Archive for the 'Athletics' Category

The bulk of this latest number will be Athletic Director Charlie Malcolm’s summing up of Tecumseh Day 2011. Those who’ve kept a close eye on Sportscenter will already know the results – but we won’t spoil the suspense for the rest of our readers here. After a week’s focus on preparations for T-day, however, the current week has seen a burst of activity on the trip front; we now stand only 21 miles short of completing our Appalachian Trail Quest, with 144 of us having trod at least a mile of the fabled pathway. Uppers Three and Four logged seven spectacular miles on the Franconia Ridge, and a select group of seniors seven equally stunning miles on the Presidential ridges (in perfect weather). The best staff-camper ratio by far, however, was found on the second of two trips in the Mahoosuc Range, as Trip Leader Sylvia Parol and Pemi West veteran Richard Komson accompanied Sparky Brown on the most far-flung miles of the AT in NH – including the most difficult mile of the entire 2,000 in Mahoosuc Notch. Were it not for “The Quest” I doubt the trip would have gone, but we’re on a bit of a mission, and Sparky’s walk was especially well-supervised as a result.

As one more stall before Charlie’s account, we’d like to say that our boys continue to make the kind of impression on the trail that we like them two. Our seven stays at Appalachian Mountain Club huts have thus far elicited two email compliments, out of the blue. The first came from a random guest at Greenleaf: “I would not normally follow through on commenting on such things, but your campers/staff were exemplary in their conduct and interactions both on the trail and in the hut. We encountered four other camp groups during our trek, and your Pemi boys were the most polite, inquisitive, and appreciative group we came upon. Plus one of your leaders came back to thank the hut crew before leaving! Sounds so elementary, but even the crew said that doesn’t happen often. If our three boys weren’t all grown up, I would have enrolled them at your camp.” The second came from an AMC employee: “I was at Zealand Falls Hut Tuesday night filling in for the hut croo and wanted to pass on my compliments to the Camp Pemi group who stayed there. I worked in the huts for years and have led camp trips myself and those kids were among the best I’ve seen – polite, friendly, interested, and respectful. They also seemed to be having fun!” (What a relief to hear that last!) Music to our ears – and we hope to yours. Now, over to Chas.

Pemi and Tecumseh have been competing against each other for over a hundred years.  Only gas rationing during war time and an influenza outbreak in the 1920s have interrupted this storied tradition.  Tecumseh, a camp dedicated to the pursuit of athletics, is always a formidable opponent, having won a majority of competitions over the last forty years.  Pemi’s last victory was in 1998, when a group of veteran counselors (Phil Landry, Ethan Schafer, Sky Fauver, Zach Rossetti and others) and great senior leadership pushed Pemi to victory.  It was these very ingredients that were in place for this year’s contest with Tecumseh.

Pemi enjoyed successful athletic days against Moosilauke and Kingswood in the first half, but at change-over, Pemi welcomed close to a hundred new boys to our teams.  Our coaches worked tirelessly preparing teams in five age groups (10-and-under, 11s, 12s, 13s and 15-and-under) in baseball soccer, swimming, and tennis.  As momentum began to build at Pemi, with each cheer in the mess hall getting a tad louder, the Seniors played a central role in getting the younger boys ready to compete with a camp singularly dedicated to winning what they call “Pemi Day.”

Down at Tecumseh, “Doc Nick’s Wonders” (“the junior division!”) played in what annually has been one of the closest contests of the day.  Willie Noble took the mound for Pemi and delivered a gem (5 IP, 2 ER, 6 Ks, 3 BB).  Pemi spotted Noble a 2-0 lead when Andrew Kanovsky, Mikey Suski, and Matt Cornell delivered base hits.  Tecumseh battled back to take a 3-2 lead, but Pemi mounted one last attack in the top of the 6^th inning, loading the bases before the final out was recorded.  The 15s Tennis team dropped their match 6-1 to a very talented and poised Tecumseh team.  Peter Traver and Austin Dorsey delivered Pemi’s sole victory, but Eric Herbert and Alex Dietl both fell only in super tie-breakers after winning a crucial second set to even up their respective matches.

In the second morning events at Tecumseh, the 10’s soccer team held a 2-1 halftime lead on two goals by Mikey Suski, the first coming off a beautiful serve from Jackson Welsh.  After Tecumseh scored three second-half goals to take a 4-2 lead, Pemi scored twice on free-kick shots, only to have the official call the goals back for off-sides.

The “flagship”15s baseball team sent Danny Murphy to the mound for his sixth and final voyage against Tecumseh.  After the team spotted Murphy four runs in the top of the first with several base hits and six stolen bases, Dan found himself in an early jam with the bases loaded and no outs.  He responded gamely, though, and struck out the side, crushing Tecumseh’s hopes of getting back into the game as our team cruised to a confidence-building 7-0 victory.  Matt Sherman and Daniel Reiff had great days in the field and at bat while Dana Wensberg called a brilliant game behind the plate and Eric Rolfs anchored the infield beautifully.

At Pemi, something that we hadn’t seen in quite some time was brewing from the opening whistle of almost every contest.  The 13s swim team fell quickly to a very deep and talented Tecumseh squad despite great efforts from Cole Valente, Julien Webster-Hernandez ,and Jack Purcel1.  In 11s tennis, however, Pemi defeated Tecumseh 5-2  behind singles victories by Carson Hill, Jonah Roque, and Robert Loeser and doubles victories by Patterson Malcolm/Johnny Seebeck and Owen Fried/Jack Wright.   A talented Pemi 12s soccer team withstood some early Tecumseh pressure as a goal-saving tackle by sweeper John Galbreath and several tough saves by Will Harned kept the game knotted at 0-0.  In the second half, it was all Pemi as Charlie Scott jumped on a Jamie Nicholas cross and pushed the ball home for a 1-0 lead.  Nicholas would send Scott in alone for the second goal before scoring one of his own for a 3-0 victory.

While the 12s took care of business on the pitch, the 11s baseball team was locked into an incredible pitcher’s duel.  Oscar Tubke-Davidson struck out 15 of a possible 18 batters (outs) for Pemi.  Tecumseh loaded the bases in the top of the sixth when a high towering fly ball was lofted towards right fielder, Greg Nacheff, who caught the ball for out number three while falling to his knee.  Unfortunately, despite having the winning run on third base in three different innings, Pemi could not scratch home the winning tally and settled for an agonizing 0-0 tie.  In the last of the home morning events, the 13s Soccer team provided the Pemi faithful with a spectacular game.  Pemi scored first when Julian Webster-Hernandez sent a ball to Nick Bertrand in the box and Nick drove a shot to the upper-right corner for a 1-0 halftime lead.  With Ben Chaimberg, Zach Leeds, Charlie Parsons, and Nat Healy shutting down the potent Tecumseh attack, Nick Bertrand made the save of the day as he pushed away a Tecumseh free kick headed to the corner, preserving the 1-0 victory and sending Pemi into a 5-4-1 lead after the morning events.

Lunch at Tecumseh was unusually subdued as Tecumseh found themselves trailing Pemi for the first time in several years. Meanwhile, at Pemi, there was boundless confidence after the boys of Lower Baker went 4-1-1 in the morning and demonstrated they could c-o-m-p-e-t-e.   Each camp met with their respective age groups after lunch with the day up for grabs and encouraged their boys to dig a little deeper.

Any veteran of Tecumseh Day knew that our friends from Winnepesauke would answer Pemi’s challenge with incredible purpose.  At Tecumseh, our 15-and-under soccer team ran into one of their most complete and talented line-ups and quickly gave up four first-half goals.  Eric Rolfs provided the 15s with an inspiring effort in the second half, and the boys only conceded one more goal for a 5-0 loss.  The 10s tennis team lost handily 6-1, with Spencer Hill winning at first singles in convincing fashion for Pemi’s lone victory.

Back at Pemi, the 12s baseball team jumped out to a 5-2 lead after two innings, powered by John Galbreath’s two-run triple.  But Tecumseh scored five unanswered runs in the third and fourth innings, powering their way to a 7-5 victory.  On the soccer pitch, the 11s also found themselves down 2-0 at halftime after giving up an own goal and yielding to a carefully-placed shot on a breakaway.  Much like the 12s and 13s soccer teams that played in the morning, though, the 11s responded with an incredible effort in the second half.  After Wes Farley set-up Carson Hill for the first goal, Patterson Malcolm sent Ted Orben in on the left side and he hit a brilliant ball off the far post for the game-tying goal.   With the Pemi fans urging the boys forward, Jonah Roque nearly scored the game-winner when he headed a ball off the cross bar, but the team settled for an inspiring 2-2 tie.

Pemi’s effort in the 11s game was a marvel to all in attendance from both camps, but what transpired in the 13s tennis match was equally so.  Victories by Florian Dietel at number-four singles and doubles victories by Nat Healy/Ned Roosevelt and Mac McCaffery/Max Pagnucco tied the match at three apiece.  It was in this high-pressure situation that Jeremy Roque found himself in one of the great tennis duels since Bill Pruden and Mac Cushing came from behind to deliver “The Hat” in 1967.  Roque, a wiry French lad with the heart of a lion and the slyness of a fox, was up against an outstanding athlete and competitor from Tecumseh.  Each rally lasted an average of 25 strokes while both players were surrounded by vocal, respectful supporters lining the fences.  As the boys kept the ball in play conservatively on their way to an 8-8 tie, Jeremy read his opponent perfectly and changed his strategy once he sensed an ounce of doubt in the Tecumseh player, as he began to aggressively serve-and-volley his way to a victory in the final game.

With the 11s soccer draw and the 13s tennis victory, Pemi entered the final baseball game and swim meets of the day trailing by only one event, 6-7-2.  Any time the outcome of the day is in doubt heading into the last events on the schedule, the boys have clearly had an opportunity to participate in a transformative athletic experience.  Anyone fortunate enough to see our boys compete couldn’t help but gush with pride as Pemi put together one inspiring effort after another.  The 13s baseball team, behind the commanding pitching of Ned Roosevelt and the outstanding coaching of Ben Walsh, won a convincing 8-2 baseball game.  Great defensive plays by Zach Leeds, Nick Bertrand, and Charlie Parsons never let Tecumseh back into the game.  The 11s swam hard but fell to Tecumseh 40-15 despite excellent efforts from Noah Belinowitz, Carson Hill, Wes Farley, and Johnny Seebeck .  The 12s swim team, however, delivered an impressive 37-18 win behind dominating performances from Colin Alcus, Sam Grier, Harry Tuttle, and Alek Novikov.

With the score tied at 8-8-2, Pemi anxiously awaited the results from Camp Tecumseh.  The 10s and 15s both faced Tecumseh’s strongest age groups and were collectively 1-5 after three events. It would have been easy for both Lower Baker teams to fold in their last event of a very long day.  But something magical happened at the Tecumseh waterfront that ultimately epitomized the meaning of the day.  With every member of the Pemi contingent cheering the 15s and 10s to victory, the boys put on a spectacular effort.  The 15s kept the meet close until the very end, when Tecumseh’s power and depth allowed them to pull away for the victory, 34-21.  Max Livingstone-Peters, Danny Murphy, and Will Oberlander swam particularly well for Pemi.  Then, with the 10s trailing by one point heading into the final relay of the day with both the meet and outcome of the day hanging in the balance, the freestyle team of Spencer Hill, Gray Farley, Byron Lathi, and Jeff McKee delivered a legendary performance.   As McKee entered the water for the last leg of the race and day, the raucous Pemi crowd screamed encouragement in unison, and erupted with amazement and joy as McKee gave every ounce of his energy to beat his valiant Tecumseh opponent by .3 seconds, securing Pemi a 28-27 victory and a stunning 9-9-2 overall record for the day.

There were clearly plenty of individual heroes who scored big goals and runs or won crucial matches and races – or teams that found the magic to reach their collective potential – but by the end of the day we had all learned something about our camp family and what it takes to compete at the highest levels.  In fewer than two weeks since changeover, Pemi became incredibly unified and the boys were able to discover joy in an extremely competitive environment with a community that was 100% invested in their success and well-being.

That joy and that sense of accomplishment is still sustaining us, potent evidence that success is absolutely relative. Everyone would like to have come out unquestionably on top. But on balance, we have rarely seen an effort that so markedly exceeded what we might reasonably have expected – and one where the support from the sidelines so clearly had a positive and instrumental impact on the active participants. Our personal memory of Tecumseh Days stretches back over half a century, and this really was one of the great ones. ‘Nuff said.

– Tom and Danny

We were delighted to learn several weeks back that Charlie Malcolm, history teacher and head soccer coach at the Northfield-Mt. Hermon School and Pemi’s long-serving and inspirational Director of Athletics, has been named the 2011 recipient of the James Cornelius Kapteyn Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Awarded by the Berkshire Taconic Community, the prize commemorates the singular life and career of Jamie Kapteyn, beloved teacher and coach at Cushing, Williston, and Deerfield Academies. The inscription is as follows:

The Kapteyn Prize shall be awarded to candidates who have made a career commitment to teaching in secondary schools of at least seven years and whose excellence in and passion for teaching and learning inspire their students to excel, in the model of the late James C. Kapteyn. Prize winners shall be individuals of exemplary character, integrity, and honor who lead by example and impart to their students a lifelong love of learning and dedication to personal growth.

Potential winners of the prize, which carries a cash award of $10,000, are nominated each year by scores of school heads in the New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts area. All are distinguished for their “triple threat” accomplishments in the classroom, in the dorm, and on the athletic field. A key part of the vetting process is an essay written by each candidate on “Why I Teach.” Charlie’s follows. We thought the extended Pemigewassett family would herald news of the award with the same joy and pride we feel – and relish the opportunity to hear Charlie’s thoughts on how directly the Pemi experience fostered in him a life-long commitment to humane learning and global citizenship.

Also included at the bottom of this posting are links to the Kapteyn website and to accounts of Charlie’s boys’ varsity soccer team winning not only the 2010 New England Prep School championship but also the Connecticut Valley Soccer Officials Association award for team sportsmanship. Everyone familiar with Pemi will appreciate the way in which Charlie’s teams, whatever the season or the location, manage so successfully to combine total effort with the highest standards personal conduct.

Why I Teach

In my elementary school days I was a distracted learner, stayed back in first grade, and carried the stigma of being referred to the learning center.  After an uninspiring effort in middle school, I was sent by my parents to boarding school where it didn’t take long for me to make a Holden Caulfield exit midway through my junior year. I remember vividly the anguish I felt as I struggled with the discipline necessary to meet academic and communal expectations.  Clearly then, my own journey is one of the reasons I teach and connect with students as they work through adolescence.  I personally was fortunate to find a community that helped me develop my self-esteem and my eventual life commitment to education. For the last twenty-five years, I have been working at Camp Pemigewassett (“Pemi”), a community dedicated to educating the whole child.  It was at Pemi that I discovered my initial talents as a teacher and embraced a vocation committed to helping young people explore their potential.

While continuing to work at Pemi during the summers after I graduated from college, I accepted a teaching position at the Landmark School, a school for dyslexic students. At Landmark, I spent my formative years as an educator exploring learning styles, the importance of self-esteem in education, and the craft of teaching an incredibly wide spectrum of students.  My charges at Landmark reminded me of how critical and powerful building close relationships was in truly educating the whole child.  When I left Landmark for St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, I applied these lessons as I searched to make both personal connections with my students and meaningful intellectual connections between history and current events.  By establishing my genuine concern for their well-being and by making history relevant to their World, I found success in the classroom.  One of my favorite assignments at St. Andrew’s was my oral history project on immigration to Washington DC, where students embraced the role of historian as they explored in depth the remarkable lives of people in their community.  I remember how Lauren Vorisek, a student reluctant to embrace history in any form, discovered her voice and passion for the subject.  Last Spring, ten years after leaving St. Andrew’s, Lauren sent me an email thanking me for igniting her passion for history and her decision to teach the subject and to introduce a much needed Latin American course in the Montgomery County public schools.

The boarding school life at Northfield-Mt. Hermon has allowed me to take to a new level my commitment to building powerful relationships with students and my desire to make history a living experience.  In my eleven years at NMH, I have embraced the interdisciplinary curriculum and the school’s commitment to international education.  Helping students make connections between disciplines and better understand the interdependence of the world we live in – and then taking them all over the World to test their theories – has been incredibly powerful and gratifying.  By taking students to meet with the leadership of the Apartheid movement in Capetown and Soweto or spending seven weeks with them living in the poor city of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic, we have created life-changing experiences for our students, allowing them to appreciate the deeper meaning of their academic endeavors, appreciate the gift of their education and, perhaps, discover a life-long passion for understanding and fostering the World’s incredible diversity.

While I didn’t have interdisciplinary courses in high school or the opportunity to study abroad, I did find success, self-esteem, and discipline through athletics.  Early in my coaching career, I remember having the ultimate epiphany as a coach/educator when I was asked to step in as the coach of the girls’ varsity soccer team immediately following my boys’ game.  A parent who sat behind the bench for both games commented afterwards, “I wish you could hear yourself coach the girls’ team.”  It turns out I was a much more positive and supportive when coaching the girls.  As the boys’ varsity soccer coach at NMH, I have steadily worked to improve my ability to model what it means to be a leader, excellent teammate, and unyielding proponent of fair play.  We have players from all different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds at NMH, each with his own aspirations, skills, and insecurities.  Each year we strive to find opportunities to build mutual commitment to each other. We utilize community service, team-building exercises, and the toughest schedule in New England to make sure our commitment to athletics has an unambiguous educational purpose, well beyond winning and losing. It is always about the “process” and teaching young men to be individuals who are willing to embrace a common goal.  Last fall, the players won the regional sportsmanship trophy awarded by the local officials’ association, an especially gratifying accomplishment given the tenacity of our competition.  As I witness our players’ genuine commitment to each other evolve over the course of each season, I can’t tell you how proud I am to watch their emotional maturity grow in a manner that will help these young men live meaningful lives.

While my classes, travel abroad, and coaching experiences have been central avenues for engaging students, I am also proud and grateful for the relationships that boarding school can foster in our daily residential life together.  I think about international students like Korean student John Kim, who embraced my family and my role as a mentor to help them through the difficult years of being away from their own home.  Or someone like Fritz Windover, a young man who tragically lost his father and has found his life deeply connected to my own. During these turbulent and inspiring years at NMH, when we engaged in remarkable institutional initiatives, I often look back on the ways my experiences at Landmark, St. Andrew’s, and Camp Pemigewassett prepared me to live the boarding school life.   While in the dorm, classroom, distant lands, or on the playing field, I have been fortunate to make powerful connections with scores of amazing students, many of whom have become close friends.  These relationships with students and colleagues, and my desire to share with and learn from each one of them, sustain me and my family in the rigors of boarding school life. They are at the heart of why I teach.

Congratulations to Charlie for being selected as the Kapteyn recipient of 2011 – but especially for the tireless life of dedication and commitment that made him such a compelling candidate. Pemi is lucky to be able to count Charlie among the seasoned and dedicated professional educators who are its perennial leaders.

Read more about the Kapteyn Prize.

About NMH’s Boys’ Soccer Chamionship Game.

About NMH’s Sportsmanship Award.

Download this newsletter as a PDF.

This week’s newsletter comes from Charlie Malcolm, Pemi’s veteran Director of Athletics.

Last Friday, Camps Pemi and Tecumseh squared off in their annual and hotly contested rivalry.  The two of us have competed against each other for over a century, the last forty-three years for the coveted bronzed hat of former Tecumseh Director George Munger.  Mr. Munger was a highly competitive man who led the University of Pennsylvania football to eighteen consecutive winning seasons.  To this day, his competitive spirit has driven the Tecumseh camp program.  The story of Mr. Munger’s “Hat” is worth highlighting, for it captures one of the philosophical underpinnings of the day.

In 1967, Pemi and Tecumseh competed, as they had for a half-century, on two separate days.  Tecumseh won the first day convincingly 9-3 and scored many of their wins in swimming.  Legendary Pemi waterfront coach Terry Sweetser convinced his lads that they could reverse the outcome if they were willing to put in the time and effort to improve.  Tom Reed Sr. wrote in this very newsletter about the boys who accepted the challenge and eventually led Pemi to an exciting victory in swimming that pushed Pemi over the top on Day Two.  “What price work, sacrifice, courage, conditioning, self-respect, and respect for teammates?  We submit that no Pemi swimmer involved and few Pemi spectators will forget these races for a long time.”

Tom Sr. then describes the moment the Hat was introduced to the rivalry and the values that forged the tradition. Amidst the Pemi throngs assembled in the messhall, “cheer after ear-splitting cheer for teams, for individual performers, for coaches and two spontaneously for our hard-fighting rivals, Tecumseh.  And then, unaccountably, silence.   Here are all the Tecumseh boys on our porch; their director, George Munger, takes off his familiar straw hat, gives it as a token to Tom, and turns and leads a deafening Tecumseh cheer for Pemi….In a flash, it points up for everyone what athletic competition ought to be and these days so seldom is.”

While “The Hat” has shaped and motivated competition for the last forty years, for the first decade of competition the Pemi boy woke up at four in the morning to walk four miles to the Wentworth-to-The-Weirs train.  At Weir’s Beach, the boys boarded the steamer Governor Endicott to cross Winnipesauke and land at the Tecumseh swim docks.   After spending the night under the stars, contending with the mosquitoes, the boys woke up to a full day of competition involving both campers and counselors.  The Pemi community would spend a second night there before returning to the shores of Lower Baker.  Clearly, the strenuous life of Teddy Roosevelt carried the spirit of the endeavor.

Today, we wake up at a leisurely 6:30 AM to the rousing cheers of our senior campers, who often play a Rocky theme song.  A brisk breakfast at 7 AM and onto the yellow school buses at 7:30 AM.  Kenny Moore masterfully keeps the 11-, 12-, and 13-and-Unders on target for smooth, organized departure.  After an hour bus ride, the Pemi contingent arrives at Tecumseh with 50 minutes before the starting gun, serve, or kick-off.  Meanwhile, at Pemi, the final dragging of the senior infield takes place, Jeff Greene rolls a few courts, water is delivered to each venue by the “Trippies,” the game balls are in place for the contests, and last of the breakfast tables are cleared.  The moment of anticipation builds as the Pemi home contingent of 10- and 15-and-Unders await the unmistakable rumble on the bridge from the arriving Tecumseh buses and vans.

The first morning contests were under way at 9:30 AM at both camps.  At Pemi, the 10-and-Unders found themselves locked in a tight baseball game.  Chris Houlihan mowed down the Tecumseh line-up in the first.  In the bottom of the first, Patterson Malcolm worked a two-out walk and Houlihan hit a deep shot to center that found a well-positioned Tecumseh fielder for the final out.  Unfortunately, Tecumseh scored five runs in the second when their number-nine hitter delivered a gapper to left center that scored two runs.  Three more runs unearned runs would follow for a commanding five -run lead.  Pemi battled against a very strong Tecumseh pitcher, but they could not find a hole in a very confident defense.   The 15’s Tennis team also found themselves in an equally competitive match.  The highlight of the match, and maybe the day, was Nick Barber’s victory in number-one singles.   After winning the first set, Nick dropped the second and ended up in a super tiebreaker and down by three points.  He was cool, calm, and focused as he skillfully dispensed of his talented, spirited, and flamboyant opponent.  Pemi ended up losing the match 5-2 with Austin Dorsey winning his match at 4^th singles.

The second morning events at Pemi were the 10-and-Under soccer match and the 15-and-Under baseball game. The 10’s displayed amazing determination after their set-back in baseball.  The game was an up-and-down affair on the big, steamy field. Pemi scored first when Mikey Suski found an opening and blasted a shot that bounced off the goalie’s chest and into the goal.  Tecumseh evened the score when they scored on a free kick just outside the box, knotting the game at 1-1.  Pemi nearly pulled ahead when Patterson Malcolm’s free kick sent Jackson McNear in alone at the back post, the redirection nibbling the edge of the post.  With the wind at Tecumseh’s back in the second half, our visitors put us on our heals for a fair amount of the second half.  Sam Berman was brilliant in goal, making several game-saving stops. Malcolm, Johnny Seebeck, Owen Freid, and Jackson Welch defended a flurry of attacks and bought time for Pemi to mount dangerous counter-attacks. With Tecumseh committing three defenders to stop him, Suski whistled a shot just past the top right corner, and another rolled along the goal line before the Tecumseh keeper sprawled back for the ball. The game ended with a fair 1-1 tie, with both teams displaying incredible focus and commitment.

While the 10’s battled their way to a tie, the 15’s baseball team played in a “classic.”  Tecumseh rolled out one of the most polished three-pitch lefties seen in “camp” baseball.  However, Pemi received an equally impressive effort from Tecumseh Day warrior Danny Murphy.  Murphy entered the game 3-1 when pitching against Tecumseh and always finds his best game on this day.  Tecumseh scratched out a 2-0 lead while taking advantage of a few Pemi miscues. Undaunted, the Pemi nine hustled their way to a one-out single in the bottom of the sixth; Stan Barlow stole second and then scored on Owen Gray’s prodigious shot to straight away center.  If the ball had been hit to left, it would have hit the laundry room; if it had been hit to right, it would have cleared the tennis courts; unfortunately it was hit to dead center and rolled toward the tent-drying area. After coach Kerr called aggressively for the steal of third, Pemi could not deliver the tying run.  In the top of the seventh, Tecumseh loaded the bases with no outs, and Pemi miraculously escaped damage when a fly-out to center, a poorly timed tag-up at third, followed by a diving tag of a wayward runner resulted in a triple play.  In the bottom of the seventh, with lunch waiting on the table, Pemi could not scratch home the tying run.  Win or lose, it was clear that everyone who played or watched the game felt the intensity of the moment and the dominating respect for the game, and came away with a deep appreciation of the value of the day.

While Pemi found themselves down 0-3-1 at home, the 11’s, 12’s and 13’s started off their morning with clear momentum.  The 13’s swim team won a tight match-up 29-26. Will Oberlander took the butterfly with an impressive 34.58, and Will Nuelle won the freestyle.   The meet came down to the final relay race, and Daniel Traver, Sompy Somp, Oberlander, and Nuelle delivered a powerful performance and outswam Tecumseh by five seconds for the victory. The 11’s tennis team lost a heartbreaker 4-3.  Pemi received victories from Mitchell Cornell at second singles,  and doubles victories from the Duval brothers and Malcolm Roesser and Colin Alcus.  Thomas Bono lost 8-6 in a determined effort as the 11’s fell just short of helping Pemi sweep the early round of action at Tecumseh. Perhaps the most exciting match of the day at Tecumseh was the 12’s soccer game.  Despite holding 70% of the play, Pemi found themselves down 1-0 with eight minutes to go in the game.  With the tennis and swim teams cheering their side on, Julian Hernandez-Webster, “Man of the Match,” beat several defenders down the left flank before rifling a shot off the corner cross bar. The ball careened down into the box and Tecumseh was called for a handball. Hernandez-Webster buried the PK to tie the game and seize the momentum. With the defense of Ben Chaimberg, Zach Leeds, Charlie Parsons, and the inspiring Nat Healy shutting down Tecumseh’s attack while center mid Max Pagnucco ran the midfield, Pemi kept up a withering attack. With three minutes to go, Pemi served a corner kick into the box, and Will Robbins alertly jumped on the loose ball at the 18 and delivered a stunning volley “side netting” for the 2-1 victory.  After the final whistle sounded, Pemi held that same 2-1 lead at Tecumseh and had clearly built some momentum heading into the second round of events.

Our opponents at Tecumseh are rarely unnerved by athletic challenges. They spend two straight weeks preparing for Pemi Day. Each practice is held in the exact order and time of their future Pemi Day contest.  The Day marks the end of their inter-camp sports schedule, a crescendo event with tremendous build-up and pressure to win.  Each year they arrive with a wide range of Mohawks to celebrate the day, and their campers embrace Munger’s competitive drive that often pushes their teams forward during critical stages of the game.  The 11’s baseball team ran into a well-prepared Tecumseh nine that delivered a convincing 9-0 victory.  Colin Alcus pitched well for Pemi in defeat,  as we were unable to get our bats going.  Defensively, John Galbreath, Jamie Nicholas, and Mitchell Cornell played particularly well in the field.  The 12’s tennis team dropped an exciting match 4-3. Pemi garnered victories from Arthur Root at third singles and doubles victories from Will Robbins and Charlie Parsons along with Ben Chaimberg and Max Pagnucco.  Andrew Coe fought gallantly in defeat at first singles.  The 13’s Soccer team played perhaps Tecumseh’s top soccer team.  Pemi’s defense led by Carl Pohlman, Hartwell Green, Oliver Kafka, and a spirited Daniel Traver (whose hustle and determination set the bar for Pemi) held Tecumseh at bay for much of the first half.  Ben Nicholas and Oliver Gronloh orchestrated a creative attack, while Eric Gronloah and Sompy Somp put Tecumseh on their heels with strong dangerous runs.   Tecumseh scored first, but Sompy Somp delivered a goal to tie the game before half time.  Eric Rolfs was simply brilliant in goal for Pemi to keep the game tied at 1-all.  In the second half, Tecumseh flooded the flanks with dangerous athletic runs that put Pemi on their heels and eventually jumped on the scramble for loose balls in the box for the 3-1 victory. With Tecumseh’s impressive 13’s soccer triumph, they now held a commanding 7-2-1 lead on the day.  However, of the ten events, only one game was truly a lopsided affair.

After a very competitive morning at Pemi, followed by a late lunch, the 10’s tennis team and the 15’s soccer team met their respective opponents.  The 10’s fell quickly to a very talented Tecumseh team 7-0.  Patterson Malcolm, Ted Orben, Jackson McNear, and Sam Berman battled tough Tecumseh opponents in singles for Pemi.  The 15’s soccer game is one of the more keenly anticipated affairs between both camps’ “varsity” teams. Tecumseh scored first when soft Pemi marking left their left mid wide open at the 18, and he delivered a deflected shot through a screen of players that eluded Pemi keeper Dan Fullham.  In need of some mojo, Pemi unleashed Dana Wensberg and Danny Murphy up top, and their hustle and determination created some much-needed energy for the blue and gold. Eventually, Peter Ionno delivered the charging Murphy a perfect through ball, and he was taken down in the box. Ionno thereupon coolly struck the PK home to knot the game at 1-1. Tecumseh came out and played a very spirited second half; however, the defense of Owen Grey, Gus Walsh, Will Meinke, and Alex Fauver kept the Tecumseh attack at bay. Meinke played flawlessly at the sweeper position, while Alex Fauver single-handedly shut down his flank with crushing tackles and alert outlet passes. When Tecumseh did unleash shots, Fulham kept the ball out of the net and delivered long, towering kicks deep into Tecumseh’s zone. As Pemi stepped up their effort, they unleashed dangerous counter-attacks to the inspired Matt Cloutier.  With five minutes to go, Cloutier nearly scored the game-winner on a partial breakaway. Although the match ended in a 1-1 draw, the level of play displayed by both teams would reach the level of most high school varsity programs.

The 10’s and 15’s then made their way to the waterfront after a long day of heated contests. The 15’s met a very talented and deep Tecumseh swim team, but Peter Montante, Michael Montante, Daniel Fulham, and Buck Baskin swam a great free relay race despite being in a lopsided meet. The 10-and-unders were led by the dynamic swimming of Chris Houlihan, Byron Lathi, and Tanner Nugent.  The meet came down to the final free relay, but the gallant team of Houlihan, Lathi, Ted Orben, and Owen Freid fell just short, as Tecumseh pulled off the meet 30-25.

The afternoon events at Tecumseh continued a trend of disappointing losses for Pemi. The 11’s soccer team played one of the more impressive tactical matches of the day, as coach Cory Fauver played an “umbrella” defense with an extra defender to keep Tecumseh’s talented team at bay. Will Harned was spectacular in the net behind the defense of John Galbreath, Will DeTeso, Will Jones, Nick Pigeon and Harry Tuttle.  In the second half, Pemi countered with great midfield play by Jamie Nicholas, Thomas Bono, Mitchell Cornell. With only a few minutes left on the clock, Tecumseh was awarded a curious free kick after a ball was played out of bounds due to a Pemi injury. Tecumseh took advantage of the opportunity to seize the victory 1-0. The 12’s baseball team was also locked in a nail-biter, as Ned Roosevelt pitched a gem for Pemi (nine strikeouts and two walks), but the team could not deliver the key hit despite having runners on base in every inning.  Charlie Parsons and Nat Healy delivered two hits apiece in the losing effort. 13’s Tennis fell to a very strong Tecumseh team 7-0. Pemi received an excellent effort from Daniel Traver and Alex Baskin at number one doubles, and from Andreas Sheikh at two singles.

The final events at Tecumseh were the 11’s/12’s swim meet and the 13’s baseball game.  While the 12’s received a great effort from Julian Hernandez-Webster in the breast and IM and from their relay team of Max Pagnucco, Patrick Sullivan, Florian Dietl, and Cole Boland, they fell to a very strong Tecumseh team. The 11’s meet, like the 10’s’, came down to the final relay race. Tommy Witkop won the 25 butterfly by several lengths, while Colin Alcus and Thomas Bono went 1^st and 2^nd in the breast.  In the final and crucial free relay, Pemi lost by .06 seconds to drop the meet despite the heroic efforts of Witkop, Andrew DiGaetano, Alcus, and Bert Oberlander.  Amazingly, this was the third meet out of five that was decided on the final relay race. The 13’s finished the afternoon with an impressive 6-1 victory in baseball. Will Nuelle led Pemi on the mound, while Will Parsons and Daniel Traver provided crucial offense. Pemi played flawlessly in the field for coach Ben Walsh, who led his second team of the day to victory against Tecumseh.

The final score on the day was Tecumseh 15, Pemi 3, with 2 ties. As you can garner from the details of the day, the majority of the contests were spirited, close affairs. However, beyond the results of the individual contests, Pemi and Tecumseh’s athletes played with determination and incredible sportsmanship.  In the mess hall at noon and in the evening, players comfortably mingled and shared stories of the day and made connections. At Tecumseh, Jim Frazier presented Danny Kerr with a framed Tecumseh jersey embroidered with Thomas L. Reed Sr.’s name.  Jim, a former Denver Bronco, shared the deep respect and admiration he had for Tom, dating back over Jim’s sixty years of competition between the two camps.  While at Pemi, I spoke to our communities about how much Tom Reed appreciated competition and sportsmanship, especially the importance of respecting our opponents. I am confident Tom would have been very proud at the overall commitment of both camps to the true spirit of the day. Each individual is a guardian of a most honorable tradition, and I know we collectively met the challenge of competing with determination and grace.

~ Charlie Malcolm

Director of Athletics

Photo by Rob Verger

One of my favorite parts of being a camper at Pemi was the mornings spent in occupations, hustling from one activity to the next. “Occupations” is the word Pemi uses to describe the organized activities that occur every Moday through Friday and some Saturdays; each activity is 55 minutes long. Campers sign up for new occupations each week, giving them the consistency of five or more days in a row of doing the same activity, but also a change each week, too. This allows the instructors to develop lesson plans that build day-to-day; occupations are where the most structured teaching happens at Pemi each day.

As a camper, I loved any occupation on the water: waterskiing or canoeing, for example. Lower Baker Pond is more than big enough to host lots of activity on it simultaneously and feel far from crowded. I’ve also always loved the chance to take a canoe or kayak under the bridge into camp and explore the quiet lily pad and reed-filled lower lake, or “swamp,” as it’s sometimes called, with a group of campers and staff. (All campers at Pemi are always very closely supervised by staff on the water, both on the lake and lower lake.)

But most of all, when I was a camper, I loved taking sailing occupations. I loved time on the water in a small Sunfish sailboat, and later, in a larger boat called a Puffin. (Now, the Puffins have been upgraded to more modern multi-person sailboats called Capris.) In my years on staff at Pemi, I taught sailing more than any other activity, and I liked the circularity of it: as a camper, I learned how to sail, and as a counselor, I taught it.

Pemi offers all the occupations you might expect: baseball, soccer, tennis, basketball, wood shop, music, and nature occupations galore. If you were to drive into camp on a busy morning, you’d see the fields and the lakes alive with activity, and maybe pass a fifteen-passenger van driven by Larry Davis for a quick outing to the nearby butterfly field. But there are also occupations you might be surprised to hear Pemi offers—night photography, for example, and other arts occupations, like rock painting.

What were your favorite occupations to take or teach when you were at Pemi, and did any of them influence the direction your life took? I know that I can’t pass a sailboat now without thinking happily of Pemi.

–Rob Verger