Friends, rivals meet in Richford
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 1:19AM I'm so old I remember when Cagney Brigham and Steve Jette were kids.
I covered their high school careers as sports editor at the St. Albans Messenger. (The photo I took of Cagney after the Division III baseball championship game is one I'm most proud of taking.)
But now these kids are men. They are still friends from their playing days at Enosburg and their short time coaching the Enosburg boys basketball team together.
Cagney now leads the Richford boys. Jette is still at the helm in the 'Burg.
Tuesday, they crossed paths professionally for the first time.
Here's an article I wrote on the pair for examiner.com.
And a slideshow from the game - hundreds of more photos will be on my website for instant 99-cent download later this week.
SHAWN CORROW, when he's not feeling older by the day, is owner of Cold Hollow Photography, maintains this blog and sometimes even updates his channel on Examiner.com. Have a story idea, please let me know and I'll do my best to oblige.
Jade Desroches: Can't-miss kid about to add to family's legacy
The first time I met Jade Desrochers was five years ago. I was helping coach the Enosburg girls basketball team at the time and was running a summer open gym.
She was 4-foot-nothing. The ball seemed bigger than her.
I turned to one of the girls and asked: "Who invited the fourth grader?"
The girl stared at me with a look of disbelief.
"You don't know who that is? That's Jade Desroches," came the hushed reply, revealing in its tone a level of reverance that surprised me.
Five minutes later, I was in awe, too.
I've told this story so many times I'm sure I've added to the legend, but what I remember is this little wisp of a child walking over to the ball rack, bouncing the ball a couple of times, toeing the 3-point line, a little hop, followed by a big push from a slender right arm and ending with a delicate flick of the wrist. Swish.
Seconds later, from a little further back on the opposite side of the floor. Swish. And it continued. Little further back. Swish.
I lost count after five straight as I was too busy picking my jaw up from off the floor.
I later learned that she was the cousin of Lindsey Larivee - who was heading into her sophomore season with the Hornets after a brilliant freshman campaign that ended with a state title. Larivee had a great shooting stroke, too.
But Desroches, even though she was heading into her eighth grade, was better (at least on that day) and I told her so. And I told her to tell Lindsey. The aghast look on her face told me she wasn't about to do that.
In hindsight, I learned a lot about Jade that day - that she's a quiet kid, but prideful. That she's a tremendously talented athlete, but humble. That she comes from a great basketball family, but she is now, as she was then, eager to make her own mark.
And tonight, with any luck, she will do just that when she becomes the fourth Enosburg girls basketball player - and fifth member of the Larose family - to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
To read more about Jade and her quest to reach 1,000, here's a link to a story I wrote on Examiner.com.
SHAWN CORROW, when he's not being very happy for a really nice kid from a fine family, is owner of Cold Hollow Photography and a freelance photo journalist. He maintains this blog, his photo website www.coldhollowphoto.com and you can follow him on Facebook (Shawn Corrow) and Twitter @scorrow or you can email him at shawn@coldhollowphoto.com