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Baseball is on the upswing in Malden with lots of enthusiasm in youth levels, success in Malden High Baseball program
HIGH FIVE for ‘BIG FOUR’: Revere High Outdoor Track Quartet named National HS All-Americans at Nike Nationals Meet in Oregon
By Nick Toscani
There is no question that competitive baseball is alive and well in Malden with enthusiasm and spirit on full display in the youth baseball levels, carrying right up through the ranks to the high school level.
Malden High School Baseball, coached by Steve Freker, Mike DiCato, Phil Cook and Mike Nicholson, enjoyed its most successful season in nearly a dozen years this past spring, breaking an 11-year postseason drought. The Golden Tornado squad went 11-8 overall this past season – basically a “worst-to-first” turnaround from a 4-16 campaign in 2022 – and earned an MIAA Division 1 State Baseball Tournament berth for the first time since 2012. The Golden Tornado squad then went on to drop a respectable first-round game to host Bishop Feehan all the way down in Attleboro. Still, the experience was valuable to the younger-than-young overall squad, according to Coach Freker.
“We had the youngest varsity baseball team in New England – maybe America – last year when we started four freshmen and three sophomores on a regular basis,” said Freker, who began coaching at Malden High in the fall of 1982 and is now in his 41st season of coaching high school sports. “We took our lumps last year, but we did not quit and we competed every game.”
“This year, we still had the youngest team in the state of Massachusetts, but that experience year made a big difference,” the Malden coach added, pointing out that Malden started three freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors and one senior – Greater Boston League All-Star Brandon McMahon – this past season.
Malden won two of three “mini”-tournaments it competed in this past season, taking championships in both the Tornado First Pitch Classic in early April and then taking its first title since 2019 in the 12th Annual Strike Out Colon Cancer Tournament, hosted by East Boston High School May 20-21.
“We had two sophomore pitchers – Aidan Brett and Ryan McMahon – combine for a two-hit shutout (2-0 win over Watertown) in a tournament championship game over at East Boston. What team does that?” Coach Freker said. “We have a lot of experience and confidence going into 2024 after pulling off stuff like that this season.”
The Malden coach said this year was the first season it was easy to see the results of a number of years of hard work and collaboration between Malden High Baseball, the Malden Public Schools Athletic Department, Malden Recreation, Malden Youth Baseball and Malden Babe Ruth Baseball.
Malden Public Schools Director of Athletics Charlie Conefrey spearheaded the introduction of a Middle School Baseball Program in the Greater Boston League, and it has thrived the past several years. One of the most successful and enthusiastic participants has been the Malden Middle School Baseball Team, made up of players from the 6th, 7th and 8th grades and coached by Phil Cook, a longtime former Malden youth baseball coach, who is now in his fifth year on the Malden High baseball staff.
“Coach Phil [Cook] had done a tremendous job motivating and guiding those Malden Middle School players and it has become a great feeder program to Malden High baseball,” Conefrey said. “The middle school program has helped make the whole GBL baseball league stronger for those teams that participate.”
“Nine out of 10 players who play in the middle school baseball program end up coming to Malden High School and playing on our Golden Tornado Baseball team,” Coach Freker said. “That is a credit to Phil Cook and Mr. Conefrey who had initiated and grown that program.”
The Malden coach said that he has made it a top priority to develop strong and collaborative relationships with Malden Babe Ruth Baseball and Field Director Deano Summers as well as Malden Youth Baseball and President Felice D’Anna. “Both Deano Summers and ‘Feesh’ D’Anna are strong supporters of Malden High Baseball and we help those organizations as much as we can. Our coaches and present and former players umpire 90% of their games and through our close work with Malden Recreation and coordinator Joe Levine, we run several well-attended, free baseball camps for younger kids each year in the winter and the summer,” Coach Freker said.
“We are very happy about the excitement building around baseball in the city of Malden right now and we are committed to working closely with organizations, parents and players to see that increase,” the Malden High coach added.
“We can’t wait to have all these excellent young players in our baseball program when they get to Malden High School,” Athletic Director Conefrey said. “We promise their parents and families we will do everything we can to ensure they develop into the best student-athletes they can be.”
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Justin Flores named new Everett High Head Football Coach; third new coach in five years since DiBiaso left after the 2017 season
John DiBiaso Jr. was the one of the longest serving head coaches in Everett High School history. He guided the Crimson Tide from 1992-2028, 26 years in all, with 12 Super Bowl State Championships.
Before that? Jim “Tank” Agnetta, another former Everett High football standout, led the Tide for 9 years – 1983-1991. How about before THAT? Coach Amerino “Moody” Sarno was the football boss – seemingly for life, it appeared. He took over in 1955, after a sterling college career at Fordham, and coached until 1982 – 28 years – and with an impressive record of 128-116, including four state titles, all in the 1960s.
All that has changed in a hurry as of late for the Everett High football program. After going with only THREE coaches in 62 YEARS (!!!) … for the past five seasons, longevity has vanished from the Everett High football coaching lexicon, disappearing without a trace. Last week, for the third time in six years, a new head coach was named for Everett High football, with former UMaine assistant football coach Justin Flores being named the third new football head coach at Everett High in only five seasons.
Former Tide star Theluxon Pierre took the reins directly after DiBiaso for two seasons: 2018 and 2019. Between Thanksgiving and into the midst of COVID-19 in 2020, it was announced that Pierre was no longer head coach. No details were released nor speculated.
In January 2021, it was announced that a former Tide star from the 1980s, Rob DiLoreto, was being named new Everett football head coach. DiLoreto resigned unexpectedly with little detail released in late May, just a few weeks ago.
Now comes newcomer Justin Flores. For the first time in hmmmm… EVER??… a head football coach who did NOT play for Everett High has been named football boss. The Woburn native confirmed that he has accepted the head football position at Everett, replacing DiLoreto, who stepped down after three successful seasons.
Flores grew up in Woburn and followed a family tradition of playing football for former Tanner coaching legend Rocky Nelson from 2006-2010. Flores did a postgraduate year at Tilton before heading to UMaine, where he played from 2012-2015, lettering in each of his four seasons as a wide receiver and punt returner. He spent a year as an assistant at Bentley before returning to his college alma mater for a six-year run as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
There is little doubt that those who follow and support Everett High football fervently hope that what has become a Tide coaching merry-go-round for one of the all-time high-profile programs of ANY sport in Massachusetts comes to an end. They’re hoping Justin Flores is here for the long run.
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Revere High quartet are named National High School All-Americans two ‘Top Three’ in the nation performances in Nike Nationals
Hats off to the most successful outdoor track relay team in both Revere High and Greater Boston League history! Four members of the Revere High boys outdoor track program recently competed at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon. The four Patriots – senior Sami El Asri, juniors JV Cunha and Medy Bellemsieh and sophomore Isaiah DeCrosta – simply killed it. The Revere High relay whizzes finished second in the United States in the 1600 meter Sprint Medley Relay and third in the 4X400 meter relay. The foursome set a new school record for the Sprint Medley Relay (which is two legs of 200 meters, a 400 meter and an 800 meter) in a time of 3:37.18 and smashed their existing school record in the 4 x 400 with a clocking of 3:27.82. Not surprisingly, El Asri, Cunha, Bellemsieh and DeCrosta were all named National Nike All-Americans for their remarkable performances.
