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Sometimes the world of hockey can feel small and oh so tight. So in context.
Example: After a successful run in 2015 as the coach of the boys at Framingham Highs, Paul Spear skated as sports director. So he had to hire his successor.
No problem. Will Ortiz had been one of his best players and later an assistant behind the bench. Spear promoted Ortiz to head coach.
Ortiz kept the Flyers success moving on the rocks. Now 35 years old and for the first time, his father, Ortiz and his partner Desa Lavrusky, began to think about the future, change. Both taught math in high school.
When Brookline-based Dexter Southfield recently called about job opportunities, Ortiz listened.
It kind of happened quickly, he said.
The campus visit and interview influenced Ortiz. Job description: application agencies; assistant hockey coach; assistant baseball coach.
Ortiz took it.
Here is where the hockey points pooling accelerates. Dexter’s head hockey coach is Dan Donato, who has previously coached at Salisbury School in Connecticut. One of his players was Will Ortiz. So Ortiz would have played for Spear and Donato, and also acted as an assistant coach for both.
Donato and Spear also have a history. In the mid-90s, Donato taught teachers at a Catholic monument, a major hockey school. The job of a freshman hockey instructor was opened. According to Spear, Donato took it through. So I took it. At the time, salesman Spear was looking for a more exotic job.
Ortiz said he told of the spear he left, bitterly sweet. I think he wanted me to stay. But he is very excited about me. At the end of the day, we want the best for each other.
In the end, Spear was not surprised by Ortizs’ decision. The will has always been ambitious. He never stops trying to be better. He is always looking for what’s next.
On the ice, Donato recalled Ortiz being electric. His level of competition was off the chart. If the stakes were high, Ortiz slapped his lips and stabbed harder. In the Milton Academy tournament, Donato remembered a big win against Nobles when Ortiz scored a late goal to even out the game and set the win. Ortiz’s dual-OT goal of overthrowing the powerful Cushing Academy is also on Donatos ’mind.
Ortiz’s presence on the ice also affected people. When he played UMass in Amherst, coach (Mark) Dennehy blew up how articulated Will was, Donato said. He also sees Ortiz as suitable at the admissions office. He is very pleasant, said Donato, who is also working on admission. There may just be some sort of hockey talk floating during coffee breaks.
Ortizs ’second season at Framingham saw the Flyers fall to just five wins. The young coach called it the Year of Reconstruction. He didn’t joke. For the next two years, the team made it to the high-performance Super-8 tournament. We definitely had some great players, Ortiz said. We showed that Framingham was no longer just a public school team. Catholic schools thought they came in and just wiped us off the ice.
Rotate scheduled non-league matches against some star teams. It was about growth; to the greater good. I had a great relationship with Will, Spear said. He gave Framingham everything he had. Well, no lifelong friends.
Ortiz was able to grasp the needs of its players and get the best of it. In the rocky second season, Spear said the kids still had a fun experience. It’s the real coach of the coach who gets it.
Ortiz started playing at Spear at the age of 14 as a freshman. Paul and I were together for 10 years from coach to friend as mentor.
So now, Dexter. Donato almost knows what his new assistant will bring to the table. I’m here to make an impact right away, Ortiz said. Im intense, passionate, here to win. He confirmed his learning through peaks and valleys and became a better coach.
When he squeezes in for a while, Ortiz can probably be found on the golf course or he’s gone fishing. I get up early, throw my reel and go to the ponds of Framingham.
And there is this. When Ortiz announced the matter, Spear was asked if he was considering a new coach spin. No no! was the response of his shotgun; then it went to my mind for 30 seconds.
But it’s likely that hell will make a hike or two to Dexter, immersed in the lush neighborhood where the Country Club is located. It just so happens that Donato is known to play at the Country Club. So why isn’t the Spear, Donato and Ortiz trio playing rounds on the famous track? As we said, hockey can often feel like a United Brotherhood
Dropped disc; pick up the club.
You can reach Lenny Megliola at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @lennymegs.
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Sources 2/ https://www.milforddailynews.com/story/sports/2021/07/11/former-framingham-boys-hockey-coach-ortiz-leaves-dexter-southfield/7925757002/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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