Category Archives: Search for Inductee

Joseph Grippo

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Joe Grippo is an outstanding basketball coach. His teams have played in four state championships winning two and have also won six Shoreline Championships. He has also been recognized with awards for his accomplishments.

However, it is in volleyball that Joe has really made his mark. He started coaching volleyball at Morgan High School in 1983 and will finish his 30th volleyball season this year. His teams have won 23 Shoreline Championships, including 21 in a row from 1992 to 2012.

For 29 out of his 30 seasons, his team qualified for the state tournament. They played in 18 State Championship games. They won eleven State Championships including seven in a row from 1992 to 1998, and were runner-ups seven times. Prior to this year, his career record is 553 wins and 93 losses. Joe has been recognized many times for his success. In 1997, he was awarded the Doc McInerney Coach of the Year award and was named the New Haven Area Coach of the Year. In 1996, he was named the Connecticut High School Coaches

Association’s Coach of the Year. He was also a National Coach of the Year Finalist three times, in 1999, 2001, and 2005.

Kate Barile-Cotto

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Katie played at the Morgan School in Clinton from 1995-98.

In her first year, Kate was a conference and state champion. In fact, for all four of her high school years, Kate’s team was conference and state champions.

In Kate’s junior year, she was named 2nd team all-state and a Shoreline Conference Scholar Athlete.

Named captain in her senior year, she led her team back to the state finals. She averaged 18 kills per match during the regular season. Then throughout the tournament she averaged 30 kills per match. She was named Most Valuable Player of the Class S Tournament. The New Haven Register named her both Most Valuable Player and to the All-Area Volleyball Team and Connecticut High School Coaches Assoc. also named her to the All-State team.

Kate finished her high school career with an 82-2 record, four conference championships and four state championships. She went on to play that the University of New Haven where she again distinguished herself as an outstanding volleyball player.

 

Laurie LaRusso

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Laurie graduated from Indiana University and received her graduate degree from Sacred Hart University. she taught at the elementary and middle school levels and now teaches at Darien High School.

Laurie started coaching volleyball at Darien in 1982. Since then her teams have won 21  FCIAC League Championships and 15 State Championships.  They had 11 undefeated seasons with winning streaks of 121 and 140 consecutive matches- the latter is the 8th longest in high school athletics. They were also named the #1 team in the Connecticut final coaches poll 9 times.  Her career record is now 583-81.

Her players included 65 first team all-league, 28 all-state, 15 most valuable players, four Gatorade Players of the Year and one All-American.

Laurie has been honored as the girls’ volleyball coach fourteen times. Her honors include FCIAC League Coach of the Year, Connecticut High School Coaches Assoc. Coach of the Year and National High School Coaches Assoc. Coach of the Year.

Laurie has also been inducted into the FCIAC Hall of Fame and the Connecticut Coaches Hall of Fame.

Leah Hettrick

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Leah Hettrick graduated from Maloney High School in Meriden in 2002. In her senior year her team was undefeated state champions. Leah was named to the First Team All-State team and the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year.

After graduating, she played at Springfield College from 2003-07. In her first year she was named Rookie of the year. In her second year, she was named to the First Team All-Conference and was voted Springfield College ‘s Volleyball Player of the Year and most Outstanding Female Athlete for team sports.

As a junior, Leah was again voted most outstanding player and female athlete. She also set three school records: digs per match, digs per game in a season and digs per game for a career. She was also named to the All-New England Region Team.

As a senior, she set the final record for digs in a career. She was named to the All-Tournament Team in two of their largest tournaments. She was named not only to the All-New England second team, but to the American Volleyball Coaches Assoc. as honorable mention All-American.

Throughout her volleyball career at Springfield College, Leah was recognized more than 20 times as an out-standing collegiate player.

 

 

Matthew Hurlock

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When Matt Hurlock started coaching at Coventry in 2001, his first season ended with his team 6-21. Things were about to change. Just two years later, in 2003, Coventry won their first Class S State Championship.

Since 2003, Coventry has played in eight consecutive Class S finals. They won seven titles from 2003-2010, finishing 2nd in 2005. Those years also included four undefeated seasons and an 84 match winning streak from ’06-’08.

In 2010, Coventry finished their fourth undefeated season (24-0) as state champions and became the first small school to ever be voted #1 in Connecticut.

During is career, Marr was awarded the High School Coach of the Year for girls volleyball  by the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance and in 2010 he was awarded the Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year by the Connecticut High School Coaches Assoc.

Hartford Courant
Hartford Courant: Matthew J. Hurlock Gymnasium Dedication Ceremony

Tony Aretakis

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Tony started officiating in the Groton Parks and Recreation volleyball program from 1976-1984. Then in  the winter of 1983, Tony met referee Bruno Lucas while competing in Branford’s “Chester Bloomquist” invitational volleyball tournament. After watching Tony officiate, Bruno suggested Tony contact Barbara Startup to get certified. The rest is, as they say, history.

During the early years as a certified high school and college volleyball official. Tony credits as his mentors, Barb startup, Fran Vandermeer, and Bruno Lucas that he worked with and learned from. In his 29 year high school officiating career, Tony officiated eight state high school finals, numerous semifinal and may league and conference finals. He was the Connecticut high school rules interpreter for 10 years and was voted the Connecticut Volleyball Official of the Year in 1998.

As a college official, Tony officiated for 25 years retiring in 2009.  From 1994-96 he was selected to officiate the Division III NCAA Regional playoffs through the finals. He was also chairperson of the Connecticut College Board for two terms. He felt his job was made easy by the work of board members Kathy Ferrachiccio and Shirley Breuer.

Besides officiating, Tony has been an outstanding volleyball player. He played on championship teams starting in his 20’s and continuing throughout his playing career. He just won another championship at 60 years old.

As a player and official, Tony Aretakis is one of the best.

 

Nancy Grace

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Grace coached field hockey and softball at Canton and had tremendous success with the field hockey program, winning 295 games, 11 league titles and eight Class S championships from 1985 to 2004. Her Warrior teams finished second three times and she was named the Class S coach of the year four times by the Connecticut Field Hockey Coaches Association. She was a finalist for the National High School Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year award in 2000.

In softball, she coached at Canton from 1990-99, leading the Warriors to seven NCCC championships and a Class S state title in 1991.

Mia Malafronte

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Until her freshman year at Amity High School in 1987, Mia Malafronte played basketball and softball and in the fall was a field hockey player. Her parents wanted her to try volleyball so she made a deal with them. She would attend a two week summer camp with CT Volleyball Hall of Fame member Kathy Symonds with the understanding that if she did not like volleyball, she would to not have to play. She fell in love with volleyball and the rest, as they say, is history.

Mia was a varsity outside hitter her sophomore year. That year her team was undefeated going into the State Championship Finals but lost a heart breaker to Maloney – 3 games to 2. The underclassmen vowed to never lose a match again. Her junior year, they defeated Maloney in the State Final and completed an undefeated season. In her senior year, they lost only two games the entire season and both were in the same match to Fitch High School. They met Fitch again, this time in the State Championship match, and won three games to none. They honored their vow and during her three year varsity career, her team was 65 and 1. Mia then played intercollegiate volley-ball for Albertus Magnus.

Mia’s awards and honors are too numerous to mention but include being a member of the 1989-90 Jr. Olympic Team Champions in the Nutmeg State Games. She was named to both the 1st Team All-Housatonic and 1st Team All-State Volleyball teams and was inducted into the Amity Athletic Hall of Fame. She was the Head Coach of the French American School of New York and presently is both the Assistant Head Coach and Junior Varsity Coach at Amity High School.

Sandy Hastings Reichel

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Sandy Hastings played High School volleyball at Cheshire from 1976-1978. Her teams won two state championships in both 1977 and 1978. Sandy also played on the Junior National Volleyball Team in 1978 and 1979.

Sandy played Division I collegiate volleyball at Rutgers University from 1978-1980. In her first year, her team played in the National Championships at the University of Alabama. She also played at San Diego State University in 1980 and 1981. They were ranked #4 in the country both years.

Sandy also played both USVBA and AAU volleyball in 1979 and 1980 and her teams were nationally ranked.

Justine Metz

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Justine Metz played high school volleyball at Stamford Catholic from 1980 to 1983. In her senior year, her team won the State Championship. In that year, she was named both 1st Team All-County and 1st Team All-State. When she graduated, she received a full scholarship to Georgetown University.

Justine played for Georgetown from 1984 to 1987. She was named to several All-Tournament teams and multiple times was the Big East Player of the week. She still holds the record for blocks at Georgetown.

In her senior year, Justine earned Academic All-American honors. In 1993 she was inducted into the Georgetown University’s Athletic Hall of Fame.