History of the River Valley Junior High Girls Basketball League 1982-2012
Origins
The origins of the River Valley League are shrouded in mystery. All we really know is that the checking account was opened in 1966. The Commissioner in 1981 and several years before was Tom Gradzewicz who (up until 2005 at least) resides in Lawrence. In a phone interview, Tom indicated that he had served as Commissioner for a number of years and that the River Valley League had existed as far back as 1975 and that prior to that it had been around as a Catholic School league of unknown name. Tom indicated that he had records stored in his garage attic and promised to find them. No word since.
1982-1983
The league organizational meeting was confronted with the fact that almost the entire previous slate of officers was retiring. Only Bob Ross remained as Treasurer and we were forced to make some modifications to the structure. Since there was really no constitution or bylaws (or if there were, they were carefully ignored), the position of Secretary was split into Secretary and Statistician with Sr. Kathleen Leary of St. Augustine’s Andover taking over as Secretary and Larry Dysart assuming the role of Statistician. Don Stewart became our new Commissioner.
The League was made of 18 teams and was split into 2 divisions by random draw. About the only stipulation was that teams from the same organization were put in different divisions where possible. It almost looks like you had to be a “Saint” or “Holy” or “Sacred” to be a member. “North” seems the only other alternative.
The organizations involved that year were:
St. Augustine’s of Lawrence (2), St. Augustine’s of Andover, St. Monica’s(3), Sacred Heart of Lawrence, Sacred Hearts of Bradford, St. Anne’s, St. Mary’s, St. Joe’s of Salem, St. Joe’s of Haverhill, St. Andrew’s, Holy Rosary, Mt. Carmel, No. Andover (2) and No. Reading.
The divisional winners were No. Reading in Division 1, beating No.Andover in a playoff something like 17 to 16 and St. Monica’s Gold in Division 2 by one game over Sacred Heart of Lawrence.
Playoffs were only for the top 4 in each Division. Again it came down to St. Monica’s Gold defeating Sacred Heart 25 to 18 for the title.
1983-1984
The league grew to 26 teams and 3 divisions, again split randomly. Holy Trinity, Masconomet and Methuen joined and other organizations expanded. The divisional winners were
Division 1 – St. Mary’s
Division 2 – Sorbo Realty of Methuen
Division 3 – Sacred Heart of Lawrence
The playoffs were still limited to the top 4 of each division and it came down to Sorbo Realty versus Masconomet in the final. A most “interesting” final it was! Sorbo was the favorite, having demolished everyone along the way with a strong zone defense and powerful rebounding, so Masco grabbed a 2-0 lead, managed to get the ball back and stood near the half court mark for 15 minutes while Sorbo refused to come out of the zone.
In the second half they did come out long enough to take the lead and ended up winning the championship 11 to 4.
1984-1985
We only got a little bigger in the fall of 1984, expanding to 29 teams and 4 divisions. Winchester and St.Robert’s of Andover joined up and it’s not clear whether there was any method for dividing the teams other than a lottery. Seventh and eighth grade teams were still intermixed in any case. The divisional winners were
Division 1 – Sacred Heart of Lawrence over No.Reading by a game
Division 2 – St.Monica’s Green over No.Andover by two
Division 3 – Holy Trinity of Lawrence over Methuen Stott by two
Division 4 – St. Augustine’s of Lawrence, St. Augustine’s of Andover and Methuen Hyde ended in a three-way tie. St. Augustine’s of Lawrence was the eventual Division Champion.
This year we changed to 4 separate end of season playoffs, one per division with all the teams participating, but staying in their respective divisions.
Results of the finals:
Division 1 – St.Roberts 25 No.Reading 23
Division 2 – St.Joe’s (Salem) 18 Masconomet 11
Division 3 – Sacred Heart’s 21 St. Augustine’s (Lawrence) 19
Division 4 – St. Augustine’s (Andover) 24 St.Monica’s 18.
1985-1986
Stability! Again 29 teams with 4 divisions. By this time we were starting to split along grade levels with divisions 3 and 4 being 7th grade or “B” level and 1 and 2 made up of 8th grade teams. Chelmsford made its appearance in the league this year.
The two 8th grade divisions were hotly contested.
Division 1 – St.Monica’s and St.Joe’s(Salem) tied with winner take all in the playoffs.
Division 2 – Sacred Heart edged No.Andover by a game.
Division 3 – St.Monica’s 7th undefeated
Division 4 – St. Anne’s triumphed by a 4 game margin.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1 – St.Monica’s 30 St.Joe’s 20
Division 2 – Chelmsford 33 Sacred Heart 20
Division 3 – No.Reading 7th 19 No.Andover 7th 18
Division 4 – St. Anne’s 23 Sacred Heart 7th 21.
Top scorers in Division 1 were Kerry Holtham of St. Joe’s Salem and Katie McGrath of St. Roberts at 12.82 and 12.50 ppg.
1986-1987
Art Laro takes over as Commissioner. Carol Couture from Mt Carmel takes over as Secretary. Holy Trinity, Chelmsford and Winchester leave. No connection established.
Again 4 divisions, but 3 of them are essentially 7th grade. 27 teams included.
Division 1 – Sacred Heart and St.Monicas tied with Sacred Heart defeating St.Monicas in the playoffs 35 to 32.
Division 2 – No.Andover 7 came out ahead with a 13 – 1 record.
Division 3 – No.Reading 7th won by 2 games.
Division 4 – St.Augustine’s Andover was undefeated.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1 – Stott-Harnish (Methuen) 33 N.Andover 22
Division 2 – N.Andover 7A 36 Sacred Hearts (Bradford) 15
Division 3 – Methuen 7th 14 No.Reading 7th 13
Division 4 – St.Augustine’s Andover N.Andover 7B 24.
Top scorers in Division 1 were Gina Censullo of St. Aug Lawrence at 12.85 ppg and Laurie Berryman of St. Monicas at 10.07.
1987-1988
Elaine Biron volunteers to be our Secretary, Art, Larry and Sr Kathleen remain as Commissioner, Statistician and Treasurer.
There are 15 organizations and 30 teams. Danvers, Holy Trinity and Wilmington are added, Mt Carmel drops out.
There was no agreement on how to split the 8th grade teams, so 1 14 team division was created.
Division 1 – No.Andover 8 was undefeated at 13-0.
Division 2 – Wilmington was undefeated at 13-0
Division 3 – St. Anne’s won by 1 game.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1 – Methuen 37 N.Andover 35
Division 2/3 – St. Joe’s 25 Masconomet 13
Gina Censullo repeated as scoring leader at 11.85 followed by Kerry Haggerty of St.Andrews at 11.11.
1988-1989
Ernie Smith of Danvers becomes Secretary, others remain.
This year we added the Beverly Y, Haverhill and Lynnfield while dropping Holy Trinity, Sacred Heart of Lawrence, St.Augustine Andover and St.Mary’s. 14 organizations and 26 teams remain.
Division 1 – St.Andrews wins by 2.
Division 2 – St Monica’s 7 edges N.Reading 7
Division 3 – Methuen was undefeated at 12-0.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1 – St.Andrews 43 Methuen 8 34
Division 2 – N.Andover 7a 31 St Monica’s 7 29
Division 3 – N.Andover 7b 42 St.Augustine Law. 20.
Top scorers in Division 1 were Katie Qualter of St.Joe’s at 14.50 and Laura Arnold of St.Andrew’s at 14.00.
1989-1990
Officers remain the same.
Amesbury and the Reading Y enter and St.Mary’s returns. Beverly Y and St Anne drop. So now it’s 15 organizations and 25 teams.
Division 1 – St.Andrews wins by 1 1/2.
Division 2 – N.Andover 8B edges Reading Y
Division 3 – Methuen 7 was undefeated at 14-0.
Division 4 – N.Reading B wins by 2.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1 – St.Andrews 46 N.Andover 8A 32
Division 2 – N.Andover 7A 40 St.Augustine Law. 33
Top scorers in Division 1 were Amy Vielleux of Haverhill at 13/38 and Colleen McGlynn of N.Reading at 10.91.
1990-1991
Clark Stewart of St.Monica’s becomes Secretary.
Major change. Because the 6th grade league that had been running has dissolved, the league votes to accept 5th and 6th grade teams.
6 divisions are constructed from 30 7/8 grade teams and 21 5/6 grade teams. Suddenly we’ve doubled in size.
Here’s the list of organizations now involved:
Amesbury Chelmsford Danvers Haverhill
Lynnfield Masconomet Methuen N.Andover
N.Reading ReadingY Sacred Hearts (Bradford)
St.Andrews St.Aug.(Law) St.Joesph (Salem) St. Marys
St.Monica Tewksbury Triton Wilmington
The fees are now set at $70 and all teams are assigned a 14 game schedule. There will be 4 League tournaments, one for each grade.
Division 1 – N.Andover 8Black wins by 2.
Division 2 – Wilmington 8A wins by 4
Division 3 – Tewksbury 7 wins by 2.
Division 4 – Wilmington 8A defeats ReadingY 35-30 in a playoff.
Division 5 – St.Andrews was undefeated at 14-0.
Division 6 – Wilmington 5 defeats N.Andover 14-7 in a playoff.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1 – St.Monica 29 Methuen 27
Division 2 – N.Andover 7A 23 Masconomet 21
Division 3 – ReadingY 5A 23 St.Andrews 10.
Division 4 – N.Andover 5A 12 N.Andover 5B 1
Brooke Blaney of N.Andover led all 8th graders in scoring at 11.46, Melissa Lapointe of St.Josephs led the 7th graders at 17.69 and Brianne Stepherson playing with the ReadingY as a 5th grader led the 5/6 players at 13.09. (As you may know, Brianne went on to lead Boston College)
1991-1992
Changed the Secretary position again, but a period of stability starts. From 1991 to 1999, the Directors will be Art Laro Commissioner, Larry Dysart Statistician, Bob Beauchesne Secretary and Bill Jensen Treasurer.
After wildly expanding from 25 to 51 teams last year, we added Billerica, Dracut, Pentucket and Tyngsboro this year and upped the team total to 65. A quote from the “Whispers” section of the Secretary notes from the October meeting:
“On November 1st Commissioner Art Laro shocked the Youth Basketball Worlds. In a press conference heard live on WEEI All Sports Radio, Art announced expansion into Long Island and Northern New Jersey along with the creation of the Northern and Southern River Valley League. Art created much controversy with the following statement ‘…In keeping with our North and South Division concept, I will place Northern New Jersey in the Southern Division of the Northern River Valley League and Long Island will be placed in the Northern Division of the Southern River Valley League’. At the same news conference, Art also announced the new league logo will feature a compass.”
Well, perhaps it wasn’t quite that bad, but we did form 9 divisions with 5 separate post-season tournaments.
Division 1 – Masco 8A goes undefeated at 12-0.
Division 2 – ReadingY goes 11-1 and wins by 1 game.
Division 3 – St Josephs wins by 1 with a 14-2 record.
Division 4 – St.Andrews was undefeated at 12-0.
Division 5 – N.Reading7 was undefeated at 12-0.
Division 6 – Wilmington6 was undefeated at 12-0.
Division 7 – N.Andover6B was undefeated at 12-0.
Division 8 – Sacred Hearts goes 11-1 to win by 3.
Division 9 – N.Andover5Red was undefeated at 12-0.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1-2 – Masco 8A 49 ReadingY 30
Division 3 – Lynnfield W St Josephs
Division 4-5 – N.Andover7R 24 St.Andrews 21 OT.
Division 6-7 – N.Andover6B 24 ReadingY 17
Division 8-9 – Sacred Hearts 15 N.Andover5R 11
Sandra Forcier of Chelmsford wins the 8th grade scoring title at 14.91 ppg. Catey Peters from Masconomet is 2nd with 12.50.
Melissa Lapointe of St.Josephs again led the 7th graders at 19.56.
1992-1993
Sometime in this timeframe, the River Valley website was introduced.
Records do not indicate exactly when the site was introduced, but prior to it, the process had been that scores and scoring were mailed to the statistician at 3 dates. The standings were compiled and mailed back to each coach, usually in early January and late February. Final standings were distributed at the tournament meeting. That meeting was far more critical as that was when all the results came together and the tournament pairings were determined.
The consolidation of Catholic schools makes itself evident again as we lose St.Mary’s and St.Monica’s (St Anne’s, Holy Trinity and Sacred Heart Lawrence have long gone). However we gain Andover, Lowell and Winchester. So now it’s 24 organizations and 57 teams.
This is also the first year insurance is required.
This year it’s 8 regular season divisions and 3 large post season tournaments.
Division 1 – St.Andrews wins by 1 over Wilmington.
Division 2 – Billerica goes 11-1 and wins by 1 1/2 games.
Division 3 – N.Andover8B was undefeated at 9-0.
Division 4 – ReadingY7 was undefeated at 10-0.
Division 5 – Andover goes 13-1 to edge N.Andover7 by 1.
Division 6 – N.Andover6A goes 11-1.
Division 7 – Methuen6A was undefeated at 12-0.
Division 8 – Sacred Hearts is undefeated at 15-0.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1-2 – St.Andrews 32 Methuen 29
Division 3-4-5 – Andover 47 Winchester 35
Division 6-7-8 – N.Andover6A 37 Dracut 34
Jennifer Bradley of Methuen led the scoring at 13.64, followed closely by Julie Stokes from Wilmington with 13.22.
1993-1994
Notre Dame of Tyngsboro, Sacred Hearts and St.Augustine Lawrence are the next schools to leave. Burlington and Lexington sign on. Al Naffah agrees to be the league referee coordinator.
A post season State Tournament is held, organized by people from the south shore. RV elects to send their champion – Andover, coached by Dick Muller and starring the Muller twins, Charlotte and Sarah (who later lead Andover High to State titles). Andover is crowned state champ. Unfortunately the tournament only lasts one year.
Division 1 – Andover8 was undefeated at 13-0.
Division 2 – Dracut wins a tie-breaker over Tewksbury.
Division 3 – Chelmsford comes in at 13-1.
Division 4 – N.Andover7A goes 10-1.
Division 5 – Burlington7 runs away at 13-1.
Division 6 – St.Andrews goes 15-1.
Division 7 – Wilmington was undefeated at 16-0.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 1-2 – Andover 41 Burlington8 21
Division 3-4-5 – Dracut 41 N.Andover6A 27
Division 6-7 – Wilmington 30 St.Andrews 25
Leading scorers are Michella Blaney, N.Andover8 14.67,
Charlotte Muller, Andover8 13.00, and Sarah Muller, Andover8 12.31
1994-1995
Newburyport joins the league. There seems to have been a long discussion about adding the 3 point shot, but records do not indicate if the motion passed for this season. 9 Divisions were created with 9 separate post season tournaments. 68 teams are enrolled. This appears to be the first time teams were moved up or down based on their records.
Division 1 – Haverhill was undefeated at 12-0.
Division 2 – Masco edges Wilmington.
Division 3 – N.Reading was undefeated at 14-0.
Division 4 – Burlington7 goes 12-1.
Division 5 – Lexington was undefeated at 13-0.
Division 6 – Amesbury was undefeated at 13-0.
Division 7 – Chelmsford6 wins a tight race over Masco and Burlington.
Division 8 – ReadingY comes out ahead with a 13-1 record.
Division 9 – Newburyport5/6 was undefeated at 14-0.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 8A – N.Andover 74 Haverhill 65
Division 8B – Amesbury8 48 Burlington 47 OT
Division 8C – Lowell 26 Lynnfield8 24
Division 7A – Burlington7 36 Lynnfield7 33
Division 7B – N.Andover 42 Amesbury7 26
Division 7C – Masconomet 26 Chelmsford7 23
Division 6A – Burlington6 41 Chelmsford6 33
Division 6B – Tewksbury 28 N.Reading 25
Division 6C – St.Joe’s 19 Newburyport 10
Cheryl Leger of Haverhill led the 8A scoring with 15.36 ppg. Tina Graham of Dracut was 2nd at 14.92.
1995-1996
St. Joe’s drops, MelroseY and Westford join bringing us up to 74 teams. At this point, we gave up trying to keep track of individual scoring; the Statistician was undergoing mental stress.
Lot of undefeated teams.
Division 1 – Lynnfield8 wins with a 14-1 record.
Division 2 – ReadingY was undefeated at 15-0.
Division 3 – Newburyport beats out Billerica and Winchester at 13-3.
Division 4 – Burlington7 goes 12-0.
Division 5 – Masconomet was undefeated at 13-0.
Division 6 – Andover7 was undefeated at 14-0.
Division 7 – Chelmsford6 was undefeated at 15-0.
Division 8 – ReadingY comes out ahead with a 12-1 record.
Division 9 – Amesbury was undefeated at 12-0.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 8A – Lynnfield8 55 Lexington 41
Division 8B – Haverhill 49 Dracut 46
Division 8C – Billerica 33 Winchester 23
Division 7A – Burlington7 62 Andover7 60
Division 7B – MelroseY 32 N.Andover 18
Division 7C – Lynnfield 25 Danvers 23
Division 6A – Chelmsford6 53 Dracut 34
Division 6B – Masco 34 Westford 31
Division 6C – Amesbury 29 Methuen 29
1996-1997
Lorinda Visnick of Beverly makes her first appearance!! (and wins 13 games). Otherwise, sme as last year – 9 divisions, 9 tournaments with adjustments. 76 teams.
Division 1 – Andover 12-2 edges Burlington 10-3.
Division 2 – Newburyport was undefeated at 15-0.
Division 3 – Billerica ends at 16-1.
Division 4 – Chelmsford7 was undefeated at 12-0.
Division 5 – Tewksbury 13-3 by 2 games.
Division 6 – Lexington at 14-2.
Division 7 – Andover at 11-1.
Division 8 – Chelmsford6 11-3.
Division 9 – Beverly6 13-1 over Winchester 12-2.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 8A – Newburyport 45 Andover 43
Division 8B – Chelmsford8 35 N.Andover 24
Division 8C – Danvers 31 Winchester 29
Division 7A – Andover 29 Chelmsford7 26
Division 7B – Tewksbury 39 N.Reading 36
Division 7C – Haverhill 39 Amesbury 35
Division 6A – Masco 38 Chelmsford6 20
Division 6B – SalemNH 35 Amesbury 26
Division 6C – Haverhill 40 N.Andover 34
1997-1998
The League has grown to 30 organizations and 88 teams. League fees are up to $85 plus $6 per player for insurance. Bert Hamel holds a coaches clinic at Merrimack. I and perhaps 2 others actually attend.
Updated the list of organizations now involved:
Amesbury Andover Beverly Billerica
Burlington Chelmsford Danvers Dracut
Hamilton-Wenham Haverhill Lexington Lowell
Lynnfield Manchester Masconomet Melrose
MelroseY Methuen Newburyport N.Andover
N.Reading Peabody Pentucket ReadingY
SalemNH Tewksbury Timberlane Triton
Wilmington Winchester
Note that by now most of the original teams have disappeared.
Division 1 – Andover 18-1.
Division 2 – Masco 17-1.
Division 3 – Newburyport 13-2.
Division 4 – Peabody7 was undefeated at 13-0.
Division 5 – Melrose7 was undefeated at 16-0.
Division 6 – Danvers7 and Lynnfield7 share the title at 11-1.
Division 7 – Peabody6 goes 14-1
Division 8 – Tewksbury6 was undefeated at 20-0.
Division 9 – Winchester 15-1.
Results of the playoff finals:
Division 8A – Andover 48 Timberlane 34
Division 8B – Lowell 55 Beverly 39
Division 8C – MelroseY 43 Methuen 42 OT
Division 7A – Peabody 43 Winchester 30
Division 7B – Beverly 34 N.Andover 32
Division 7C – Ham-Wenham 40 Salem 36
Division 6A – Peabody 27 Billerica 25
Division 6B – Haverhill 41 Newburyport 35
Division 6C – N.Andover 26 Wilmington 21
1998-1999
Georgetown, Nashua and Swampscott are new this year, putting us over 100 teams for the first time (105). At this point we have 11 divisions. Dick Pearson takes over as referee coordinator.
Division 8A – Andover 15-1 squeaks by Peabody 14-2
Division 8B – Methuen comes out ahead at 14-2
Division 8C – Chelmsford is undefeated at 12-0
Division 7A – Peabody is undefeated at 15-0
Division 7B – Newburyport is undefeated at 14-0
Division 7C – Amesbury is undefeated at 19-0
Division 6A – Masco wins with a 15-1 record.
Division 6B – Salem is undefeated at 12-0
Division 6C – It’s Beverly at 13-1
Division 6D – Newburyport6B led at 14-1
Division 6E – Billerica5 is undefeated at 12-0
Sticking with 9 post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Andover 51 Peabody 45
Division 8B – Haverhill 32 Wilmington 31
Division 8C – Dracut 51 Newburyport 43
Division 7A – Peabody 49 Billerica 38
Division 7B – ReadingY 34 Tewksbury 32
Division 7C – N.Andover7B 45 Lynnfield 26
Division 6A – Masco 40 Tewksbury 23
Division 6B – N.Reading 34 Newburyport 24
Division 6C – Masco6B 40 Salem5 32
1999-2000
Alex Bonner of Lexington is our new secretary. Malden and Gloucester join. 35 organizations and 112 teams. Due to poor advanced notice from the towns, the divisions are set after the meeting by the Statistician. We survive the calendar crisis of 2000.
Division 8A – Peabody is undefeated at 16-0
Division 8B – Burlington comes in at 14-2
Division 8C – Lynnfield’s 11-3 leads the way
Division 7A – Masco repeats a 15-1 record
Division 7B – Wilmington at 13-2wins by 2
Division 7C1 – Georgetown is undefeated at 16-0
Division 7C2 – Swampscott 13-1 edges Gloucester 12-2
Division 6A – Billerica 12-0
Division 6B – Tewksbury is undefeated at 14-0
Division 6C1 – Amesbury (16-1) wins a tie-breaker over Wilmington (15-2)
Division 6C2 – Peabody6B led at 15-1
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Nashua 54 Andover 46
Division 8B – Lowell 51 Wilmington 45
Division 8C – Amesbury 39 Pentucket 22
Division 7A – Billerica 34 Masco 32
Division 7B – Georgetown 36 N.Reading 33
Division 7C – Burlington 33 Lexington 32
Division 6A – Billerica 37 Tewksbury 29
Division 6B – Lowell6 37 MelroseY 30
Division 6C – Danvers6 25 Lowell5 16
2000-2001
Salem MA enters, Nashua and Timberlane leave (actually Timberlane dropped out mid 1999-2000).
Division 8A – SalemNH wins at 11-1
Division 8B – Tewksbury (13-1) edges Chelmsford (12-2)
Division 8C – Amesbury undefeated at 13-0
Division 7A – Andover goes 15-0
Division 7B – N.Andover goes 15-0
Division 7C – Gloucester goes 12-0
Division 6A – Billerica (11-1) over MelroseY (10-1)
Division 6B – Danvers and Methuen tie at 13-1
Division 6C1 – Lynnfield goes 11-0
Division 6C2 – Pentucket wins at 14-2
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Andover 60 Peabody 56 OT
Division 8B – Gloucester 36 Lynnfield 31
Division 8C – Melrose 44 Dracut 32
Division 7A – Peabody 36 Andover 32
Division 7B – Gloucester 35 NReading 21
Division 7C – Wilmington 35 Beverly 32
Division 6A – Billerica 32 MelroseY 25
Division 6B – Masco 25 NAndover 13
Division 6C – Malden 25 Chelmsford 21
2001-2002
Secretaryless for a year. Swampscott morphs into MarbleheadY. We later discover they really aren’t part of the Y and they forfeit their playoff game. Winthrop begins its controversial membership which ends in 2005!
Our bank balance is up to $6000 and enrollment up to 123 teams.
Division 8A – Andover (12-0) bests Peabody (11-1)
Division 8B – Masco(14-1) beats Malden (13-2) in a one game playoff.
Division 8C – Methuen undefeated at 14-0
Division 7A – Billerica and Methuen tie at 10-2
Division 7B – MelroseY7B goes 12-0
Division 7C – Gloucester (14-0) wins the title over Pentucket (13-1)
Division 6A – Billerica at 14-0
Division 6B North – Chelmsford and Tewksbury tie at 15-1
Division 6B South – Danvers and Winthrop tie at 13-1
Division 6C1 – Wakefield 13-1
Division 6C2 – Billerica and Wilmington tie at 13-1
Until recently, it had been the policy to hold single game playoffs to resolve ties and, in fact, that is still one of the choices to date. However due to the nature of the post season tournaments, many (and currently most) of the teams decided to share the titles and split the cost of an extra set of trophies.
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Andover 48 Peabody 41
Division 8B – Lynnfield 38 Chelmsford 31
Division 8C – Wilmington 32 Peabody8B 30
Division 7A – Methuen 60 Nashua 51
Division 7B – Wilmington 43 Lynnfield 27
Division 7C – Newburyport 35 Malden 31
Division 6A – Billerica 32 Danvers 27
Division 6B – SalemNH 36 Burlington 30
Division 6C – Pentucket6W 40 Malden 30
2002-2003
This year we added Hampstead NH, Ipswich, Pelham NH and Swampscott (again). Melrose, Winchester and Rockport disappear. John Smith of Newburyport becomes Secretary.
Division 8A – Nashua at 14-0
Division 8B – Haverhill and Tewksbury tie at 13-1 but Tewksbury is the winner
Division 8C – Amesbury goes 12-0
Division 7A – Billerica wins at 13-1
Division 7B North – SalemNH 13-0
Division 7B South – Burlington 14-0
Division 6A – Peabody is undefeated at 16-0
Division 6B North – Tewksbury is undefeated at 14-0
Division 6B South – Wilmington is undefeated at 16-0
Division 6C1 – Lowell wins at 13-1
Division 6C2 – Nashua wins at 11-1
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Nashua 52 Methuen 38
Division 8B – Tewksbury 51 Pelham 30
Division 8C – Triton 25 Malden 21
Division 7A – Andover 50 Danvers 32
Division 7B – Beverly 34 Swampscott 21
Division 7C – Methuen 40 Lowell 23
Division 6A – Peabody 52 Nashua 33
Division 6B – Haverhill 27 MelroseYNR 26
Division 6C – Amesbury 29 Danvers 27
2003-2004
Hampstead lasted one year, but the Lawrence BGC takes their place. Manchester re-appears and Tyngsboro joins. 13 divisions, 135 teams, 38 organizations.
Division 8A – Andover 16-0
Division 8 North – Triton 12-2
Division 8 South – MelroseY 12-0
Division 8 East – Wilmington8B 12-1
Division 7A – Peabody 13-0
Division 7 North – Newburyport7M 16-0
Division 7 South – Danvers 12-0
Division 7 East – SalemMA 11-1
Division 6A – MelroseY 13-1 over Methuen 12-2
Division 6 North – Tewksbury 16-0
Division 6 South – NReading 15-1
Division 6C – Nashua 16-0
Division 5 – Billerica and Danvers tie at 12-1
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Andover 46 Danvers 36
Division 8B – Wilmington 41 Methuen 31
Division 8C – Malden 35 Beverly 34
Division 7A – Peabody 47 Methuen 37
Division 7B – Lynnfield 38 Gloucester 17
Division 7C – Man-Essex 41 Ham-Wen 17
Division 6A – Pentucket 27 Peabody 18
Division 6B – NAndover 34 Nashua 27
Division 6C – Danvers5 26 Billerica5 18
2004-2005
The year was going along smoothly until late January when a significant incident occurred between 2 individuals from Swampscott, the assistant coach and the scorer (Myette and Gambale). Both were suspended indefinitely.
Then we went smoothly until the last game of the tournament where Pentucket was to have battled Winthrop. Winthrop chose to travel to a tournament on the south shore and failed to appear. Winthrop forfeited and has since been banned from play in the River Valley League.
We have no secretary, but the other officers remain.
Numerous ties this year, including our first 3-way tie!
Division 8A – Pentucket and Tewksbury 14-1
Division 8 West – Reading 13-1
Division 8 East – Gloucester, MelroseYNR and Pelham at 13-3
Division 8C – LawrenceBGC 14-0
Division 7A – MelroseY 11-3 over Danvers 10-4
Division 7B – Nashua 14-0
Division 7C – Burlington and Dracut 13-1
Division 6A – NAndover and Peabody 13-1
Division 6B – Lowell and Wilmington 13-1
Division 6C – Dracut and Triton 13-1
Division 5L – Wilmington 16-0
Division 5S – Georgetown and MelroseY 13-1
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Pentucket 2 Winthrop 0
Division 8B – Nashua 43 LawrenceBGC 36
Division 8C – Malden 29 MelroseY 28
Division 7A – MelroseY 39 Peabody 27
Division 7B – GloucesterM 36 Chelmsford 34
Division 7C – Swampscott 47 GloucesterW 11
Division 6A – Peabody 31 NAndover 21
Division 6B – Tewksbury 35 Gloucester6 27
Division 6C – Wilmington5 42 Billerica5 32
Division 5 – NAndover5 14 NReading5 12
2005-2006
Now we’re up to 39 organizations and 147 teams. Becoming a bit too many to handle! Fees also up - $125 per team, $5.25 for insurance. Stoneham and Mystic Valley are our new groups. The coaches voted to continue the ban on the 2 individuals from the altercation last year.
Still no secretary.
It was voted to use a tie breaker scheme involving head-to-head results as a means for reducing the number of league championship ties.
Division 8A – Pentucket8 15-0
Division 8B – LawrenceBGC 12-0
Division 8C North – Lowell8 16-0
Division 8C South – Manchester-Essex8 15-1
Division 7A – Nashua7 13-0
Division 7B – Lowell7 13-0
Division 7C – Manchester-Essex7 14-0
Division 6A – Wilmington and Nashua6 13-1, Wilmington wins the tie-breaker
Division 6B – Pentucket6 12-1 edges Dracut 11-2
Division 6C – SalemNH 13-0
Division 5L – Billerica 13-0 over Tyngsboro 13-1
Division 5S – MelroseY5M 12-0 over Tewksbury 12-1
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Pentucket 48 Wilmington 39
Division 8B – Chelmsford 50 Billerica 47
Division 8C – Dracut 25 Triton 21
Division 7A – Nashua 37 Peabody 29
Division 7B – Gloucester 25 Andover 23
Division 7C – Lynnfield 30 Georgetown 28
Division 6A – Billerica 33 Wilmington 27
Division 6B – Methuen 31 MelroseY 24
Division 6C – Billerica5 23 Georgetown 9
Division 5 – NAndover 37 Chelmsford 25
2006-2007
42 organizations and 160 teams. A “splinter group” from Chelmsford applies, but Chelmsford YB does not approve as there is room in their main organization. The new group is denied membership under league rules. Lexington and Haverhill reappear. Lorinda Visnick takes over as secretary.
Division 8A – NAndover8A 14-0
Division 8B – SalemMA (13-1) wins the tie breaker over MelroseY
Division 8C – Georgetown, LawrenceBGC and Malden tie at 13-1
Division 7A – Wilmington 14-0
Division 7B – MelroseY 14-0
Division 7C – Haverhill 15-1 in a close one over Newburyport 14-2
Division 6A – Peabody 13-1
Division 6B – Ipswich 13-2 edges Stoneham 12-3
Division 6C – Georgetown6W (13-1) wins the tie breaker over Lowell
Division 5A – Dracut 14-0 beats out MelroseYNR 13-1
Division 5B – Stoneham 14-0 beats out Manchester-Essex 13-1
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Beverly 59 Danvers 48
Division 8B – Masco8R 40 Pentucket 40
Division 8C – Wilmington 38 Reading 31
Division 7A – Nashua 40 Wilmington 37
Division 7B – Tewksbury 30 Danvers 27
Division 7C – Malden 27 Amesbury 14
Division 6A – Peabody 4 0 Tyngsboro 32
Division 6B – Chelmsford 41 Pentucket 27
Division 6C – MelroseY5NR 27 Dracut5 23
Division 5 – Wilmington 16 Tewksbury 10
2007-2008
RV reaches its maximum - 43 organizations and 167 teams. Numerous changes are made to the Constitution & By-Laws including such things as a proposal for the divisional structure being made by the Statistician based on reports from all the organizations prior to the AGM and fines for no-shows. A proposal to add a “recommendation” that coaches play all of their players at each game is defeated.
A new tournament structure is proposed and accepted. Now there will be A, A/B, B/C and C brackets in grades 6, 7 and 8.
Nicole Boudreau starred for Andover and went on to lead Andover to 3 State Championships and later to play for Boston College.
Organizations for the 2007-2008 season:
Amesbury Andover Beverly Billerica
Burlington Chelmsford Danvers Dracut
Georgetown Gloucester HamiltonWenham Haverhill
Ipswich LawrenceBGC Lowell Lynnfield
Malden Manchester-Essex Masconomet Melrose
MelroseY MerrimackNH Methuen Mystic Valley
NashuaNH Newburyport N.Andover N.Reading
Peabody Pelham Pentucket Reading
SalemMA SalemNH Saugus Stoneham
Swampscott Tewksbury Triton Tyngsboro
Wakefield Westford Wilmington
Division 8A – MelroseY 14-2 wins the tie-breaker over Nashua
Division 8B North – LawrenceBGC and SalemNH end tied at 11-3
Division 8B South – Reading8 wins a 3 way tie-breaker over Danvers and NReading
Division 8C – Lowell goes 14-0
Division 7A – Another unresolvable tie: Billerica and Tyngsboro at 14-2
Division 7B North – Masco7B 13-3 edges Nashua 12-4
Division 7B South – MelroseY7B wins at 15-1
Division 7C – Malden 16-0 over Masco7C 15-1
Division 6A – Dracut 14-0 over Peabody 13-1
Division 6B – Nashua 15-1 over SalemMA and Manchester-Essex 14-2
Division 6C – Newburyport6G 14-2
Division 5A – Merrimack 15-0
Division 5B – Hamilton-Wenham 15-0 over Beverly 14-1
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Andover 39 Wilmington 31
Division 8AB – LawrenceBGC 71 Lowell 67
Division 8BC – Man-Essex 35 Peabody8B 22
Division 8C – Masco8C 42 Malden 27
Division 7A – Billerica 55 Pelham 41
Division 7AB – Ipswich 39 MelroseY 32
Division 7BC – Ham-Wenham7B 29 Lowell 27
Division 7C – Amesbury 24 Wakefield 19
Division 6A – Peabody 20 Dracut 18
Division 6AB – Beverly 24 Masco6A 23
Division 6BC – Gloucester 23 Newburyport6G 15
Division 6C – Reading6W 18 Masco6B 16
Division 5 – Wilmington 37 Nashua 19
2008-2009
North Shore League forms. Originally designed as a “Cape Ann League” for girls, the newly formed league draws a number of teams from the Cape Ann area. From the 2007-08 RV League, this includes:
Amesbury Georgetown Gloucester Ham-Wenham
Ipswich Lynnfield Masconomet Newburyport
Triton
In 2007-2008, this represented 9 organizations and 42 teams. The teams were predominantly “B/C” level teams. 5 - 17 - 20 being the A-B-C breakdown. It is generally thought that this is a good thing for the lower level teams, but the “A” level teams will probably lack competition. In any event, the league is now at 34 organizations and 134 teams, which is basically where it will remain with some others leaving and some returning or newly joining.
Division 8A – Tyngsboro (15-1) wins the tie-breaker over NAndover
Division 8B North – Chelmsford (14-2) edges Lowell (13-3)
Division 8B South – Stoneham (14-1) edges Beverly (12-2)
Division 8C – Manchester-Essex (13-0) beats out SalemNH (12-1)
Division 7A – Dracut and Peabody tie at 11-2, but Dracut wins the tie-breaker
Division 7B North – Chelmsford and Merrimack tie at 14-2
Division 7B South – Manchester-Essex at 13-0
Division 7C – Chelmsford7W at 13-0
Division 6A – Billerica, NAndover and Wilmington tie at 12-4
Division 6B – Methuen goes undefeated at 16-0
Division 6C – Manchester-Essex at 11-1
Division 5A – Billerica at 15-1
Division 5B – Lowell goes undefeated at 16-0
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – BillericaA 40 Reading 30
Division 8AB – Nashua 61 Wilmington 50
Division 8BC – Dracut 31 Methuen 28
Division 8C – Wakefield 30 BillericaB 17
Division 7A – Dracut 29 Peabody 26
Division 7AB – NReading 31 Beverly 29
Division 7BC – Pelham 42 Tewksbury 38
Division 7C – Tyngsboro 41 Lowell 32
Division 6A – NAndover 33 Stoneham 31
Division 6AB – SalemNH 22 Tyngsboro 20
Division 6BC – Billerica5 35 SalemNH5 34
Division 6C – Westford5 22 Lowell5 21
Division 5 – NAndover 33 Chelmsford 30
2009-2010
A couple of organizations that left send their “A” teams to the RV. A couple of other organizations leave. Status quo as far as numbers go.
A State Tournament is proposed and the League votes to send representatives.
We know that NAndover8, Billerica7 and SalemNH all reached the finals, but lost
Records show NAndover8 44 Medfield 54, Acton-Boxboro6 44 SalemNH6 41, Braintree 54 Billerica 52.
Rule revisions include no full court defense in the 5th grade until the last 4 minutes of the game (and then only if the pressing team is not leading by 10 or more points). A motion to require man-to-man only in 5th grade fails.
League directors indicate a need for the league to plan on their retirement.
Division 8A – Peabody undefeated at 14-0
Division 8B – LawrenceBGC undefeated at 15-0
Division 8C – Lowell undefeated at 14-0
Division 7A – Billerica (15-1) edges Hamilton-Wenham (14-2)
Division 7B – Manchester-Essex and Tyngsboro end tied at 14-2
Division 7C – Lowell undefeated at 16-0
Division 6A – SalemNH (13-2) over Billerica (13-3)
Division 6B – Manchester-Essex goes 16-0
Division 6C – NAndover6C (12-2) beats Lexington (11-3)
Division 5A – Billerica goes 16-0
Division 5B – Pelham goes 15-0
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – NAndover 37 MelroseY 33
Division 8AB – Ham-Wen 43 Masco 41
Division 8BC – Beverly 38 Reading 28
Division 8C – Danvers 38 Tyngsboro 27
Division 7A – Billerica7A 43 Chelmsford 28
Division 7AB – Stoneham 35 Merrimack 23
Division 7BC – Billerica7B 53 Westford 46
Division 7C – Peabody 20 Danvers 17
Division 6A – SalemNH 16 Billerica 12
Division 6AB – Dracut 23 Methuen 21
Division 6BC – Peabody6B 20 Billerica5 18
Division 6C – Pelham5 28 Westford5 26
Division 5 – Masco 18 NReading 11
2010-2011
Major changes are made to take affect in the fall of 2011. The positions of Statistician and Referee assignor (not used in some time) are removed and several new ones added. There will still be a Commissioner, Secretary and Treasurer but each age division will have a Director responsible for divisional setup and tournament alignment. New positions of Web Coordinator and Past Commissioner are added. The league will move to a commercial web site to be determined.
It is noted that there was a disturbance in the 7AB tournament at Wilmington with fans from Merrimack out of control. The team is dropped this year.
PembrokeNH, Fidelity House of Arlington enter. Amesbury and Haverhill return.
Gym Committee reports on gym sizes.
All Star games condense to 2 for each grade instead of 3 as in previous years. Low participation at the “C” level cited.
The “no-zone” in 5th grade motion fails for the second year in a row.
Tournament finals and several semi-finals are held at the Eastern Sports Center in Plaistow NH.
We again entered the State tournament, but we have no record of how the teams fared.
Division 8A – Peabody undefeated at 14-0
Division 8B – LawrenceBGC undefeated at 15-0
Division 8C – Lowell8 undefeated at 14-0
Division 7A – Billerica (15-2) edges Hamilton-Wenham (14-2)
Division 7B – Manchester-Essex and Tyngsboro tie at 14-2
Division 7C – Lowell7 undefeated at 16-0
Division 6A – SalemNH (13-2) beats out Billerica (13-3)
Division 6B – Manchester-Essex at 16-0
Division 6C – NAndover6C (12-2) over Lexington (11-3)
Division 5A – Billerica 16-0
Division 5B – Pelham 15-0
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Billerica8A 51 NAndover 26
Division 8AB – LawrenceBGC 44 Dracut 38
Division 8BC – Wilmington 37 Billerica8B 36
Division 8C – Malden 41 Reading8C1 32
Division 7A – Peabody 32 Westford 24
Division 7AB – Beverly 37 Merrimack 33
Division 7BC – Masconomet 31 Peabody7B 29
Division 7C – Malden 37 Reading7C 36
Division 6A – Billerica 21 Peabody 13
Division 6AB – Tyngsboro 26 NReading 25 OT
Division 6BC – Amesbury 37 NAndover6B 28
Division 6C – Chelmsford5 37 Lowell5R 26
Division 5 – NReading 23 Westford 19
2011-2012
The changing of the guard part I !!.
Commissioner Art Laro
Assist. Comm Gary Sauve
Secretary
Treasurer Brian Sifferlan
Webmaster Larry Dysart
8th Grade Joe Torrisi
7th Grade Dan MacNeil
6th Grade Bob Johnson (assisted by Jim Connors & Craig Campbell)
5h Grade Lorinda Visnick
Eteamz.com was selected as the site to be used. The scheduling was done partly as it has been in the past. The game pairings were created on the site and the coaches input the dates once the games had been scheduled. Bob Johnson scheduled the entire 6th grade himself!
We planned to have 11 divisions, but with 45 teams in the 8th grade, it was decided to go with an extra division in that age group.
Division 8A – PembrokeNH 15-1
Division 8AB – Pentucket and Methuen tie at 14-2
Division 8B – Tyngsboro 14-2
Division 8C – Haverhill, SalemNH8C and Beverly tie at 14-2
Division 7A – Billerica undefeated at 16-0
Division 7B – Pentucket goes 15-1
Division 7C – MerrimackNH7C undefeated at 16-0
Division 6A – NAndover undefeated at 16-0
Division 6B – Wakefield (15-1) take the tie-breaker over Tyngsboro
Division 6C – Everett undefeated at 14-0, edging Masco at 15-1
Division 5SE – Tewksbury undefeated at 16-0
Division 5NW – Methuen undefeated at 15-0
Post season tournaments:
Division 8A – Pembroke 45 SalemNH 35
Division 8AB – Pentucket8AB 35 TewksburyA 33
Division 8BC – Malden 41 Tyngsboro 38
Division 8C – Chelmsford 43 TewksburyC 32
Division 7A – Billerica 40 Peabody 21
Division 7AB – NAndover 31 Tyngsboro 29
Division 7BC – Amesbury 37 Chelmsford 26
Division 7C – Man-Essex 28 TewksburyC 21
Division 6A – NAndover 36 Peabody 26
Division 6AB – NReading 28 Billerica 18
Division 6BC – Methuen5 27 Pelham6B 21
Division 6C – Pelham5 29 NAndover5 20
Division 5 – Westford 15 Merrimack 12
Results of the State Tournament for the 2011-2012 season.
The River Valley League had great success in the expanded State Tournament which now included 5th Grade teams. Our League voted to send the A division winners from the 8th, 7th, and 6th Grades. plus a 5th Grade representative (2) as we had two divisions with no clear winner (the better 5th Grade teams were moved up to the 6th Grade divisions for the playoffs). The results were:
8th Grade Pembroke finished 3rd winning 2 out of 3 games.
7th Grade Billerica 7A won the State Tournament over North Attleboro 45 - 36.
6th Grade North Andover 6A won the State Tournament.
5th Grade Methuen won 2 out of 3 games while Tewksbury won 1 game and lost 2
Two State Champions from our League....not bad!!
2012-2013
Results of the State Tournament for the 2012-2013 season.
8th Billerica lost in the Finals
7thNo Andover won the Championship
6th Methuen lost in the Finals
5th Billerica lost in the Semis in OT