Sunapee
This time around, the Knights have something to play for.
Mount Royal basketball is going varsity, joining the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Division IV this season after five years at the junior varsity level. Creating MRA’s first varsity hoop programs since the school was established in 1994 was a decision that headmaster and girls coach Derek Tremblay said was years in the making, but became official only last spring.
“When we met with the NHIAA about five years ago, we had to go before them in a committee style, and said if our enrollment kept going up that we were going to make the move,” Tremblay said. “Of course, they asked us, ‘What’s going to make you different from some of these other Christian schools that sometimes back out of schedules?’ We said, ‘Well, if we do it we’ll have to make sure we do it at the right time, that we’ll have the pool to sustain players.’ ”
“We also know that high school sports matter a lot,” he added. “The kids need this experience.”
Mount Royal, the private Catholic school that teaches kindergarten through 12th grade, first met with NHIAA officials five years ago to broach the subject of joining their ranks. Tremblay, in his fifth year coaching the girls team, said the school nearly pulled the trigger three years ago, but circumstances weren’t perfect. Now, it seems, the timing is right.
“We got cold feet,” Tremblay said. “This year, when we did it, not only did we know that our enrollment was going to be solid, but we had a community conversation. We said, ‘If you want it, this is what it’s going to take.’ ”
The Knights now enter a field that has historically been dominated by their Route 11 neighbors. Sunapee High’s girls basketball team has won two consecutive D-IV titles, going undefeated both seasons. While the Lakers’ boys team will be undergoing a transition, it’s no question that Sunapee, just 1.6 miles from MRA’s campus, has established history on its side.
But the Knights feel like they can make some noise. Tremblay’s team won the D-IV junior varsity championship last season against Epping, making its second consecutive appearance in the title game at the annual jayvee tournament held at Pittsfield High. The boys basketball team features 14 varsity-eligible athletes on this year’s squad.
Third-year boys coach Matt McMenaman, who serves as Mount Royal’s admissions director, said his group was looking for a bigger challenge from a more consistent group of opponents.
“We felt like we needed to take it to the next level,” McMenaman said. “Our high school is small. It just seemed like some of the athletes, they didn’t have that opportunity. They wanted it.
“It was one of those things like, do you try to get the numbers, or do you just do it and hope you’ll get more numbers?” he added. “Part of our school plan is to build the high school by at least another 20 students or so. Varsity sports is part of the attraction.”
The boys’ team is led by lanky senior Gus LaRose and junior Alex Normandin behind a group of athletic upperclassmen that McMenaman hopes can step up against tougher competition.
“Part of the benefit to going varsity was consistency,” McMenaman said. “As part of jayvee, we would play Mascoma, Hanover, Portsmouth Christian. It was very inconsistent. Our guys wouldn’t know what to show up to. We would play Stevens and they would give us the freshman squad. It was tough to have that inconsistency. … (My message to the team) is simplified now. I wouldn’t say it’s easier, but it’s more simple.”
For LaRose, the chance to play his senior season among NHIAA opponents has become the ultimate motivator.
“It feels like there’s a lot more pressure this year than in years before,” LaRose said. “It’s my senior year. I just want to make sure I leave it all out on the court.”
Tremblay’s squad is led by sophomore Alexis Matte, daughter of Lebanon High boys basketball head coach Kieth Matte, and senior Marylin LaRose. The Knights, however, are down to eight athletes heading into its second week of preseason and are underclassmen-heavy with two freshmen and four sophomores on the roster.
“The girls themselves, they need some higher statement,” Tremblay said. “If you just keep on with the lowest common denominator like, ‘Oh, we’re just going to sit here and be really good at jayvee,’ there’s not going to be growth.”
Tremblay and McMenaman feel like growth can begin against higher competition. MRA is unique in that it begins its educational offerings in kindergarten and boasts a high student retention rate, giving the school control over feeder programs for the school’s new varsity teams — a task that, in most cases, is handled by town recreation departments and middle schools.
Those at Monday’s practices were wary about setting concrete goals for the Knights’ first season in D-IV. MRA basketball, to most D-IV schools, is still an unknown commodity. But Matte said she believes the mystery surrounding her team leaves the door open for something special.
“I think we’re going to surprise some people,” she said. “I can’t wait.”
The girls open their season at home next Tuesday, Dec. 6, against Pittsfield at 5:30 p.m. The boys’ team opens its season on the road against Linwood on Dec. 9.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.