Every now and then you realize how special something is. It’s that moment when you sit back, think for a few seconds and sigh. Not just any sigh, but a sigh of happiness and satisfaction. That happened prior to the Memorial Day weekend for this Sentinel editor.
And no, it surprisingly wasn’t a sigh of relief that we survived the frigid, snowy, icy, wind-driven, miserable, no coffee or hot chocolate was hot enough to actually warm a person up, kind of winter. Granted, I’m not complaining by any stretch of the imagination that we are (for the most part) putting the jeans and jackets away and exchanging them for shorts and sunscreen.
This sigh was much more meaningful.
I am definitely one of those people that love what I do. When I was the sports editor of the Sentinel, I would go to a baseball or softball diamond, a lacrosse or soccer field, a swimming pool, a football or rugby field, a tennis or basketball court and feel at home. I knew the coaches and the majority of the players. I belonged there. While at the venues, I meet a lot of kids. I mean when you cover three private schools and one public school on a regular basis, you end up meeting a plethora of people by default.
I followed their success, I followed their failures. For some of the athletes I followed them from when they were a tiny freshmen to their senior year. And that’s not including the time before high school during those youth games that were covered as well. I know that the unwritten rule is that you’re not supposed to cheer for anybody when you’re a member of the media. However, it’s hard not to cheer for someone that you have been covering for so long. It’s just human nature to want them to succeed in the sport that they have been working so hard to perfect.
So that takes me to last week. I was able to chat with two former Greenwich High School baseball standouts. Alex Loparco was a rock, both hitting and in the field for Big Red. On the mound, few were better and more clutch than Mike Genaro.
Both Genaro and Loparco are tearing it up for their respective colleges and let them deep in the postseason. Genaro, a junior at Babson College, has been one of the team’s most reliable pitchers. In 11 appearances, he’s 9-1 with a 3.10 ERA and has 58 strikeouts. And while he was the winning pitcher and threw 10 strikeouts during a 16-1 victory against my alma mater Keene State College, I still hold no grudge.
Then there’s Loparco, who had the season to remember for Western New England University. The junior infielder played in 46 games this season and had a batting average of .382. Although he only had one home run, Loparco scored 55 runs, had 37 runs batted in and stole 19 bases. Oh yeah, he was also named the Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year.
Speaking to both over the phone truly made me happy, as it was great to talk about their on-field success, but also to hear how they are coming into their own at their schools.
Then there’s people that I have spoken to in the past or have yet to speak to them, but will shortly for more features to appear in this newspaper.
Former Greenwich Academy lacrosse star Izzy Nixon set the Yale University record this past season with 130 draw controls and will be the captain next year during her senior campaign. She also added 18 goals and seven assists this season. Union College sophomore Colin Kelly has made a name for himself at the school. Starting 44 games this year for their baseball team, the former GHS hockey and baseball star finished with a .396 batting average and launched 12 home runs. He also added 59 RBIs, 65 hits and 47 runs.
Both former GHS standout athletes, JT Hintzen and Taylor Olmstead have high aspirations for their baseball careers.
And these are just some of the many athletes that I have seen grow and mature, both as athletes and as people. And I couldn’t be happier for them.
So as I finished my interviews with both Loparco and Genaro, and was gearing up for my Memorial Day weekend, there was a sigh. A happy sigh. Seeing all these boys and girls turn into great men and women, both on and off the field, is one of the biggest perks of my job and is something that will never get old.
