Category Archives: Athletics

From the Athletic Director

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

Dr. Lellock Gets a Second Chance…at Running the Boston Marathon

From the Newton Schools Foundation (NSF):
NSF has been the lucky recipient of a Boston Marathon charity bib number for many years and we have been fortunate to recruit committed NPS staff and alums who have trained hard and fundraised for the schools.

Last year one of those educators was South English teacher Jasmine Lellock. It was to be her first Boston Marathon. Well, we all know what happened.

According to Dr. Lellock, “After finally qualifying for the marathon–a lifelong goal–and fundraising for NSF, I lost the opportunity to run the in-person race. I was able to run the virtual race in 2020 with my running partner, and now this fall, I will be able to finally run the in-person race for the first time.

“Over the years, my students and fellow teachers have benefitted directly from the grants offered by NSF.  My colleagues and I learned from summer professional development on anti-racism, and my Shakespeare students had the chance to meet a famous actor and playwright. I’m grateful to Newton Schools Foundation for their efforts! I hope you will help me reach my goal of $5,000 to support a cause near and dear to my heart.”

So, on October 11th–the new date for the 2021 Boston Marathon–come out and cheer for South’s own Dr. Lellock and help her reach the finish line.  You can also make a donation to her run in support of NSF and grants to the schools here.

Sports Buses

Our district, like many districts in the state, continues to face transportation challenges as a consequence of state-wide bus driver shortages.

This week we were able to avoid canceling contests by moving games to later times, dismissing students earlier, and asking our parents to transport their children to their games and meets. Our athletes were able to participate without interruption thanks to the parents’ help and the quick action of our coaches.

The situation at the bus companies continues to be difficult and also affects transportation for our opponents, requiring numerous game time changes home and away. We are extremely grateful for our families’ help on such short notice, since–to take last Tuesday as an example–notification about bus cancelations reached our office after 11:00AM.

Please check the Athletics Website often on game/meet days, since changes are posted under announcements there as well as pushed out on social media:
Twitter@NSHS_Athletics  •  Instagram@nshsathletics

NSHS Receives MIAA Sportsmanship Honor

Newton South Athletes were recently recognized with a place on the 2020-21 MIAA Sportsmanship Honor Roll. The South teams demonstrated great sportsmanship during all seasons last year. In a pandemic year, our athletes showed not only grit and resilience but also lived our CORE VALUES by embracing good sportsmanship.

National Coaches Day

This past Wednesday was National Coaches Day, a nationally designated day to celebrate high school coaches. Newton South has a very dedicated group of coaches who work tirelessly throughout the year on behalf of our athletes. They provide opportunities for all our students to succeed while enjoying the sports they love. We thank them for their dedication and celebrate having them in our midst.

Please honor this occasion by reaching to your student-athlete’s coach to share a moment or an action that made a difference for you or your child. You will make their day!

South Golfer Headed to State Sectionals

Lions’ golfer Will Freudenheim has qualified for the Golf State Sectional tournament with a record of 8-1. The Sectional Championship for Division 1 North will be held at Bass Rocks Golf Club in Gloucester on Tuesday, October 19. Coach Flynn will accompany Will in his quest to qualify for the MIAA All-State tournament.

Girls Basketball Informational Meeting

A reminder that the Girls Basketball informational meeting is on Tuesday, October 19 at 2:40 PM in the Field House. Interested students can get information about the program and meet Coach Rogers at that time.

This Weekend

Friday Games
The Field Hockey teams hosted Weston on Friday night at the stadium field. Congrats to both teams for holding Weston scoreless!

Girls Volleyball teams hosted Wayland in a DCL showdown of two excellent programs. Varsity took the win, 3-1!

The Varsity Football team traveled to Westford Academy, while we didn’t come out on top, our Lions fought hard.

Saturday Games
The JV Football team will host Westford Academy at 1:00 PM at Brandeis Road field.

The Boys JV and Varsity Soccer teams will host Brookline under the lights. JV starts at 5:00 PM followed by Varsity at 7:00 PM. The Varsity record is 3-3-2.

Get Ready for Softball Season

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

NSHS Softball Clinic Hosted by Extra Innings

October 14, 21, 28 & November 4  •  7:00-8:30PM

$120 • Extra Innings Watertown

Click flyer to sign up.

Unified Spirit Day October 6th

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

Keep a lookout for the orange and blue this Wednesday, October 6th, as the Unified Basketball team holds their South Spirit Day. This is a Special Olympics competition for Massachusetts high schools. The school that shows the most school spirit will earn a prize and major bragging rights.

Coach Strongin says, “Wear all your NSHS gear, blue and orange. Got a lion costume? Wear it. If you think you have enough, nope, wear more! Go all out and have fun with it.”

Watch for photos from the day on NSHS Athletics and school social media later in the week. Go Lions!

Concessions@South!

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

With the concession stand at the Stadium field now up and running, the Booster Club plans to offer refreshments at as many night games as possible. We need your help to make this happen!

Working at the stand is a great way to meet other parents and be part of the action at South while also supporting the school. Proceeds from the stand go to the Booster Club to provide funding to South’s teams and to events and activities that build school spirit (e.g. Celebrate South Week!).

Click here to sign-up to work a shift at an upcoming game!
Questions? Email us!

Thank You, Boosters Volunteers!

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

Thanks so much to all the volunteers who made it possible for the Boosters to get the concession stand up and running at the first Friday Night home football game vs Waltham on September 24th! Football got the W, the cheer and dance teams excelled and the Lions’ Den was packed. We heard that the students were excited to have us there and that the special “welcome back” free drink and a snack were a hit. The spirit wear table was also super busy.

We could not have done it without the help of Jami Brown, Maura Butler, Shara Ertel, Arwa Fawzy, Scott Friedman, Shatoya Gay, Heather Sussman, and Paul Winters. Special shout out to Stacey Gabriel for showing us the ropes and helping clear out the cobwebs!

Shara Ertel, Bella Gelman and Caroline Marcus joined members of the Booster Club Board to help out during the football game vs Concord-Carlisle on October 1st. We also loved having the extra hands lent by students and younger siblings. Big thank you to Sweet Tomatoes–their pizza was a hit with our school community as always!

Looking For a Way to Help Your Athlete’s Team?

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

Be a Team Rep to the Booster Club

We are still looking for lots of parents/guardians to raise their hands and help be the bridge between your team and the Boosters. We’re looking for reps for teams at all levels—varsity, JV and 9th grade teams—and for all seasons.

The Team Rep will share team requests; provide communication and feedback; and support broader initiatives that help all South teams and the Athletic program. This coordination will allow the Boosters to provide consistent support to all our teams, student-athletes and coaches.

So far, we have Team Reps signed up from:

Dance
Varsity Field Hockey
Varsity Golf
JV Golf
Varsity Boys’ Soccer
JV Boys’ Soccer
Varsity Boys’ Basketball
Varsity Girls’ Basketball
Varsity Baseball
Varsity Softball

If you don’t see your athlete’s team listed above, please contact your coach or email us with questions. You can also click the link below to learn more.

We can’t wait to work with you to support our teams and our school!

Team Rep Job Description

Celebrate South Week – October 15-23

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

SAVE THE DATES
Celebrate South Week
Friday, October 15 – Saturday, October 23

Save the dates for a week to enjoy and celebrate a taste of the great things happening at South from athletics to the arts, clubs and more!

The week will include festive nights at South sporting events on October 15-16, a fence decorating contest, and on October 23rd at 5:30PM a Celebration of Lights to celebrate the installation of the field lights and honor the campaign donors that made it happen.

Stay tuned for more details! To be part of the fun or to help out, please email copresidents@nsboosters.org.

From the Athletic Director

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

Spotlight on CROSS COUNTRY

Our Cross Country teams hosted their first meet at Cold Spring on Wednesday vs Acton Boxboro. It was a very successful meet for all our teams! Our girls won both the varsity and JV races. The Varsity score was 28-30, and the JV score was 18-41. The lower score wins in Cross country races.

Coach McChesney writes:

The runners finished 1st and 2nd in the varsity race and we won the meet on depth. We placed 6 in front of their 4th and 7 in front of their 5th. Our varsity is now 3-1 and JV is 4-0.

From Coach Norton:

It was a great NS-AB battle to the end with the senior Hiro Sakuma 2nd place on the slightly damp 5k course 17:11. Sophomore Alon Mileguir’s 30 meter kick to the finish nudged out AB’s 3rd and 4th runner, his finish time 17:31. The team was proud to see freshman Joshua Kahn improving finish on his second JV cross country race.

AB defeated the Lions by a narrow margin of 26 to 30.

Coach also sent in the race reviews from previous competitions:

  • The DCL XC meet held at Franklin Park had great viewing areas as well as nice weather to boot! Junior Hiro Sakuma crossed the finish line 2nd place overall and 1st runner for our Lions. He was followed by a pair of his sophomore running mates, Alon Mileguir and Ben Pistiner, in 4th and 5th overall respectively. Good job by the rest of the JV team. They looked strong to the end!  NS-22 Cam-35 •  NS-23 Bos-35
  • The team also defeated Weston and Lincoln Sudbury on September 14. NS-21 LS-35• NS-16 Weston-54

Team Updates

Volleyball  Our volleyball squads had a busy schedule in September. The teams are adjusting to new formations and personnel and showing improvement at each game. The teams traveled to Natick for indoor beach volleyball training on Tuesday. The players of our whole program enjoyed a change of training pace and a fun bonding experience.

Girls Varsity Soccer  The team is undefeated with a record of 8 wins and 2 ties. They hosted Weymouth on Saturday and came away with a 2-0 victory. Thanks to everyone that supported their car wash last Saturday. It was a true team effort!

Boys Varsity Soccer has had 6 exciting games this season! Their record is 2-2-2. They will host Westford Academy on Tuesday in a non-league contest.

Golf is wrapping up their season as they enter the last week of team competition. They host Arlington Catholic on Monday, Cambridge Rindge and Latin on Tuesday, travel to Weston on Wednesday and to Bedford on Thursday. Information about Individual Sectionals and States will be released next week.

Field Hockey teams hosted Newton North Saturday on the Brandeis turf field. While North took the Varsity win, both teams have shown great improvement and the players are enjoying their season.

Football hosted Concord-Carlisle on Saturday night. In a hard-fought contest by both teams, C-C came away with the win 21-14. South Football is now 3-1.

Unified Basketball has completed its first two weeks of practices. The team’s game schedule is being confirmed–more to follow. The program will participate in the MIAA-Special Olympic spirit campaign this season (see below). NSHS Unified will be presented with their National Banner during our Celebration of South weekend (see Save the Date).

Girls Basketball Informational Meeting

There will be a Girls Basketball informational meeting on Tuesday, October 19 at 2:40PM in the Field House. Interested students can get information about the program and meet Coach Rogers at that time.

Introducing a New Athletics Newsletter!

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

 

Dear South Athletics Community,

The Boosters Club is pleased to let you know that we are redesigning our weekly newsletter “Newton South Athletics News.” New format, enhanced content, and more engaging (we hope!). We sent the first edition of the new newsletter to you earlier today.

We are sending this note using the old format and method one final time–in case the new newsletter landed in your promotions or spam folders. It will be from Newton South Booster Club and be titled “Newton South Athletics News” as usual. The sender and reply to address will appear as copresidents@nsboosters.org.

If you don’t see it in your main inbox, please do take a minute to search your promotions folder (for gmail users especially) or spam folder and move the newsletter to your inbox.  Alternatively, you can add copresidents@nsboosters.org/Newton South Boosters Club to your e-mail address book.

Thank you for your support of South’s students, our athletic programs and our community.

Go Lions!

Warmly,

Teri Ginsburg and Melissa Dietrich

NSHS Boosters Club Co-Presidents

From the Athletic Director

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Liz Hiser in Athletics

Boys’ Basketball Informational Meeting

The Boys’ Basketball informational meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 28th at 2:40PM in the Field House. Coach Matthews will attend the meeting.

Reminder: Bus Protocols for Athletes

Massachusetts state regulations require that all students and coaches riding buses wear face masks covering their nose and mouth during their trips. All bus windows also have to be open.

Food is not allowed to be consumed on buses–as required by the bus company’s food allergy protocol. Thank you for your collaboration.

Football Tonight

The Football team will host their first home game of the season tonight, Friday, September 24th at 6:30PM. The varsity squad will play Waltham at Winkler Stadium under the lights. Admission will be charged: $7 adults and $5 for students.