The annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl hosted its introduction meeting on Sunday, March 11th at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. At the meeting, the Vermont and New Hampshire high school football players that were selected got a chance to meet with their coaches and teammates for the Shrine game and also learned about the history of the now 65th annual game.
When Greg Balch, head coach of football at Windsor High School and head coach of the Vermont team, took the stage, he had this to say: “All of the football players and all of the parents… you should be very honored to be a part of this football game. I feel very privileged to be able to coach you. The selection committee spent hundreds of hours looking at your game film and deciding who we want to select for this game.”
Coach Balch’s son, Seth Balch (QB/DB) from Windsor, is also participating in the Shrine game for Vermont. On the game, he said, “Pretty much I’ve been to most of the Shrine games for the last ten years or so and I remember growing up saying maybe I can play in the Shrine game.”
Another player from Windsor, Dakota Page (WR/DB), also had some wise words when asked how it felt to be selected: “I think it’s special to be able to play in the game that you’ve watched for so long and you watched all of your role models play. That’s definitely special to me.”
On the New Hampshire side, Aidan Cahill (OL) from Stevens High School had this to say: “It’s really cool. It was really exciting to find out that I made the team. It’s a great cause. Just to see how it affects kids who are born without the ability to do certain things and how it gives them opportunities to do that.” Stevens’ Nick Stone (OL) also chimed in, saying, “It was a very good feeling being selected for such a charitable event.”
Approximately 200 players from Vermont and New Hampshire have been nominated by their respective head coaches. The screening committees, chaired by the two head coaches have selected these local players among the teams.
Vermont players
Windsor: Seth Balch, DB/QB. Ben Meagher, DE/OL. Dakota Page, DB/WR. Jake Tucker, LB/RB.
Bellows Falls: Shane Clark, DB/RB. Logan Cota, DB/WR/QB. Jared Zobkiw, DT/OL.
New Hampshire players
Fall Mountain:Chris Bashaw, LB.
Stevens: Aidan Cahill, OL., Nick Stone, OL.
With under 6 months before game day, the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl continues to actively focus on fundraising for the world’s greatest philanthropy, that of supporting children in need at our Shrine hospitals. The game contributes to three hospitals in our area; Shriners orthopedic hospitals in Springfield, MA, Montreal Quebec in Canada and our world-renowned Burns Hospital in Boston, MA.
The Shrine Game has raised thousands of dollars over the past 64-years for the support of Shrine Hospitals and is sponsored by the Cairo Shriner Center in Rutland, VT and the Mt. Sinai Shriner Center in Montpelier, VT. The Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Board of Governors is extremely pleased to have such talented, dedicated and self-motivated individuals as the two 2017 head coaches.
During the meeting, there was a presentation by a 12-year-old girl named Christina and her mother, in which they showed how the money raised in the game was used to help her get a prosthetic arm. Here is a little about Christina:
Christina was born left arm limb deficient and is a girl who knows no limits or boundaries who has been a patient at Shriners Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts since the age of six months. She lives in New Hampshire with her older sister and parents. She keeps busy with her extracurricular sports and academics. When she is not running, golfing or alpine downhill skiing with her family, she loves to read books. Christina is a National Junior Olympic Cross Country runner. She has qualified to run at the US Junior Olympic Nationals for the last three years, competing nationally in South Carolina, New Mexico and Alabama. This fall, she is hoping to run in her first long-distance race.
Christina has recently taken up golf. She works with a coach and a professional golf instructor that guide her in learning the skills and rules of the game. She absolutely loves playing golf with her new prosthetic arm from Shriners Hospital. She is excited to join her seventh grade golf team. Christina was recently chosen as one of the 22 patient ambassadors throughout the country to represent Shriners Hospital at a PGA golf tournament, where she will serve as a standard bearer throughout the weekend, carrying the scores of professional golfers as they compete in the tournament. It’s a rare behind-the-scenes opportunity at the PGA Tour, as well as a chance to share how Shriners Hospitals have helped transform her life for the better.
New Hampshire head coach, Patrick Riberdy from Winnisquam Regional High School, was quoted during his meeting with his new players as saying, “This a great opportunity for you guys from a football standpoint, but at the end of the day, we want you guys to have fun playing for a great cause.”
The summer classic is schedule to be played Saturday, August 4, 2018 on Spartan Field at Castleton University, Castleton, VT at 5:30 p.m. The pageantry of the parade for the game will be starting at 3:30 p.m.
By Kameron Towle, sports editor
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