Valley News – HS Notebook: Two baseball programs that change coaches
Two Upper Valley High School baseball canoes are changing for next year.
Paul Silva resigned as varsity coach at Stevens High after 15 seasons, but he will remain with the Cardinals as head college football coach and boys basketball assistant. Meanwhile, Bill Vielleux has been elevated to the position of head baseball coach at Hartford High after being assistant to Kris Keelty last season.
Silva, citing the physical aspects of the job, said on Monday it was time for someone else to have an opportunity with the Cardinals.
“I don’t feel like I can do the things physically that I think I can do as a baseball coach,” Silva said in a phone interview. “I’m not getting any younger. In baseball you have an infield to hit, batting practice to pitch, outfield shots, a lot more physical stuff. I wanted to leave for 10 years; Been there 15. It’s about time someone else had a chance.
Stevens athletic director Doug Beaupré said he hoped to keep Silva in both varsity posts “as long as possible”. But he understood why he wanted to quit.
“I think he was just ready to play one sport a year rather than two,” said Beaupré. “It’s a huge commitment to train two varsity sports. … I certainly understand why he would stick with football and move away from baseball.
Bill Bundy, Silva’s junior varsity coach and former Claremont Middle School baseball coach, was hired last week as Silva’s successor with the Cardinals, Beaupré said.
In Hartford, Keelty and Vielleux took control of the university when Jarrod Grassi resigned from two games in the Hurricanes’ season in April. They led the Canes to 16 straight wins before clashing with the U-32s – and recent MLB draft pick Owen Kellington – in a VPA Division II semi-final loss on June 9.
“Coach Vielleux’s long-standing ties to the community and his involvement in baseball in Hartford make him an ideal person to take charge of a growing program,” said Hartford athletic director Jeff Moreno, in a press release. “Bill brings a high level of baseball knowledge and experience as well as a passion for Hurricane athletics.”
Vielleux graduated from Hartford in 1993 and played two seasons of minor league baseball with the Chicago Cubs organization after being drafted that year. Hartford High has since honored this achievement with a banner hanging from the left field fence at Maxfield Sports Complex.
The stars of the capital: After a run to the VPA D-III playoff seed and a run to the state final, Thetford Academy baseball placed four players on the NVAC Capital Division all-league squad. .
Receiver / infielder Ryan Malloy and pitcher / infielder Ethan Marshia have been selected to the first team of all leagues. The versatile Jackson Kingsbury landed in the second team. Pitcher / infielder Mack Briglin rounded out the group with an honorable mention. Kingsbury is the only senior in the squad, which bodes well for Thetford next season.
“The Capital League has a lot of great baseball teams,” TA coach Phil Chaput noted in an email. “I am very proud that these players have been selected to the squad of all leagues and recognized for their success and hard work.”
The coaches of the 10-team league choose the roster. Kellington – the U-32 pitcher selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the MLB draft last week – was unsurprisingly named player of the year.
TA had a 13-4 season last spring, reaching the VPA D-III title match before falling to Peoples Academy at Centennial Field.
Softball in all states: The New Hampshire Softball Coaches Association included four Upper Valley athletes on its recent all-state roster.
Stevens picked three players as senior wide receiver Makayla Maccioli made the first team, senior second baseman Zoey Foote landed in the second team and junior pitcher / fielder Brianna Frisbee received an honorable mention in division II. The Cardinals were 10-4 on the campaign, eventually falling to Bow in the first round of the State Tournament.
Junior third baseman Skouly Kachikis represented Hanover in the D-II Honorable Mention Team. Hanover was 2-11 this spring, with a pair of wins over Fall Mountain.
Day of the day: Cora Day, a recent Rivendell Academy graduate, was the only Upper Valley athlete to make the United Soccer Coaches Scholar’s All-American list over the weekend.
Goalkeeper and defenseman, Day landed with a squad of 49 girls and 36 boys from across the country who combined excellence in the class (minimum grade point average of 3.75) with excellence on the soccer field. Hailing from Orford, Day maintained a 4.0 GPA to earn his place on the team.
Day supported Rivendell’s women’s football until the 2019 VPA Division IV Championship game – the program’s first visit in nearly a decade – and the D-IV semi-finals last fall.
Greg Fennell can be reached at [email protected] or 603-727-3226.