TD Garden
New Year’s Eve Scrimmage between AHS Boys JV Basketball and St. Patrick’s of Quebec City
Bill Marquardt, with Permission
Home of the Parquet, The TD Garden in Boston, is where the Celtics and Bruins both play. Photo taken January of 2018.
On December 31, the Abington High School boys JV basketball team, along with their coaches Brown, Tighe, Marquardt, and Madden and the Athletic Director Peter Serino, had a once in a lifetime opportunity. The team played a scrimmage game at the TD Garden against St. Patrick’s of Quebec City, winning 67-17.
Freshman Derek Nuttall said that “playing on the same court as all of the big time NBA players like Lebron James and Michael Jordan” was his favorite part. Sophomore Colby Augusta loved “looking up and seeing the huge Jumbotron, thousands of seats, and championship banners hanging in the rafters.”
Not many people are able to say that they have played on an NBA court. Augusta said it was “exhilarating” and added that “looking into the stands to see all of the parents watching was so cool.” Nuttall had a great time during warm-ups, too, saying that “everyone was smiling and laughing.”
When asked how Abington High School was invited, AD Serino said the Canadian coach “reached out in August” and “wanted his team to experience American basketball and see an NBA game.” Serino explained that the match-up between the Canadian team and AHS JV was good because “the schools are of similar size and the [Canadian] students are primarily the equivalent of 10th graders, so we thought a match-up with our JV team would work.”
The boys not only played on an NBA court, they also got to play a team from Canada. A lot of people don’t get to face teams from other countries. Augusta said “all of the kids were extremely respectful, even when the score wasn’t in their favor, so my teammates and I owe it to them.” The teams had an hour to play and then watched the Celtics play against the Brooklyn Nets.
AD Serino said that “the opportunity to see the game was provided by the Green Wave Boosters, youth clinics run by the boy’s basketball team, and 50/50 raffles at the basketball games in December.”
Augusta thought that it was “cool” for both teams because we got to see how basketball is played in Canada, and they got to see how it is played in the US.”
Throughout the game they were able to get along and help each other understand the game of basketball a little more. The Canadian team spoke both English and French. Nuttall said he “couldn’t understand them on defense because they were speaking in French.”
Any team would be lucky to play on an NBA court and share such an incredible experience with a team that has become like a family, and Nuttall said that if he could do something like this again he’d “do it in an instant.”
As the JV basketball season continues, the team is currently undefeated with a record of 8-0 with 10 games left in the season. This team can go far as they continue on their journey through the rest of the season together.