May 14, 2024 By Valerie Robin
President Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday in 1914, the same year the Boston Braves would be coined the Miracle Braves and win the World Series. This Mother’s Day, I am saluting the mothers of the Hingham High School Baseball team.
I recognize them not because of their skill at making baseball pants white again following each game, which is a talent for sure. But more importantly, their sons are shining examples of young adults with heart. These boys exemplify what is good these days, and we have their mothers to honor for that.
Who are these kids? They are not just a team dedicated to playing high school sports. They are far more than that.
These players are giving back to their community. Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), the association governing high school sports in the Commonwealth, explains the importance of service from its student-athletes by remarking it is “what makes student-athletes heroes in the eyes of those who look up to them.” And the Hingham High School Baseball boys are doing that.
Earlier this spring, they recruited the younger players in the town to participate in a baseball clinic, taking advantage of everyone’s love of baseball to raise significant money for the Jimmy Fund. They reminded the community of the importance of service and community-based fundraising by working with Hingham Little League’s players to strengthen and build their baseball potential. At the same time that they coached the Hingham Little League players on the varsity field, they asked their parents to donate to the Jimmy Fund. And their service did not stop there.
Like every team at Hingham High School, they are fundraising for their team’s needs, equipment, and stipends for extra coaches. However, they are also raising money to help support a local student at South Elementary School and her family while this little girl undergoes cancer treatment. Additionally, they are using their traditional carwash fundraiser to also collect food donations and money for the Hingham Food Pantry.
In school, they are no less impressive. Six are National Honor Society members, meaning their grade point average (GPA) is at least 3.7. Six varsity members are two-sport varsity athletes playing football, basketball, hockey, and swimming and diving. Two players are the captain and manager of two other varsity sports teams, and one is the class president. Eleven of the 17 varsity members, while attending school and playing sports, also work year-round at jobs such as bussing tables at local restaurants, working at a sandwich shop, fish market, and silk screen store, collecting compostable items from the Hingham schools, painting fences, and coaching young kids at a baseball club and clinics.
In the summer, these boys work as a lifeguard at Nantasket Beach, janitor for the Hingham Middle School, baseball summer counselor(s), handler at a fish market, and an operator of a fishing boat, and they also perform community service in the Commonwealth and in Hingham. In the fall, all graduating seniors will attend a four-year college, which is impressive considering young men represent only 42% of the students attending four-year colleges. Three players, two of whom are captains, will play D3 baseball in college.
We read so often about the athletic prowess of high school students and get caught up in their stories. It is exciting to read about a clutch homerun, a buzzer-beater basket, a quarterback throwing an 81-yard pass, or a winning season. Most know that their boys will not be professional athletes, and the local highlights provide a little lift for all, especially when there is so much wrong going on in the world around us. We all like wins. However, with the Hingham High School Baseball mothers, it is apparent that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Take a look at these freshman, junior varsity, and varsity team players.
Whether the 17 members of the Hingham High School Varsity Baseball team will catch fire like the Boston Braves did in 1914 and complete the “miracle” by beating the unbeatable remains to be seen. What is clear is that these boys have impressive stats, any way you look at it. Happy Mother’s Day, Hingham High School Baseball Moms! You have a lot to be proud of today and every day, but especially during baseball season.
Valerie Robin is the mother of Tadd Cavanaugh, a captain and member of the Hingham High School Varsity Baseball team.
What a wonderful tribute to the Moms!! I have witnessed the love and dedication that surely has been passed down to their baseball players! There is no doubt they will be successful in in all important ways as they grow in their journey to adulthood, largely because of their favorite fans…their Mothers!