News

Youth Girls Lax: NC 6 Red Outlast Westport 8-7 in Rain

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—submitted by Darleen Ferraro

Not only did NC Grade 6 Red drench Westport on Saturday, May 13th, winning 8-7, the fields, fans, coaches and refs got drenched too. The girls decided to let the rain work in their favor as they took charge of the wet field from the very moment the whistle blew to start the game. Katherine O’Connell must have had on her “lucky” green raincoat since she dominated the field and took away 2 goals for the day and 2 assists. Polly Parsons-Hills also effortlessly took the field by storm by scoring two goals. Shawna Ferraro and Stella Nolan helped lead the team to a victory with each scoring a goal and having an assist.

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.

News

Youth Sports Roundup: Wins for New Canaan Soccer, Baseball, Lax Teams

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Lacrosse

Grade 6 Red Girl’s Lacrosse Take Control Over Ridgefield

—submitted by Darleen Ferraro

The sun may not have been out, but that didn’t stop the Grade 6 Red team on their first game of the season as they took a 9-4 victory over Ridgefield 6 Black on Saturday, April 22, 2017. The rain came down but the score kept going up as Stella Nolan and Caroline Underwood led the goal scoring with 3 goals each. Shawna Ferraro, Ella Imbruce and Polly Parsons-Hills each had 1 goal. Two assists each were made by: Reagan Bailey, Katharine Byrne, and Caroline Langford. Stella Nolan had three assists.

Government

Town: New Canaan Lacrosse Association Must Pay Mandatory ‘Fields Usage Fee’ As Other Youth Sports Groups Do

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Town officials on Tuesday pushed back on a proposal from the private group that oversees youth lacrosse in New Canaan to cease paying a mandatory “fields usage fee.”

Addressing a letter sent last month by the New Canaan Lacrosse Association, members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting said that the $20 per-player, per-season fee for maintenance and upgrades at playing fields around town applies across-the-board. “I don’t see how, if we are charging all the sports groups a $20 fee, how one of them can just say, ‘Oh we changed our mind,’ ” Selectman Beth Jones said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. Though they did not name the New Canaan Lacrosse Association specifically, the selectmen referred to a letter that the NCLA president sent last month to the Youth Sports Committee, a volunteer group that had spent years finalizing plans to impose the fee. (The selectmen backed the new fee unanimously in October 2015.)

According to the Dec. 8 letter, the NCLA after contributing $100,000 toward a new turf field at Dunning Stadium last summer found its resources “drained.”

Contributed willingly to benefit athletics in town and to ensure the safety of New Canaan players, the donation also “put additional pressure on our already thin budget,” according to the letter from Kimberly Connors, NCLA president.

Sports

New Canaan Fifth Grade Boys Lax Rolls Over John Jay, Darien

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The 5A lacrosse team is hoping the old adage “offense wins games, but defense wins championships” holds true as they start their final march towards the end of season CONNY tournament. This past weekend New Canaan’s tough defense which has earned the name “B.A.M.”–featuring Brendan Holahan, Andrew Nolan and Mack Seelert—were relentless allowing only two goals against John Jay and four goals versus Darien. Holden Busby was a veritable wall between the pipes with seven saves and had a perfect record clearing the ball against John Jay’s rides. 5A’s offense exploded in the rain on Saturday winning 17-4 with 14 of the 17 goals coming off of assists. Ryan Connelly led the team with a season-high of six points on three goals and three assists for New Canaan, including an assist to Cooper Jessop who scored a goal with virtually no angle, sneaking it inside the right pipe.