by John Devereaux
WABC Liaison

An internship project that created the highly popular Spring Rec ball league also introduced something new that has not been done in Westford before. The directors of this league allowed a team made up of Westford Academy’s own faculty members to participate. Faculty members include English teachers Russell Coward, Chris Bromanti, Jason Humphrey, Theatre Arts teacher Mike Towers, and Science Teacher Wayne Kotary, among others.

This is the first year that a basketball recreation league has been created for Westford students during the spring. This new league was created for an internship ran by seniors Andy Dunn, Billy Steele, Drew LeBlanc, and Joe Conner.

The creation of this team has caused a lot of hype for the league. Players that were in the league were not only intrigued hearing about the Faculty team, but also eager to play their teachers in a game of basketball. This news spread throughout the school, and even some alumni from past years heard of this phenomenon.

“I like playing and I like coaching […] so I heard there was [a rec ball league] here and I thought that the students would let the old men play with them. So that’s why we decided to talk to Andy Dunn and the rest of the guys to see if they could let us in,” said Coward.

The Faculty team was the most popular team that played this season, as the stands were packed to near capacity for most of their games. The stands were filled by family members, students, and alumni.

When asked about his thoughts on the Faculty team, Director Dunn said, “I was pretty on board with it, I thought it would be a lot of fun to have a faculty Team.”

The four directors immediately inserted them as a team, and gave them a schedule for the season. The Faculty gave it their all this year, as they showed that they could be a force in this league even if they’re twice the age of the other teams. The team finished with a 9-1 record.

“It’s good to go in and to find a way to get a workout, certainly everyone we’re playing against is more fit and more healthy, and certainly much faster than anyone on our team,” said Towers.

Unfortunately the seven members from the team and the four directors agreed upon not allowing the Faculty team to participate in the leagues playoffs. The teachers and directors expressed that they did not want parents to get upset that their kids had been kicked out of the playoffs by grown men. Despite the fact that they will not be attending the playoffs, the team showed pride and energy as they admitted that it was a fun, creative idea.

” The favorite part is to play basketball […] The fact that we get to play with the students, run up and down the court and have a good time,” said Bramanti.