Gallery • 2 Photos

Carrie Balasco, used with permission

Alexx Jenner

The Green Wave had a successful winter sports season this year. Three teams had tournament runs: varsity girls basketball, boys hockey, and varsity boys basketball. It’s important to take a look behind the scenes and see where some of the magic happens.

On the boys teams, both Alexx Jenner ’18 and Chris Hagerty ’19 were the managers for the boys hockey and boys basketball team, respectively. Although they may not have been the ones scoring goals or running around on the court, they still had a big impact on the successes of both teams this season.  

Jenner played a major role in helping the boys hockey team this season. During games, Jenner kept stats like shots on goal, rebounds, and face off wins and losses. Coach Brian Smith said, “this was important because we could make in game adjustments between periods and hopefully gain an advantage.”

Not only did Jenner make an impact on the team period-to-period, Coach Smith said Jenner was able to report any stat to him on the spot. Having this information on hand from Jenner definitely helped Coach Smith with his decision making and game plan.

Senior captain Brian Cashman also spoke highly of Jenner. Cashman said, “He was always cracking jokes in the locker room and was right at the door when we came off the ice for games giving us fist bumps.” Not only was Jenner impacting the game with his stats, but he was able to impact the team with his positive and motivational attitude. Cashman recalls that “his [Jenner’s] go-to line when we were losing was ‘We still got this guys! Just get the next goal!’”

Jenner said his favorite part of managing the hockey team was game days and “being in the locker room with the team listening to coach get the team ready for the game.” Jenner’s impact on the team was more important than he perhaps realized, as along with Coach Smith, Jenner was a key factor in preparing the boys for their games.  

Chris Hagerty, like Jenner, was a fundamental part of his team. During basketball games, Hagerty was responsible for keeping the boys loose and focused on the bench, during time outs, and during warm ups. He ensured players would be ready to go by the start of the game.

Boys basketball coach Mr. Serino said, “Just having Chris around kept the mood light and the team had a lot of fun as a result of his presence.”

From senior captain Justin Keleher’s perspective, Hagerty’s positive attitude was extremely helpful during games. His smile and encouraging attitude made it impossible for his teammates to be in a bad mood, even during a loss. Keleher said, “Chris kept the team’s vibes positive, which made it really easy for us. All we had to do was go out there and play hard.”

Having this positive impact on the team came naturally to Hagerty, as he is always one to have a smile on his face. For him,  his favorite part of being manager for the basketball team was “helping on the bench.” 

A team’s successes come from the efforts of several people, including players, coaches and managers like Jenner and Hagerty, who are establishing big shoes to fill for all future managers for the Green Wave.