This past Monday was similar to the one before it, and many Mondays before that – a drive into Newton from my house in Brockton. Too much traffic on Route 24 North followed by too much traffic on 95 North because of the construction in the Needham area highlighted my morning commute. When I got to work, I went to my weekly Monday morning meetings and focused on being the editor of SearchVMware.com, a job I’ve held since 2013.
This might come as a surprise to many that visit this site on a daily basis, or even occasionly, but HockomockSports.com is not my “full-time” job – in fact, we don’t have anyone on our “staff” that is full-time. If you count the hours that I spend working on the site, it certainly fits the criteria but the fact is, this website is what I do in my spare time. The same can be said for Josh Perry. Nearly all of our contributors are former or current Student Reporters.
I mentioned this past Monday, the 21st, because it happened to be the 5th Anniversary of the launch of HockomockSports.com. I am so proud that the anniversary came just two days after our Third Annual HockomockSports.com Charity Soccer Event. With over 300 people in attendance and over 70 players participating, we were able to raise over $1,000 to donate to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute on behalf of Taunton HS junior Marc deSousa.
That’s what this website is about for me.
Those that have followed HockomockSports.com from its inception know that there haven’t been many columns written by myself or anyone on staff. In fact, I believe this is the first time in our five years I have penned one.
For me, HockomockSports.com is a place for me to tell your story, not mine.
But when I realized we turned five years old, I knew this column was necessary – not for me to give you my opinion on the current state of our professional teams or my opinion on the recent election, but rather to give thanks to those who have made HockomockSports.com what it is today.
And for me, it’s necessary to start with how thankful I am to all of you, the reader. Josh laughs at me because of how glued I am to our Google Analytics account, comparing day to day, week to week, month to month data or watching real time traffic. But the fact is, you have all been tremendous. Our traffic continues to grow, year over year, by large percentages and I can’t thank you all enough to choosing us as your go-to source. I truly believe we are most viewed independent high school website in the commonwealth.
On a similar note, I’m incredibly thankful for Josh Perry. Josh has been apart of the site from the beginning and just about a year in, he moved into the Managing Editor role. I know a lot of people in this business around the state and there’s no one I’d rather to have in this spot than Josh. We aren’t too similar beside our love for soccer and we don’t see eye to eye on everything, which is exactly why we’ve formed a great partnership over the past few years. I can’t say enough good things about Josh.
There are a lot of things I am proud of when it comes to HockomockSports.com but the crown jewel to me is the Student Reporter program. We’ve had student-reporters from over half of the Hockomock schools; our student-reporters taking their talents to UMass Amherst, Endicott, Boston University, Syracuse University and more. I am so thankful to those who display the loyalty to come back and help our coverage.
I’m very thankful that I picked the Hockomock League to cover. As an outsider (Brockton High Class of 2007), I didn’t have a relationship with a single Hock administrator when I started this website. The Hockomock League Athletic Directors have been great to us over the past couple of years. But there were three that were on our side from the very beginning, three that had my back from the get go. I’m very thankful for the support over the years from Stoughton’s Ryan Donahue, former Franklin AD Brad Sidwell and Canton’s Danny Erickson.
Speaking of the Hockomock League, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the athletes I’ve covered. For some of you, I was just a start up blog that had a couple of cool tweets. For the most recent crowd, I hope we are your go to for everything Hockomock. Although this website is somehow just five years old, I have covered a decade worth of student-athletes in this league and I’ve done my best to remember as many as I can.
A lot of people see that I went to Brockton High and see that Josh went to Bishop Feehan and wonder how this website ever came to be. While I was still in college, I began to write for StoughtonPatch and ended up as the boys basketball beat writer, covering the likes of Kris Joyce, Aaron Calixte and Marcus Middleton. I’m thankful to StoughtonPatch editor Jeff Pickette for giving me that opportunity and so thankful for Stoughton boys basketball coach John Gallivan, who allowed me to shove a camera in his face for nearly two years following every single game. There would be no HockomockSports.com without Jeff or John, that’s a fact.
ESPNBoston’s Brendan Hall is another person I’m very thankful for after five years of HockomockSports.com. Brendan was the person I chatted with as I sat on my friend’s couch, debating whether or not to launch this site. I look back today and am so thrilled he pushed me to do this. I’m also thankful for former ESPNBoston HS Editor Scott Barboza, Boston Herald HS Editor Danny Ventura and the late Bruce Lerch – I can’t thank all of you enough for your help and influence.
I’m thankful I get to work with some of the best coaches in the entire state. There are almost 300 coaches that we do our best to work with throughout the school year. There are coaches I chat with on a weekly basis, even in the offseason, and there are coaches I have to hunt down scores from every single night. No matter which category they fall under, I am grateful to have worked with every single coach across the league.
There are certain coaches, however, that deserve separate recognition. Mansfield boys basketball coach Michael Vaughan has not only been a vocal supporter but has supported us through Mass Premier Courts for many years. Mike has also been a vital reason why we’ll be hosting our 4th Annual HockomockSports.com Charity Basketball Classic in March 2017. Canton’s Ryan Gordy and North Attleboro’s Sean Mulkerrins have also been incredibly important in developing this event. Attleboro’s Peter Pereira is THE reason we have had three soccer charity events. RBI Academy’s Joe Breen also supported the site with advertisements well before he became the Hornets’ baseball coach. You can also count Oliver Ames’ John Barata among those who have not only supported us from day one, but promotes us as much as possible and I can’t thank all of them enough.
I debated whether or not I should include the next section in to this column. I have said from the start, this website will never be about me, or anyone on the staff. We aren’t TV personalities – we are here to tell your story. In this industry, I have prided myself on unbiased coverage of the Hockomock League – no favorites. However, there are some coaches who have made a huge impact on me. The fact is, I started this website when I was a young 22 years old. There are so many coaches I have to thank for making a lasting impact on my life. In no particular order, I’m thankful for: Oliver Ames’ Leo Duggan, Mansfield’s Mike Redding, Canton’s Pat Cawley, Franklin’s Chris Spillane, Taunton’s Jeff Sylvia, Milford’s Linda Zacchilli, Taunton’s Charlie Dacey, Milford’s Mike Balzarini, King Philip’s Nick Gale, Franklin’s Lisa Cropper, Oliver Ames’ Laney Clement-Holbrook, Attleboro’s Mark Houle, Franklin’s Kate Fallon, North Attleboro’s Bill Wallace, Taunton’s Dave Purpura, Canton’s Brian Shuman, Foxboro’s Jon Gibbs and Oliver Ames’ Lindsey Allison.
I didn’t want to include the last paragraph because I want to stress we don’t play favorites. In fact, there are a handful in that list that I’ve had contentious interviews with. With HockomockSports.com, I have done my best to bring unbiased coverage, including games that include the coach’s I listed above, win or lose.
I’m also thankful for our competition – we wouldn’t be what we are today if we weren’t pushed to be the best. Those at the Sun Chronicle have turned from competition to friends over the past couple of years. I’ll never forget Mark Farinella showing up to our first annual Charity Basketball Classic – that meant so much to us. I’ll always remember my conversations with Peter Gobis at Revolution games, as our chats over dinner always turned to the high school beat. Dave Carty of the Foxboro Reporter has turned from colleague to coworker and friend and I’m thankful for Chris McDaniel and Greg Dudek, both formerly of the Brockton Enterprise, for their friendships.
I’m incredibly thankful for the support of my parents. Usually the 22-year old right out of college starting his own website is reserved for the movies…my parents lived it. I can’t thank them enough for their support, or their snack stand work at our soccer events.
I’m also very thankful for a handful of close friends. I’ve been blessed to have the same group of friends since before high school. If you’ve come to any of our charity events – soccer or basketball – you’ve met John Giuggio, who is the only other person to be at every single event we’ve hosted besides me. Alex Prager and Joe Tarr are my other two best friends who have sacrificed time for our events and I’m forever grateful.
And finally, I’ve thankful for every single parent or player who has taken time to talk to us. Whether you’ve sent an email complaining about something on the site, or you’ve reached out to compliment us, I’ve read each email — every single one. Your comments are what keep me going so I thank every and anyone who has submitted one.
And to every person who has purchased a photo or a t-shirt, I’m more thankful than you could imagine. HockomockSports.com is something I started from the ground up and for anyone – student, parent, teacher, coach, etc – to spend any money on our work, is incredibly rewarding.
I’m so thankful for the past five years and I look forward to what the future brings.
