Boswell tackles English job

By Dan Ventura | Friday, May 7, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com

With school administrators and current players surrounding the table, Keith Parker passed the football onto Chris Boswell, ushering in a new generation of football at Boston English.

Boswell was officially named the head football coach at English yesterday afternoon, replacing Parker, who retired following 34 years at the school. A Roxbury native, Boswell attended Marblehead High, then played at the University of Maine, before spending the past 14 years as an assistant coach at Thayer Academy.

“I’m not one who does a lot of talking,” Boswell said as he took the microphone. “I’m looking for kids who are hitters. I want kids who will work hard, be disciplined and take care of academics.”

Parker urged patience while Boswell puts his stamp on the program.

“It’s going to take a lot of time, there is a lot of rebuilding which needs to be done,” Parker said. “This is not going to change overnight, it’s got to be rebuilt brick by brick.”

Joining Boswell will be Larry Merritt, who was named the team’s academic coach. A two-sport All-Scholastic while at Cathedral, Merritt founded Merritting Attention in 1997, a youth development organization that uses sports as a vehicle to connect with young people in order to teach the importance of education.

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