Here’s a few tids and bits as we have wrapped up June and say hello to July. The months keep moving along, and so do local sports, in spite of the pandemic:

—- It’s amazing what the warm weather has brought. In May, no activity until baseball minds Tom Walker and Tim Lunn came up with summer leagues for high school and college age players. In June, practices began at a small level, and the month ended with games actually being played in the New England Independent Baseball League and New Hampshire COVID Baseball League. And Nashua Silver Knights workouts at Holman Stadium. Amazing.

—– What will we see in July? Both youth leagues will be underway – NEIBL teams open today and Tuesday – but there will Cal Ripken team tryouts and practices, if things stay the way they are, readying for games in early August (which will be here before you know it, too.) The 117th New Hampshire State Amateur Golf Championship comes to Nashua Country Club a week from today, on July 6. And, of course, Holman Stadium gets its first live sporting event in 10 months with the Nashua Silver Knights starting their 10th season on Thursday at 6 p.m., with 13 home games in July. And let’s not forget off-season workouts for all high school athletes, no matter what the sport, are underway with safety restrictions.

Let’s see if we can keep moving forward.

—- Speaking of high schools, congrats to Nashua Athletic Director Lisa Gingras, who is developing into one of the most accomplished ADs in New Hampshire, if not New England and the country. Word came this past week that she has been recognized by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) as a Certified Master Athletic Administrator. The voluntary certification process included evaluation of educational background, NIAAA certification courses, plus professional contributions and there’s a presentation project as the final step.

The NIAAA statement lauded Gingras for demonstrating “exemplary knowledge, contributions and ongoing professional development in the field of interscholastic athletic administration.”

This certification certainly puts her in an elite group.

—– Still on athletic administration, Congrats to Ryan Brown, the former St. Thomas Aquinas of Dover athletic director who was named this past week as the new athletic director at Bishop Guertin. Here’s what you can count on when Guertin is seeking an AD: Either someone already familiar with the school (usually an alum), or someone who comes from a similar school. Brown isn’t an alum, but his eight years at St. Thomas certainly put him to the top of the list.

Now it’s time for all to move forward. Remember, Steve Duprat has been the assistant AD for over a decade under both Tony Johnson and then Pete Paladino. He and the new Alumni Affairs head Paladino formed a pretty good team. Here’s hoping that can be continued with Brown, but those decisions are for the near future, apparently.

— Got to love recent Hollis Brookline graduate Henri Boudreau. He’s likely the ace of not one, but two teams this summer – the Nashua Defenders (NHCBL) and Hollis Brookline of the NEIBL. Nashua is the priority, but he also will try to work in a couple of HB starts. He’ll be double trouble.

“We’re coordinating with him and Nashua about when he can start,” HB coach Justin Roberts said. “His starts will be limited with us, but they’ll be important.”

Boudreau was pumped up and had his good fastball at times during Nashua’s win the other night over Dover, his second Defenders start.

—- Speaking of the Nashua NHCBL team, word is the Defenders will likely have a few games at Holman this month, following communications/meetings between Lunn and Park-Recreation officials. Not a ton, but anything is better than nothing to get a break from Bishop Guertin’s Elliott Field, where a majority of the fans are far away from the action due to safety protocols.

Stay tuned, and stay summer safe.

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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