Boys' Soccer Coach Reflects on Historic Season

By Kevin Agostinelli, staff reporter

The Sturgis East boys soccer team recently completed its historic season, finishing with an 11-4-1 record including the playoff loss to Seekonk, and longtime head coach Brian Hastings certainly played a major part in the success of the squad. Coach Hastings, a retired Sturgis teacher who also coaches the girls’ tennis team in the spring, took the time to speak with the Stormwatch about his experiences and perspectives on the soccer season.
    When asked the popular question of whether this was the best year in Sturgis boys’ soccer history, Coach Hastings made sure to acknowledge the success of all Sturgis soccer seasons.
    “Every team has been challenged yet able to be 'first' at some milestone in our program. This year's team had the best record by far, was the first team to shutout and not to lose to Nantucket, and had the highest seed ever in the State Tournament. From that aspect, yes, this team accomplished the most; but I wouldn't want to slight the other years for what they accomplished too.  I am proud of all of them and I always will be.”
    Despite the best efforts of the Storm in the state tournament, they lost 2-1 to Seekonk at home to put a sad ending onto what was otherwise a fantastic year. Coach reflected on this disappointing loss, “Just by the nature of sports, you don't win all the time…In our game with Seekonk, I don't think we played our best but we did try as hard as we ever have.  I think we were nervous and made some mistakes. That's life!”
    Arguably the greatest addition to this year’s soccer season was the East-West rivalry that now has enough drama, controversy, and passionate fans to last for many years. Coach Hastings gave several words of wisdom while discussing this rivalry:
    “Rivalry and competition are not bad things as long as we never lose sight of the fact that all of athletics is just a game…Sometimes I think we have to work harder, when the opponent is our sister school, at playing hard but leaving the game on the field.  Fans sometimes don't understand that.  Having said all this --- GO EAST!”
    Furthermore, Coach Hastings could not have been more proud of the senior class this year, especially senior captains Chris Dennison, Chris Dedecko, Ben Duncan, and Kyle Garvey: “I always count on all of the seniors to set an example for the rest of the players…the captains this year were very influential in keeping our team on track to the successes that we achieved.”
    The boys’ soccer team will definitely be a new-look team next year, with six starters and nine overall varsity players being seniors. State tournament qualification hopes aside, Coach Hastings gave a simple answer to his expectations for next year’s squad:
    “Each team builds its own attitude and character.  My expectations are always the same:  To help to develop a group of young men to maximize their potential and see where that takes us all.”

Turkey Basket Collection a Success

By Meghan Agostinelli and Alicia Pollard, staff reporters

Jack Goldstein and Kit Freddura preparing the turkey baskets in Dr. Albis' room.

On November 16, Sturgis advisories finished their turkey basket collection for the 2012 holiday season. At Sturgis twenty-one baskets were collected for the program, which donates items for Thanksgiving meals to local needy families.

Sturgis's efforts were spearheaded for the second time by Latin teacher Dr. Albis. He said, "This was definitely a success. This year, it was different in that we had to deliver the baskets."

Jack Goldstein, Kit Fredeura, James Peterson, and Bella Springer helped Dr. Albis deliver the baskets to the Hyannis Harbor Hotel where the Community Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands picked them up to distribute them. Fredeura, a junior, remarked that he could tell "the people were especially grateful." 

Jack Goldstein, Kit Freddura, Bella Springer, and James Peterson with a pickup full of turkey baskets

Peterson, also a junior, said: "There was more than I thought there would be. It was good to know that there would be a lot of baskets going to families who needed it."

Dr. Albis.

Leadership Key to Successful Girls' Soccer Season

Sara Sweeten

Hayara Cardosa

By Jacob Tobey, staff reporter

“Rebuilding” was a term that was going to be used a lot around the Girls Varsity Team this past season, but instead they quickly turned a “rebuilding” season into a season of excitement and surprise.  If you were the coach of a team that lost eight starters, nine seniors overall that previous year, wouldn’t you be thinking, “Rebuilding?”  That’s just what coach Steve Austin was thinking as he entered the 2012 campaign.  But he was way off and that’s what you’ve got to love about sports: There are tons of things that will surprise you and make you think, “Wow.”  The Storm had seven Cape and Island League All Stars on the team: Hayara Cardoso, Dorothy Paul, Maggie Paul, Lindsey Allin, Brittany Gayton and Kaleigh Fallon.

With nine seniors leaving after the 2011 season, the seniors of 2012 had to step up big in the leadership department, especially the two captains Hayara Cardoso and Sara Sweeten. Starting forward Cardoso had an excellent year in which she scored 11 goals.  She was a leader on and off the field.  Every game Cardoso tried to keep the team’s heads in the game and tried to pump them up by giving pep talks during the pregame and halftime.  She was a very good captain and also one of the more skilled players on the field.  Her other captain, Sweeten was a leader by example as well.  “As seniors and captains, we knew that as the leaders of the team, it was most important to lead by example. We wanted the new players to feel welcome and involved.”  Brittany Gayton was the leading scorer on the team with 13 goals this season.  Gayton and Cardoso were feared by other teams as they were a talented forward combo.  Sweeten, who led by example, had a very good season playing the field.  She was a midfielder and helped distribute the ball to the forwards and also got back on defense and stood her ground. Having two really good captains on this team really helped the young players grow and mature, and Cardoso and Sweeten helped make each and every player better.  The two captains wanted the team to bond together.  “We had a movie.  But most importantly, we built our relationships on the field in games and at practice,” said Sweeten.  She was rewarded with her work on the field with the MVP award.   

        The team started off the season a little slow with a couple blowout losses to Pope John Paul II and Nantucket.  In their first 5 games, they started out 1-3-1.  That’s not what they planned on doing.  This record woke them up and this is when they started playing better.   They Storm in another stretch of the season went 2-2-2.  Playing much better on offense and defense, the Storm knew that their hopes for making the tournament could be filed.  They then found themselves in the State Tournament and ready to make a solid playoff run.  They played Cape Cod Academy at home and they lost 1-0.  Coach Austin had some thoughts on the game, “Against Cape Cod Academy we had early chances to score a goal. Their keeper had a great game and we missed several good chances. They defended our forwards well and we probably should have dropped more balls back to the midfielders for shots from farther out.” CCA scored with only about eight minutes left in the game and the Sturgis could not make a comeback.

Hayara Cardoso commented on the chemistry of the team throughout the season, “Our chemistry became stronger throughout the season. We got better at communicating on and off the field and working collaboratively with each other. The chemistry between the central mids (kaleigh and Sara) and the forwards (Brittany and me) were really strong and beneficial.”  Both Captains gave an A- for their season grades of the team/season.  The Storm really played every game with an attitude that they could win every time.  Both captains are seniors and were starters on this team.  There are big shoes to fill for whoever steps up into those positions.  “My hope is that we will once again have a good chance to qualify for the tournament and this time win at least one game,” says Coach Austin.  With the talent the Storm still has this should be a realistic goal for the girls.

        There will be a change in leadership next season.  Brittany Gayton and Kaleigh Fallon will be the new captains.  The Sportsmanship award went to Lindsey Allin who showed how to be a very humble player who had very good sportsmanship toward opposing players and the referees.  The Most Improved Player award went to Dorrie Paul.  She really worked on her skills throughout the season and you could see the effects of that hard work.  The Coaches Award went to the captains of 2013: Brittany Gayton and Kaleigh Fallon.  As I said before this season was full of surprises and will never be forgotten by the 2012 Sturgis Storm Girls Varsity soccer team.    

Senior Trip Chili Fundraiser at the Hyer's Home

Senior Trip Chili Fundraiser at the Hyer's Home

All photos and text by Ted Jameson, staff pseudonym

The Chili Crew on Saturday, Nov. 17 at the Hyer's house in Wellfleet

On Saturday, November 17, thirteen seniors and Jeff and Denise Hyer worked together and made 20 gallons of Jeff's chili to help raise money to defray the cost of the Senior Trip next May. Prior to Saturday, there had been 73 quarts of chili pre-sold. Including what has been sold during lunch, the seniors have raised over $600. This amount is possible because of the generosity of parents who donate the ingredients or Stop and Shop gift cards, which allows the sales to be 100% profit.

For 20 gallons of chili the quantity of the ingredients is staggering: 30 pounds of steak, 32 28-oz cans of tomatoes, 45 cans of beans, 24 onions, 132 cloves of garlic, 200 ounces of beef broth, 140 cubes of beef bouillon, and so on. 

To tame the large quantities of ingredients the students were assigned teams and worked at various stations, such as onion and garlic cutting, steak searing, steak cutting, onion/garlic sauteing, can opening, bean draining and rinsing, and pot stirring.

The process began at 9 a.m. and ended at 5:55 p.m. when several students took all of the packaged chili quarts to the school to be stored in the student refrigerators. Those who purchased the chili are able to pick it up during Parent-Teacher Conference Day on Nov. 19.

Ingredients and supplies ready to go.

24 large white onions and 132 cloves of garlic being chopped

Grillmasters Ketryn and Kylie sear 30 pounds of steak over a wood fire

Denise Hyer teaches Ben and Casey how to cut across the grain of the steak so it is more tender

Sturgis Volleyball Makes History but Loses State Game

By Grayce Rogers, staff reporter

On November 4, 2012, the Girls Varsity Volleyball team made Sturgis history with their state tournament game against Case High School. With Sturgis adding volleyball just three years ago, this game was the first time the volleyball team made it to states. Sturgis ranked 11th out of 12 possible seeds, and Case High School ranked 6th. The Storm lost the game 3-0, but they still put forth a  quality game.
Sturgis started out anxiously dealing with the excitement of being at the tournament and the and with nerves to see what they were up against. The girls lost the first set but they would put up a fight for the next two sets.
    In the second set, the court lit up with phenomenal kills by Captain Makaila Lyons, who was assisted by Captain Shannon Slater’s sets. The girls were able to pull a lead through the second set, but their effort was not enough to win the set.
    The Storm girls approached the court with determination at the start of the third set. Emma Nemes continued her pivotal blocking and Amanda Sullivan’s defense was spot-on in saving many balls for the Storm. Unfortunately, even with the girls’ great efforts they lost the game.  
     After the game the girls walked off the court with smiles still on their faces. Captain Shannon Slater and senior Kelsi Murphy were spotted crying due to this being their last game of their high school careers. The seniors are certainly leaving footprints behind for future players to fill. The Storm Volleyball team might have lost, but Sturgis, as they have always shown, didn’t go down without a fight.
      After the game, Stormwatch staff member Grayce Rogers was able to ask Makaila Lyons a few questions. When asked how she thought her team played at states, she replied, “ We played our game and we went in there thinking we were going to get crushed, but in reality we could’ve won. Even though we didn’t, we focused on what we’ve been working on all year and gave it our best shot. Either way we made history.”  

Reflecting on this season, she said, “ The team as a whole, I’m impressed, we’ve progressed a lot I think, but I’m so proud of the fact we made it to states. I’ve seen everyone improve, even if it’s in a small way, it was great to see the end result.” Lyons, a junior, is also looking forward to next season. She explained, “ I’m really hoping we can make it to States again and go even farther if possible. It would be amazing. I’d love to improve on things we didn’t get a chance to as much as we wanted this year as well.”           

 

Sturgis Storm Volleyball have made their mark not only at Sturgis but also in the state tournament. Congratulations girls and good luck next season!

Student Spotlight: Lily X. Haselton

by Skye Kuppig, staff reporter

Sturgis East Junior Lily X. Haselton has distinguished herself at Sturgis for her talent in face and body painting.

Somehow between her homework, art club, her job at Stop and Shop, and Chinese lessons, she finds time to design, draw, and paint.

“I try to plan my artwork on days with minimal homework,” she said.

Lily started her own business, Facepainting by Lily, over the summer and has traveled to birthday parties and events all over the Cape to face paint. She is also working under a magician by the name of Marcus, whose son just graduated from Sturgis. She knows him as a family friend because he had also adopted a daughter from China.

Lily’s interest in art began when she was very young, as she explained. Her mother is an artist, and used to own a scrimshaw gallery, and so that she was always surrounded by art and creativity. Her face painting career began at age eleven, when her gymnastics coach noticed Lily’s interest in art and decided to bring her along to some of her face painting gigs. She took a liking to face painting, and has been working to develop her skill in it ever since.
Like almost all artists, Lily draws inspiration from the world and culture around her. She’s especially inspired by pop culture, saying, “ I think it’s interesting to take a costume from a movie and transform it into body art.” 
Lily also draws inspiration from other artists. Being on the Cape and access to the great art galleries (for example, the Norman Rockwell exhibit in Sandwich) has been an advantage to her.

“I look at other people’s art and apply their style to my own,” she explains.

However, Lily’s greatest inspiration may come from Sturgis itself. “I’m inspired by the people at Sturgis, because I’ve made a name for myself and the feedback they give me inspires me to do more,” she said. She says that taking IB art at Sturgis has helped her grow as an artist and has helped her to organize her ideas as well.

Lily is already planning for her artistic future. Art school is an attractive option, and she’s especially interested in the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Recently, she had an interview with Heritage House and Gardens Museum in Sandwich for an eight week art internship. After high school, her plan is to grow her small face painting business. Someday, Lily dreams of working for big productions like movies and Broadway shows.

Boys Soccer Falls in State Tournament

By Kevin Agostinelli, staff reporter

Despite being the 5th seed in the state tournament with an 11-3-1 record and automatically advancing to the Round of 16, the Sturgis boys soccer team lost to 12th seed Seekonk on Sunday night. A few hundred Sturgis fans attended the highly anticipated home game at Old Townhouse Field, but they ultimately left disappointed as the Storm fell to the Warriors 2-1.
Unfortunately for the Storm, their performance in the first few minutes of the first half was a microcosm of the entire match. The Sturgis boys were thrown off their game by a fast, physical, and no-nonsense Seekonk team which was content with booting the ball downfield and putting more pressure on the Storm’s defense to clear each long ball. This led to Seekonk’s first goal of the game, when a Seekonk defender stole the ball at midfield, kicked it downfield, and managed to have the ball bounce off a Sturgis defender and go out of bounds for a corner kick. The ensuing kick found Seekonk forward James Eline after several failed clearances, and he finished to shock the home crowd and give Seekonk the lead. However, the Storm’s determination and improved play towards the end of the first half led to a crucial goal by junior midfielder Jonny Gomes off an assist by senior forward Chris Dedecko. At the half, the game was tied 1-1.
Sturgis then began the second half as roughly as they began the first and struggled to find the passing game that had so often led them to victory in the regular season. Seekonk took advantage of the Storm’s struggles and began to attain more and more possession, finally punishing Sturgis with a devastating goal halfway through the second half. This goal was once again the result of three failed clearances from the Storm’s backline and a lucky bounce that just beat the outstretched arms of senior goalkeeper Kyle Garvey. Although the game was far from over, Seekonk took advantage of the Storm’s sloppy play in the attack and continued to kick the ball downfield until the ref blew the final whistle to end the game.
The boys soccer team finished their season with a record of 11 wins, 4 losses, and 1 tie, giving them the best record in Sturgis boys soccer history. Stay tuned for the upcoming recap of the entire boys soccer season, which will include highlights, analysis, and interviews with players and coaches!

A First for Sturgis Sports

By Jacob Tobey and Parth Patel, staff reporters

Sturgis, as academic as it is, recently acquired a new sports record.  For the first time in school history the Storm have 4 teams in the state tournament in a single sports season:  Girls volleyball, Girls Soccer, Boys Soccer and Cross Country.  This can assure that with each year of Sturgis being around since 1998, sports are getting better and better by the year, and soon enough, Sturgis will find itself at the top of the rankings in both academics and sports.     

       “I want to win at least one game in states before I graduate,” says captain Ben Duncan.  Boys Varsity Soccer is having one of its best seasons in school history.  They have an explosive offense, with forwards Aidan Fitzsimmons and Captain Chris Dedecko.  Fitzsimmons has 6 goals on the season, and Chris Dedecko has 12.  Captain Kyle Garvey has also been very impressive in net with more than a couple shutouts.  Captain Ben Duncan has been The General for the Storm’s defense; being a real leader and shouting out directions of where players should be on the field.  Hence his team nickname, “General fluffy.”  The defense as a whole has been very good for the Storm, and the team aims to go into the playoffs with one of the better records on the Cape.  This is the fourth year in a row the Storm have qualified and are looking to make some noise in the playoffs and really open people’s eyes.   

The girls varsity volleyball team has had a very good season.  Their record at the moment is 7-5.  It has been a breakout season and they are a real gem to watch.  Their intensity and passion for the game is excellent.  When the Storm are rolling, their passing and serves are really sharp and on target and that helps them win.  “Serving is really important.  We always play so much better when we are all having a good serving day, but passing is super important too because the play either starts or ends with the pass,” said Junior Captain Makalia Lyons.  With a great deal of talented players, the Storm should get ready to make a solid playoff run, and make it worthwhile.  They are the first Volley team in school history to make it to states, and can still set another record:  To be the first girls Volley team to win a state tournament game.    

The cross country team has been preparing for this moment all season. The two hour long practices that the team has put in after most school days are proving to be extremely beneficial to the teams success. Conditioning and other methods of training are going to help out when the state tournament starts.  They have put in a lot of hard work and dedication to try and go a long way into the state tournament.  Every person on the team tries their best and wants to become a better athlete.  Their dedication and love for the sport is what drives them the most.  On Wednesday, October 24, the Sturgis cross country team was not there to disappoint. The cross country team battled hard and posted impressive results. The score for the boys was 16-45, while the final score for the girls was 15-46. This recent victory brings the boys up to a record of 5-1 and the girls to a record of 4-2.   All eyes now turn to the state race at Franklin Park, which will take place on Nov. 9th in Boston.  

The girls varsity soccer team also made it into the big dance with a record of 6-5-2.  A lot of Sturgis’ best players last season were seniors, and but this years’ team certainly told off the critics.  Sturgis has one of the most explosive offenses in the Cape and Islands League, with forward Brittany Gayton leading the way for the Storm with 13 goals and looking for more as the post season rolls along.  Hayara Cardoso has also had a strong season playing alongside Gayton at the forwards.  The defense for the storm has really improved throughout the season.  Goalies Monique Legault and Maggie Paul have really done a solid job in net, keeping the goals against to a minimum.  They go into the tournament with their heads held high and ready to tell the story of Sturgis Soccer.   

Note: Since this article has been published, both soccer teams and the volleyball team have been eliminated from the state tournament.