of Jamboree Operations.
“The biggest challenge was assembling a team with short notice to make sure we had a full roster to participate in a highly competitive tournament that included many club teams,” said head coach Rick Zaccardo. “But with the size and strength of MBYLL, we accomplished that very quickly as many players responded to the tournament request with enthusiasm—having a chance to play at Brown University.”
The nineteen players met each other and coaches for the first time on the morning of the tournament. With an hour of “how do you do” time before their first game, the Mass Bay Stars 2023 picked up their uniforms along with their line assignments and put a lot of work into fundamental team concepts.
“There was no feeling of any pressure as the coaching staff ensured them they were ready to a have a great experience and a fun weekend,” said Zaccardo. “After uniforms were distributed and a brief team meeting was held to welcome and introduce everyone, players and coaches quickly bonded, parents gave immediate support, and it was time to represent MBYLL in the tournament.”
Playing goalkeeper was the fearless Quinn Fidler of Beverly. His staunch defense were the formidable Frankie Smith of Wachusett Youth Lacrosse, Anthony Busa of Newton, and Owen Keeley of Shrewsbury. The four titans were vocal, aggressive, and consistent all weekend, getting to know one another’s tendencies and habits from game-to-game.
Nate Austin-Johnstone of Weston, Mathew Dickinson of Wachusett Youth Lacrosse, and Eliot Donovan of Ipswich led the ferocious attack, feeding one another and an army of midfielders in the blistering July sun.
While at a disadvantage in the tournament with a lack of team chemistry, the Stars’ strength was in its depth. With nearly four lines of versatile midfielders, many of whom stepped up and contributed at both attack and defense as needed, the Stars stunned their naysayers with a relentless parade of hungry middies.
The “Tenacious Ten” consisted of Travis Bohnke of Melrose, Nolan Cole of Pentucket Youth Lacrosse, Joshua Cordio of Leominster, Andrew Daigneault of Winthrop, Joshua Furman of Hopkinton, Christopher Hamilton of Canton, Lucas Hunt of Hamilton-Wenham, Connor Leonard of Grafton, Charlie Mansfield of Newton, and Lucas Verrier of Tribal (Tri-town) Youth Lacrosse.
Jadon Dithrich of Tantasqua and Griffin Caiozzo of Leominster were named to the team but withdrew for medical reasons and were there in spirit to lend moral support.
“For starters, we had a great group of kids,” said Picard. “A few were familiar with one another, but mostly they were strangers, and they couldn’t care less about that. They came to play, to have fun, to compete. And the fact that we had a tremendous group of young men with high character, a ton of respect, and an eagerness to learn meant that we had the building blocks for a pretty special weekend.”
Ten teams of mostly all 5th graders (class of 2023) were split into two pools. Based on the performance of their cousins, the Mass Bay Colonials, tournament organizers put the Mass Bay Stars in the top-rated pool among some fairly experienced, well-oiled machines. No one said it would be easy.
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