The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 66

THE BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE DECEMBER 15, 1991 PORTS Weights have given Mike Boyle's career a lift 18 North By Jim Greenidge GLOBE STAFF 'To be truthful, I was scared to death when I first started with the pros. But I've been lucky because the Bruins are such great guys, and most have been real receptive to what I'm' trying to MIKE BOYLE Strength and candilvunxng coach -tyyt w. i I'll a f'r N- i I njj 4 arAr wrVian AyTilo Rrwlo firct A.J.liU Ljf became interested in -fc" weightlifting, no one really I ly knew that much about imir the sport. Now he is the guy that athletes be they pros, collegians or Olympians seek out when they want to get in the best condition. Boyle, 32, a lifelong resident of Maiden, is the strength and conditioning coach for the Boston University athletic department.

For the last two seasons, he's also found time to work with the Boston Bruins. The 1977 Maiden High School graduate got his start in conditioning while attending Springfield College. "I was a freshman center on the football team and only weighed 155 pounds he recalled. So, during the offseason, he lifted weights in order to put on some beef. He became so engrossed with lifting that he dropped football in order to compete in local weightlifting contests.

He wasn't the only person at Springfield College who was absorbed with lifting. His dorm director, Mike Wojcek, who was going for his master's at Springfield, was drawn to the sport, as were one of the graduate assistant football coaches, Russ Jones, and an undergraduate named Doug McKenney. Wojcek is now the strength and conditioning coach with the Dallas Cowboys after holding the same position at Syracuse University for 10 years. Jones is the strength coach with the Buffalo Bills, and McKenney has the same responsibility with the NHL's Hartford Whalers. Boyle stopped lifting competitively in 1981.

"1 was lifting too much heavy stuff too often; I kept getting hurt," said Boyle, who majored in physcial educationathletic training. "I had to have shoulder surgery, plus I injured my back." Upon graduating from college, he became an assistant trainer at BU, but quit just six months later. "I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do," said Boyle, who worked with the BU soccer and wrestling teams. What he really wanted to do was instruct athletes in weightlifting, not tape their ankles. "But in those days, only colleges like Oklahoma and Nebraska had strength and conditioning coaches, and colleges that were getting them were hiring former football players, guys who were the most interested in lifting when they played," said Boyle, whose father, Arthur, is a BU Hall of Famer, and was the Maiden GLOBE STAFF PHOTO BARRY CHIN John Volpe round himself into shape.

ward speed and power." In August 1990, Boyle was hired by the Bruins. He spends between 10-15 hours a week with the team, mostly in the mornings when the BU student-athletes are in class. "To be truthful, I was scared to death when I first started working with the pros," Boyle said. "All of them got to where they are without Mike Boyle, while most of the college guys really haven't reached their prime when I start working Mike Boyle (left) helps BU athlete High principal from 1970 until his death in 1983. To pad his wallet, Boyle turned to bartending.

Then, in the fall of 1983, he suggested to the then-BU basketball coach John Kuester that he run the team's preseason conditioning. For free. Boyle was hired on the spot. Next came football in the winter of 1984. "I had to beg the football coaches to let me get involved," he recalled.

"The team had had one of its coaches in charge of the lifting, but because of recruiting, a different coach was observing the program each day. My strength was that I would be there every day." At the urging of hockey coach $1995 $goo MO00 $3 so 8 Day Whistler Blackcomb Ski Trip wAir, Car, Condo 775 76 Exchange St. Maiden, MA 617-321-2266 Sports Notebook 10 Bruins (Cam, Neely and Ken Hodge among them) and nine Olympic hockey players. In the summer of 1990, he worked with Eric Swnnn, the top draft choice of the NFL's Phoenix Cardinals. Hartford all-star center John Cullen's success has been the biggest boost for Boyle.

They've been working together for five years. Cullen "put me on the map because many believe he's an over-achiever," Boyle said. "People have gone around wondering why John is able to accomplish what he has, and he's been nice enough to give me a lot of credit." Said BU footbait coach Dan Allen, "the fact that the pros come to Mike is a pretty good indication of how good he is. He must be doing something Last April, the Patriots interviewed Boyle about their then-vacant strength and conditioning position. He didn't get it, but he's not entirely disappointed.

"I love working with the college athletes because you can make a difference here," he said. "Like last football season, when guard Dave DeGuglielmo was named to the all-conference team." In August, Boyle quit bartending. That's how' well things have been going for him. reen Connolly Brinker women's tennis team that represented the United States in Wales recently. The team is made up 'of players 21 years of age and younger The latest college tennis rankings have Kris Schraffa of Topsfield, a senior at Tufts, No.

15 in singles and No. 5 in doubles among Division 3 NCAA women's teams. Tufts is listed as No. 5 Harvard senior tight end Andy Lombara of Wakefield and Dartmouth senior defensive back Sal Sciretto of Melrose were named to the All-Ivy football team. For Sciretto, it was the second consecutive year, while Lombara moved up from making the league's second team.

Cliff McDonald of Melrose was named to this year's second team honors. He's a senior linebacker for Dartmouth. Harvard sophomore quarterback Mike Glardi of Salem was voted honorable mention Kristin Doherty of Topsfield was named the MVP of the Pingree School girls' cross country team and Gretchen Weber, a senior from Lynn, was named Most Improved. The team, Pingree's first cross country team ever, went 5-4. In boys' soccer at the school, Mark Hickman, a senior from Boxford, was selected the 10-4-1 boys' soccer team MVP, while Samantha Tory, a senior from Topsfield, was named the girls' soccer team MVP, and Chris McNiff, a junior from Gloucester, was honored as the Most Improved.

In field hockey, senior Sarah Ford of Lynnfield was the MVP and Amy Mazzetta, a senior from Topsfield, was Most STOCKING STUFFER SPECIALS SKI BAG '10 SKI GLOVES ANY SKI HAT $10 4 PAK SKI WAX HOCKEY TAPE 6 Rolls $5 SMITH GOGGLES SPAULDING BASKETBALL $10 NECK WALLET Jack Parker and then-basketball coach Mike Jarvis, BU athletic director Gary Strickler hired Boyle full time. Boyle now works with more than 200 BU athletes. "If the coaches make it mandatory that their athletes lift, I get involved in that sport," Boyle said. "I like coaches who are committed. Weightlifting is probably the simplest of sports; if you continue to do it, you'll get better.

Most of the programs we have here are geared to Toomey earns All-America honor Sophomore Mike Toomey of Lynn was part of the UMass-Lowell cross country team that recently captured the NCAA Division 2 title. Toomey placed 22d of 130 finishers, gaining All-America honors by finishing in the top 25. This was Lowell's first national title in the sport. It placed third in 1983. In addition, Toomey gained All-ECAC honors by placing 11th out of 60 finishers in the ECAC Division 2 Championships, won by Lowell.

The Chiefs also won the NCAA East Regionals. Toomey was 15th of 183 runners in the regional competition. Cullinane earns doubles crown Erin Cullinane of Lynnfield was part of the doubles team that won the ITCA Rolex Eastern Championships. Pace University was 8-1 during the fall season with Cullinane playing No. 1 in both singles and doubles.

Cullinane and her partner also placed second in the New York State Championships this fall, losing 8-6 in a third-set tiebreaker. Cullinane, a junior who played No. 3 singles last season, had wins over Division 1 foes St. Peter's, Mar-ist and Iona this fall. Cullinane is ranked No.

30 in with them. "So the sales pitch has to be different with the pros. You're more of an adviser with them, especially with the older players," added Boyle. "But I've been lucky because the Bruins are such great guys, and most have been real receptive to what I'm trying to do." Two years ago, Boyle started a side business called Elite Dryland Conditioning. Last summer he worked with 25 athletes including 0 recent USTA League Senior Tennis Division tournament held in Dallas, for those players 50 and over, New England was represented by a group out of the North Shore Tennis and Squash Club of Salem in the doubles-only tourney.

The team was 2-2, beating groups from Minneapolis-St. Paul and another from the Missouri Valley, and losing to New York as well as Florida. Dick Ryan and Don Butts of Swampscott played first doubles, Dick Winick of Marblehead and John Domenico of Winthrop played second doubles and Brad Sheridan and Allan Chew of Marble-head participated in third doubles BU junior tackle Joe Mercer of Melrose has had an injury-filled collegiate career and this past season was no different. After playing the first nine games, he had to have surgery on his right shoulder in early November, the same shoulder he had operated on last offseason. He finished with 33 tackles (16 solos) and a fumble recovery.

Junior tight end Darren Soucy of Danvers also didn't fare well on the injury front, sustaining torn ligaments in his right knee the seventh game, against Richmond. He finished with five catches for 50 yards and one touchdown Rich Cullen resigned as the Maiden High hockey coach, with assistant coach Rich Bransfleld taking over on an interim basis. Cullen, who became the school's head hockey coach in the 1982-83 season, just completed his first season as the Maiden Catholic head football coach Peabody's Lisa Albano was a member of the five-membr Mau DIM COMPLETE TUNE-UP 15.95 With this ad 9-8 Daily Sat.Sun. til 4:00 warm INSULATED insulated WITH THINSULATE! Cushioned, comfortable, Red Wings. A Lm women's singles at the NCAA Division 2 level, and is No.

17 in doubles. Located in Pleasantville, N.Y., Pace is coached by 13-year veteran Kanio-na Polvere of Beverly Farms. Here and there Marisa Dovldlo of Lynnfield, a sophomore at Wesleyan University, was a part of the Cardinals women's soccer team that went 4-8-2, improving from a 1-10-1 mark the season before. The team increased its goals-for output from 6 to 23, and cut its goals-against number in half. Dovidio, who had five starts, had one goal from her forward position Bruin Ken Hodge was recently inducted into the St.

John's Prep Athletic Hall of Fame. He's a 1984 graduate Hank Cutting of Maiden was recently named recipient of the William H. Ohrenberger Award for his continuous service to Massachusetts high school football, as presented by the Mass. State Football Coaches Association A drawing by Rafael Vallejos of Chelsea was featured in the December issue of Sports Illustrated For Kids. Vallejos, 10, drew a long-legged female jumping over hurdles Rowley's Ann Dotoli recently placed third in the National Horse Show in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Triton Regional High product rides the equitation class, which is judged by form and ability to control the horse Sophomore strong safety Marc Fauci had another outstanding season for BU. The Saugus native finished third in tackles on the 4-7 team with 90 (48 solos) In the gift that keeps on giving. TTiii 9-15 6-16 7-14 7-14 1212 MADE IN USA RED WING SHOE STORE Rt. 1 14, Middleton, MA. (next to the Dairy Queen).

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