Make mine a triple

Originally, I planned on getting to four games today, but the best laid plans ...

I did, however, get to three games today.

First, I saw the first half of the BHS-BFA-St. Albans boys lacrosse game.

A couple of observations: 1. Every school needs artificial turf. Sure, not all can afford it, but sports on turf are better than sports on grass. It's not an opinion, it's a fact. Especially in the spring where grass is sketchy at best. Burlington's facility is a great place to play, to watch and to photograph.

2. I don't know enough about lacrosse to say who's good and who isn't, but I've seen BFA play twice this year and they can possess the heck out of the ball. Not sure if that translates into wins, but they had the ball for huge huge chunks of time in both games. Of course, this might mean they are terrible. My knowledge of lacrosse is only slightly worse than my knowledge of field hockey. Although lacrosse is rapidly becoming my favorite spring sport to photograph.

A quick check of the Free Press website reveals the Bobwhites won 6-5, second one-goal win in three games this season. They lost their first game by two goals, but it was tied into the fourth quarter. They won their second game of the season in double overtime. Guess they are determined to put some grey hairs on coach Scott Cooledge this season.

After my trip to B-Town, I made a not-so-quick rush-hour trip to Milton to catch the Yellowjackets against South Burlington in softball and baseball.

How about those Rebel softballers! They beat Milton 2-1 to match their win total from the previous decade. (OK, that's a slight exaggeration - I think.) Milton coach Steph Hurley was gracious - as usual - in defeat, remarking that SBHS has some kids who can put the ball in play with authority. They also have a decent pitcher. Sure, they aren't going to knock off a BFA or an Essex anything soon (right?), they seemed headed in the right direction.

Same, too, for the Rebel baseball team. They opened with a 6-0 win over the 'Jackets. Ben Jenkins was dominant on the mound for SBHS, besting Milton ace Matt Goulet. The 'Jackets made a lot of mistakes, but they are young and coach John Geary will use this game as a teaching tool, I'm sure.

With rain in the forecast tomorrow, I'm planning on a day away from games Friday before resuming my schedule with a game at Enosburg on Saturday, weather permitting.

I'm playing for the Vermont Voltage now ... sort of

Sure, it feels a little chilly still, but here it is April 11 and I've already been to a half-dozen spring sports games. Pretty remarkable, really.

And there's a lot more to come.

I've adjusted my schedule to allow me to get to more games this spring than last year and will once again keep those who care about such things up to date with my travels and tribulations in the days and weeks to come.

I also want to announce a new partnership of sorts with the Vermont Voltage. CHP will be the official photographer of the Voltage this summer and I will be working with the team as a public relations consultant.

This is very exciting news - I've known team owner Bo Vuckovic for over a decade and have marevelled in what he has created in Franklin County. We've toyed with the idea of joining forces off an on again over this span of time, but finally the stars aligned and I'm happy that CHP and the VV are able to team up - here's hoping its the start of a long relationship!

While I'm at it, I would like to thank these organizations for officially jumping on board the Cold Hollow Photo train and allowing me to take their team/individual photos this spring.

Johnson State College softball - my first-ever college gig - a lot of fun and some friendly faces to boot - former Enosburg stars Julie Gervais and Maria Lovelette were on basketball teams I helped coach at Enosburg H.S. and Kaitlyn Mackey was a BFA-St. Albans slugger I covered over the past few years. There were also a trio of players from my alma mater - Hazen Union - inlcuding one, Desiree Lacasse - whose father was a next-door neighbor for a while when I was growing up - man that makes me feel really old.

Northwest Ice U-10 AAU Basketball - Thanks for Shaun Montague and Jeannette Larivee for thinking of me for their team photos. A cute group, to be sure!

Fairfax-Westford and Milton Little Leagues - Our first two Little Leagues! (I've done tons of LL photos, but always as a photographer working with VSI) Very excited to add these groups to the CHP roster - always a little nerve-wracking the first time around, but my contacts there are super to deal with so I'm feeling very excited about this opportunity. Thanks Mary Beth and Cheryl for putting your faith in CHP!

Vermont Voltage Youth Soccer Club - This one is still in development, but the plan is to take their photos sometime in May and is an offshoot of my new relationship with the Voltage.

Thanks one and all for working with CHP and thanks, too, for those schools and leagues that we work with that I didn't mention. You are all very important to me and I appreciate our relationship. While it sounds like we are busy - and we are - there's always room for growth. If you know of a team/school/league that wants to have its photos taken by CHP, just shoot me an email shawn@coldhollowphoto.com or call me 782-5317. If you'd like to see samples of our work, check out the sample page on my website.

Take care and see you on the sidelines.

Shawn

Goodbye winter

I know, I know - I just jinxed us.

But I didn't mean the season was over, just the winter sports season - at least as far as me covering high school games.

Sure, technically I haven't covered a game in about two weeks - more or less - but it's taken me that long - for a number of really lame reasons - to finaly post my last five game galleries.

In no particular order, these games are now on the website.

Rutland-U-32 Division II girls hockey final

BFA-Spaulding Division I girls hockey final

Mill River at MVU boys basketball quarterfinal

MVU vs. Fair Haven boys basketball semifinal

Twinfield vs. Proctor boys basketball semifinal

I also posted a gallery of the Vergennes cheerleaders performing before the wrestling state championships.

The links to all of these galleries should be updated on the Winter Sports Photo list.

On an unrelated note ... No, I have not found my keys - but thanks to those who offered condolences and/or suggestions on where to look.

Finally, I will be shooting some photos this weekend, but not of the high school variety. I will be one of the many people working for the Free Press at the America East men's basketball game on Saturday at noon. I'm going to be on the endlines shooting and will file a sidebar story for print and online editions after the game.

If you are watching the game, look for me - I'll be the one in the black hat with the white lens.

Skating on ...

I'm still sick, it's very late and so I'll keep this short.

For those who have asked about the remaining high school sports photos - these will be up sometime next week - sorry about the delay, but hang with me - this head-cold/flu bug has robbed me of 3 days of work and I'm working the Green Mountain Figure Skating Open at Cairns in conjunction with Vermont Sports Images this weekend.

If you are a figure skating folk who stumbled onto my blog, welcome. Should you need to reach me in person for any reason, shoot me an email at shawn@coldhollowphoto.com or call me on my cell phone 802-782-5317.

All of Friday's photos will be online by 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Anything taken before noon in Rink 1 Saturday should be up by 5 p.m. Anything after that, will be uploaded late Saturday night or more likely on Sunday. Anything taken on rink 2 will not be up until Sunday at the earliest, maybe Monday. All of Sunday's events will be uploaded, most likely, on Monday.

Again, if you think we've missed putting up your photos, feel free to contact us - as you can tell, it's a VERY hectic shoot, but all events and all skaters are getting photos taken during their competiton events and all wll be uploaded as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience and your business!

Virus alert

No ... not THAT kind of virus - I have contacted some sort of cold or flu bug and so if you were checking in to see the status of some games that are waiting to be uploaded, I'll beg your indulgence for a few more days.

The most recent event that has been posted is the wrestling state championships.

Other games that still need to be edited and uploaded are ...

The Division I girls hockey final

The Division II girls hockey final

Mill River at MVU boys basketball

Fair Haven at MVU boys basketball