By Brooklyn Fernandez ’26
Derby High School offers four winter sport options, which include boys and girls basketball, indoor track, wrestling, and cheerleading. Coach Robert Sweirbitowicz is the boys’ basketball coach and Coach Dave Chevarella is the girls’ basketball coach. Health teacher Matthew Nicolari is the coach of indoor track, Coach Buster Jadach is the wrestling coach, and Coaches Kim Voytek and Alexandra Drezek are the cheerleading coaches. Even though these coaches have their own individual goals for their sport, they all share a common goal, which is to give fair opportunities to everyone and make these student athletes expand their relationships in the Derby family.
Photo from Derby High School Athletics CT (Facebook page): Nicolari with indoor track athlete Byron McLean ’24.
Individual goals for these teams include rebuilding the boys’ basketball team, and for the girls, expanding the amount of people on the girls’ basketball team while also developing the program. In previous years, the boys basketball team has struggled to maintain a team due to the amount of kids failing off the team. Sweirb’s number one priority is to make sure that he does not lose any player to failing grades. Since Sweirb’s first year as head coach, he has decreased the number of students failing off the team and is going to continue his effort to make sure no one else fails off the team. According to Kobe Detvongsa ‘26, he says, “I feel great. I think there are many possibilities and great opportunities out there for us. I know there are going to be good and bad moments, but I know as a team we can move past the adversity and become better. Under Coach Sweirb, we’ll be in great hands and shape to possibly win games. This season is an opportunity to learn and grow as a team, and I look forward to it.” Kobe shows his excitement about these new opportunities and possible chances to make this program better. Chevarella wants more girls to give basketball a try. In previous years, the girls basketball team has had an unbelievably low amount of girls on the roster. He hopes to see these numbers improve and can not wait to start off this basketball season. Brianna Fernandez ‘28 says, “I am excited for this basketball season. In the past I have played basketball and I have had much fun playing it with my friends. I understand the amount of girls they have had on the team were low, but I hope that those numbers will grow.” Brianna is obviously excited about this season, especially because it is her first year at Derby High School. She can’t wait to be part of the girls’ basketball team and try to influence others to join.
As for indoor track and wrestling, they look forward to finding new faces that are willing to give the sport a try. Coach Nicolari is very excited about this upcoming indoor track season to begin. There have been no complications with the track team, but if there is one, Nicolari will be sure to address it and have a solution for it. Quincy Carter ‘26 says, “I feel very confident as I think I have gotten much faster than last year along with my other teammates. I hope to win our NVL Championship meet and our Class S Championship meet which is our main goal because we have the determined and talented people to do it. I want to make it to nationals and get to go against competitive racers and improve as much as I can throughout this season.” Quincy shows his high expectations for himself and his team for this years’ indoor track season.
Everyone has a message to the people who are not doing a winter sport and that message is to give it a try. It is a good learning experience to find out what things you may be interested in. Overall, the main idea of joining these sports is to have fun and make new connections with your peers, to get more comfortable with the family we have at DHS.
Photo from Derby High School Girls Basketball (Facebook page): Chevarella talking to the girls’ basketball team (23/24 season) during a timeout.
The Raider Press 