Bishop Fenwick hosts seventh annual New England High School Soccer Jamboree
Jul. 18—The fall high school boys soccer season may still be a couple of months away, but the preparation has already begun for some of the area's top teams.
Last weekend, Bishop Fenwick hosted the 7th annual New England High School Jamboree, with 12 programs from both Massachusetts and Maine taking part in the one-day event. Each squad competed in three 50-minute games, and while there was no official crowned champion, it once again proved to be the perfect mid summer tune-up with great competition as the fall season looms.
"It went great," said Masconomet head coach Jared Scarpaci. "It was really fun to have a team from Nauset come up, as well as one of the top programs in Maine (Yarmouth). We don't keep score, there's no winners, but it's always a great day and a great learning and developmental experience for the players."
Joining Masco, Nauset and Yarmouth on the three fields at Fenwick were Wayland, Oliver Ames, Reading, Concord-Carlisle, Winchester, Archbishop Williams, Pembroke, players from St. John's Prep and of course, host Bishop Fenwick.
The weather was particularly perfect throughout the jamboree, with a good mix of young, aspiring players and experienced upperclassmen putting their skills to the test.
"The weather was fantastic, the field conditions were great and the competition is always incredible," said Wayland head coach Dave Gavron, who graduated from Masco and played soccer during his time there while also previously coaching the Masconomet JV girls team. Needless to say, he's built a great connection with Scarpaci and Masco soccer. In fact, his Wayland squad lost to Scarpaci's Chieftains in penalty kicks during last season's Division 2 state tournament Round of 16.
"I always wish nothing but the best for Masco but when we play them I hope to knock them off," Gavron said with a laugh.
There's no telling whether or not Wayland and Masco will face each other again come playoff time this fall; same goes for any of the other teams involved in last weekend's event. But if nothing else, it was a great way for each of the dozen squads to get some competitive soccer in leading up to the real campaign about six weeks from now.
"The teams are robust because it's a varsity and JV mix, some freshmen too," added Scarpaci. "So it's certainly not an indicator of how well your team is going to do but you can definitely learn a few things watching good players, and the kids can learn from it too. It was a fun day and great to see some of the younger kids start to really step up after graduating so many seniors."
Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.
Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.
