School Sports
Making waves: Meriden's new swim team
By Maddy Fitzgerald
Recently I had the opportunity to interview the first ever Meriden middle school swim team coach, Cathy Lewis. Coach Lewis said the new team is made up of both students from Lincoln and Washington middle schools and she shared many of her expectations and accomplishments as a coach with me.
Q. What are your expectations for the first ever Meriden middle school swim team?
A. I had several expectations for the first ever Meriden middle school swim team. First I wanted to build an interest in swimming competitively. Also, I wanted to be able to teach kids how to swim different strokes, and to eventually make them feel confident enough to swim competitively against other schools. Finally, I wanted to show the kids that although swimming is hard work, it's fun to be a part of a team.
Q. What did you want to accomplish as the coach?
A. As the coach I wanted to teach my swimmers new strokes, help them build endurance and I wanted them to develop a love for swimming. Also, I wanted them to know that when we work together we can be successful.
Q. What were some of the team's largest achievements this year?
A. I wanted all swimmers to be able to compete in meets by the of the swim season. Many of our swimmers showed significant improvement from the beginning to the end of the season. Some of our swimmers even made it to the championships.
Q. Is there anything you will do differently next season?
A. Next season I would like to add additional staff to be able to break the swimmers into smaller groups. This will give us the ability to help more swimmers achieve their goals. I would also use additional swim equipment to help more swimmers learn techniques and build endurance. I am hopeful that if we make a few changes we will see more swimmers make it to the championships.
Recently I had the opportunity to interview the first ever Meriden middle school swim team coach, Cathy Lewis. Coach Lewis said the new team is made up of both students from Lincoln and Washington middle schools and she shared many of her expectations and accomplishments as a coach with me.
Q. What are your expectations for the first ever Meriden middle school swim team?
A. I had several expectations for the first ever Meriden middle school swim team. First I wanted to build an interest in swimming competitively. Also, I wanted to be able to teach kids how to swim different strokes, and to eventually make them feel confident enough to swim competitively against other schools. Finally, I wanted to show the kids that although swimming is hard work, it's fun to be a part of a team.
Q. What did you want to accomplish as the coach?
A. As the coach I wanted to teach my swimmers new strokes, help them build endurance and I wanted them to develop a love for swimming. Also, I wanted them to know that when we work together we can be successful.
Q. What were some of the team's largest achievements this year?
A. I wanted all swimmers to be able to compete in meets by the of the swim season. Many of our swimmers showed significant improvement from the beginning to the end of the season. Some of our swimmers even made it to the championships.
Q. Is there anything you will do differently next season?
A. Next season I would like to add additional staff to be able to break the swimmers into smaller groups. This will give us the ability to help more swimmers achieve their goals. I would also use additional swim equipment to help more swimmers learn techniques and build endurance. I am hopeful that if we make a few changes we will see more swimmers make it to the championships.
Mr. Dlubac, a coach for all seasons
By Maddy Fitzgerald
Mr. Dlubac is a 7th grade science in Cluster 4. He has coached both soccer and baseball at WMS.
Q: What are your expectations for the soccer team?
A: It is better to work as a team when learning the fundamentals of the game and overall the goal of the soccer team is to have fun.
Q: When you have the tryouts for the baseball team what do you want the boys to show they know to do?
A: I want the boys to show him that they have patience and knowledge of the game. Also, the boys need to know how to catch a fly ball with two hands and they also need to know how to field a ground ball. Most importantly all players need to hustle on the field!
Q: If you could add a sport to Washington Middle School what would it be?
A: I would add Fantasy sports like football, baseball, ping pong, badminton, and Frisbee golf.
Q: Do you see yourself as a competitive person?
A: Very. I get competitive in card games, especially Uno. People don't like competing against me because I want to win everything. For example if I am driving I try to get first to the stop light.
Q: Why do you coach the sports team?
A: I love all aspects of coaching. Obviously, I love the sports and the competition. But I also love teaching children how to play sports really well. I grew up with really great coaches and I want to pass on what I have learned from them to others.
Q: Do the students have to get good grades to play on your team?
A: Yes. Students have to maintain a C average. I check on their grades every week. Grades lower than a C (Ds and Fs) are not exempt however, you will not play until those grades are brought up.
Q: What teams are easy for you and what teams are hard for you to play against?
A: Teams change every year, but Lincoln is usually a hard team to play against. Dodd is also a team that can be a challenge.
Q: What teams do you play?
A: We play teams in the area. From Wallingford, we play Moran and Dag. From Cheshire, we play Dodd. From Southington, we play Kennedy. And of course, we have our cross town rivals, Lincoln.
Q: How many kids are you able to take on your team?
A: I am able to take 15 students.
Q: Is there anything else you haven’t told me that you want to share?
A: I love the Boston Red Sox, the New York Giants and I love, love, love fantasy football!
Q: There are rumors that you are not going to be coaching at Washington anymore. Is this true?
A: Maybe. It is still up in the air. I have had some offers to coach high school. I still do love coaching at the middle school level though.
Mr. Dlubac is a 7th grade science in Cluster 4. He has coached both soccer and baseball at WMS.
Q: What are your expectations for the soccer team?
A: It is better to work as a team when learning the fundamentals of the game and overall the goal of the soccer team is to have fun.
Q: When you have the tryouts for the baseball team what do you want the boys to show they know to do?
A: I want the boys to show him that they have patience and knowledge of the game. Also, the boys need to know how to catch a fly ball with two hands and they also need to know how to field a ground ball. Most importantly all players need to hustle on the field!
Q: If you could add a sport to Washington Middle School what would it be?
A: I would add Fantasy sports like football, baseball, ping pong, badminton, and Frisbee golf.
Q: Do you see yourself as a competitive person?
A: Very. I get competitive in card games, especially Uno. People don't like competing against me because I want to win everything. For example if I am driving I try to get first to the stop light.
Q: Why do you coach the sports team?
A: I love all aspects of coaching. Obviously, I love the sports and the competition. But I also love teaching children how to play sports really well. I grew up with really great coaches and I want to pass on what I have learned from them to others.
Q: Do the students have to get good grades to play on your team?
A: Yes. Students have to maintain a C average. I check on their grades every week. Grades lower than a C (Ds and Fs) are not exempt however, you will not play until those grades are brought up.
Q: What teams are easy for you and what teams are hard for you to play against?
A: Teams change every year, but Lincoln is usually a hard team to play against. Dodd is also a team that can be a challenge.
Q: What teams do you play?
A: We play teams in the area. From Wallingford, we play Moran and Dag. From Cheshire, we play Dodd. From Southington, we play Kennedy. And of course, we have our cross town rivals, Lincoln.
Q: How many kids are you able to take on your team?
A: I am able to take 15 students.
Q: Is there anything else you haven’t told me that you want to share?
A: I love the Boston Red Sox, the New York Giants and I love, love, love fantasy football!
Q: There are rumors that you are not going to be coaching at Washington anymore. Is this true?
A: Maybe. It is still up in the air. I have had some offers to coach high school. I still do love coaching at the middle school level though.
The 2016 Washington Middle School boys soccer team
Chris Cyr, Will Barton, Alex Torres, Zach Amantea, Tyson Gibertoni, Kayden Cyr, Alan Mejia, Thomas Sullivan, Alan Mejia, Brayden Haag, Kale Mullings, Devin Juan, Jay Garcia,
Joshua Scaramuzzo, Rolando Gomez, Dylan Miller, Anthony Valerie, Angel Mendez and
Luis Marquez
Joshua Scaramuzzo, Rolando Gomez, Dylan Miller, Anthony Valerie, Angel Mendez and
Luis Marquez
Mr. Testroet, girls soccer coach
By Maddy Fitzgerald
Mr. Testroet is an 8th grade science teacher in Cluster 2. He is also the new head coach of the new girls soccer team.
Q: What is it like to coach a middle school soccer team?
A: This school year there is a new team made up of just girls, in the past the team was co-ed made up of girls and boys soccer players. I was concerned that the team would not do well playing against just a girls team, because they were so used to playing against a co-ed team. However, they surprised me and did well.
Q: Do you see yourself as a competitive person?
A: When it comes to sports yes, but when it comes to other stuff no.
Q: Why did you want to become a coach?
A: I thought it would be fun to coach. I wanted to help Washington have a good soccer team.
Q: How do you pick students to be on the team?
A: After tryouts, I look at things like running ability, shooting ability, and willingness to work with other players.
Q: Do the students have to get good grades to play on your team?
A: The students need to have all grades of a "C" or higher.
Q: What teams are easy for you and what teams are hard for you?
A: The easiest teams for us were Lincoln and Edison. The most challenging team was Depaolo.
Q: How many teams do you play?
A: We played against five other schools, Lincoln, our crosstown rival, Edison, Kennedy and DePaolo Middle Schools of Southington, Dodd Middle School of Cheshire.
Q: How many kids are you able to take?
A: We can have 20 students on the team, but there are only 11 players on the field at one time.
Q: Is there anything else you haven’t told me that you want to share?
A: Next year tell everyone to try out for girls' soccer. It is super fun!!
A: If you could add any sport to Washington Middle School what would it be?
Q: I think having an ultimate Frisbee team would be awesome and a lot of fun!
Mr. Testroet is an 8th grade science teacher in Cluster 2. He is also the new head coach of the new girls soccer team.
Q: What is it like to coach a middle school soccer team?
A: This school year there is a new team made up of just girls, in the past the team was co-ed made up of girls and boys soccer players. I was concerned that the team would not do well playing against just a girls team, because they were so used to playing against a co-ed team. However, they surprised me and did well.
Q: Do you see yourself as a competitive person?
A: When it comes to sports yes, but when it comes to other stuff no.
Q: Why did you want to become a coach?
A: I thought it would be fun to coach. I wanted to help Washington have a good soccer team.
Q: How do you pick students to be on the team?
A: After tryouts, I look at things like running ability, shooting ability, and willingness to work with other players.
Q: Do the students have to get good grades to play on your team?
A: The students need to have all grades of a "C" or higher.
Q: What teams are easy for you and what teams are hard for you?
A: The easiest teams for us were Lincoln and Edison. The most challenging team was Depaolo.
Q: How many teams do you play?
A: We played against five other schools, Lincoln, our crosstown rival, Edison, Kennedy and DePaolo Middle Schools of Southington, Dodd Middle School of Cheshire.
Q: How many kids are you able to take?
A: We can have 20 students on the team, but there are only 11 players on the field at one time.
Q: Is there anything else you haven’t told me that you want to share?
A: Next year tell everyone to try out for girls' soccer. It is super fun!!
A: If you could add any sport to Washington Middle School what would it be?
Q: I think having an ultimate Frisbee team would be awesome and a lot of fun!