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By Scott Souza / Daily News staff
GateHouse News Service
Tue Dec 04, 2007, 01:33 AM EST
Trinity Catholic's girls volleyball team made it two matches
deep into the state tournament this fall. The boys soccer
team did well to get back to the postseason for only the
second time in program history. The football squad? Well, it
didn't quite find its way to championship Saturday at
Gillette Stadium.
But while none of the TC outfits made it all the way on
their own this fall, they did accomplish something
collectively as the school was selected as the MIAA District
H Sportsmanship Award recipient. The Falcon delegation,
including TC principal Kelly Surapaneni, AD Craig Genualdo,
boys soccer and softball coach Troy Turick and senior
two-sport captains Cienna Wesley (volleyball, track) and
Steven Burckardt (football, baseball), accepted the award at
the 14th annual MIAA/MSSDA Sportsmanship Summit in Foxboro
on Nov. 14.
``We are really proud of this honor as we feel it's
indicative of what we're trying to accomplish as an athletic
program,'' said Genauldo. ``We've won individual team awards
in the past, but this is the first time we've won this type
of an award on a program-wide scale.
``We're not always perfect,'' he continued. ``We don't
always get everything right. But what an award like this
says to us is that sportsmanship is important to us and that
it's always in the forefront of our thoughts.''
This was evident during a late-season volleyball match in
the renewed rivalry against Mount Alvernia. When a
boisterous TC cheering contingent because to mimic MA's
on-court directives during points, the volleyball officials
cautioned the fans that while they were allowed to yell all
they wanted once the point started, they could not do so
before the serve.
TC volleyball coach Scott Kmack quickly broke from the
huddle with his team and interrupted the official. He
forcefully instructed the fans not to do it at all. In doing
so, he tempered his own squad's homecourt advantage in favor
of better sportsmanship.
Following the Division 3 Central semifinal loss to Ashland
at Xaverian Brothers of Westwood, a young Mount Alvernia fan
complained that the Clocker fans did not show the same
courtesy that Kmack insisted upon in the earlier match.
``This fall we piloted a program where after every home game
we gave the officials the opportunity to rate the
sportsmanship of our coaches, players and fans,'' Genualdo
noted of a questionnaire on the back of the payment form.
``While each of our teams consistently scored well, the best
part about it was that it gave me a chance to provide
feedback to our coaches, players, and fans right away if
there was need to do that.''
Genualdo said the program has received good reviews from the
MIAA and that Trinity will continue it through the winter
season.
``I think it exemplifies and speaks to the fact that it's an
important topic to us and one that we take seriously,'' the
AD concluded
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Above:
Trinity Catholic Receives District H Sportsmanship
Award at MIAA Summitt held at Gillette
Stadium. Below: TC's Name in Lights on Gillette's
main scoreboard.
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Above: Senior
Cienna Wesley (far left) participates in a student
led demonstration while Senior Steve Burckardt
(Below) poses for a photo with Jo Jo White, a two
time World Champion of the
Boston Cletics.
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