Monthly Archives: September 2022

Slider, Sports

Season preview for the 2022 NECC Knights Women’s Volleyball team

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NECC Knights Women’s Volleyball are practicing and working really hard for this upcoming season. Their season is set to begin on Sept 8, against New Hampshire Tech on the road.

 Their head coach is Mike Pelosi of Haverhill.

Coach Pelosi will be entering his fourth season managing the club.

Coach Pelosi and his coaching staff did a little work over the off-season to improve this volleyball team and hopefully when the season ends to reach the ultimate goal, which is winning the Region 21 championship.

“…I would say preparation will be the big piece, I think we had some good talented players last year but we just not spend a good quality time on the court to get our self prepared for the game we practice but I thought we could’ve practice harder and longer and then definitely getting there getting warmed up properly and be ready for the beginning of the match so those are two big areas I think we have a group that is much more committed this year and willing to put in all the time necessary to get us to that high level,” Coach Pelosi said.

One thing that Coach Pelosi learned from last season and wants to work on for this upcoming season he mentioned more buy in.  “I think one thing as I’m trying to make more collaborate process with the players is there is more buy in. So rather for example coming into practice being on time rather than just sanding out of the player punish them if they don’t comply actually having them come together and create their own set of rules so they can hold each other accountable,” he said.

Coach Pelosi said before he recruits a player to be on the team he looks at their attitude and determines if a certain player will fit in or not on his team.

“I look at attitude a lot I think assistant Coach Marissa [Reardon] and I are very good at teaching the sports, so attitude it’s a big piece so if we have a player show up consistently have a positive optimistic outlook making effort to get along with their teammates and a big one is accept feedback, if they want to accept feedback and put in a good effort that’s critical. We also look for a lot of fundamental skills and I would say basic athleticism it’s pretty important thing so we can get them we can progress them very quickly on their volleyball skills if they already had good hand coordination and a good balance and also players that are willing to fill in a role it’s very helpful…” he said.

Coach Pelosi and I talked about the team members that they lost last year either because of academic  issues or transferring to another college/university.

NECC Women's Volleyball practicing and getting prepared for the season
NECC Women’s Volleyball practicing and getting prepared for the season Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

He mentioned to me “… When I first took over the position I set certain bench marks for myself to measure my own success the first one that comes to mind is win record but that’s not the only one. Another one of my major bench mark is attention retention rate.  How many players come back and it’s consistently been lower than I hope. I was hoping for at least 50 percent or higher retention rate.  We usually about 30 percent of a third of the players come back. Initially I interpreted that maybe I can do things a little bit better but I had conversations with other volleyballs coaches from other community colleges and find that that number is fairly consistent so we do lose a lot of players. We have some players transferring out that’s one thing, academics is always a challenge so we tried to provide a lot of suggestion and support for players academically to help them be successful academically…” he said.

One of the returning athletes  who is playing in  her second year for the Knights Women’s Volleyball team is Ashley Dominguez of Lawrence. Dominguez last season for the Knights played in just 10 matches.

I asked her the adjustment that she and her teammates are doing to become a better volleyball player than what they already are.

“I think that all of us had made pretty good adjustment we trying to make sure that we be  consistent with serves, consistent with getting all those balls even if their  out. I think we just making little tweaks that is going to help us in the long run hopefully,” Dominguez said.

They still don’t quite have a lot of chemistry together but they are on the right path. “I think right know we’re getting our chemistry, we’re learning a lot from each other, we are learning how we played, we are learning how we communicate on and off the court in our own way to make our team successful,” she said.

One difference that she noticed this season than last year is the team as a whole is  bonding faster and she hopes that will transfer over in the court.

One of the recruits for this upcoming season is Eliany DeJesus of Lowell.

I asked her if she played women’s volleyball in high school and does she thinks the competition is  going to be harder now in college?

“Yes, I did play women’s volleyball at Lowell High School and I do think  the competition is  going to be a lot harder just because it is the collegiate level but I can’t wait for what the season has to bring for me and my girls,” she said.

Is she nervous  or excited for the season to start in a few days?

“I am some-what in between just because I have taken volleyball off for a year but I know that with practice we will get it together and work great as a team,” she said.

She also said to me one area that she got better in was serving and she has been more consistent with her toss. One area that she would like to work on more is passing the ball to her teammates.

In order for her to stay on her school work and not be left behind in her courses she is going to use the support that Northern Essex has, which is academic coaching and academic advising.

She is currently majoring in Criminal Justice.

Another recruit for this upcoming season that will be playing for the Women’s Volleyball team is Eliany’s twin sister Kiana DeJesus of Lowell.

“I feel high school and college it’s a very different level. I played at Greater Lowell Technical High School and Kingsborough for about three years and took one year off and the way that we played high school it’s very different from collegiate volleyball but I also think high school does give you a little prep… but overall college volleyball it’s a little bit harder than high school volleyball,” she said.  

She is very excited for the season to begin this upcoming Thursday and to see different talent and bonding more with her teammates and be a better volleyball player than what she already is.

Some of the improvement she has made is that she is better at is reading the ball and getting there faster she wants to improve on confidence, she said. She mentioned to me that she has “lack of confidence”.

She had different offers to play in college for example Salem State and SNHU. She choose Northern Essex because her family lives in Haverhill and Lawrence.

She is looking forward to creating memories with her teammates during the season. “Memories last a life-time and people could be here today gone tomorrow but I’m looking forward to the memories, bus ride home, the laughter, hanging out as a team,” she said.

She currently majoring in Behavioral Science.

Sports, Uncategorized

NECC welcomes new cross-country head coach, David Tousignant

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On March 17 David Tousignant of Lowell arrived at NECC to serve as the next head coach for the Men and Women’s Varsity cross-country program. Athletic director, Dan Blair announced the hiring.

“He has good experience at the high school level throughout the region and I think that will translate here at the college,” Blair said regarding the hire.

The newly appointed head coach has ambitious plans for improving the cross-country program “I know that the baseball team was in the junior college World Series and the basketball team has been very successful. I want our runners to be talked to in the same breath as the baseball and basketball teams,” Tousignant said. “I hope to make cross-country and track and field more synonymous with NECC much like baseball and basketball.” Tousignant is also planning on partnering with head track and field coach, Nelson Desilvestre to help bring cross-country and track and field into the forefront of NECC sports.

Tousignant has also expressed a desire for an Alumni run in the fall.

“Next fall I would like to see an alumni road race as a fundraiser for the school. Get people, administrators, teachers, alumni, have a day to get back on campus just kind of draw everyone around the program,” he said.

The first practice of the 2022 season will be held Monday Aug. 15th. The season will begin in the fall and end in the winter. The team is open to men and women. There are no roster cuts in the program. Practice lasts about an hour and a half and meets usually take place on Saturdays. A key part of practice is building endurance and cardio needed for long distance running. Tousignant tailors his practices to be enjoyable and fit in easily to a student athlete’s daily routine.

Overall athleticism is a point of emphasis Tousignant has in his training regimen which he plans on teaching each of his athletes.

“As you can imagine running an 8k (five + miles) is nothing short of stress on the body, which is why we focus so much on overall athleticism and not just miles and miles,” he said.

Cross Country head coach David Tousignant
Cross Country head coach David Tousignant Courtesy of neccknights.com

Cross-country athletes endure a difficult and physically demanding workout regime. Tousignant who was also a student athlete in college and high school explained how he can relate to the strenuous activities that his cross-country athletes go through.

“I run road races, it helps me to relate to the athletes themselves so when they start talking about how they feel after running six miles in the morning, I have done that. It helps me to relate to what they are talking about, it is not outside my comfort zone, and they talk about the feeling in their calves or their quads, I have probably had that same feeling myself. It helps them realize I have gone through my own program so to speak. It helps me understand what they are talking about,” Tousignant said.

Cross country is also a demanding phycological sport as well. “Endurance and long-distance runners can already run, what’s most important is mental and phycological focus on fighting through the physical demands of the sport,” Tousignant said.

Although this will be Tousignant’s first season coaching at the college level, he still brings plenty of coaching experience to the table. For the last 20 years he coached at high schools in schools in the Merrimack Valley. He is currently serving as a coach at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High school. Tousignant previously served on coaching staffs at Greater Lowell high school, Burlington and Tewksbury high schools and Norte Dame Academy.

Prior to coaching Tousignant spent 38 years in law enforcement as a Detective Sergeant for the Lowell police department. During Tousignant’s interview with Blair for the head coaching position Tousignant quipped “This is funny, I’m usually the one asking questions,” he said.

Tousignant first entered coaching in 2001. While he was working as a detective sergeant, his wife’s cousin remembered that he participated in Track and field in high school and college and asked if he could coach the team at their school for the season. Tousignant agreed, enjoyed it, and has coached every season since “My secondary career was born,” he said.

Tousignant has a wife, Susan of 38 years and they have a daughter, Lauren who is a writer in New York City. Susan has served as a teacher for nearly 50 years. Tousignant enjoys spending time remaining active by running and exercising at the gym.

For more information on the cross-country program contact David Tousignant at dtousignant@NECC.Edu or Athletic director Dan Blair at dblair@NECC.Edu

Slider, Sports

What to expect for this upcoming season for the Soccer Knights

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Last season NECC Soccer had a rough year. They are looking to bounce back this upcoming season and hopefully winning the ultimate goal which is winning a Region 21 championship.

They are working really hard over the summer to prepare for this upcoming season and looking for a different result than last year and to turn the page.

NECC soccer head coach is Coach Eusebio Morate, Morate told me some of the improvements that they did for this upcoming season.

“… What we did was we recruited hard we went to a lot of high school games local schools like Methuen, Haverhill, Lowell, Winter tech and stuff like that,.” “We got some new recruits this year, I think we have nine new returners and about 10 to 11 recruits so this year we should have more depth in the bench that will help us, guys will get tired well have some good sub in the bench to keep the game level high…” he said.

Coach Morate talking to his players before practice
Coach Morate talking to his players before practice Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

I asked coach Morate a hard question I ask him which returner that was on the team last year that is in the team this year that he is most impressed by? 

 “It’s a hard one I believe all the guys that  came back last year and worked hard this summer… a couple in particular Zack [Mohaba] and Javier [Bushell], two guys that are leaders on the team they been running captain throughout the summer always communicating with me and see how the guys are doing so I think they will be impactful players for us this year,” he said.  

Samuel De Amorim of North Andover got recruited by Coach Marote and his coaching staff.  De Amorim got recruited during a soccer game that he played against Dracut he also had offer to play for Quincy University.

“ I chose NECC [be]cause I like how coach talk to me I like how he came up to me and showed me everything here and that’s pretty much it”  De Amorim said.

Zak Mahaba of Boxford it’s know playing in his second year for the Knights “Me personally I just been non stop grinding during the off-season in the gym in the field…” he said.  Also Mahaba said that he has faith on the team.

Education it’s a big issue if you don’t have your grades up you can’t play sports. So, I ask Mohaba how he is able to stay on track with his school work while playing soccer ?

“For me personally I usually have my classes in the mornings from the morning until practice I’m in the library  eating lunch and doing my school work until practice” Mohaba said.  Mohaba he currently majoring in computer engineer.