2013 Coaches Announced
Plans for the 60th Annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl are well underway with the announcement of the Head Coaches for the two Shrine Teams. Jason Thomas of Burr & Burton Academy will serve as Head Coach for Vermont while Ray Kershaw from Mascoma Valley High School will lead the New Hampshire Shrine team.
In announcing the Head Coaches, Wayne Shepard, the game’s General Chairman, said "We welcome both Coach Thomas and Coach Kershaw to our “team” for 2013. The Board of Governors appreciates the selfless time and commitment that this position requires as they prepare their teams for another challenging game."
Coach Thomas is a graduate of Poultney High School and the University of Massachusetts and played football at both schools. Following graduation from UMass he was an assistant coach at Middlebury, University of Buffalo, UNH and Randolph-Macon College. He has served as Head Coach at B&B for five years, his teams have made the state playoffs three out of the five years and have an overall record of 28-21.
In announcing the Head Coaches, Wayne Shepard, the game’s General Chairman, said "We welcome both Coach Thomas and Coach Kershaw to our “team” for 2013. The Board of Governors appreciates the selfless time and commitment that this position requires as they prepare their teams for another challenging game."
Coach Thomas is a graduate of Poultney High School and the University of Massachusetts and played football at both schools. Following graduation from UMass he was an assistant coach at Middlebury, University of Buffalo, UNH and Randolph-Macon College. He has served as Head Coach at B&B for five years, his teams have made the state playoffs three out of the five years and have an overall record of 28-21.
Coach Kershaw graduated from Coventry High School in Rhode Island where he played football and was all-division his senior year. He and his wife Carolyn relocated to New Hampshire to raise their family. He started his coaching career with the Pop Warner Wildcats and served as a coach from 1992 to 2008. He also served as an assistant coach at Proctor Academy in Andover, NH from 2005 to 2009. As head of the JV program at Proctor he led the JV’s to their first undefeated season in 2009.
Kershaw was named Head Coach at Mascoma Valley in 2010 and he took what was a new and struggling program from 0-9 in 2009 to 7-2 in 2012 and the #1 seed in the Division 6 play-offs.
Reflecting on the Mascoma program and the Shrine Game, Kershaw said, “I feel the Mascoma football team had to push through adversity and challenges to stand as one, to compete to the best of their ability, and I would like to bring this experience to the Shrine game where it is all for the benefit of the shrine kids(in the hospital) who face a form of challenges and adversity in everyday life.”
Over 200 players from Vermont and New Hampshire, all graduating high school seniors, were nominated by their respective head coaches. Screening committees, chaired by the two head coaches, have selected the two 36-man teams and the players will be announced in February.
Formal practice for the summer classic will begin Saturday, July 27 at Castleton State College for both teams.
Kershaw was named Head Coach at Mascoma Valley in 2010 and he took what was a new and struggling program from 0-9 in 2009 to 7-2 in 2012 and the #1 seed in the Division 6 play-offs.
Reflecting on the Mascoma program and the Shrine Game, Kershaw said, “I feel the Mascoma football team had to push through adversity and challenges to stand as one, to compete to the best of their ability, and I would like to bring this experience to the Shrine game where it is all for the benefit of the shrine kids(in the hospital) who face a form of challenges and adversity in everyday life.”
Over 200 players from Vermont and New Hampshire, all graduating high school seniors, were nominated by their respective head coaches. Screening committees, chaired by the two head coaches, have selected the two 36-man teams and the players will be announced in February.
Formal practice for the summer classic will begin Saturday, July 27 at Castleton State College for both teams.
Shrine Football Teams to Train at Castleton State College
Castleton State College and the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Board of Governors have announced that the New Hampshire and Vermont Shrine teams will both train at Castleton beginning Saturday, July 27.
The Shrine Bowl itself will be played a week later at Dartmouth College on Saturday, August 3.
“We are very excited to welcome both the Vermont and New Hampshire teams to Castleton,” said Deanna Tyson, Castleton’s Associate Dean for Athletics and Recreation. “To be a part of such an important event that plays such a big part in so many lives is a significant honor. We are confident that our facilities will provide a great venue for the young men to practice and create memories that will last a lifetime.”
The Shrine Bowl itself will be played a week later at Dartmouth College on Saturday, August 3.
“We are very excited to welcome both the Vermont and New Hampshire teams to Castleton,” said Deanna Tyson, Castleton’s Associate Dean for Athletics and Recreation. “To be a part of such an important event that plays such a big part in so many lives is a significant honor. We are confident that our facilities will provide a great venue for the young men to practice and create memories that will last a lifetime.”
2013 New Hampshire & Vermont Shrine Teams Announced
HANOVER, NH-- The stage is set for the 60th Annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl with the announcement of the two Shrine Teams representing the finest high school football talent of New Hampshire and Vermont.
Over 200 players from New Hampshire and Vermont, all graduating high school seniors, were nominated by their head coaches and “screening" committees” chaired by the Shrine Head Coaches, selected the two teams.
Twenty-six high schools are represented on the New Hampshire Shrine team and twenty-one on the Vermont team. The two teams will met with their respective coaches on Saturday, April 6 in Lebanon, NH to review game plan. Formal practice will begin on Saturday, July 27 for both teams at Castleton State College.
Coach Kershaw said of the selection process, “When you are picking 36 kids from a pool of almost 120 players there are bound to be some tough decisions, and those decisions were made based on character, work ethic of the individual kid, and information that was shared with my coaching staff by people who have worked with these kids.
“My biggest excitement now, is to meet them, come together as a team, make this time a memory of a lifetime.”
Coach Thomas said, “ We had at least three coaches from each division at the screening committee meeting and when we selected the Vermont team we were looking for the best available players. I’m looking forward to the experience of working with these guys.”
The Vermont team is expected to operate from a spread offense, while New Hampshire will use a wing-T.