Youth and High School Sports in Walpole, Massachusetts
Archive for July, 2010
Junior Gut Camp to start up again in Walpole
July 9, 2010
Read the entire article on the Wicked Local Walpole website:
The Walpole Recreation Department and Walpole High School Rebels Football Coach Barry Grenier are teaming up to offer any children from grades five through eight a program called, Junior Gut Camp, which will run monthly and weekly at the Walpole High School.
The Junior Gut Camp was a town favorite four years ago and Coach Grenier thought it imperative to bring back to the public. This popular program helps the youth athletes improve flexibility and strengthen major and minor muscle groups. The children will be working on agility and speed improvements, increase endurance through constant movement and, most importantly focus on injury prevention through proper preparation.
The Walpole High School Rebels Football Team take part in their own gut camp every summer and last year their team had a 98 percent of non-injuries.
“Safety is our main goal,” Said Coach Grenier, when speaking of the junior gut camp. “We work on neck, knees and shoulders – I don’t ever want to see a kid in a cast or a wheel chair and whatever we can do before hand to help prevent that the better.” The philosophy of the junior …
Legion: Walpole batters District 6 West pitching
July 9, 2010
Read the entire article on the Wicked Local Walpole website:
It’s been a long time since a Walpole American Legion team has bashed the ball the way Post 104 was last week.
Despite the fact the guys were in the middle of a stretch of nine games in nine days, they had little trouble swinging for the fences in all four games they played from Friday to Monday.
In fact the only one of the four games in which they didn’t have a home run, Franklin, outfielder Troy Salvatore was robbed of one by left fielder Jake O’Rourke, who had to crash through the fence in order to keep Sal from hitting one.
Over the four other games, the locals averaged almost 17 runs a game, beginning with Friday’s 14-0 whitewashing of Canton, in which Tom Ryan pitched one of his best games ever.
Ryan got all the support he needed in the first as Jonny Kelley belted a homer that gave Walpole a 4-0 lead. The hit followed …
Legion ball: Post 104 back in first place
July 9, 2010
Read the entire article on the Wicked Local Walpole website:
American Legion Post 104 literally decimated two opponents in games last weekend en route to grabbing first place in District 6 West, but it was the nail-biter they sandwiched that told the story of how far back the locals have come after a brief swoon the week before.
That game, played in Franklin Saturday, was pivotal not only to the standings but Walpole’s peace of mind, as the locals built a 4-1 lead, only to have Post 75 tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, sending it into extra innings.
If Franklin was able to complete the comeback and steal a win it could have done psychological damage to a young team still learning from its mistakes.
Instead, in an impressive display of base running Pat “Caillou” Falvey was the one who literally stole the game, scoring the game-winner in the top of the eighth without benefit of a hit.
Falvey started his grand tour of the diamond …
WLL: Dodgers capture Walpole Little League title
July 9, 2010
Read the entire article on the Wicked Local Walpole website:
Not to say that Coach Gene Levanchy is a prophet, but it is interesting that he and his wife decided their middle son would be christened Jack over 12 years ago.
Not John, just Jack. As in “Ortiz just jacked another one out of here, giving the Red Sox a walk-off win.”
While oldest son Matt seemed to have gotten the speed and has made an impressive name for himself with line drive hits, 12-year-old Jack Lavanchy has become Walpole Little League’s premiere power hitter at the Majors level.
That power certainly has come in handy for the Dodgers, the team coached by Gene, Tom Quinn and John Morris this year.
Of course Lavanchy’s power numbers are only a part of the story for the Dodgers, who finished first in the regular season with a 16-5 record, and then swept the playoffs to win the 2010 championship.
The Dodgers combined fearsome hitting up and down the line-up, deep pitching and excellent fielding to gain the title. Even more impressive is that the team is not comprised mainly of 12-year-olds …
Walpole dominates Babe Ruth League
July 9, 2010
Read the entire article on the Wicked Local Walpole website:
The Walpole Babe Ruth League includes teams from Norfolk, Wrentham, Millis and Plainville, but after looking at the standings this year, someone from Walpole might not notice it at all.
Walpole dominated the league so much, that all five local teams finished first through fifth in the final standings, and four of those teams were playing in the playoffs final four.
How dominant was Walpole? The town’s five teams took five of 13 places in the standings, with a combined record of 48-16-6. Altogether, they outscored their opponents 656-365, including the games in which the last four teams lost to first-place Walpole-1, which went unbeaten.
The worst run differential of any of the five Walpole teams was posted by fifth-place Walpole-4, which ended the season 8-5-1. Walpole-4 outscored its opponents by 32, while the best run differential outside Walpole was turned in by seventh-place Wrentham-2, which outscored its foes by only eight runs.
How dominant was Walpole? Eventual playoff champion Walpole-5 beat Walpole-3 in the semifinal only 2-0, and had to play 16 innings before defeating Walpole-1 in the championship …
