Began's Perseverance Helping In Life And Basketball

Jack Began handles the ball at the top of the key (SS Photo)

Perseverance. Survivor.

Those are two words to describe Jack Began, but he is so much more than that. He is hardworking, caring, honest and so much more. The junior on the Fairfield Ludlowe boy's basketball team has fought through a lot of adversity in his life.

Jack grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin (30 miles south of Green Bay) with his parents, Sandra and Patrick, and brother Charlie.

In September of 2012, Patrick died by suicide.  In July of 2014, Jack, his mother and brother moved from Wisconsin to Fairfield, Connecticut.

Jack and his mother have both written about their experiences and I will let them tell the story. This is a focus on Jack as a basketball player and a person.

Jack played freshman basketball during the 2014-2015 for Ludlowe. His sophomore year, he made a decision to not play that year and was a student manager. He put in the work as a manager, while continuing to keep his basketball skills strong. As a manager, Jack worked with the other managers and did what was asked of him. Anytime there were people needed for a drill, Jack would jump in and play hard. He watched intently as the team practiced so he could learn the plays and terminology used by coaches John Dailey and Lawrence Richardson.

Jack could have just sat there and said, I'm not playing so I won't help any more than I have to, but that's not him. He wanted to help, he wanted to get better, he wanted to learn.

This season, Jack is back on the court and has a positive impact on his team. He is starting on junior varsity and playing as a role player off the bench for the varsity team. Even as a junior, he is showing great leadership qualities. Jack pushes everyone to work hard and makes sure people know what they are supposed to do.

The sharp shooter, Began hit a big three-pointer late in the Falcons loss against Bassick on December 21.  He is a very smart player on the court, knowing what to do and where to be on the court in certain situations.

Jack is working hard every day in practice to not only be a sharp shooter, but the best all-around player he can be so he can help the Falcons as much as possible.

Jack is also a writer and a big time sports fan. Jack has written articles on many different topics, including his father. You can check out his writing here. He roots for the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Brewers, and the University of Wisconsin.

Jack will look to be a key piece for the Falcons this season. 
 

Managing High School Sports

Score book at St. Joseph for basketball (Mary Albl Photo)

(This is a piece I have wanted to write for a while and now have a platform. More may be added at a later date.)  

As many of you know, I was the student manager of the Ludlowe High School baseball and boys basketball teams (and am still always around).

I loved managing. I managed baseball all four years and basketball three years. I got involved with baseball first and after managing freshman baseball, the freshman head coach, Josh Marko, who was then the varsity basketball head coach asked me about managing basketball.

Managing baseball and basketball were very different but I loved both. Baseball involved running around more and was a lot more hands on, where basketball was much more of an administrative role. One thing that was the same, my job was to do whatever the coaches asked and needed me to do.

For baseball, I was in charge of getting the field set up for practice and games. During practices, I might assist a coach with a drill and just make sure equipment is where is should be. If a coach or player needs something, they would ask me. During games I would do the score book. I was always known for being a tough scorekeeper and the players always tried to argue with me about my scoring decisions. There were also times when I ran the scoreboard during games.

One of my pre-game duties was to put the flag up on the flag pole out in left-center field. When I started doing it my junior year (first year as varsity manager), I had a ton of trouble. I could not get it to go up all the way so we always had a laugh about that.

As I said above, managing basketball was much different. For basketball, I did a lot of behind-the-scenes work such as sending emails, creating game statistics sheets and then compiling the statistics, helping to create game programs and more. I used my email more those three years than I had in my life prior. I looked forward to duties and projects that would need my assistance.

My sophomore and junior year (did not manage basketball freshman year) I filmed the games. I was not very good as I would get some into the game that I would forget to move the camera and the play would be happening at one end of the court with the camera pointed at the opposite end. We always joked about it when we went to watch film, but in reality, it wasn't good as it hurt the ability to break down the game and help improve the team. Thankfully, for everyone involved, especially the players and coaches, the athletic department hired a professional service to film the games my senior year and since then. Certain games, especially on the road my senior year, I did the score book. During practice, I ran the clock for drills, got equipment needed and set up the gym for practice, and got thing ready if we have games the next day. 

During baseball and basketball, I got to interact with many different people, both at Ludlowe and other schools. At Ludlowe I dealt with the Ludlowe coaching staff, the varsity coaches and sub-varsity coaches, including but not limited to Keith O'Rourke, Mike Francese, the aforementioned Marko, Brian Silvestro, John Dailey and Lawrence Richardson.

 I also dealt with Athletic Director Dave Schulz, scorekeeper/PA announcer Art Cockerham, and many others. In terms of other schools, I dealt with coaches, both in person and over email, athletic directors, in-person, over email, and even over the phone (and I hate talking on the phone). I also sometimes dealt with other student managers so It was interesting to see the way they did things compared to the way I did things. Still being around I have dealt with the Ludlowe managers since me and managers at other schools, like Warde basketball's Tommy Smalley, who is now managing at Siena College.

I also dealt with members of the media such as Pat Pickens, Mary Albl, Rich Pittera, Bill Bloxsom (featured in picture above) and many more. Pat was the one who gave me the opportunity to blog for Hearst/The Fairfield Citizen, and is probably a big reason I am interested in sports media. so I can't thank him enough for that.

Overall, managing high school sports was one of the best things I have done. One thing to know: Do whatever is needed and you are asked. (And yes, I am still way too invested and too involved).

Remembering Sandy Hook Four Years Later (And Dates)

"We remember. We honor. We never forget."

That is what I Tweeted this morning on the fourth anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

We remember the 20 children and six adults who were killed that day. We honor them in various ways. We try to make the world a better place. We will never forget Dec. 14, 2012. It made an impact on everyone around the country, but especially those of us in CT.

We all have dates that bring up memories.

Both good and bad.

There are national, or public dates, like today, Sept. 11, and many more.

 There are also dates that matter to each person. We have many different reasons for certain dates. I know I have a few (which may be written about here).

We all talk about remembering where we were when these events happen. That may be important to us, but not to the bigger picture.

Packers Playoff Push?

Packers 2010 Super Bowl Trophy (Photo: Shawn Sailer)

Big win for the Packers today against the Seahawks. Green Bay has won three in a row and now sit at 7-6. If they win out and finish 10-6 they would not be guaranteed a playoff spot. If the Packers do indeed win out and  Lions lose once before Week 17, the match-up with Detroit will be for the division (Go Giants, next week).The Packers could also make the playoffs by getting a wild card spot. The currently are in ninth place in the NFC. The Vikings are in eighth, the Redskins in seventh, with the Buccaneers currently holding onto the sixth and final playoff spot. 

Aaron Rodgers, who had a hamstring injury earlier in the season, reportedly suffered a calf injury early in the game. Rodgers still played very well, however, his inability to scramble and run was evident. The Packers will need him healthy if they want to make the playoffs, or more importantly, make a Super Bowl run.

Despite the fact that the Packers haven't missed the playoffs since 2008, (Aaron Rodgers first year as a starter), there have been many disappointing playoff loses since the 2010 Super Bowl victory over the Steelers. Just like with the Yankees, nothing short of a championship is considered a successful season.

The game today was the best game the Packers have played all year, as they played well offensively and defensively. The special teams was pretty good, as well, despite Mason Crosby missing a field goal.

This has been an interesting season. Rodgers has not been as great as he has been in previous seasons, although injuries have made a difference. The running game has been poor, as both Eddie Lacy and James Starks have suffered injuries. Wide receiver Ty Montgomery has been pretty good as a running back. Despite a good performance today, the defense has struggled mightily.

The Packers final three games are all against NFC North teams. They are at Chicago, home against the Vikings and as I said earlier, at Detroit. 

The Packers have been on TV in Connecticut a lot this season. I don't know why but I love it. It's also always fun interacting on Twitter with great friends and fellow Packer fans like AJ Szymanowski and Jack Began, among others (You should follow them, for more than just Packers Tweets).