THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2024 Page 19 FUN-damental Basketball Camp Open to Boys and Girls in Local Area Revere’s Coach O’Donnell: doubling wins and earning GBL coach of the year By Dom Nicastro 4 , 7, 15. Those are the number of wins in each of the first three seasons of Megan O’Donnell’s career as the varsity softball coach at Revere High School. This spring, the team went 155, more than doubling its win total from 2023. They made it to the state tournament, where they lost to Shrewsbury in the opening round. This performance earned O’Donnell the Greater Boston League Coach of the Year award. We caught up with O’Donnell to discuss her background in sports and her passion for coaching. O’Donnell, 39, lives in Everett and has played sports her entire life. She played college softball and soccer at Regis College and takes pride in being an aunt to a niece and a nephew. She graduated from Everett High School in 2003, where she played fi eld hockey, basketball, girls’ hockey, and softball. In college, she started all four years for Regis College and played on a Junior USA softball team in Italy in 2004. Her softball teams won three Greater Boston League titles and made the tournament all four years. She played on the fi rst girls’ hockey team, which fi nished 15-61 and reached the semifi nals of the state tournament. O’Donnell played field hockey for two years and was part of the fi rst team in 15 years to make the state tournament. O’Donnell began coaching high school sports in December of 2007 with the JV basketball team at EHS. That fall, she coached soccer, then moved on to basketball and softball. She later became the high school girls’ hockey assistant coach. In 2013, she started coaching softball at Weston High School and began coaching soccer at Revere High School that fall. She continued coaching soccer at RHS through 2023 and also coached two years of RHS girls’ lacrosse. “What motivates me to coach is giving back to the studentathletes and trying to get their best eff ort in any sport,” she said. “What makes coaching worth it? Seeing the girls grow as individuals in the classroom and on the fi eld, and also watching them grow as individuals and seeing their strengths. Watching the athletes grow on the fi eld and seeing their confi dence grow with them, and watching the student-athletes form a bond with each other is another great moment as a coach. Watching a player accomplish something they never thought they could is awesome to watch.” The Revere coaching community has gotten a lot closer over the years, as the coaches aim for all programs to succeed and thrive, according to O’Donnell. “Having each coach support each other shows the athletes that we care about all teams, not just a few teams,” she said. O’Donnell added that she is always proud of her teams no matter the season outcome because, “if you can have a few learning moments during the year and the students learn and grow from diff erent situations, that is a huge success for coaches.” Regarding coaching mentors, O’Donnell’s father had a signifi - cant impact on why becoming a coach was important to her, as he dedicated so much time to her and her sister. “My parents are still my biggest support in my coaching career,” she said. “Stacy Schaivo, the EHS girls’ softball coach, has also had a big impact on my coaching career because as a player, she taught us that hard work and dedication will lead to success. Stacy also took a leap of faith in me and gave me my fi rst softball coaching job at EHS, and we are still close to this day and rely on each other for advice.” O’Donnell has stepped down as the RHS girls’ soccer coach due to time commitments. She felt that the girls were not getting her best coaching, and as a coach, you always want to give your athletes your best since that’s what you expect from them, she added. “I had a great time coaching over the last 10 years,” she said. “We had a ton of ups and downs, and I just hope all the girls that I coached take the life lessons out of the sport and become successful in life. In 2025, the softball team should be very good if everyone comes back, and we are looking to make moves in the GBL.” T he FUN-damental Basketball Camp, open to boys and girls in local area cities and towns, will be held July 22 to July 26, 2024 at the Immaculate Conception Parish Center, located at 59 Summer Street in Everett. The camp will be held between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm for boys and girls entering grades 3 thru 8 as of September, 2024. The cost of the camp is $125. Tony Ferullo, boys’ varsity basketball coach at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden, will be the Director of the camp. The purpose of the camp is: • To provide all campers with the fundamental tools to help them become better basketball players; • To create a positive atmosphere where the camper will learn and have fun at the same time; and • To instill the spirit of the game into all campers, and inspire them to continue playing the game either competitively or just for fun. Each camper, who will receive a T-shirt and certifi cate, will participate in various drills, scrimmages and individual contests. Special guests will speak and share their personal basketball tips. An awards ceremony will take place on the last day of the camp, and parents and friends are welcome to attend. For more information about the FUN-damental Basketball Camp, please contact Camp Director Tony Ferullo: 857-312-7002 or tferullo@suffolk.edu. ~ GUEST COMMENTARY ~ Bob Katzen Opens The Blinds On Beacon Hill By Sal Giarratani I do enjoy reading the Revere Advocate, especially Bob Katzen’s Beacon Hill Roll Call. You fi nd out what is happening behind closed doors. The latest bit of news I read in his column had to do H.2305 — Restrict Carry Guns. The House recently gave initial approval to this bill that would prohibit anyone, except on-duty law enforcement offi - cers, from carrying a fi rearm into any government building (state or local), polling place or demonstration. This measure imposes a $1,000 fine and/or up to two years in prison on violators and allows law enforcement to arrest, without a warrant, anyone violating this bill if it becomes law. Rep. Majorie Decker, DCambridge is this bill’s sponsor, another foolish piece of legislation from the People’s Republic of Cambridge. The same municipality that is planning to use a team of social workers to tackle 9-1-1 psychiatric calls instead of police. Supporters say this bill will make everything safer and reduce the number of deaths and injuries from fi rearms. Really? To me it is just another feel good measure that will do next to nothing when it comes to public safety. Many opponents say the bill is just the latest anti-gun measure that would violate Second Amendment rights. Two items I wanted to bring Revere softball coaches, left to right, Victoria Correia, Megan O’Donnell and Hailey Powers. up here. Did you know that 28 states have now passed open carry laws? Have we heard of the sky falling down there? What do statistics there show? Does any one of the legislators up on Beacon Hill even care about those 28 states? It does seem that anti-gun progressives under the Golden Dome know what the US Supreme Court has ruled on the Second Amendment right to bear arms? Can I mention one sillier thing that’s really not silly at all? The measure being pushed by these politicians says only on-duty cops can carry in those prohibited areas. Obviously, there are few if any former police offi cers in the legislature, huh, is there really anything or anyone called an off -duty cop? Are we safer with fewer armless off -duty cops in our midst or wouldn’t we be safer all around with them carrying? No cop is ever off -duty because they always have to be ready to assist in public safety emergencies. They are covered to respond if needed. I guess no one up the Hill knows about the concept of “color of law” either? In New York City, members of the NYPD force are REQUIRED to carry off -duty. Here in Massachusetts, I would estimate that about 99 to 100 percent of cops carry most of the time whether on the clock or not. Finally, if we had more former law enforcement and fewer lawyers serving in the House and Senate, most of these stupid bills would never see the light of day. However, we live forever in blue smoke and mirrors where sounding good is always better than doing something real. (Sal Giarratani is a retired police offi cer of 28 years for the Metro Boston Area DMH police.)
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