coaches, James White in boys volleyball and Michelle Zullo in softball. White is a graduate student at Harvard while Zullo is a former star pitcher at Everett High School and UMass/Boston.

 Among Gaine’s goals is reinstituting varsity football and ice hockey in the athletic program. He is also a physical education teacher and admissions counselor at the school that has an enrollment of 250 students.  The school will start an eighth grade program in the fall.

“I would love to leave my legacy here,” said Gaine. “This a great school building. We have a great location. We draw a lot of kids from the nearby communities. The success of our boys and girls basketball teams didn’t surprise me. We have two terrific coaches, Matt Karakoudas and Jake Feraco, who are great at motivating the kids. Pope John has a bright future and I look forward to being a part of the school’s continuing growth and vitality.”

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