Lyman Hall girls basketball team restores pride in storied program
WALLINGFORD — Kids often surprise us. Young people with the right stuff can be far more resilient than we old fogies suspect.
Of course, when the Lyman Hall High girls basketball team walked off after a 92-4 loss to Sacred Heart-Hamden on Jan. 3, 2022, there was a reason to be concerned about the players’ psyche.
“Originally, not everybody took it very well,” senior Shea Barron said. “Some people didn’t want to play them again. But I think seeing the impact that it made, national news headlines, we just wanted to paint a different picture of us. We didn’t want to be seen as that team, so we all just worked really hard to get better.”
There was a national conversation about sportsmanship. Sacred Heart coach Jason Kirck, who was suspended one game, and the school apologized.
What was shocking, too, for folks old enough to remember when Nick Economopoulos’ Lyman Hall teams were among the state’s most formidable during the 1970s and ‘80s, was that it happened here.
After the 5-16 season, Christie Madancy, who had been an assistant at the Wallingford school under Tom Lipka, took over as head coach. Madancy, Economopoulos’ daughter, took the job just a few months after “Eco,” who won over 600 games, two state titles at Lyman Hall and two more at East Catholic, passed away last May.
The team healed, moved on, persevered.
“They were ready to put [the loss] behind them the second we left the gym,” Madancy said. “Unfortunately with all the hoopla and everything that came of it, it took a while to put that behind us. The girls said to me last year, ‘We’re sick of talking about it,’ and I don’t blame them. It’s not something we wanted to dwell on.”
Ditto. So let’s talk about now. The Trojans are 10-10, getting ready to play in the state tournament again after three years, and will face Windsor in the Class L tournament first round on Monday night.
“This season has brought back confidence and pride in the program,” senior Callie Chordas said. “It’s brought a new love for the sport for me and my teammates. We’ve bonded a lot closer.”
Madancy, who played for her father in the early 1990s, and later coached at the University of New Haven and across town at Sheehan High, noticed that when breaking the huddle, the team would yell “Trojans ... boom.” She remembered that Nick’s teams, for reasons long forgotten, actually yelled, “Trojans ... poom.” That was restored, poom it is, and alums came back for a night to help rekindle the tradition.
“My mom [Sherri] used to play under ‘Eco’ in the late ‘80s,” said senior Callie Casulla. “Just hearing from her experience, it’s just brought a whole new perspective about how legendary this team is. And the coaches this year have really made a point to bring it back . ... We have confidence in one another and ourselves to really bring out the best in each other in this [tournament] game.”
The seniors led the way as the players did what they needed to do to wake those echoes in Wallingford, doubling the victory total.
Madancy asked players to “leave their comfort zone” and buy into her commitment to fundamentals and preseason workouts. Madancy brings a teacher’s touch to coaching, something she learned from her father.
“I have a group of seniors who have led by example from Day One,,” Madancy said. “I couldn’t have asked more from them, the way that they have taken with what we have done with them on the court, the team philosophy in general, the way that they’ve led, and the idea that there is really no egos on our team. That has been a big part of our success.”
During the season the Trojans were put to the test twice against Sacred Heart. They lost 52-18 on Jan. 3, but on Jan. 30 came much closer in a 52-38 defeat at home. They pressed on and, for the seniors, it will be the first tournament appearance since their freshman season.
“It’s a lot to be proud of,”
Madancy said. “The one thing I will say about this team is, no matter who we are playing, they go in and they play hard from start to finish. Jason Kirck actually came up to me after our second game against them at our place, we played them to 14 points, and he said to me, ‘Coach, your team plays really hard and I respect that a lot,’ and that’s something they can own and be really proud of.”
Resilience, perseverance, pride, are there more important life lessons for young people to learn, and exhibit? More in your Sunday read:
Ripken Foundation building again in Connecticut
The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation has been in the state before, helping to build three ballfields in Hartford and nine in Bridgeport. Now the group has partnered with Miracle League of Northern Connecticut to raise funds and build the adaptive Youth Development Park at the Northeast School in Vernon.
The park is to have custom-made cushioned, synthetic turf and include wheelchair-accessible dugouts, a flat, barrier-free surface to provide accessibility for visually impaired players, players in wheelchairs or other assistive equipment.
“Having the respected Ripken name as well as their expertise when it comes to serving youth and building these amazing parks is game-changing for the Miracle League,” said Steve Leibowitz, who started the project with his wife, Laurel, in 2019. “The community has stepped up in a significant way to help make this dream a reality.”
The goal is to raise $750,000, hopefully more to operate the park once it’s completed, with a target date of next September. So far $550,000 has been raised, with the Ripken Foundation, which has helped build 112 parks, 22 adaptive, providing fundraising muscle.
You can get involved at miracleleaguenorthernct. org.
Sunday short takes
A notable career is coming to an end. captain Shannon Turner-Doyle, one of the pioneers of women’s pro hockey, will play her last home game with the CT Whale on Sunday. Turner-Doyle has been playing for the Whale while teaching English and coaching at Greenwich Country
Day School. The Premier Hockey Federation will be paying players more, but demanding more, so she has decided to focus on her off-ice career after eight years in the league.
Wishing the best outcome for Florida Panthers goalie Spencer Knight, from Darien and Avon Old Farms, who entered the NHL/NHL Players Association player assistance program Friday. Knight, 21, a first-round pick in 2019, has been struggling in his second NHL season. His reasons for entering the program remain private and he will be out indefinitely. Here is hoping he gets whatever help he needs, respect for seeking it, and resumes his promising career soon.
With the Thunder flirting with .500 and a Western Conference playoff spot, could Mark Daigneault, who started out as a student manager at UConn under Jim Calhoun, be a candidate for NBA coach of the year?
Yard Goats manager Chris Denorfia, who played in World Baseball Classics in the past, has joined Team Italy as a coach under Mike Piazza. You know who else is on the team? Mystic’s Matt Harvey, of Irish and Italian heritage. The ex-Met star, a free agent, is pitching for one more shot in the majors at 33, after so many injuries and issues.
Last word
A UConn-Providence men’s basketball rubber match at The Garden on a matinee on March 9? Oh, yeah, sign me up for that right now. My fedora is off to the guy who made the waving Dan Hurley placard at Gampel the other night. Now, can he mass produce them in time for the Big East Tournament?