Sports

Notebook: Cosmos in coaching

By Tom Haley
Staff Writer
During a presentation monitored by Springfield High School Athletic Director Rich Saypack on Monday, Bill Murphy advanced his opinion that Springfield High might just have as large of a coaching tree as any school in the state.

Mike Hatt and Pete Peck, for starters, Springfield High’s boys and girls varsity basketball coaches, are Springfield graduates.

The branches spread all the way to Austin. Mike’s son Cody Hatt is a full-time assistant coach on the University of Texas men’s basketball team that is 7-1 and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference following its win over Oklahoma State the last time out.

Matt Trombley is the Hartford High head varsity football coach.

Lending more of a Springfield Cosmos flavor to Hartford, Jeff Thomas is the Hurricanes’ varsity boys basketball coach.

Jeff’s brother Donny Thomas also had a coaching fling in soccer.

Patty Porter Deschaine, an outstanding multi-sport at Springfield High, coaches field hockey across the Connecticut at Stevens High in Claremont.

Springfield High grad Andy Bladyka has successfully been pulling the strings in the Cosmos dugout for years.

Springfield alumnus Don Lorinovich won a state crown coaching the Montpelier High girls basketball team.

The legendary Bo Birsky won state crowns at Springfield High as a coach after playing for the Cosmos and his son Greg Birsky had a stint as Springfield’s American Legion baseball team.

Bo’s daughter Marybeth had great success at Brattleboro coaching the Colonels in softball.

Kim Watson Lewis stayed true to the Green & White after graduating by coaching the Cosmos girls tennis team.

Brian Rapanotti took the short trip down the road to Green Mountain Union High School where he is the coach of the Chieftains in boys varsity basketball.

Tony Stevens coached his alma mater’s varsity football team and then did some coaching up north.

Jeff Murchie coached the Comsos in soccer at one time.

The late Curt Dressel was a Cosmo great in his playing days as well as in his coaching career. The gym the Cosmos call home today is named for him.

Curtis Blake is best known as a college athletic director at Drake and Rider but also did some coaching in wrestling and track and field. He is named for Curt Dressel.

SHS graduate Chris Taft was a varsity basketball coach at Arlington Memorial High School.

Longtime Springfield teacher Ed Wilkins also did some coaching at his alma mater.

Dick Williams, once wore the Cosmos soccer uniform, but now pilots the Otter Valley boys varsity soccer team.

You can add Heather Hake Hartford, the lacrosse coach at Hartford High to the list.

And who can forget Dave Carr, a 1971 SHS graduate who went on to coach various soccer teams including the New Mexico Chiles, a professional franchise.

You can be certain there are many more, but you get the idea.

Springfield HOF

The next class for the Springfield High School Hall of Fame has been selected and Cosmos fans as well as many sports fans around the state will recognize many of the names.

The newest class is comprised of Gary Blodgett, Paula Bryant Snide, Dave Ginter, Jeff Gosselin, Tom Lovett, Chris Moulton, Nancy Nicolson, Kathy Westney Sullivan, Bernard “Peanuts” Kasparovich and Warren Walters.

The Valerio Family

Proctor had a great run with the Valerio siblings, starting with Alyssa. Then came Olivia and Isabel. The Phantoms lost the last one when baby Joe graduated last year.

They were all outstanding multi-sport athletes.

They might have gotten their passion from basketball from father Matt, but make no mistake, the lion’s share of those athletic genes came from mom.

Joanne Stockton was a soccer star in Canada, scoring an incredible 44 of her high school team’s 52 goals one season.

Her family moved to Shelburne and Stockton played for Rice before becoming a member of the first St. Michael’s College women’s soccer team in 1982.

The Valerio-Stockton family has strong ties to SMC with more than 20 members of the clan finding their way to the beautiful Colchester campus.

Matt and Joanne’s children broke with the tradition. Alyssa graduated from Providence. Olivia played basketball before graduating from Salve Regina and Isabel is playing soccer for the same school. Joe is just starting his journey at UConn.

tom.haley @rutlandherald.com

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