NHS Athletes Put Abilities To Use In Different Sports—

Goalie-Turned-Catcher, Wrestler-Gone-Faceoff Specialist Utilize Overlapping Skills

By Andy Hutchison

In the winter months, Mike Allwein essentially donated his body for the sake of blocking any and every puck fired toward him. A goaltender on the Newtown High School hockey team, Allwein now brings his don’t-let-anything-get-by skills to the baseball diamonds. He’s a catcher for the Nighthawks and, with the same mentality he brings to the ice, the senior lunges, dives, reaches … even uses his facemask on occasion, to block errant pitched balls — just as he would in an effort to stop hockey pucks and negate goal scoring chances on the ice.

Cory Fisher, also a Newtown High senior, wrestled for the Hawks in the winter months. Each match began with Fisher facing off with his 170-pound weight division counterparts. Now that spring has sprung, the grappler puts some of his tactical and positioning skills — getting low and driving at the opposition for the upper hand — to work on the lacrosse field as a faceoff specialist. Fisher is among a small handful of Nighthawks called upon to take draws to help the Hawks gain possession of the ball during the course of a given game, and looks somewhat like a wrestler in the process as he grapples with opponents in a fight for the ball.

It’s no coincidence that their overlapping skills give these athletes an ability to thrive in their respective positions — in both seasons. Allwein is appreciated by his baseball coach and members of the pitching staff for his sacrificing himself to prevent wild pitches and keep base runners from moving up. Fisher is a key component of the lacrosse team’s success as he’s a big part of the team getting control of the ball in a possession-driven game.

“It requires some of the same things as wrestling,” Glenn Adams, lacrosse coach at NHS, said when comparing Fisher’s duties in taking faceoffs to his winter sport. “Like getting low, making sure your weight is over your feet so you keep that good balance. And you’re obviously pushing people, you have leverage — and that’s all facing off. It’s a lot of leverage and that’s what he does well, as he’s a great wrestler. And I think it translates over right away.”

“Off the bottom he’s real quick. He’s got a great switch. He’s got a combination of takedowns,” Dan McIlrath, Fisher’s wrestling coach at NHS, said this past campaign.

Fisher has been a wrestler since before coming to high school and tried taking lacrosse faceoffs as a freshman. “It kind of took off and wrestling definitely helped it a lot,” Fisher said. “On the faceoff I try to be physical and get low and stuff and the wrestling definitely helps with it.”

Whether it’s a dirt-covered cowhide bounced just in front of the plate or vulcanized rubber, frozen for each game to minimize unpredictable bounces all the while increasing the sting of some shots that elude Allwein’s pads but still hit him, the NHS athlete is up to the task of making a stop.

Allwein’s got the mindset of being a goalie behind the plate, looking to keep his save percentage up and goals against average down. Only he’s actually just keeping members of his pitching staff’s chances of winning up and opposing team’s scoring chances down on the diamonds.

“It’s just getting in front of stuff. I have a mental thing in my head — I don’t like letting things behind me,” Allwein explained of his reasoning for taking on the two glutton-for-punishment positions. “Every day in practice I hate pucks in the net; I hate seeing balls behind me in baseball. It’s just one of those things. It’s all in your head. You’ve got to not worry about getting hit by things. It’s all just keeping things in front out you.”

“He got in front of anything that came his way,” Newtown Hockey Coach Paul Esposito said. “Everything he does, he does with his whole heart. He’s probably one of the most competitive kids, but he does it with such a good nature.”

Allwein backstopped the Nighthawk hockey team into the South-West Conference championship game and into the Division II state playoffs, then went on to represent the state as a Connecticut All Star Team selection. Fisher, meanwhile, won his weight division at the SWC tournament this past winter. He helped the lacrosse team to a conference title a year ago.

Goaltending and catching or wrestling and taking faceoffs are not such enviable positions to be in all of the time. All eyes are on players in these positions and they are often the unsung heroes or the ones who take the heat for a loss.

Fisher knows he doesn’t get credit for a goal or get much of the glory taking draws, but that doesn’t stop him from working hard at it. “I’ll try to get in and get the ball and out-hustle the opponent a little,” Fisher said.

“It’s a fun job I guess. It’s a lot of work and at times you’re the last line of defense, and sometimes you’re the one that looks bad. But it’s a rewarding position. I like catching these guys,” Allwein said of Newtown’s pitchers. “They’re fun to play with.”

“I love him. I know I can throw anything anywhere and he’s gonna block it,” said sophomore pitcher Mike Davis, who worked with Allwein to toss a no-hitter over Bethel earlier this season. “It helps you out so much as a pitcher.”

“He’s a warrior back there. And he’s a kid that you know, every day — in and out — practice/ game, he’s going to give you 110 percent. He’s going to sacrifice his body,” said Matt Memoli, Newtown’s baseball coach, who went on to add that Allwein doesn’t necessarily need to have runners on base as a reason to try to block balls.

In an early-May game against Masuk of Monroe, the bases were empty but that didn’t stop Allwein from going out of his way to keep a ball, thrown by Davis, in front of him. “He moved over, squared up a ball that was probably five feet away from him and took it off the facemask — no one on base,” Memoli recalled. “I mean, that’s the kind of kid that he is and those kinds of things you can’t coach. And you just get a kid like that and you absolutely love him. I love having him.”