Shea’s Alves leads Vermont in attack
• You could say that things have worked out just fine between former Shea High boys’ soccer standout Geo Alves and the men’s soccer program at the University of Vermont.
Once again, the talented goal-scorer finds himself in the midst of a banner season. A senior at UVM, Alves will be looking to add to his Catamount-best nine goals when American East leader Stony Brook visits Vermont on Saturday night.
“Geo is a special player and a special person. In Geo’s time at UVM, he has developed into a leader that supports his teammates on and off the field,” said Vermont head coach Rob Dow. “Geo’s creating and goal-scoring abilities will gather interest of professional teams after college, but it is his mental strength that will make him a career at the next level.”
Listed at 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, Alves has been a hit ever since he first walked onto the Burlington, Vt. campus following a stellar two-year career at Dean College. Last year, Alves led the America East in scoring (23 points) and earned a spot on the conference’s first team.
“He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever met on the soccer field. When he was at Shea, he was the first one to arrive at practice and the last one to leave,” said Shea High boys’ soccer head coach Pierre Ridorre said. “I’m absolutely not at all surprised at the success he’s had at Vermont.”
Ridorre and the Vermont coaches are looking forward to the day when Alves is making his way in the pro ranks with a college diploma to fall back on. Alves is majoring in communications.
“He’s doing fantastic up there. We’re all proud of him,” said Ridorre.
Added Vermont assistant coach Ruben Resendes, who also coached Alves at Dean, “He’s definitely in a good spot to someday earn a pro contract.”
• North Smithfield native Hailey Raskob continues to win on the tennis courts at an impressive clip. A sophomore at Rhode Island College, Raskob this fall played both singles (primarily at No. 5) and doubles (all at No. 2). Combined, she went 30-0 during the regular season. She’s now 45-0 in her career at RIC and will look to maintain that string of perfection this weekend at the Little East Championships.
• The latest in a series of upgrades to Chet Nicholas Field featured the installment of chain-link fencing in front of the two dugouts. No longer will players and coaches have to run for cover whenever a foul ball is sent screaming in that direction. Offseason investments in the home for the Lincoln High baseball program also includes improvements to the infield and outfield.
• Congrats to Rich Norris, Mount St. Charles varsity assistant and JV boys’ basketball head coach. Recently, Norris was the recipient of a community award handed out by the Providence Police Department. When Norris isn’t coaching at Mount or with the R.I. Magic AAU program, he’s a guidance counselor at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School.
• Previously, we were told the schedule for the R.I. High School Super Bowls would consist of the Division I & II title games on Saturday, November 17 with the Division III and IV contests set for the next day.
Now, it appears the league has done some reshuffling, no doubt done to alleviate some of the headaches that stem from staging the big game(s) the weekend before Thanksgiving. The D-I and D-III games will take place on Nov. 17 with D-II and D-IV stepping onto the Cranston Stadium stage on Nov. 18.
Moving the D-III Super Bowl to Nov. 17 was likely done with Central Falls and Tolman in mind; both schools play on Thanksgiving Eve. There is still one fly in the ointment to consider and it regards the North Smithfield/Mount St. Charles Co-op team. The Northmen are a strong bet to appear in the Division IV Super Bowl and are scheduled to play holiday rival Scituate the night before Thanksgiving.
Might we see another tweak to the Super Bowl slate? Stay tuned.
• After spending the past six weeks at home, Lincoln native Nick Zammarelli headed out to the Seattle Mariners’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz. a few days ago. Zammarelli was something of a snowbird last offseason and the move to get a jump-start on the upcoming campaign with the aid of a warm climate and a major-league facility paid off. His 2018 output for High A Modesto included 124 games and no major injuries that kept him out of lineup.
• The PawSox earlier this week announced they plan to hold a series of “Fan Plan Meetings” where input concerning the club’s future home in Worcester is encouraged and potentially taken under advisement.
One of these town hall sessions is scheduled to take place in the R.I. portion of the Blackstone Valley. Would there be interest in holding such a meeting in Pawtucket?
• Something to keep in mind with regard to PC Friar basketball and 2019 four-star recruit Akok Akok. Right now, Providence has a surplus of young wing players with current freshmen Jimmy Nichols and Kris Monroe. Next year, the plan is to add another stretch-four type in Greg Gantt. That’s quite a few bodies where minutes figure to be at a premium.
The chance to contribute right away as a freshman is a desired quality that those close to Akok say he’s taking under careful advisement. With Akok and factoring in how the Friars are positioned in the immediate future, the challenge of landing his shot-making and shot-blocking capabilities appears to resemble sticking a circle into a square peg.
• If the season-opening game of the 2018-19 Boston Celtics season taught us anything, it’s that not all the stars will be aligned every single time the gang in green uniforms hits the court. There are simply too many mouths to feed and only one basketball to go around. Don’t be alarmed if Kyrie Irving endures a cold shooting night and Jayson Tatum assumes a greater offensive load, which proved to be the case against Philadelphia.
There will be nights when the script is flipped and it’s Irving scoring in bunches while Tatum struggles to find the touch. Coach Brad Stevens has enough talented pieces at his disposal that it’s almost unrealistic to expect Irving, Tatum, Jaylen Brown and, Gordon Hayward (once he gets back up to speed) to all function at a high level on the same night. Backseats will be taken, though let’s hope it’s not overcrowded.
• Nothing like a failed attempt at espionage to spice up the sporting landscape. As was the case with the Patriots during Spygate and Red Sox during last year’s Apple Watch mix-up, the Houston Astros simply weren’t clever enough in their attempt to gain a competitive edge. Memo to the next team that thinks about using technology in a secretive fashion. Don’t.