"%%*40/ $06/5: */%&1&/%&/5
B Section
THURSDAY, Â AUGUST Â 20, Â 2015
MATT DICKERSON
SPORTS
t 'JFME %BZT 3FTVMUT t $MBTTJĂŤFET t -FHBM /PUJDFT t 3FBM &TUBUF
Altemose  steps  down  from  MUHS  hoop  job
In  Alaska:  Seals  and  sea  kayaks  near  Seward  I  was  admittedly  a  little  nervous  as  I  set  out  in  a  tandem  sea  kayak,  pad- dling  out  of  the  secluded  cove  where  we  were  staying  into  the  windier  wa- ters  of  Resurrection  Bay  near  Seward,  Alaska.  I  wasn’t  worried  about  our  safety.  The  2,000-  to  5,000-Âfoot-Âhigh  ridges  and  peaks  on  both  sides  of  us,  along  with  the  narrow  mouth  of  the  long  bay  and  the  shores  of  the  nearby  Fox  Island,  all  provided  shelter  from  the  15-Âknot  south  wind  reported  on  the  morning’s  weather  service.  There  was  almost  no  swell,  and  the  chop  was  quite  manageable.  And,  despite  WKH LF\ WXUTXRLVH ULYHUV Ă€RZLQJ LQWR the  900-Âfoot-Âdeep  waters  of  the  bay  directly  off  numerous  glaciers  sur- rounding  us,  the  seas  were  not  nearly  as  frigid  as  I  had  expected  thanks  to  an  unusual  “blobâ€?  of  warm  water  off  the  Gulf  of  Alas- ka.  (See  www. nwfsc.noaa.gov/ news/features/ food_chain/in- dex.cfm).  My  nervous- ness  had  more  to  do  with  whether  my  wife,  Deborah,  would  enjoy  the  paddle  as  much  as  I  expected  to.  Deborah  had  only  been  in  a  sea- kayak  once  before,  on  a  one-Âhour  paddle  with  me  around  Casco  Bay  near  Freeport,  Maine.  She’d  also  been  for  a  few  paddles  in  one  of  the  sit-Âon-Âtop  style  kayaks  in  the  Maine  lake  where  my  family  gath- ers  in  the  summer.  But  despite  the  beautiful  coastal  and  inland  scen- ery,  she  hadn’t  particularly  enjoyed  those  trips.  She  much  prefers  pad- dling  about  in  a  canoe.  Kayaks  are  too  cramped,  awkward  to  enter  and  exit,  and  almost  impossible  to  paddle  without  getting  wet  in  both  the  lower  and  upper  body. But  kayaking  was  the  centerpiece  of  our  three-Âday  and  two-Ânight  stay  at  the  wilderness  hostel  tellingly  named  Kayakers’  Cove.  So  if  she  didn’t  en- MR\ WKH SDGGOH KHU ÂżQDO ZHHNHQG in  Alaska  might  end  up  somewhat  disappointing.  We  were  13  miles  by  boat  from  the  town  of  Seward  with  all  its  restaurants  and  tourist  attrac- tions.  Although  we  had  a  gas  stove  (See  Dickerson,  Page  3B)
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
Time  for  young  family  a  high  priority By  ANDY  KIRKALDY MIDDLEBURY  —  After  15  years  of  coaching  varsity  boys’  basketball  at  Middlebury  Union  High  School,  MUHS  physical  education  teacher  Chris  Altemose  has  decided  to  step  down  from  that  job  to  spend  more  time  with  his  wife  and  young  chil- dren,  10  and  6,  but  not  entirely  give  up  coaching. Altemose  for  the  past  two  years  has  been  coaching  his  10-Âyear-Âold  daughter’s  3rd-  and  4th-Âgrade  bas- ketball  team,  and  he  plans  to  move  up  the  ladder  with  her  and  her  team- mates  to  the  5th-  and  6th-Âgrade  level.  “I’m  going  to  be  coaching  her  and  her  friends,  which  will  be  fun,â€?  said  Altemose,  who  is  also  eyeing  the  chance  to  coach  his  son’s  hoop  teams  in  a  couple  years.  The  fact  that  Altemose  will  still  be  CHRIS   ALTEMOSE in  the  gym  made  it  a  little  easier  for  MUHS  activities  director  Sean  Far- down  at  the  youth  level  to  have  him  rell  to  accept  losing  a  longtime  coach  hopefully  inspire  some  younger  kids  who  has  run  a  program  that  has  been  to  get  involved.â€? competitive:  In  the  past  Altemose,  40,  said  it  decade,  the  Tigers  have  was  a  hard  decision  to  KDG ÂżYH ZLQQLQJ VHDVRQV “I don’t want step  down,  even  though  In  the  past  three  years,  to regret there  are  compelling  rea- Altemose’s  teams  went  down the sons  to  do  so.  41-Â21.  This  past  winter  road not “The  biggest  one  was  I  they  were  16-Â5  and  went  spending time don’t  want  to  regret  down  undefeated  in  the  Lake  with my own the  road  not  spending  Division,  claiming  the  time  with  my  own  chil- league  title  and  earning  children while dren  while  they’re  still  him  the  Lake  Division  they’re still young,â€?  he  said.  “Spend- Coach  of  the  Year  honor.  young.â€? ing  more  time  with  my  “He’s  going  to  spend  — Chris family,  being  more  pres- time  with  his  kids  and  Altemose ent  with  my  family  and  even  coaching  at  the  my  kids,  getting  a  chance  youth  level  with  his  children.  As  an  to  coach  my  own  kids,  I  told  the  high  AD  it’s  a  plus  for  me  that  he’s  go- school  guys  you  only  get  one  chance  ing  to  be  down  there,â€?  Farrell  said.  in  your  life  to  do  this  with  your  own  “It’s  a  negative  I’m  losing  him  at  this  kids,  and  this  is  my  chance.  So  hope- level,  but  it’s  also  great  to  have  him  (See  Altemose,  Page  2B) TIGER  ROSS  CROWNE  controls  the  ball  during  a  Middlebury  Union  High  School  boys’  soccer  practice  Monday  morning.  Local  fall  sports  teams  opened  their  preseason  practices  last  week. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
Move to Tiger soccer post came quickly Livesay  takes  over  after  Weekes  heads  West
By  ANDY  KIRKALDY MIDDLEBURY  —  Middlebury  Union  High  School  activities  direc- tor  Sean  Farrell  said  he  had  a  tran- sition  plan  in  place  for  the  school’s  boys’  soccer  program:  Coach  Bret  Weekes  would  complete  his  third  year  leading  the  program,  while  MUHS  math  teacher  Reeves  Livesay  would  assist  this  year  and  then  take  over  for  Weekes  in  2016. That  plan  went  by  the  boards  when  life  threw  a  curveball  at  Weekes  ear- lier  this  month:  An  illness  that  struck  a  family  member  living  in  Utah  prompted  a  family  decision  to  move  back  to  that  state  to  help  provide  long-Âterm  care  and  support. Weekes  had  long  assisted  former  coach  Doc  Seubert,  including  the  2012  team  that  went  14-Â2  and  earned  the  No.  1  seed  in  Division  I.  The  last  two  years  with  Weekes  in  A  BALD  EAGLE  perches  on  a  charge  saw  less  success  following  dead  tree  right  outside  the  main  the  graduation  of  most  2012  starters  cabin  at  Kayakers  Cove,  silhou- and  then  the  defection  of  key  players  etted  against  the  late  evening  sky.  to  a  club  team,  but  Farrell  said  he  ap- Photo  courtesy  Matthew  Dickerson preciated  Weekes’  efforts.  “Bret  was  great,â€?  Farrell  said.  “I  appreciate  all  he  did.  He  did  a  great  job,â€? But,  he  said,  Weekes’  professional  ZRUN PDGH LW GLIÂżFXOW IRU KLP WR UXQ HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS the  program  —  hence  the  transition  Field Hockey that  all  parties  had  agreed  upon.   8/28  Mt.  Anthony  at  OV  .................4:30  p.m. “I  think  that  it  would  have  been  0W 0DQVÂżHOG DW 08+6  .................4  p.m. nice  for  him  to  have  more  time  to  0W $EH DW 0W 0DQVÂżHOG  ...............4  p.m. really  develop  the  program  his  way,  Football but  with  his  professional  career  and  0W $QWKRQ\ DW 08+6  .................7  p.m. DOO WKDW LW ZDV GLIÂżFXOW IRU KLP WR SXW 8/28  Mt.  Abe  at  Burlington  ..................7  p.m. in  more  time,â€?  Farrell  said.  “He  was  8/29  MSJ  at  OV  ..................................1  p.m. committed  while  he  was  here,  but  he  Girls’ Soccer really  had  to  work  hard  to  make  the  8/28  Twin  Valley  at  OV  ..................4:30  p.m. time  work.â€? 98+6 DW *096  .......................4:30  p.m. Farrell  also  appreciates  having  08+6 DW 5XWODQG  .....................4:30  p.m. Livesay,  who  played  soccer  at  Bow- &98 DW 0W $EH  ........................4:30  p.m. doin  College  before  graduating  a  Boys’ Soccer dozen  years  ago,  ready  to  step  up.  98+6 DW *096  ........................10  a.m. “He  has  a  good  background  coach- 9/1  Woodstock  at  OV  .....................4:30  p.m. ing,  a  lot  of  it  mainly  in  prep  school,â€?  5XWODQG DW 08+6  .....................4:30  p.m. he  said.  “We  were  thinking  of  one  *096 DW 0W $EH  .....................4:30  p.m. year  under  Bret  to  get  connected  Cross Country to  the  program,  but  he  has  a  good  0W $EH 08+6 98+6 DW &98  ..10  a.m. background,  and  Bret  felt  after  they  29 DW 5XWODQG  ..........................4:30  p.m. talked  he  (Livesay)  could  have  easily  Spectators  are  advised  to  consult  school  been  the  head  coach  and  he  (Weekes)  websites  for  the  latest  schedule  updates.  could  have  come  back  this  year  as  an Â
assistant,  but  Reeves  didn’t  want  to  do  that.� To  ease  the  transition,  Farrell  per- suaded  Seubert  —  who  has  come  out  of  retirement  to  serve  as  a  sub  for  a  few  weeks  this  fall  at  MUHS  —  to  assist  Livesay.  Seubert  also  endorsed  Livesay,  ac- cording  to  Farrell.  “I  talked  to  Doc  this  morning,  and  he’s  impressed  with  his  organiza- tional  skills,�  Farrell  said. Livesay  grew  up  in  Brunswick,  (See  Livesay,  Page  2B)
REEVES Â Â LIVESAY
VSMA  chooses  four  as  athletes  of  the  month VERMONT  —  The  Vermont  Sports  Media  Association  has  chosen  two  high  school  seniors  as  its  April  winners  of  Male  and  Female  Athlete  of  the  Month  Awards,  and  honored  a  high  school  senior  and  a  college  se- nior  for  their  efforts  in  May.   April’s  winners  were  BFA-ÂSt.  Al- bans  softball  catcher  Kayla  Nester  and  Lake  Region  Union  baseball  player  Matthew  Messier. May’s  selections  were  Mount  0DQVÂżHOG 8QLRQ WUDFN DQG ÂżHOG athlete  Alex  Eschholz  and  Castle- ton  State  College  women’s  lacrosse  player  Kate  Auer.  $ 960$ PHPEHU ÂżUVW QRPLQDWHG each  winner,  who  was  then  chosen  IURP DPRQJ D ÂżHOG RI QRPLQHHV LQ statewide  balloting  by  the  VSMA  membership.  Nester,  one  of  the  state’s  top  de- fensive  catchers,  swung  a  powerful  bat  this  spring  for  BFA.  In  just  four  April  games,  Nester  belted  three  home  runs,  two  triples  and  four  sin- gles,  with  11  runs  batted  in  and  13  runs  scored  for  the  eventual  Division  II  champion  Bullets.  Messier  won  all  three  of  his  starts  on  the  mound  for  Lake  Region  in  April.  In  17  innings  he  allowed  nine  KLWV DQG ÂżYH ZDONV ZKLOH JLYLQJ XS one  earned  run  and  striking  out  27. Â
He  handed  defending  D-ÂIII  champ  %)$ )DLUID[ LWV ÂżUVW UHJXODU VHDVRQ ORVV LQ WKUHH \HDUV $W EDW LQ ÂżYH games  Messier  went  seven-Âfor-Â14  with  four  walks,  three  doubles,  nine  RBIs  and  nine  runs. Eschholz,  who  has  committed  to  Dartmouth  College,  won  three  events  in  each  of  the  Essex  and  Bur- lington  invitationals  in  May.  He  set  a  state  record  in  the  110-Âmeter  hurdles  at  Essex,  won  the  200-Âmeter  dash,  and  won  the  300  hurdles  by  more  than  three  seconds.  At  the  Burlington  meet,  he  won  the  same  three  events,  with  a  1.3-Âsecond  cushion  in  the  110  hurdles  and  a  3.2-  second  margin  in  the  300. Auer  helped  the  Castleton  wom- en’s  lacrosse  team  to  a  10-Â0  month  of  May  by  racking  up  33  goals  and  15  assists.  She  had  four  goals  and  an  assist  in  a  North  Atlantic  Confer- HQFH VHPLÂżQDO YLFWRU\ RYHU +XVVRQ Castleton  went  on  to  win  the  NAC  championship  and  earn  a  bid  to  the  NCAA  D-ÂIII  tournament.  Auer  was  later  named  the  NAC  Player  of  the  Year. More  information  about  the  VSMA  is  available  from  organiza- tion  president  Josh  Kaufmann  of  the  St.  Albans  Messenger  at  josh@ samessenger.com.
Ralph  Myhre  Golf  Course  set  to  play  host  to  two  Saturday  events
Schedule
WILDER  PERERA,  LEFT,  and  Cole  Gregory  battle  for  the  ball  during  a  boys’  soccer  practice  at  Middlebury  Union  High  School  Monday  morn- ing. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
MIDDLEBURY  —  Ralph  Myhre  Golf  Course  will  be  hosting  special  events  each  of  the  next  two  Saturdays.  On  this  Saturday,  the  34th  annual  Middlebury  Women’s  Invitational  comes  to  the  course,  with  an  8:30  a.m.  shotgun  start.   Saturday,  Aug.  29,  is  Ralph  Myhre’s  annual  Member  Appre- ciation  Day.  Course  members  are  each  entitled  to  bring  three  guests  for  a  round  of  free  golf. In  regularly  scheduled  events  this  past  week,  the  quartet  of  Dave  Wemette,  Cindy  Wemette,  Frank  Broughton  and  Maryann  Brough- ton  prevailed  in  the  Friday  Eve- ning  Mixed  Scramble  on  Aug.  14.  Second  place  went  to  the  four- some  of  Wes  Smith,  Gail  Smith,  Bernie  Andrews  and  Liz  Andrews,  and  the  trio  of  Father  Skip  Balch,  Joan  Guertin  and  Cilla  Leng  took  third.  Dave  Wemette  won  the  eve- ning’s  Closest  to  The  Pin  contest. Â
Those  interested  in  participating  in  the  nine-Âhole  Friday  evening  scramble  are  asked  to  sign  up  in  the  pro  shop  by  4:30  p.m.  on  each  Friday.  The  competition  begins  at  5  p.m. In  the  18-Âhole  Bill  David- son  Thursday  Men’s  Golf  best- ball  competition  on  Aug.  13,  the  threesome  of  Joe  Thilbourg,  Jim  Twitchell  and  Dick  Hodgson  pre- vailed.  Taking  second  were  John  Da- vis,  Frank  Punderson  and  George  Ramsayer,  and  the  trio  of  Bert  Phinney,  Mike  Adams  and  Deem  Schoenfeld  took  third.  Mike  Adams  was  the  low  net  winner,  and  Bob  Kirkpatrick  and  Punderson  were  the  Closest  To  The  Pin  victors.  Thursday  men’s  golf  begins  at  2  p.m.,  and  those  interested  are  asked  to  sign  up  by  noon  on  Thurs- day. Â