When the Nashua South High School ice hockey program holds its first practice before the 2009-10 season, it will do so without coach Kevin Purdy.
Purdy submitted his resignation after four sub-.500 seasons at Nashua South. Last season the Panthers finished at the bottom of the Division I standings with a 1-16 record.
“People keep saying there’s a lot of kids in the younger (youth hockey) programs,” Purdy told the Nashua Telegraph. “I’m hoping it changes for the better.”
Purdy, 46, was hired at Nashua South after he served as an assistant coach at Manchester Central. The Panthers qualified for the postseason once during Purdy’s tenure, but lost to Pinkerton Academy in the 2007 tournament’s first round.
"It's hard to leave," Purdy said. "As I told the AD (Nashua athletic director Peter Casey), I thought the season went well considering what we had. Things could have gotten worse. We could have had kids who knew the season (was lost) and been jerks about it. But these kids gave me everything they had.
"The biggest thing was seeing kids like Josh Clark (Nashua South's captain), who was a freshman when I came in. Seeing him develop as a person and as a player was good. He's a great kid and he's going to do great things when he gets older. All that was more important than the wins and losses."
Nashua South had nine seniors on this year’s roster.
"When I went there, I had no idea what they were paying," Purdy said. "I never knew until I got the check in March. I did it because I wanted to coach hockey. All you want to do is better yourself as a coach, and I think I did that."
Golf: BG’s Martin earns exemption
Bishop Guertin senior Tracy Martin will be granted the amateur exemption for this summer’s USI Championship at Concord’s Beaver Meadow Golf Course.
The USI Championship, which will be played July 24-26, is one of 17 events on the Duramand FUTURES Tour, which helps prepare golfers for the LPGA Tour. Martin will be among 143 golfers in the field.
Martin has won the NHIAA girls individual tournament twice, and played on a BG team that won the 2007 Class L title at Canterbury Woods Country Club. She has also won the Massachusetts junior championship.
Martin will play golf for Richmond University next fall.
Baseball: Hanover plans ahead
While most New Hampshire high school baseball teams were dealing with cold temperatures and unsuitable field conditions this spring, Hanover was preparing for the 2009 season by playing three preseason games in Orlando, Fla.
Hanover was scheduled to open the NHIAA regular season Monday at Bishop Brady.
Nashua South baseball and Londonderry softball are among the other New Hampshire programs that have prepared for their spring seasons by playing preseason games in Florida.
Girls Lacrosse: Portsmouth’s streak ends
Portsmouth had its 38-game winning streak come to an end with Friday’s 11-10 non-league loss to Division I Exeter.
It was Portsmouth’s first loss since the 2006 Division III championship game. The Clippers currently compete in Division II.
