Through passionate sports reporting, Plymouth's David Wolcott nominated for award
After one day of playing freshman basketball, a hurt knee revealed to David Wolcott that playing high school sports wouldn't be in his future long.
Chronicling them, though? That certainly worked out well.
Wolcott, 54, was recently nominated by the MSSADA (Massachusetts Secondary Schools Athletic Directors Association) for the NIAAA (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association) Distinguished Service Award. The award is a nod of recognition towards length of service, special accomplishments and contributions to athletic administration. The MSSADA executive board will vote on the overall state winner this November.
“I never played high school sports, I guess this is kind of making up for it,” Wolcott said.
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A 1991 Bridgewater State University graduate, Wolcott has been involved in the local news scene for nearly 30 years, the last 25 with a concentration on sports. He started at the Whitman-Hanson Express in 1993, and took a sports writer position at the Mariner newspapers a few years later.
“I’ve never had a second option,” said Wolcott, now a senior multimedia journalist. “It’s still fun for me. It’s still different every year.”
In 2004, Wolcott established a home base at Plymouth's Old Colony Memorial and pivoted to local newspapers for Wicked Local across South Shore towns like Hingham, Cohasset, Scituate, Marshfield, Kingston, Carver and others throughout the years since.
“It’s funny – a lot of coaches say the same thing I’m about to say: the kids keep me young. It’s a four-year cycle,” Wolcott added. “It’s always a different group of kids and they all deserve my attention in my work.”
Documenting the area's sports has long been a passion for Wolcott. He identified what we wanted to do at the age of 5 and never turned back. In 2015, he received a second-place finish in a 'Best of GateHouse' contest in the Sports Writer of the Year category.
What makes covering the South Shore such a unique experience?
“The passion. Everyone supports the town,” Wolcott said. “You walk into a gym, especially a place like Abington or Rockland, on a Friday night basketball game and that place is packed. It’s kids, generations of kids, left and right. It's kids bringing their own kids back to games and that’s the fun part, when people are involved and helping out.”
Aligning with the nomination, Wolcott recalls the Old Colony Memorial's '50-for-50' series to be the most memorable of his recent work. The 50-part set of stories highlighted 50 people in the last 50 years that positively impacted Plymouth sports, such as title-winning teams, along with outstanding players, coaches and people from the community.
“One stabilizing force (in my career) has been the Old Colony Memorial," Wolcott said. "Plymouth has been good to me. It’s now my home, it’s where I met my wife. It worked out well.”
Here's what the community said about Wolcott's impact:
Chris McDaniel, Sports Editor of The Patriot Ledger: "David is the definition of a community journalist. He takes pride in highlighting athletes and coaches in his community. He's a tireless worker with a knack for writing in engaging ways, although some of his cultural references might be slightly dated. David is an unsung hero in his communities."
Dwayne Follette, Plymouth North High's varsity baseball coach: "Dave has done an amazing job making the student athletes of our community feel special about their achievements both on and off the field. He is incredibly dedicated to his craft and highly knowledgeable about the importance of athletics to the educational process of our athletes."
Eric Foley, assistant principal of Plymouth Community Intermediate School: "Dave is extremely deserving for this award and recognition. Dave is an icon in high school athletics on the South Shore. (He) is extremely passionate about reporting about high school and youth sports. Dave spends countless hours on the fields, courts, tracks to recognize teams and athletes."
Jane Burt, Plymouth North's High girls volleyball coach: "When Dave is writing a story about an athlete, he gets to know the whole person and not just the athlete. He has an abundance of stats on each athlete, but is just as interested in the athlete's achievements in the classroom and the community as he is about their performance on the court/field."
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Plymouth's David Wolcott brings sports passion to South Shore
