Barger Leaving Stepinac for FDR

Ken Barger is leaving Archbishop Stepinac High School to become the head football coach at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park.

Barger worked at Stepinac for five years, most recently serving as an academic support counselor in the school and offensive coordinator for the varsity football program at Stepinac, which won state titles in 2017 and 2018.

Barger, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, was the head football coach of Poughkeepsie and Our Lady of Lourdes high schools before heading to Stepinac.

Baez Leads Worcester to Final

Mount St. Michael Academy graduate Angelo Baez helped the Worcester Bravehearts reach the third and final game of the championship series in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England.

The Bravehearts lost to Nashua, 5-3, in the third game of the best-of-three championship series.

Baez finished with a league-low 1.29 earned run average, allowing five earned runs and striking out 46 in 35 innings. In 2019, he was named the league’s pitcher of the year.

Baez, a graduate student, will pitch his senior season at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Rockland County in the 2020-2021 school year.

Baez was one of the players featured in a Catholic New York story on players competing in summer leagues. Click here to read the story.

PHOTO BY CAROL MOROCCO/WORCESTER BRAVEHEARTS

 

Football Season Delayed by Cuomo

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced earlier this week that all fall sports, except for football and volleyball, may begin practice and start competing Sept. 21, according to a release from the governor’s office.

This ruling affects all public, Catholic and private high school athletics in New York State.

Low-risk and moderate-risk fall sports–soccer, swimming, tennis, field hockey and cross country–may start Sept. 21, and may compete in games in their region of the state. Teams will not be permitted to leave their region for practice or games until Oct. 19.

Higher-risk sports–football, ice hockey, volleyball, rugby and wresting–may begin practicing Sept. 21 but may not have competitive games until a later date or Dec. 31. These sports will be limited in practice to no- or low-contact training.

“The state has done a lot of research on how we can safely have our students participate in school sports and get the exercise they need, and the guidance we developed will allow lower-risk sports to begin practicing and playing next month,” said Gov. Cuomo in a press release. “We are approaching youth sports as we have approached everything else in our phased reopening – teams are not allowed to compete outside a school’s region or contiguous region for the time being until we can gauge the effects.”

Lowe Joins Texas Rio Grande Valley Men’s Basketball Staff

Archbishop Stepinac High School assistant basketball coach Chris Lowe has been named special assistant to the men’s basketball head coach of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Lowe, who played at the University of Massachusetts before competing professionally in the NBA G-League and in Europe, was a graduate student manager the last two seasons at St. Louis, which competed in the 2019 NCAA Division I tournament.

Texas Rio Grande Valley competes in the Western Athletic Conference and finished with a 14-16 overall and 9-7 in the WAC during the 2019-2020 season.

“Chris is a strong addition to our staff. He’s someone that’s going to be a great coach in the future,” UTRGV men’s basketball head coach Lew Hill said in a press release from the school. “He played overseas for eight years and played at a high level at UMass. Chris is going to bring a new energy to our staff. That, combined with his youthfulness, is going to be really good for our players.”

Lowe added, “”I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Hill’s staff. I look forward to helping the University and our student-athletes reach their full potential.”

Summer Baseball Offers Athletes Chance to be Back on Diamond

Summer baseball leagues are giving athletes the opportunity to compete again after all Catholic high school players and college players from the archdiocese had their seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mount St. Michael Academy graduate and St. Thomas Aquinas player Angelo Baez is playing for the Worcester Bravehearts in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England.

Click here to read his story and other stories from baseball players competing in summer leagues.

PHOTO BY CAROL MOROCCO/WORCESTER BRAVEHEARTS

 

Army-Oklahoma Game Cancelled

The Army football game against Oklahoma was cancelled for the 2020 season after the Big 12 announced its teams will not be playing non-conference road games this season.

The two teams were scheduled to play at Michie Stadium in West Point on Sept. 26. The West Point athletic department is putting together an updated schedule for the 2020 season.

Cardinal Hayes High School graduate Christian Anderson is competing for the starting job at quarterback for Army after becoming the first Army quarterback in 40 years to make his first collegiate start in the Army-Navy game. He ran for 56 yards and one touchdown in the game last December.

Anderson appeared in six games last season, including the one start, and ran for 429 yards and four touchdowns on 67 carries, averaging 6.4 yards per carry.  He also threw for 135 yards and a touchdown.

PHOTO BY DANNY WILD/ARMY ATHLETICS

 

Baseball Miracles Starts Talk Series

The abbreviated 2020 Major League Baseball season is nearly two weeks old and with this Baseball Miracles, Inc. has started its Spotlight Interview talk series.

The most recent talk featured Baseball Miracles’ video producer Sam Hyman speaking with Chicago White Sox scout Daraka Shaheed about his time with Baseball Miracles and as a scout with MLB. Previously, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf was featured.

Baseball Miracles’ mission is to provide baseball instruction to children from economically and environmental disadvantaged regions throughout the world. The Baseball Miracles team has instructed children in places such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Nigeria, Kenya and the Philippines.

Baseball Miracles was founded by longtime White Sox scout John Tumminia, parishioner of St. Mary’s in Marlboro.

Click here to see the interview with Shaheed.