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Northborough resident wins national pickleball honor

By Stuart Foster Reporter NORTHBOROUGH - Northborough resident Tom Hays earned a moment of pickleball glory last month when he won a bronze medal playing pickleball doubles in the National Senior Games in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Hays and his partner, Donald Van Dyne, won their bronze medal in a double elimination competition for men aged 55 to 59. They competed in the 4.0 skill level, which was the second highest at the National Senior Games.

“It kind of validated where we were in terms of our ability and being able to compete on a national level with most anybody,” Hays said in a recent interview with the Community Advocate. “It was really quite an honor to be there and to have come back home with a medal.”

Pickleball offers next chapter in sports career

Hays first tried pickleball six years ago while visiting his father, who was spending winters in Florida.

Hays played tennis, and his father said that pickleball would be a good alternative for it that Hays would want to play as he got older.

Hays subsequently suffered an injury playing tennis that forced him to stop playing the sport. That’s when he was approached by pickleball instructor Karin Houghton, who was teaching pickleball at the Westboro Tennis and Swim Club.

“I took her advice and went out there and just fell in love with the game,” Hays said. “It’s very addictive, extremely addictive.”

‘We were stunned’

Hays began to get better at the sport through consistent

Northborough’s Tom Hayes poses for a photo with pickleball bronze medal partner Donald Van Dyne.

practice and started traveling throughout the state to play pickleball.

Hays and Van Dyne eventually played in the Massachusetts Senior Games, where they won their division and automatically qualified to compete in the National Senior Games.

“It’s just amazing how quickly the sport is growing, and the quality of the players throughout the state,” Hays said. “There’s just so much decent competition right now in Massachusetts.”

At the National Senior Games, Hays and Van Dyne won three matches while losing two to the eventual gold and silver medalists in the competition.

Hays said that the competition moved quickly, adding that he did not realize at the time how well his team was doing.

“We were stunned,” Hays said. “In the preliminary rounds we had some tough matches and had no idea that we would be on our way to winning a medal.”

Hays said that he would compete in the National Senior Games again, although he was unsure whether he would attend next year’s event in Pittsburgh.

Northborough plans new pickleball courts

With team success on the national stage, Hays is part of an ever-growing local pickleball community.

Thriving, that community is set to soon gain a new venue as Northborough moves forward with work on a set of new designated pickleball courts at Ellsworth McAfee Park.

Speaking earlier this year, Northborough Recreation Director Allie Lane identified that project as one of the most hotly anticipated recreation building projects seen in her 20 years in town.

“I can’t wait for these new courts to open,” she said.

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COMMUNITY SPORTS Shrewsbury softball picks up Big Sister Little Sister program after COVID hiatus

By Stuart Foster Reporter SHREWSBURY - After a hiatus in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shrewsbury High School varsity softball team has resumed a Big Sister Little Sister mentoring program with the middle school team.

Speaking last month, Shrewsbury varsity coach Jamie Millet said that the program started in 2019, when the team was trying to figure out how to incorporate the town’s middle school team into the high school’s softball program. One of the varsity players at the time suggested a Big Sister Little Sister program, where varsity players mentor middle school players.

“We really want to create that excitement for those middle school kids to want to come and put on the blue and gold and play Colonial softball,” Millet said.

In 2019 the two teams had team-building activities and

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Shrewsbury High School and middle school softball players pose for a group photo as part of their Big Sister Little Sister mentoring program.

went to each other’s games. This year, they held a joint practice together.

Millet said that she assigns varsity players to oversee the program and match up students from the two teams. Sophomore Bea Millar, who had been a little sister on the middle school team in 2019, took on that task of making pairings this year.

“It’s really different on the other end because, instead of getting help or feedback, now you’re giving it to them,” Millar told the Community Advocate. “I just think it’s really cool to be able to see your little sister take your advice and put it into action.”

Millar added that she tried to match up players who play the same position.

She also said that the advice and mentoring is not limited just to softball. At a recent joint practice as part of the program, she said that she and her teammates talked to the middle school players about the transition to high school and gave them advice on confidence.

“It’s a personal connection where you can just help them out,” Millar said. “It’s not just about the game of softball. Helping them adjust and being someone they can look up to — I just think it’s really helpful.”

With the program still young, Millet said that the players were disappointed that they were not able to run it over the last two years.

Now that it is running again, Millet emphasized that she wants to continue to fit the middle school team into the Shrewsbury softball family.

“That’s something that we really preach in our program is to really feel like a family,” Millet said. “That’s part of our culture.”

St. Mary School students sing National Anthem before WooSox game

Students at St. Mary School in Shrewsbury sing on the field at Polar Park in Worcester.

SHREWSBURY - Students from St. Mary School got a moment on the proverbial big stage this past weekend when they sang the National Anthem prior to a Worcester Red Sox game at Polar Park in Worcester on May 22.

The school chorus is led by Ann Tomashefsky.

May 22 marked “Shrewsbury Day” at Polar Park. Part of a series of “town takeover” events spotlighting area communities around Worcester, Shrewsbury Day put the spotlight on Worcester’s Lake Quinsigamond neighbor. A portion of ticket sales benefited Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services. St. Mary School, which is located on Summer Street in town, likewise, offered another local connection.

A video of St. Mary students performing at Polar Park can be viewed at https://youtu. be/76LfKQsXkm8.

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