I recently received an email from Ted Dimond '06 and Ben Smith '06, which I thought I would share with you. It is not everyday you hear of unselfish behavior, so it is inspiring, good news!
Apparently, there is a team of lacrosse players from Tabor, the Mighty Ducks, who have been competitive playing summer tournaments since 2007. The Ducks was started by three TA alums: Ted, Ben and Jamie Prudden '06. Their coach, Ian Patrick '84, is the oldest player on the team by far. (Ian shared with me that he feels his age difference acutely, especially this summer after playing eight games over one weekend!) These tournaments are super competitive with teams containing players at the pro, Division 1, 2 and 3 and club levels. Keeping their core makeup TA alumni has been a focus of the Ducks, and significant and regular contributors have been Tucker Prudden '03, Garrett Curran '04, Kevin Donahue '05, Ernie Economides '06, Chris Hartzell '06, Jeff Schwartz '07, Loren Scott '07 Josh Kanter '09 and Cutty Dimond '10.
Alums sticking together, sticking with their coach, and having a great time playing the game that they love is inspiring and a great alumni story all in its own; not so shabby to add that they are a perennial final four team at all the tournaments, finalist in the past three years of the Cape Cod Tournament, as well as winners in Boston twice before, but there is much more to this story.
Feeling they had a shot at winning the CroARt Surf n' Turf Tournament in South Boston this past month, they agreed, as they had in the past, to donate their winnings to a charity of the team's choice if they were successful. The prize was $500, less than the entry fees the team had to pay to enter.
One of the teams fans, Jonathan Smith '04, was killed by a bee sting a month after reuniting with his Tabor friends at his 5th Reunion. "Bubba," as he was lovingly known, was a friend of this group and the brother of Ben Smith '06. Ben and Ted shared that Bubba loved the Ducks and "saw the potential of our group well beyond the lacrosse fields." Their winnings, they decided, would go to support the Jonathan A. Smith '04 Award for Outstanding Leadership, Character and Integrity given annually at Commencement. Ben had heard from many Tabor students how clearly the recent recipients, Seb Salvo '11 and Andrew O'Rourke '12, represented everything the award stood for in Bubba's memory.
Ted and Ben added, "It truly feels that the selection process is taken incredibly seriously and we cannot thank you enough for that. We take a lot of pride in maintaining these long-lasting friendships from Tabor and continuing to play the sport we love so much, a passion shared and developed by all of us on the Chapel and Hoyt fields in Marion."
Ted and Ben, and all the Ducks, I think I can speak for our alumni body, and the faculty, to say we take enormous pride in you! Thank you for remembering Bubba, Tabor and the true value of lasting friendship and sportsmanship. Your leadership and achievement is a great endorsement of Tabor.
Go Seawolves!
