First Month Working in the MLS

When I arrived in Philadelphia I did not know what I was getting myself into.  I had no idea what to think about the MLS since I had not followed the league very closely since the late 90s.  The addition of David Beckham in 2007 seemed like a last gasp to me, but I have been proven wrong in my first month here.  I am a huge fan of soccer (international football), but I had always seen the MLS as a low level minor league.  The two teams I follow closely are FC Barcelona of La Liga and Hibernian FC of the Scottish Premiere League.  While Barca is one of the world's strongest teams and annually compete in the UEFA Champions League, Hibernian has been a near bottom of the table team most of the time I have been a supporter.  I have been lucky enough to see two games at Easter Road and ranked them as one of the top in-person game experiences in my life.  Now I have experienced the true MLS.  PPL Park is a wonderful venue to watch a match.  The new soccer specific stadium movement in the MLS I believe could lead to a great rebirth of the league.  Having 20,000 fans in a stadium that holds 20,000 make it extremely louder than 20,000 fans in a 60,000 seat stadium.  I am thankful I got the offer to work here in Philadelphia and more thankful I took the risk in accepting it.  This has been a great experience so far.

Living a Dream

Today I got to fulfill a dream I have had since I was a little kid.  When I was young my father used to say "Luke you should be the guy handing the play-by-play guy crazy stats".  Well today I was that guy.  I worked with Brad Feldman and Jeff Causey during their broadcast of the game between the New England Revolution and the Philadelphia Union.  They are the play-by-play team for Comcast Sports-New England.  This was an amazing experience, one that I even got to share with my father since he was watching the game at home.

First Day with the Philadelphia Union

Today is my first day with the Philadelphia Union and I am both excited but nervous.  While the MLS is not widely considered a major sport in the US, this is the big leagues.  I have only worked in the minors or amateur level before today.  This will be a big step up for me and I will have to be on my game when it comes to writing and other assignments.  The connections I make here, while not being near my hometown, could help me find a full-time position in the future.

For Nashua

Nashua, NH - In the nearly 75 year history of Holman Stadium there have been many great teams and great individual games, but tonight will stand out as the first championship celebration in Holman Stadium History.  For the first time ever a championship team won the clinching game here at Holman Stadium.  The 1946 and 1948 Nashua Dodgers won the Governor's Cup in Lynn, Massachusetts.  In 1947 the Nashua Dodgers won the Governor's Cup in Manchester, New Hampshire.  The 2000 Nashua Pride won the Atlantic League Championship in Bridgewater, New Jersey.  In 2007 the Nashua Pride won the CAN-AM League Championship in Lynn, Massachusetts.  Then the 2011 Nashua Silver Knights won the inaugural FCBL Championship in Torrington, Connecticut.  In 2012 the FCBL more than doubled in size and Nashua was not expected to repeat as champions due to the rosters of the other teams in the league.  When the managerial reigns were given to a son of Nashua, BJ Neverett, something special was in the air.  Tonight he was able to bring something even hall of fame manager Walter Alston was not able to do during his career with the Nashua Dodgers.

When Drew Weber, Tim Bawmann and Jon Goode created the Nashua Silver Knights their mission was to provide long-term and sustainable affordable family entertainment for the Greater Nashua community at Historic Holman Stadium through baseball.  While time will tell about the long-term success of the team one thing is certain, they have made a team Nashua can be proud to call their own.  Historic Holman Stadium's first championship celebration comes 39 days before its 75th birthday.  Our fans have been a big part of the team's success this season and it is evident in the Silver Knights home record of 24-4 (.857 winning percentage) this season here in Nashua.  This championship is for all of you fans reading this right now and hopefully some of you were there to experience Historic Holman Stadium's first championship celebration.  We hoped you enjoyed the 2012 FCBL Season as much as we did and we hope to see you next year when the Silver Knights try to become the first Nashua team to three peat since the Dodgers did it in 1946-1948.

I am an Uncle!!!

Today, Annabelle Susan McLaughlin was born.  I was sitting Fraser Field in Lynn, MA watching the Nashua Silver Knights play the Northshore Navigators when I got the text.  About 20 mins after receiving the text it started to downpour in Lynn and the interns for the Navigators did such a comical job at putting on the tarp that the game was called in the 6th inning with the Silver Knights winning 6-2 behind a great pitching performance by Nick Poore and some clutch hitting by Logan Gillis, James Katsiroubas and Sean Lyons.

A Gate City Great Continues Baseball Legacy at Historic Holman Stadium

Holman Stadium opened on Thursday September 23, 1937; it was paid for by funds from the federal government's Works Progress Administration (WPA) and money bequeathed by a local citizen, Charles Frank Holman.  He believed the stadium should benefit both present and future generations of citizens of the City of Nashua.  Over the years five professional teams have called Holman Stadium home.  This included farm teams for the Brooklyn Dodgers, California Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates.  After the Nashua Pirates departed, two different non-affiliated teams became the tenants at Holman Stadium.  While professional teams have come and gone, the constant has been amateur baseball.

Holman Stadium has been around for 75 years and hosted Rivier College, Nashua High School (North after the split), Bishop Guertin High School, Babe Ruth Leagues, American Legion, AAU Games and numerous other amateur baseball teams.  The newest residents of Holman Stadium are following in this great tradion.  Nashua resident Tim Bawmann, President of the Lowell Spinners (a class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) and Jon Goode, Vice President of the Lowell Spinners, convinced their boss Drew Weber, owner of the Lowell Spinners, to bring a new team to Nashua’s Holman Stadium.  This led to the creation of the Nashua Silver Knights, a founding member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League of New England (FCBL).  When the new team was announced this group made a commitment to the City of Nashua to showcase local talent.

Growing up in Nashua, Silver Knights manager BJ Neverett watched some of the professional teams come and go over the years.  He remembers his first visit to Holman Stadium was during the 1960s where he watched a local high school baseball team.  When he got older, he played both baseball and football at Holman Stadium for Nashua High School.  “When I played football our locker room is the same one our team will be using this year”.  Once his playing days were over, he became a teacher and coach in the Nashua school district.  He coached the junior varsity baseball team for nine years, and in 1995 he was named the successor to Charlie Mellen as Head Coach of the Nashua High School varsity baseball team.  Nashua High School had won the 1995 New Hampshire State Championship and Mellen was leaving as a champion.

In 2005, Nashua High School was split into two schools and Coach Neverett became Head Coach of Nashua High School South baseball team.  In the season before the split he believes he and his team let a state championship slip through their fingers, and now with the team divided he was not sure how the 2005 season would fare.  This season, however, would be his most rewarding one of his career.  He remembers, “We won 19 in a row, those kids were great, after the split, a season like this came out of nowhere”.  The season ended with his second state championship.

In 2011, after stepping down as Nashua South’s Coach, BJ became the Assistant Coach for the inaugural season of the Nashua Silver Knights.  Under the leadership of Silver Knights Manager Mike Chambers, BJ Neverett learned how to handle college players who were already prepared to play, but also wanted to have fun during their summers off campus.  Mike Chambers says, “We had different styles of coaching and we learned together during the season.  Sometimes we would go with his ideas and sometimes mine.  We coached as a unit even though I was the manager, that’s the way I like to run a team”.  During the season Neverett noticed a difference in the way the games were being presented to fans.

“Our games at Holman Stadium were nothing like the games in the other three stadiums.  I watched Jon Goode ride around in a go-kart; it was like nothing I had seen before.  These guys in Lowell really know how to entertain the fans.”

           

            At the end of the 2011 season Coach Neverett was a champion again, “The championship last year is right under the 2005 State Championship, when it comes to my most rewarding moment.  We meshed as a team and had a lot of fun during the season”.  With renewed energy Coach Neverett was excited to return to Holman Stadium as an assistant coach, but when Mike Chambers accepted a full time roll with Franklin Pierce, he stepped down as Manager and Coach Neverett was the obvious choice to be his replacement.  The ownership group’s commitment to the City of Nashua to showcase local talent now extends to the position of Manager.

            The 2012 season will mark BJ Neverett’s first season as Silver Knights Manager, and his 30th season coaching in and around the City of Nashua.  We here at the Silver Knights are lucky to call Holman Stadium our home, and even luckier to have a homegrown manager the likes of BJ Neverett.

-2012 Nashua Silver Knights Souvenir Program

Four Silver Knights Play in First Ever Game at jetBlue Park vs. the Boston Red Sox

            Northeastern University is accustomed to being a part of Red Sox history since the university currently stands where the Hunting Avenue Grounds once stood.  This was the original home of the Boston Americans, who in 1908 changed their name to the Boston Red Sox.  On October 1, 1903 Cy Young took the mound of the Huntington Avenue Grounds in front of 16,242 Royal Rooters (the original fan club of Boston’s professional baseball team) and threw the first pitch in World Series history.  On the 90th anniversary of this event Northeastern University erected the statue shown here to mark the spot of this pitch.  Also, inside Northeastern University’s Godfrey Lowell Cabot Physical Education Center you can see memeorabilia from the 1901 to 1911 Red Sox teams, including newspaper reporting the first modern-day (third overall) perfect game in baseball history pitched by Cy Young on May 5, 1904.

            Earlier this year Northeastern University took part in Red Sox history once again by being the first visitors to JetBlue Park at Fenway South, to play a preseason game against the Boston Red Sox.  Four members of that Huskies team are also members of your 2012 Nashua Silver knights.  They include a pair of catchers John Puttress (New Providence, New Jersey) and Josh Treff (Salem, New Hampshire), and they are joined by Sean and Conner Lyons of Bedford, New Hampshire.  After hitting a home run into the right field bullpen during batting practice before the game Sean said “Seeing their [the Red Sox] BP up-close you learn a lot, how quick their hands are and how effortless their swings are and they hit the ball 450 feet, it’s unbelievable.”

            Playing against the Red Sox is an experience these guys will never forget, “It’s really unbelievable, seeing these guys and being in front of them,” Connor says, “you really don’t know what to think at first.  You’re kind of nervous, but excited at the same time.  You just want to get out there and play.”

            John Puttress and Sean Lyons are returning to the Nashua Silver Knights after their 2011 FCBL championship season.  This year for the Huskies, Puttress has started nearly every game and batted well over .300 as a junior.  Sean on the other hand, has transitioned into being primarily a relief pitcher this season after splitting duties on the mound and outfield in 2011.  He has 10 appearances this season with batters hitting a paltry .182 against him.

            New to the Nashua Silver Knights this season are Josh Treff and Connor Lyons.  Josh entered his freshman year with the Huskies after a stellar career at Salem High School.  He was selected to the first team all-state his junior and senior years as well as being named the New Hampshire D1 Coaches Player of the Year as a senior.  Connor led Northeastern University in hitting his freshman year with a .356 avg, and commanded great range in center field, with his Ellsbury-esque speed, timing, and ability to read the ball right off the bat.

            Together this quartet is ready to make a little more history at Holman Stadium and help the Nashua Silver Knights on their quest to repeat as FCBL Champions.  And who knows, maybe one of these guys will be on the other side of the Red Sox vs. Huskies preseason game some day.

-2012 Nashua Silver Knights Souvenir Program