News

NCHS Athletic Director Calls for More Inter-Sport Support among Student-Athletes

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New Canaan High School’s athletic director said Monday night that he’d like to see more of the school’s athletes supporting fellow students who compete in matches and games in other sports. Jay Egan told members of the Board of Education at their regular meeting that he’s been at NCHS for a number of years and that inter-sport support “used to be more pronounced than it is now.”

“I think by coming up with some incentives and working with captains, to really get our athletes supporting each other more during their competitions would really be a good direction for us to move,” Egan said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. The comments came during a presentation in which Egan spotlighted outstanding Rams sports coaches Priscilla Schulz (girls’ golf) and Ben Young (boys’ tennis), reviewed athletics participation data, listed recent championships (state football, state boys swimming, state boys tennis and both county and state girls golf titles) and laid out Athletic Department goals for next academic year. Those will include improving the functionality of the Rams website, surveying athletes and parents after each sports season, developing a core values statement to integrate with all teams and seeing that more athletes support fellow athletes. Board of Ed member Maria Naughton said she was “surprised” that Egan had outlined that goal, “because I feel like the athletes are very supportive of each other.”

“And with some major percentage of our students in a sport, I am not sure how you can actually increase their presence,” she said.

News

New Canaan High School Celebrates Senior Athletes

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Graduating senior athletes and their families gathered Monday at New Canaan High School for the 36th Annual Varsity Senior Athletes’ Picnic & Athletic Awards. The event, which celebrates the achievements of seniors who participated in a varsity sport during their time at the high school, traditionally is held outdoors at Waveny, but was moved to the NCHS gymnasium this year due to weather concerns. With family members and coaches present, each senior athlete was awarded a plaque in recognition of his or her contribution. A handful of students received special honors, as follows:

Firstly, the Vin Iovino Scholarship Award was granted to field hockey star Mariana Ferreira, diving captain Katie Kushner, and football player Chris White. Named for former NCHS coach Vin Iovino, the scholarship is granted to senior athletes who exemplify the qualities of leadership, loyalty, and humility.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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A chipmunk has been darting into New Canaan Olive Oil this week when the door near Elm Street’s 50-yard-line is propped open. The staff at the shop has successfully ushered the small animal back out again. ***

New Canaan Police will enforce seatbelt use among local motorists with the department’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign, to run May 22 to June 4 at random checkpoints in town. ***

The New Canaan Land Trust has room for two more paid interns to work for the organization this summer. The Land Trust is looking for rising sophomores and juniors and pays $100 per week (for four days a week) for a 5-week summer resetting stonewalls, removing invasive plants, blazing trails, building wildlife habitat, doing research and learning about the land.

Government

‘It Started Getting Tough’: New Canaan Men’s Soccer Group Seeks Playing Time on Sports Fields

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A well-established men’s soccer group in New Canaan that’s seeking consistent access to the town’s playing fields is prompting parks officials to create a formal process for it and similar leagues. Led by officers including New Canaanites Jeff Walker and Grant Harshbarger, the men’s soccer group is more than 20 years old, counts 65 registered players, has its own insurance and is seeking to lock down two 2-hour sessions in the evening for what typically turn out to be 8-on-8 or 10-on-10 games, officials say. Town and district officials such as Recreation Director Steve Benko and New Canaan High School Athletic Director Jay Egan have been “generous about helping us get fields, but about three or four years ago it started getting tough,” Walker told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their most recent meeting. Joined by Harshbarger at the meeting, Walker said 40 of 65 players are New Canaan residents while the others are typically their family members or friends. “We used to be almost 90 percent New Canaan, but we have lost a lot of players to other towns’ programs that consistently set up times for fields,” Walker said at the meeting, held May 10 at Lapham Community Center.

News

Town Committee to NC Lax Association: Mandatory ‘Fields Usage Fee’ Is Separate from Your Generous Contribution To Dunning

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Though generous, New Canaan Lacrosse Association’s contribution to the re-turfing of Dunning Field cannot stand in or otherwise alter a mandatory fee that all youth sports organizations pay the town for the maintenance of athletic fields, officials said Monday. The volunteer committee that oversees youth sports in New Canaan at its regular meeting decided to defer to the Board of Selectmen on a request from the NCLA to waive a mandatory $20 per-player, per-season fee for fields maintenance. Lacking a quorum, the Youth Sports Committee stopped short of a formal vote on the matter at its regular meeting. Yet committee members said they’re unconvinced by the NCLA’s reasoning that a $100,000 contribution to the Dunning that drained its resources means the organization may forego paying the “fields usage fee” until its funds are replenished. “They are separate issues,” committee member Sally Campbell said at the meeting, held in Lapham Community Center.