LYNNFIELD — Surrounded by a large crowd of fellow students, basketball and football teammates, teachers, and family members in the Lynnfield High School gymnasium, Iain McCarthy made it official, signing a Letter of Intent to play football for the Salve Regina University Seahawks.
“Having so many friends here today – and for four years – has been the best part of high school, and for them to be here today really sums up how many connections I’ve made these four years,” McCarthy said. “It’s been the best four years and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve loved all the people I’ve met at Lynnfield High. The teachers, coaches, and friends are the connections I’ll be bringing to Salve and I’m so blessed to have those.”
A two-sport captain (football and basketball), McCarthy also considered St. Lawrence, St. Anselm, Catholic University, and the University of Rochester.
But once he visited the Newport, R.I. campus, it was love at first sight.
“It was always about finding the right fit and as soon as I stepped on campus, I absolutely loved it – the people, the campus, it was just absolutely beautiful,” McCarthy said. “It also has a great program of study with the three-plus-two business administration program, so I can get my master’s in undergraduate and master’s done in five years if I really work hard at it. I wanted to find some place where I’m good enough to play and Salve was it, and the coaches were awesome.”
A linebacker, McCarthy said he is likely to play a role in the secondary. He knows he’ll have to make some adjustments.
“They play a different defense than we play at Lynnfield High, so that will take some getting used to,” he said. “I hope that with a lot of hard work, and if I keep grinding it out, I can play a helpful role and continue the winning success Salve has had.”
An honor roll student, McCarthy has a challenging course load that includes AP psychology and several honors courses (he also took AP U.S. history as a junior.).
McCarthy hasn’t established any career goals, but knows he wants to work in the business world.
“Right now, I’m not sure, but I consider myself a people person. For now, I guess I’m just along for the ride knowing that the pieces will fall in place,” he said. “The Salve program is such a great program, so I know I’ll be prepared for what I end up doing.”
Lynnfield football coach Pat Lamusta said McCarthy’s contributions off the field with the team’s Leadership Council were impactful.
“The Council is still young and in its formative years, when we needed someone to really take the lead on anything off the field that we were trying to do in the community, Iain was there, always ready to take on anything for this team, whether it involved the pigskin directly or not. He was just a genuine leader in the school who cared about his teammates and cared about the offseason workouts,” Lamusta said. “On the football side, he was a tremendous edge player and played with a ton of intensity, often taking on pulling lineman of much larger size.”
Lamusta said he believes McCarthy will be an “excellent defensive player” at the collegiate level.
“He’s the type of guy you would really want in a college program, so I think Salve really scored with Iain. The Salve staff was great to Iain and welcomed him during the recruiting process and he certainly has the work ethic to build on what he did here in Lynnfield.”
One of McCarthy’s biggest fans is Lynnfield basketball coach John Bakopolus.
“I cannot say enough about him – four years on the team. The team unanimously voted him a captain for two years. He has done everything I’ve asked him to do,” Bakopolus said. “He’s played out of position. He’s guarded the toughest kids. He is everything that is good about high school sports, just an awesome kid and athlete who deserves everything he has coming to him.”
While McCarthy is excited to start the next chapter of his life, right now, he’s focused on the current chapter.
“Absolutely. The focus is totally on basketball right now,” he said. “Unfortunately, I’ve missed a few games with an injury, but my teammates are doing an incredible job. We hope to keep it moving through the rest of the season. Last year, we had to go to Martha’s Vineyard for our first tournament game, so we want – at the very least – to get a home game and then hope to make some noise. We need to be the best team we can possibly be.”
