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Massachusetts Maritime Academy Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Mission:
The mission of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity for all student-athletes, protecting student-athlete welfare, and fostering a positive student-athlete image, while maintaining the tenants of the rules and regulations of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) and Division III philosophy.
BE LOUD! BE PROUD! BE POSITIVE!
Meet The 2010-11 Massachusetts Maritime Academy SAAC
Advisor: Linda Letourneau, Senior Woman's Administrator
President: Neil Patnaude '11 (Baseball)
Vice President: Jonathan White '11 (Men's Soccer)
Secretary: Meredith Hall '11 (Women's Track & Field)
Mark Robinson '11 (Men's Lacrosse)
Samantha Foley '12 (Women's Cross Country)
Bradley Shepherd '12 (Sailing)
Jason Ellershaw '11 (Men's Crew)
Cory Antunes '12/Joshua Roberts '12 (Football)
Michael Surette '11 (Rifle)
Nicole Newell '12 (Women's Soccer)
Alicia Tarr '13 (Women's Crew)
Rory O'Donnell '11/James Hutchinson '12 (Men's Track & Field)
Holly McLaughlin '12 (Softball)
Melanie Holder '14 (Volleyball)
James Murray '14 (Men's Cross Country)
MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME MASCAC SAAC REPRESENTATIVES
Meredith Hall
Nicole Newell
Jonathan White
Neil Patnaude
BUCCANEER SAAC LENDS HELPING HAND TO SPECIAL OLYMPICS
Earlier this year, the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee announced an official bond with Special Olympics, making an effort to capitalize on college athletes’ willingness to lend a hand and hoping this translates into future partnerships.
On May 14th, the Massachusetts Maritime Student-Athlete Advisory Committee took a small step towards accomplishing this goal and organized a small volunteer effort to assist here on Cape Cod. Eleven Buccaneer student-athletes volunteered at the Special Olympics Massachusetts (SOMA) South Section Games held at Barnstable High School. Over 200 athletes competed in a number of track and field events ranging from the shot put and turbo javelin throw to the 100 meter dash and 4x800 meter relay. Cadets assisted in handing out medals to the athletes as well as escorting them to their events. In addition to their service, the cadets also were given the honor of marching with the athletes in the opening ceremony.
Nearly 150 volunteers were on hand to assist in the large undertaking, which has been in the planning stages since early this year. Members of the Massachusetts Maritime Student-Athlete Advisory Committee that volunteered their time include freshmen Jennifer March (Volleyball, Sailing), Ashley Button (Volleyball), Melanie Holder (Volleyball), Jaclyn Labrecque (Softball), and Crystal Sherman (Soccer, Softball); sophomores Meghan Thibeault (Softball), Nick Mazurkiewicz (Football) and Derek Young (Soccer); junior Josh Roberts (Football) and seniors Mike Surette (Rifle) and Jon White (Soccer, Track).
2011 PETER RYAN MEMORIAL TRIATHLON
Click here to download information and sign-up for the 2011 Peter Ryan Memorial Triathlon that will take place on Thursday, June 2nd at 4:15 pm beginning at the Clean Harbors Athletic Center--all cadets, faculty and staff are invited to participate free of charge!
BUCCANEER SAAC CONDUCTS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL TRIATHLON, COOKOUT TO CONCLUDE 2009-10 ACADEMIC YEAR
The Buccaneer SAAC concluded a highly successful 2009-10 calendar by conducting a pair of events in early June. On June 1st, several student-athletes, along with members of the Massachusetts Maritime community, competed in a triathlon on campus, with winners being crowed in four different categories.
On June 8th, members of the SAAC hosted over 200 fellow student-athletes, administrators and members of the Academy community for the Annual End-of-Year Cookout, which took place along the shores of Buzzards Bay next to 3rd Company. SAAC officers took turns providing hamburgers, hot dogs, clams, shrimp, ice cream and other items to the attendees on what turned out to be a beautiful day along the water.
WHITE BRINGS BUCCANEER PRIDE TO SHANGHAI MARITIME
The reach of Massachusetts Maritime Athletics is becoming an international one, as Buccaneer Pride extends from Buzzards Bay to mainland China.
2/C Jon White, who serves as a tri-captain on the Massachusetts Maritime men’s soccer team, is one of several cadets who are spending the Spring 2010 semester abroad at Shanghai Maritime, and he is bringing the “Buc” way to the soccer pitch at our sister campus.
White, a native of Lynnfield, Mass., was a guest at Shanghai Maritime’s Football Association opening ceremonies in late March after playing soccer on campus with other students, after which he was introduced to the Football Association’s president. Shanghai Maritime conducts a three-month intramural/league tournament that attracts 15 teams and over 500 students to competition, and White spoke to the participants as a distinguished guest.
“It’s incredible how sports (soccer) can unite people and build relationships,” White said of his experience. “And I wore BUC gear for my speech!”
White, who serves as secretary of Massachusetts Maritime’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, helped lead the Buccaneers to seven victories last fall and will be a key returnee for Head Coach Greg Perry’s squad this fall.
SAAC CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL TOY DRIVE FOR CHILDREN'S COVE
The Massachusetts Maritime SAAC brought joy to the lives of countless children during the 2009 holiday season by sponsoring a very successful toy drive that benefitted Children's Cove. Unwrapped new toys were collected throughout campus and distributed at the facility to help children have a Merry Buccaneer Christmas!
MASCAC SAAC MEETS AT MCLA TO REVIEW SPORTSMANSHIP PLANS
Be Loud! Be Proud! Be Positive! is what all NCAA Division III students exhibit when cheering on their favorite teams, and Massachusetts Martime SAAC members Meredith Hall, Kaitlin O'Donnell, Neil Patnaude and Jonathan White participated in the November 2009 MASCAC SAAC meeting at MCLA to discuss sportsmanship initiatives for the future with MASCAC Commissioner Angela Baumann and their SAAC peers representing the other seven league institutions.
SAAC RAISES FUNDS FOR CHILDREN'S COVE DURING 2009 CHOWDER BOWL
MMA's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) supported the Bucs last Thursday evening (September 3, 2009) by hosting a Chowder stand for the Annual Football Chowder Bowl. The SAAC student athletes served clam chowder donated from Legal Seafoods while collecting donations through out the evening. The donations will help our SAAC support Children's Cove, a local Cape and Islands Child Advocacy Center. SAAC is pleased to announce that they raised over 138 dollars that will continue their support of the local agency. A big thank you goes out to all of the Bucs supporters who made donations and Chartwells to their continual support and help to SAAC.
SAAC HOSTS ATHLETIC COOKOUT
One of the great traditions of Buccaneer Athletics is the annual cookout hosted each spring by the Massachusetts Maritime SAAC, and the 2009 event was once again successful thanks to the hard work of so many student-athletes. The cookout took place at the Herring Pond Boathouse and was well-attended by many teams and administrative staff.
MASCAC SAAC HOSTS CHILDREN'S FIELD DAY (APRIL 5, 2009)
For the past four years, members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) from the eight Massachusetts State College Athletics Conference(MASCAC) schools have come together to pool ideas for a community service project.
This year Westfield State earned the honor of hosting the event with its innovative idea of incorporating sports with children.
"We chose this because it was something that we could relate to them with," said Westfield State track and field athlete Marlee Berg, president of the MASCAC SAAC. "Being active is really important, especially today when most kids are sitting in front of a TV."
Westfield decided to team up with the Unified Sports Program (USP) to host the field day. USP, located in Westfield, focuses on kids with disabilities and teaches them that having friends who are different is an essential life skill.
Massachusetts Maritime Senior Woman's Administrator Linda Letourneau, along with senior Heather Mallory, junior Kaitlin O'Donnell (a member of the NCAA Division III National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) and sophomores Jon White and Neil Patnaude, represented the Buccaneers at this year's event.
"Our goal is social inclusion through sports. We teach kids through sports that ability doesn't matter," said Steve Berube, USP founder and program director. "We make the special needs kids do the same thing as normal kids."
The field day consisted of six stations including basketball, baseball, frisbee, hockey, and track. There were 45 kids who participated in the field day. Approximately 35 student-athletes from the eight MASCAC colleges assisted with the event.
"The kids learn just as much as kids with disabilities. We want all kids to learn that having friends that are different is a good thing," said Berube. "It might take us some years but were getting there."
The effort of planning such a large event was worth it after seeing the smiling faces of the kids who participated in the three-hour event.
"The USP runs a great program for the community which integrates students together. They are very organized and easy to work with," said MASCAC Commissioner Angela Baumann. "We were very pleased with the outcome of the event and the feedback we received."
O'DONNELL APPOINTED TO NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL SAAC
BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. (November 17, 2008) - Massachusetts Maritime women's cross country and softball standout Kaitlin O'Donnell has been appointed to a three-year term on the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and will begin serving on the prestigious board effective immediately.
A native of Damascus, Md. and a graduate of the Academy of the Holy Cross, O'Donnell will represent both the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) and The Commonwealth Coast Conference on the NCAA Division III National SAAC, as she is scheduled to attend her first meeting later this week at the NCAA's national headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind.
O'Donnell, who is majoring in Marine Engineering at Massachusetts Maritime, is a three-year letterwinner in cross country for Head Coach Linda Letourneau and helped lead the Buccaneers to a sixth place team finish at this year's MASCAC Championships. O'Donnell has also been a two-year letterwinner for the Buccaneer softball squad as an outfielder.
"Kaitlin's selection to the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is a great honor both for the Academy and for the MASCAC," Massachusetts Maritime Director of Athletics Bob Corradi says of O'Donnell's appointment. "She has been a leader during team competition on the field and in the community off of it, and she will represent both our school and our conference with great distinction."
O'Donnell will be working with the NCAA Division III SAAC on legislative issues that are currently affecting the division's membership, and she will also participate in the MASCAC SAAC's community service with the Unified Sports Program. MASCAC student-athletes will also be working with the Unified Sports Program and will sponsor a Field Day for area youth at Westfield State College later this year.
O'Donnell, who is also a leader in Massachusetts Maritime's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, will also assist in a venture with the Unified Sports Program on campus next spring, as the Academy SAAC will sponsor a "Buccaneer Day" for youth at area schools that will feature several activities.
