From Bench to Hall of Fame- Gazelle Makes History in Westport

What can I say? I started from the bottom now I'm here.

Let me take you back to my senior year of high school back in 2005.

I had worked my tail off to move up from JV to the Varsity squad on the men's basketball team, a pinnacle point in my life. I went from band geek to high school sports hero (kind of).

Ever wonder where the name "Gazelle" came from? It actually all began with this team, all the details are below:

It's safe to say that playing ball with these fellas was some of the best times of my life and now, we're going down in the Westport High School Hall of Fame, where our flame will live on forever.

Admittedly, I didn't play much, but was a supportive asset to the team and sat the hell out that bench (LOL).

This past weekend, the boys met up at Rachel's on Route 6 in Westport for our induction ceremony for the Westport High School Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 26th at 6 pm.

Eleven athletes and one team from Westport High over the past 42 years were honored together.

Here is a quick look at the honorees:

• BARRY ALVES, Class of 1977
• TAMMY REGO, Class of 1977
• MATTHEW VALCOURT, Class of 1981
• JERRY BEDARD, Class of 1981
• LISA JACOB, Class of 1983
• DAVID LEITE, Class of 1985
• TRACY DeMELLO BURT, Class of 1988
• KEVIN CABRAL, Class of 1995
• JENNIFER PACHECO, Class of 1995
• MARTIN VIEIRA, Class of 1996
• KATHLEEN MATOS, Class of 2001

But Most Importantly... my Varsity Family:

• 2004-2005 BOYS’ BASKETBALL TEAM
  •  Scott Borges
  • Josh Houde
  • Alex Thibault
  • Evan Bouchard
  • Dan Noonan
  • Jason Steiblin
  • Jon Schroeder
  • Jon Green
  • Tyler White
  • Mike Noonan
  • Chris Borges
  • Chris Arsenault
  • Jeff Fernandes
  • head coach, Tim Plante
  • assistant coach, John Brennan.

Johnathan Schroeder, Scott Borges, Mike Noonan, Jeff Fernandes, Jon Green, and myself represented the team as our coach, Tim Plante, gave an emotional yet humbling speech that hit us right in the feels.

It was nostalgic to see everyone, it's been far too long. Cheers to all who have accomplished great things here at Westport High and to those who will one day aspire to join beside us in the big glass of classics and greats.