SWAMPSCOTT — The hockey program at Swampscott High will enter a two-year co-operative agreement with Peabody-Saugus starting this winter.
“I knew we didn’t have enough players this year. We barely scraped by last year, to be honest with you,” said Swampscott Athletic Director Kelly Wolff. “So, I started doing research around mid-winter last year, reaching out to several schools and programs about the possibility of co-oping and such, and Peabody-Saugus just made the most sense.”
That was because it’s within the league, in a good spot geographically, and all three schools bring a similar number of players, according to Wolff.
“I think the kids, they’re just excited to still skate,” she said. “Because that was the fear. If we didn’t find a home, then our high schoolers wouldn’t have anywhere to skate next winter and that’s the last thing we wanted. We wanted them to be able to play high school hockey.”
With Peabody serving as the host school, the team will play out of McVann-O’Keefe Rink and compete in Division 1 (MIAA).
Jason Marshall will be head coach after helming Peabody-Saugus for the past two seasons. His team went 5-12-1 last winter.
“I am very excited about the addition of Swampscott to our co-op,” Marshall said. “I’m excited to meet all of the new guys coming in and see what they are going to be able to bring to the program. This should give us the numbers to support a JV team as well, which will help immensely in the development of our individual players – as well as the program as a whole.”
Roles of others within the coaching staff have yet to be determined, according to Wolff, who also added that a team name has not yet been confirmed.
“I’m not sure what that will be,” she said. “I’m also working, right now, with Salem State to try and make it possible that we do one game toward the end of the year at Salem State for our seniors. We’re looking to do a few creative things. We’re hoping to have enough kids to put together, maybe, a JV program… As always, the hope is that over the next couple years, that we’ll be able to get our numbers back up and support our own program.”
