No More Junk Food, Good Grades, Win Games—

NHS Athletes And Coaches Set New Years Resolutions

By Andy Hutchison

The calendar has turned to January. It is a the start of a new year and Newtown High School’s athletes and coaches are aiming to have success in their respective sports, as well as make it a good year off the playing surfaces and in their personal lives. Here’s a look at what some of the Nighthawks resolve to do, or at least will try to make happen, in 2011:

*Meghan Kelley, girls’ basketball assistant coach: “Work hard in practice in order to win the [South-West Conference].” Kelley added that, off the court, she resolves to improve her Jenga-playing skills.

*Sean Colley, girls’ basketball assistant coach: “After 27 years of not keeping them, I resolve to not make resolutions anymore,” he said light-heartedly.

*Taylor Benson, girls’ basketball captain: “To keep working as hard as we can in practice, and keep improving the way it has shown in our games.”

*Alan Potter, wrestling team head coach: “To help my team find some grit they can take with them into the rest of their lives.”

*Joshua Kaufman, 112-pound weight division wrestler: “I want to work out every day.”

*Matt Carroll, 140-pound grappler: “To get a takedown during a match.”

*Mike Long, 119-pound grappler: “I want to maintain good grades.”

*Cat Sherman, cheerleading captain: “To have the endurance to make it through competition season,” Sherman said of her team-related resolution. “My personal resolution is to have a healthy New Year, eat healthy, and stay in shape.”

*John Quinn, boys’ basketball head coach: “I’m looking to improve as a team and as a coach,” said Quinn, adding that his personal resolution is to get better on the golf course in the off season. “I’d love to improve my golf game, but I don’t see that happening,” he said with a laugh.

*Kyle Lyddy, boys’ basketball assistant coach: “Continue to be a positive influence to the kids I work with on a daily basis and teach the fundamentals of basketball to those interested in getting better.”

*Zach Gauvin, boys’ swim team head coach: “To get them to work up to a championship level,” said Gauvin, a former swimmer himself, whose personal resolution is to get back into the pool.

*Nick Lafky, swimmer: “I want to make State Opens this year in at least one event, and go to nationals [based on YMCA Mako times].”

*Logan Mammen, swimmer: “To drop time in my 50 [freestyle] and to stop eating junk food.”

*Paul Esposito, boys’ hockey team head coach: “For the team, it’s definitely to get into the SWC playoffs, get into the state tournament — and win some titles.” Esposito added that his personal resolution is to spend as much time as possible with his daughter.

*Maureen Maher, girls’ tennis team head coach: “We would like our first and second singles and first and second doubles to qualify for states at Yale.”

*Marty Margulies, boys’ tennis team head coach: “I’m too old to make New Year resolutions, because it’d be presumptuous of me to assume that I’ll be around long enough to keep them,” the coach said jokingly.

*Marc Kenney, girls soccer team head coach: “My New Year’s resolution is to continue to spend some time each day preparing the NHS girls’ soccer team for the 2011 season. I have implored our players to do the same so that we may remain focused well into the postseason. If each of us works a little harder preparing for next year we can only improve on last year’s performance and reach our goals of SWC and CIAC titles.”