PEABODY — Peabody High’s Nick Soper likes all the things about sports you don’t always see when you’re watching it on television, or when you’re at the football field or basketball court.
I really like teamwork,” he said, “but I feel in any sport, it’s the practices, or when you’re with your teammates. That’s what I like. I know it sounds cliche, but we’re a family.
“But that’s what makes you want to play basketball,” he said. “Tough practices … just being together … connecting with your teammates. You’re a part of something. That’s the part I liked the best. It’ll be tough to say goodbye. So I’m glad I have this game.”
It’s attitude like that, says coach Thad Broughton, that makes Soper so likable.
“He’s a great kid and a hard worker,” said Broughton about his senior captain. “He’s a leader both on and off the court.”
Soper will play in Monday night’s Agganis All-Star Boys Basketball game at Lynn Classical (7) for the South squad.
“I know he was happy to be invited, and I’m happy for him,” said Broughton.
The senior point guard was the backbone of the 13-7 Tanner basketball team, Broughton said.
“He’s the true definition of a leader,” the coach said. “He’s the kind of a kid where, if you asked him to run a practice, he’d know exactly what to do and run it the way we’d run it.”
Soper will attend Endicott in the fall, but will play soccer (he’ll also be playing in the Agganis boys soccer game Tuesday at Manning Field). It may be a little-known fact to some, but Soper’s father is Kevin Bettencourt, the men’s basketball coach at Endicott.
Perhaps that’s where he gets his perspective. When asked what was the team’s defining moment this past year, he didn’t even hesitate. It was a loss to Northeastern Conference powerhouse Beverly.
“We’d played badly in our opener against Masconomet,” he said. “I think we needed that first game to get used to playing again. Beverly was when it all came together for us.”
“We came up short, but we played very very well. Everybody stepped up and we got going. We were really close, down by three with two minutes to go.”
Like a lot of athletes playing in this year’s Agganis games, Soper wasn’t too aware of the Harry Agganis legacy until he sat down with his father and grandfather (Mike Soper, who worked for many years at Moynihan Lumber in Beverly).
“He’s such a legend,” said Soper, who marveled at the idea that Agganis played baseball professionally with the Boston Red Sox and could have also played for football’s Cleveland Browns.
“Wow,” he said. “That is wild.”
This summer, Soper will work as a parks and recreation staff member in Peabody.
“I used to go there all the time when I was a kid,” he said. “So it’s nice to be going back there now to work with parks and rec.”
