Sports - Marblehead Current

09 Sep

Swim, sip, repeat — without the waste

Leigh BlanderBusiness, Environment, Sports, Top Stories

Four mornings a week, a group of local women starts the day with a swim class at the Marblehead YMCA. They call themselves the Noodlettes. But the exercise is only part of the ritual. Afterward comes coffee — and conversation. The group of 14 women has been swimming together at the YMCA since 2014, gathering at Dario’s Cafe after their workouts to catch up over a cup of coffee. Over the years, the post-swim gathering has become as important as the laps in the pool.…

07 Sep

As Magicians kick off new season, Coach Rudloff sits down with the Current

Luca TedescoSports, Top Stories

School is just now back in session at Marblehead High School, but the MHS football team has been hitting the playbooks and working on counting by threes and sevens for weeks ahead of the 2026 football season. Ahead of his 18th season at the helm of the Magicians, the Current spoke with Head Coach James Rudloff following the team’s Labor Day practice to get an insight on the upcoming season. MHS football takes on Billerica in a scrimmage Friday night. The season kicks off Thursday,…

03 Sep

MHS football senior captains Coyne, Rhodes, Wales offer first week observations on the practice field

Joe McConnellSports

After finishing up last year with a 7-2 regular season record, Coach Jim Rudloff’s Marblehead High football team went back to work last week. The returning veterans qualified for the 2025 Division 4 Super Bowl playoffs, where they defeated Shepherd Hill Regional, 42-14 in the Round of 16, only to lose to Canton in a close battle, 27-22. But they bounced back nicely to beat rival Swampscott on Thanksgiving for the 13th straight year, 29-22. The 2026 MHS football captains are, from left, Owen Coyne,…

03 Sep

With youth on their side, MHS girls soccer looks to maintain winning edge

Joe McConnellSports

Marblehead High girls soccer coach Lisa Wales is beginning her third season along the varsity sidelines. Last year, these Magicians ended up with a 12-1-5 regular season record, and were second in the Northeastern Conference. They were the 10th seed in Division 2, before making it all the way to the Elite 8 after beating Walpole (3-2) and Oliver Ames (1-0), only to lose to Longmeadow, 3-1. The Lancers then fell to Duxbury by the exact same score in the state championship game. After adding…

29 Aug

After vandalizing bike park shed, teens return to make things right

Leigh BlanderSports, Top Stories

The shed at the Green Street Bike Park is gone, but the story of what happened to it may have ended about as well as anyone could have hoped. Weeks after a group of local teenage boys vandalized the shed at the 5.7-acre park in Green Street Woods, they came forward, admitted what they had done and returned to help demolish what remained of the damaged structure. For the adults who helped create and maintain the park, it was a fitting resolution at a place…

28 Aug

Meet Marblehead tennis pro Vence N’Tcha

Julie FlynnSports, Top Stories

With his wide-brimmed hat and ever-present smile, Vence N’Tcha is a familiar sight around the tennis courts at Eastern Yacht Club. In some ways, that’s nothing new. N’Tcha says he was “pretty much born on the tennis courts.” Originally from Benin in West Africa, N’Tcha is now in his fifth season as a tennis pro at Eastern Yacht Club. Dan McCormick, a friend and the former tennis director at Eastern Yacht Club who hired N’Tcha, said “Vence has an infectious positivity that I’ve never seen…

27 Aug

MHS football coach Jim Rudloff weighs in on MIAA playoff rule changes

Joe McConnellSports

On Aug. 19, the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) voted 12-2 in favor of the Super 8 rule that will change high school football for many years to come. No matter if it’s at Fenway Park, Piper Field or in Swampscott, the Thanksgiving Day game is here to stay, despite the recent MIAA changes to promote a better playoff format among the eight divisions. CURRENT PHOTO The rule will restructure the current playoff format for the 2027 season. It will still consist of nine divisions,…

27 Aug

MHS boys soccer captains give their thoughts on the upcoming season

Joe McConnellSports

Technically, summer is not over for most of us, but if you are a fall high school athlete in this state, you are governed by a different calendar. The traditional vacation season for them ended this year on Monday, Aug. 24, which was when they reported to their coaches for the first official day of practice. Marblehead High boys soccer captain Mark Vinokur. COURTESY PHOTO Marblehead High School boys soccer coach Elmer Magana followed the routine precisely by welcoming back his three captains — Erik…

26 Aug

Danvers Indoor Sports Marblehead helping develop tots’ social and sports skills

Luca TedescoBusiness, Local News, Sports

Danvers Indoor Sports has been a titan in the North Shore youth sports market for nearly four decades. With participation in rec sports on the rise, DIS has expanded to a new location in Marblehead that will have a focus on children as young as 18 months through the age of seven. “The community brought us here,” said DIS co-owner Kelly Craigg. “Marblehead has always been known as a community that is highly supportive of investing in their kids… For us it was an easy…

26 Aug

Marblehead gets its first taste of HYROX

Leigh BlanderLocal News, Sports

Marblehead got a taste of the global HYROX fitness phenomenon this summer as 10 local competitors took on the town’s first-ever simulated HYROX race Saturday at FORM 01945. The competitors arrived at the studio Aug. 15 after eight weeks of training, ready to test their running, strength and endurance. Lucia Levin pushes the sled in the FORM 01945 HYROX challenge. COURTESY PHOTOS / DOUG MOON “It was a wonderful morning and truly the best part was seeing the participants cheering each other on,” said Ann…