Open House will allow opportunity to meet with coaches, athletes

Northern Essex Community College is holding its first athletics open house on Tuesday, February 19, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., followed by a home men’s basketball game.  Prospective and current students will have the opportunity to meet with coaches and student athletes.

This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Lecture Hall A in the Spurk Building on the Haverhill campus, 100 Elliott St. Northern Essex supports 13 sports teams including baseball, men and women’s basketball, men and women’s cross country, men’s soccer, men and women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, men and women’s golf and men and women’s Esports. Additional information can be found on the NECC athletic website.

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Athletics Open House will be held Tuesday, Feb. 19 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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“Our hope is to showcase our numerous athletic programs for current and future students so they can see everything we have to offer,” said Dan Blair, NECC’s director of athletics and recreation. The evening will open with a welcome at 4:30 p.m. followed by speakers from the admissions and financial aid offices. There will be breakout session with coaches and current NECC student-athletes. At 6 p.m. attendees are invited to walk to the Sport and Fitness Center to watch the basketball game. Light refreshments will be served.

For additional information, contact Blair at 978-556-3820 or email him at dblair@necc.mass.edu

Both teams are above .500

Boston’s Celtics and Bruins are starting to produce, after having a rough start of the season. Both teams are above .500. And both teams have lost 10 games. Each team has time since the half-way point isn’t until next year in January. Last season they made it to the playoffs but were eliminated in the end. This two are the minor teams compared to the Red Sox and the Patriots, though they have each raised a banner in the 2000’s. They have the potential to raise more, their team chemistry is off the charts, but they are unable to perform.

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It’s a new season we must watch what happens in the end.

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The Celtics are 15-10 and are sitting in fifth in the Eastern Conference, you would think that with the departure of Lebron James to the Western Conference it would make the Celtics the top dog. With their recent win streak, they are moving up in the standings and they have begun outscoring their opponents with a hefty margin. Recently they beat the Chicago bulls 133-77. Through previous games they have scored more than 100 points which is something you at least should accomplish if you want to win games in the NBA. Their starting five is one big unit, their motto is that they don’t have one superstar, the whole team is the superstar. In recent games Gordon Hayward has been coming off the bench and has been performing. To win championships your starting five and bench need to make big plays. The team has a rough schedule the next coming weeks but I’m sure they will produce.

Playing in the city of Boston is tough, than fans like myself expect you to win games.

The Bruins have had a tough year, they lost one of the best goaltender in the NHL to a family matter and they were losing games, but once Tuukka returned he was out performing but his defense wasn’t contributing, plenty of the defenseman went down to injury, (Charlie McAvoy, Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller, etc.). It also doesn’t help that they traded away Adam Mcquaid to their rivals the New York Rangers. The team is eleven points behind the leader the Tampa Bay Lightning, but in recent games they have a nice little streak of two previously beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 and the Ottawa Senators 2-1 in overtime. If this team wants to make a heavy playoff push this year they must show it, they have to have their young skaters produce because they can’t keep relying on Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara.

It’s December and for the NBA and NHL this is the spot where everything gets tough for the teams, each team has a young core that must produce because during this part of the season this is where you make it or you break it. Playing in the city of Boston is tough, the fans like myself expect you to win games, hence the name “City of Champions”. It’s a new season and we must watch what happens in the end.

Varsity eSports team coming to NECC in 2019

NECC will have a varsity eSports program for the first time. The eSports team will be joining the athletic programs for the 2019-20 academic year.  ESports are a multiplayer video game played competitively for spectators, typically by professional gamers.  Other colleges already have joined the eSports mania and are offering scholarships for their varsity eSports team. NECC will be competing against other colleges and universities, join eSsports tournaments/championships in large arenas and participate in  other events regarding eSports. Dan Blair, Director of Athletics said, “We are excited to get in the action of eSports and to provide it for interested students.”

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I would definitely join, I haven’t really tried gaming tournament

–Jason Batista

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Interested students can join or apply online and fill out a form or by going to the Athletics Department.  As of now there is not a limit on how many students can join the eSports team;  Blair said “there is no limit, as of now we have an open roster” Blair also added that the amount of players allowed to play at the same time in a team depends on the game, “sometimes games can have four player or eight players in a team” Blair said.  According to a press release, NECC alum and nationally ranked Fortnite gamer RJ Warnock will lead the eSports program as its first coach. 

Warnock, of North Reading, played baseball for Northern Essex before transferring in 2013, the press release said.  eSports has one of the fastest growing fan bases in pro sports.  eSports are estimated to make 276 million dollars by the year 2022. Alfredo Tejada 20, said he did not know NECC was making a varsity eSports team, but would be interested in trying it out. Tejada said “I like to play video games, but I don’t have the time, I am not one that goes home and starts playing games. I like to play 2K, if that was an option, I would be really interested in joining.”

like to play video games, but I don’t have the time, I am not one that goes home and starts playing games. – Alfredo Tejada

Jason Batista 24 said “Yes! I would definitely join, I haven’t really tried gaming tournament wise, so I would definitely join for that experience, and to connect with people that share a common interest in gaming like me. “I feel like not a lot of people are able to connect in college because we are just going classroom to classroom, and I would join it for that reason as well.” For more information visit the Athletci Department or vist the department’s website at www.neccknights.com.