Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, Inc
P.O. Box 820
Lebanon, NH 03766
(603) 448-1042
To: All press, radio and TV
For release: Monday, November 24, 2009
Hartford, VT – There are eight months before strong legs run so that weak legs may walk but already plans for the 56th Annual Shrine Maple Sugar are underway with the announcement today of the Head Coach for the Shrine Vermont team.
Mike Hatt of Springfield High School will serve as Head Coach for the 2009 Vermont Shrine Team. The announcement of Coach Hatt’s selection was announced during a meeting of the Vermont Headmaster’s Association at Hartford High School.
This year's summer classic, which brings together the finest high school football players in New Hampshire and Vermont, will be played on Saturday, August 1 at Windsor High School. This will be only the second time in Bowl Game history that the game has been played in Vermont.
In announcing the VT Coach for 56th Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, David Lovell, President of the Board of Governors for the game, said, "I would like to thank Coach Hatt for the commitment of time he is so unselfishly making. His help will add to the history of an already successful game.”
Hatt graduated from Springfield High School in 1978 where he was a three-sport athlete. He went on to play football and earn a bachelors of science degree in physical education from Springfield College in 1982. From 1984 to 1990 he was head basketball coach at Stevens High in Claremont and assistant football coach.
He returned to Springfield High School in 1995 as both head football and basketball coach. Today he serves the school as Head Football Coach and Director of Athletics. In eight years at the football helm at Springfield he has put together a record of 39-37, including a 9-0 record this past fall, which led to a Division III State championship.
The Head Coach for New Hampshire Shrine team will be announced in early December at the Annual Football Hall of Fame Huddle in Manchester.
Over 200 players from Vermont and New Hampshire, all graduating high school seniors, have been nominated by their respective head coaches, and screening committees, chaired by the two head coaches, will select the two 36-man teams in January. The two teams will be announced in late February.
The two Shrine teams will come together on July 24 at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH for nine days practice leading up to the annual summer classic on August 1
The Shrine Game has raised over 4.5 million for the Shrine Hospitals in 55 years. The hospitals benefiting from the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl include the Shrine Children’s Hospitals in Springfield, Mass. and Montreal, Que. and the Shrine Burns Institute in Boston.
The game is sponsored by Bektash Shrine Center of Concord, Cairo Shrine Center of Rutland and Mt. Sinai Center of Montpelier.
For release: Thursday, December 4, 2008
Manchester, NH - There are eight months before strong legs run so that weak legs may walk but already plans for the 56th Annual Shrine Maple Sugar are underway with the announcement today of the Head Coach for the New Hampshire Shrine team.
Greg Husband of Franklin High School will serve as Head Coach for the 2009 New Hampshire Shrine Team. The announcement of Coach Husband’s’s selection was made during annual New Hampshire Hall of Fame “Huddle” last night in Manchester.
This year's summer classic, as always will bring together the finest high school football players in New Hampshire and Vermont. It will be played Saturday, August 1 at Windsor High School. It will be only the second time in Bowl Game history that the game has been played in Vermont.
The Head Coach for Vermont Shrine team Mike Hatt of Springfield High School. was announced last week,
In announcing the NH Coach, Wayne Shepard, the game’s General Chairman said "We welcome Coach Husband and his Assistant Coaches, to our elite team. The Board of Governors appreciates the selfless time and commitment that this position requires as they prepare the team for another challenging game."
In offering to coach this year’s NH Shrine Team Coach Husband said, “My interest in coaching is personal because the game is being hosted in my home town of Windsor and on the field where I once played. The opportunity to coach this game will be very special to me.”
Husband graduated from Windsor High School in 1982 where he was a two-time all state end. He went on to earn a bachelors degree from Plymouth State College in 1986. He began his coaching career under his old high school, the legendary Dale Perkins, in 1987 when Perkins had taken over as Head Coach at Stevens High in Claremont.
He served as a volunteer assistant coach at Franklin from 1998 to 2002; was coach of the Franklin middle school team in 2003 and was named head coach of the high school team in 2004. In five years Husband has put together a record of 34-18. His 2005 and 2006 teams were runner-up for the state Division V title and this past fall his team went all the way with an 11-0 record and the Class VI title.
This will be just the first time in the 56-year history of the Shrine Bowl that two undefeated coaches have faced each other. Hatt’s Springfield team was also undefeated (11-0) on the way to a Division III State title in Vermont.
Over 200 players from Vermont and New Hampshire, all graduating high school seniors, have been nominated by their respective head coaches, and screening committees, chaired by the two head coaches, will select the two 36-man teams in January. The two teams will be announced in late February.
The two Shrine teams will come together on July 24 at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH for nine days of practice leading up to the annual summer classic on August 1
The Shrine Game has raised over 4.5 million for the Shrine Hospitals in 55 years. The hospitals benefiting from the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl include the Shrine Children’s Hospitals in Springfield, Mass. and Montreal, Que. and the Shrine Burns Institute in Boston.
The game is sponsored by Bektash Shrine Center of Concord, Cairo Shrine Center of Rutland and Mt. Sinai Center of Montpelier.