UMass Lowell honored 10 outstanding individuals Saturday night at the 2012 Dream of Perfect Games Celebration of Sport at the University's Inn & Conference Center.

The second annual event honors athletic excellence as well as individuals or groups that have used the power and appeal of sports to improve lives and strengthen communities. 

Former golf coach and director of UMass Lowell's MBA program Gary Mucica ('71) posthumously received the James T. Smith Award for distinguished life achievement. Mucica lost a short battle to cancer in July.

Additionally, Steve Kelley (71) and Billy Robertson ('82) the associate director and director of , respectively, of the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, each received the Family Lew Community Impact Award. The honor is presented to an individual or group for their commitment to using sports to improve lives and strengthen Merrimack Valley communities.

Two individuals, Dr. Sheri Russell ('87) and Ed Scollan ('76), received the Champion of Sports Award, presented to individuals and/or groups with roots in the Merrimack Valley for championing sports in a way that proves beneficial to others.

Additionally, two senior student-athletes – distance runner Kelly Walton (Nahant, Mass.) and golfer Travis Kellegrew (Chelmsford, Mass.) – received $1,500 scholarships: Walton the Jane Pankovich Austin Scholarship and Kellegrew the Charles Puliafico Scholarship.

UMass Lowell's 2012 Hall of Fame class was also inducted: Nicole (Plante) Hunt '08, a nine-time All-American and NCAA champion in the 10,000 meters; Joanna DaLuze '06, who led the field hockey team to the 2005 NCAA Championship; Jason Paige '05, an All-American in soccer and track and field; and his brother Mike Paige '03, a four-time All-American sprinter and standout soccer player.
 
 
Gary Mucica
 
A 1971 graduate of Lowell Technological Institute, Gary Mucica enthusiastically served the University in many capacities before passing away July 2 following a short battle with cancer.

First and foremost, Mucica was the Director of Graduate Programs for the Manning School of Business and also served as a visiting professor to the Manning School. Most recently, he was named to the UMass Lowell 2020 Strategic Plan, serving as the co-chair of the Branding and Marketing Committee.

When the decision to return the sport of golf from club status to varsity in 2004, Director of Athletics Dana Skinner didn't need to look far for a coach. Mucica fervently took the program over and quickly built it into one of the best in the East Region.

UMass Lowell was represented in the NCAA Tournament every year but one from 2006 forward, including Chris Menne qualifying individually in 2006 and 2007; and the team making the field from 2008-2010 and 2012.

“Gary was one of those rare individuals who had a talent for spreading optimism in every corner of the campus,” said Skinner. “He wore many hats and touched many people-from faculty and staff, to students, to alumni, and so many friends that it would be impossible to count. Gary loved this University, and his work with the golf program and our student-athletes was nothing short of special.”

UMass Lowell enjoyed is best season under Mucica last year when the team finished a best-ever third place among 34 colleges and universities at the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) Tournament on Oct. 18.

Success followed in the spring as the River Hawks won three tournaments in four weeks – the team had one tournament title in the previous six years – and placed 10^th overall and tops among Northeast-10 Conference schools in the NCAA Tournament East-Atlantic Regional.

Mucica was also active within the college golf circles, serving as NCAA Tournament Regional Selection Committee and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Selection Committee for three years; and as the Northeast-10 Conference Coaches Chair for two years.

Mucica is survived by his wife, Sally, and his brother Bill.
 
 
Steve Kelley and Billy Robertson of the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence
 
The creedo for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America is to 'enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.'

Steve Kelley, Associate Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, puts it more simply: “The mission is to help every kid that comes through our doors maximize the potential they have as a person, as a student and eventually as a citizen.”

In large part to Kelley ('71) and Billy Robertson ('82), the Director of Operations, the City of Lawrence is a better place with better citizens because of the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, hence the bestowment of the Family Lew Community Impact Award.

When Kelley or Robertson talks about the Club, two words are omnipresent: potential and family. Kelley and Robertson were members of the Boys and Girls Club as kids. What has been done for them has had a massive ripple effect on hundreds, perhaps thousands of Lawrence-area youths.

The proof is on the Club's website: 95 percent of their teen members graduate from high school and go on to college. Over 85 percent of their youth complete teen pregnancy prevention education. Over 13,000 community service hours were performed by Club youth in 2010. And, 100 percent of their kids learn respect, fair play and personal responsibility.

“If you can push the right buttons of any kid, if you can find something that they love, you can get them to do almost anything,” said Kelley. “If a kid believes in his or herself, that they are capable of something, they can do it. And we'll give them the tools they need to do it.”

The “tools” to which Kelley refers are the many programs the Club offers that cover five areas: character and leadership, education and career development, arts, sports and recreation and health and life skills.

“It's a culture we have developed over a lot of years,” said Robertson. “Twenty-five years ago, many of our kids didn't go to college. They would quit school to support their families. It was our job to change that.”

There is a basketball program which consists of more than 200 members; an academic basketball camp – admissible by way of a letter of recommendation from a teacher – which has drawn 250 youths; and after-school programs that see more than 200 kids doing homework with as many as 50-60 tutors.

There are meals for those in need. Every day.

“We are bombarding them with fun stuff and with the reality that education is really important,” Robertson said.
And then there are the success stories.

Bill Perocchi, the CEO of Pebble Beach Resorts who grew up in Lawrence, credits the Club for changing his life, so much so that he donated $1 million toward building the Club's palatial facility on Water Street in Lawrence.

“The Club meant so much to me when I was growing up in the projects in Lawrence,” Perocchi said. “It was a place where people cared about me, taught me discipline and encouraged me to set goals and work hard. My experiences at the Club were some of the best memories of my childhood, which wasn't an easy one.

“The staff at the Club were role models for me and Steve Kelley and Billy Robinson continue to do the same today, encouraging thousands of kids to work hard and follow their dreams,” he added. “I will never forget what the Club did for me. It is a big part of who I am.”

Kelley said he hasn't had a bad day since he's been affiliated with the Club. That's 46 years.

“A good day is when the kids come in here and you know you've made a difference for them for that day.”

Robertson lives in Newburyport, Mass., with his wife Mary and their two children: Jacob (9) and Mallory (14).

Kelley lives in Methuen, Mass. with his wife Sonya. They have raised two grown children, Raymond and Carlos Nunez; and are currently raising sons Andrew (8) and John (6).
 
 
Dr. Sheri Russell
 
A doctor of chiropractic medicine. Board member. Former professional team owner. Advocate for women's athletics. Former ULowell softball pitcher extraordinaire.

The result of years of accomplishments and plaudits from all of the above, Dr. Sheri Russell is the consummate recipient of the 2012 Champion of Sport Award.

“It's a big honor for me being recognized by my alma mater,” Russell said. “I feel so dedicated to the school as far as academic pride and the athletic prowess we had. Mostly because of the fact that people appreciate my dedication to women in sports. I'm just super-humbled by it.”

After graduating from ULowell in 1987 with her undergraduate degree in, of all things, criminal justice, Russell found her calling through interning in the athletic training facilities of ULowell and Northeastern University, where she completed the coursework for her National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) certification.

From 1993-96, Russell graduated from New York Chiropractic College with her doctorate in chiropractic medicine and was named the Ernest Napolitano Distinguished Student Award. She achieved her post doctorate from the Chiropractic Sports Medicine program at the University of Bridgeport in 2005.

Russell opened the Russell Center for Chiropractic and Sports Medicine in Beverly in 1998, and treats 100 patients any given week.

Ever the student of her work, she interned three weeks at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2007, and recently earned her MBA from Endicott College.

“The field of sports medicine is always a work in progress, always changing,” she said. “As far as being a well-recognized practice on the North Shore, I'm very happy with that. I would love to bring what we do to more people. We are constantly trying to come up with new ideas to enhance sports performances. I'm pretty happy with where we're at.”

While servicing the athletes of the North Shore – from those in high school to weekend warriors – Russell also gives plenty back: She serves as a board member of YMCA in Beverly as well as the North Shore Educational Consortium, which stages a number of community outreach events throughout the year.

In 2004, Russell purchased the Mass Mutiny women's football team and relocated it from Lowell to Boston, where they enjoyed a solid following. She sold the team in 2008 to Ernie Boch, Jr.

“The Mutiny afforded me an opportunity to enable women to play a sport they loved,” she explained. I had recently become an aunt, and the very thought of people telling my niece that she couldn't play football because she was female was what drove me to purchase the team.”

Russell enjoyed a stellar softball career at UMass Lowell (then the University of Lowell), enjoying the best single season for a pitcher in the program's history. After making one appearance as a freshman and a 12-11 showing her sophomore year, Russell went 27-6 as a junior with a staggering ERA of 0.62 over 215 innings pitched.

The 1986 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Player of the Year, she drove the team to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which followed its first NECC championship in only its third year in the Conference.

Arm trouble hampered Russell's senior season in 1987, but she went 12-5 and steered ULowell to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England/Upstate New York Tournament championship, for which she was named the tournament most valuable player.

The Chiefs went 41-14 over Russell's junior and senior seasons. She graduated with 12 school records, including four single season marks which still stand: starts (31), innings pitched (215.2), wins (27) and ERA (0.62).

Russell is a native of Shrewsbury, Mass. She resides in Gloucester, Mass.
 
 
Ed Scollan, Westford Academy teacher & coach; Director, UMass Lowell National Youth Sports Program
 
Having retired in June after 36 years as a history teacher and 26 years as the varsity basketball coach at Westford Academy, Ed Scollan doesn't know what the next chapter of his life holds.

But, no doubt, it will be something with which he will positively influence others; what he has done the majority of his adult life, hence the bestowment of the 2012 Champion of Sports award.

“It's very humbling,” said Scollan, a 1976 graduate of ULowell. “It is an honor that illustrates the importance of teaching, coaching, and of the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP). I was fortunate to be involved in all three.”

In becoming an educator, Scollan traces his motivation to Lowell State professors Joyce Denning, Dean Bergeron, Norman Benson and Robert Wagner, as well as Bernie Battle, a Lowell State alum and Chelmsford H.S. history teacher, whom, he said, were all major influences in his decision to pursue teaching.

“That was the time I decided I'd like to teach,” Scollan recalled. “I felt I had the capability and the energy to go and do something in the classroom, to work with kids, not only in class, but in basketball, which to me was the extension of the classroom.”

Summer is traditionally a time for teachers to decompress, but for 17 years, the NYSP, a free, six-week sports and educational program for at-risk area youths, filled Scollan's summers.

When approached by UMass Lowell Director of Athletics Dana Skinner about coaching the basketball component of NYSP, Scollan bought into it. A year later, Scollan became the program director.

“NYSP was more than a sports program,” he said. “It was a great group of teachers from Lowell and the surrounding communities. Most of the counselors were student-athletes at UMass Lowell who were great role models.”

UMass Lowell's NYSP was abundantly successful, twice winning the representative Silvio O. Conte Excellence Award for Program of the Year in 1999 and 2004 among 275 college campuses nationwide.

“We were determined that the program be successful,” Scollan said. “We just had so many terrific people involved with NYSP that stayed many, many years. I was the director, but the program had success because so many people had the same passion that I had for NYSP.

“We have people who went through the program as 10-year-olds who became counselors and university students who are now teaching in Lowell public schools, who have become productive and successful citizens,” he added. “I feel like we made a difference.”

The NYSP made significant difference for many.

NYSP was just one of the components of education in which Scollan was immersed. Among many endeavors, Scollan served as co-chair of the Westford Academy School Council from 1992-2012; and the liaison between UMass Lowell's Graduate School of Education and the Westford Academy for the Teaching Apprentice program. He also developed and implemented the curriculum for four courses: American Adventures, America and the World, U.S. History Honors and Topics in Economics.

“Coach Scollan was a great mentor for my career, as we share the professions of coach and teacher,” said Mike Parato, who played basketball at Westford Academy and now teaches at Chelmsford H.S. and coaches the boys' soccer team. “He's always been a great representative of good sportsmanship and integrity. He has been there to help many young men, including myself, during the difficult teenage growing process. Even now that I am well past high school, Coach Scollan has been there to help with my career, both in the classroom and on the fields and courts.”

In March, Scollan coached his final basketball game at Westford Academy after 26 years. He compiled a 333-221 record which included three Dual County League Championships and 20 DCL postseason appearances. Along the way he received a plethora of coaching honors from the MIAA, Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association, International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO) and The Sun newspaper.

In December 2012, the basketball court at Westford Academy will be named in his honor.

Scollan lives in Lowell with his wife, Barbara. They have raised two grown children: Owen and Bridget.

Kelly Walton and Travis Kellegrew
A native of Nahant, Mass., senior Kelly Walton is a three-time NCAA All-East Region and a two-time All-Northeast-10 Conference cross country runner who also competes in indoor and outdoor track and field. Simultaneously, she balances the rigors of maintaining a  3.56 grade point average majoring in civil engineering.

Through her first three years at the University, she has been named to the NE-10 All-Academic Cross Country Team twice and also earned a spot on the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) East Region All-Academic Team on two occasions.
 
Walton is the daughter of John and Catherine Walton of Nahant, Mass.

A native of Chelmsford, Mass., senior Travis Kellegrew enters his final year on the UMass Lowell golf team. He was named captain as a junior and helped lead the team to its best season since the program was restored to Division II in 2005 as it won three tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA East-Atlantic Regional for the fourth time in five years.

In the summer of 2011,  Kellegrew hit two holes-in-one 17 days apart on the same hole (No. 2) at Nabnasset Country Club. A mathematics major, Kellegrew has maintained a 3.82 grade point average. He is the son of John and Barbara Kellegrew of Chelmsford, Mass.