Small's accomplishments, no tiny feats

By David Carty

 Published: Thursday, February 9, 2012 10:00 AM EST

If Matthew Small is attempting something, you can be pretty sure he's doing it with a quiet determination. His attitude has yielded nothing but positive results for the Idlewild Street resident and senior at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in Easton. The senior is a three-sport captain in his final year at the school, a key cog on the football, lacrosse and wrestling teams. In the latter of those trades is where Small has been piling up medals and material for his perfectly kempt portfolio. Last month, he was a Vocational State Champion at his 170-pound weight class for the powerhouse Southeastern Hawks, champions in the Division 2 Central Sectional on Saturday. In that sectional, Small finished second to Tim Curtin-White of Milford in a tight 3-1 bout. Small advances to the Division 2 state tournament this weekend, an exciting proposition after a season that began with so much frustration. During the football season, the Mayflower League All-Star defensive end broke his hand during a Thursday practice. Hurt appendage? Big deal. He didn't miss the next game. But the injury didn't translate well to wrestling. He wasn't able to grapple for the better part of a month, but when he returned to action with a couple of practices under his belt, he hit mid-season form immediately. Just days after getting cleared to practice, Small earned second place at the Eagle Holiday Bash at 182 pounds - he hadn't had time to shed some of his "football weight" of 185 pounds and was forced to wrestle one weight class higher. Later, back at 170, he took first at the Peckham Tournament, also earning an award for the most pins in the smallest amount of time.

Southeastern senior Matthew Small is seeing his collection of medals expand as the season progresses. (Photo by David Carty)

That's no surprise for those who know Small. He doesn't really have any downtime, with the one exception of time committed to his "girlfriends," as his mother Denise was quick to point out. When captaining those three sports and classwork aren't eating up his time, he's serving up the eats at his part-time job at McDonald's. They found him a competent leader, using him to bring his co-workers up to speed and help out trainees.

Of course, anybody within the walls of Southeastern could've informed his employers of that. Small was voted captain by his teammates in football and lacrosse and appointed as one of three captains by his wrestling coach. If that's not leadership enough, Small earned the rank of Eagle Scout last year and has been heavily involved in the Boy Scouts of America.

While he'll get dialed in and holler along with his teammates for motivation, he opts for individual guidance. As a senior, he's helped to bring along some of the younger, inexperienced Hawks.

"He should be a teacher in my opinion," said his father Michael. "He's always been, 'You're having a hard time flailing with this? How about I take you over here and give you a little one-on-one (instruction).'"

The lean, athletic senior first remembers being drawn to wrestling from early on. It was the only sport Small continued from middle school on through high school; football and lacrosse he picked up as a freshman. He had been taking karate lessons at The Learning Center for Martial Arts in Mansfield, but it wasn't quite fulfilling.

"I liked the atmosphere of the karate but I was good at the grappling," Small said. "That sparked (my interest) in wrestling. (The two) were pretty close."

In the summer, you can find him back at Southeastern participating in what the program calls "Dirty South Wrestling," basically just a summer wrestling program for those interested in some offseason work.

The 2012 Homecoming King is a member of the first class of Southeastern students to study criminal justice for all four years. Southeastern is one of two vocational schools in the state offering a focus in criminal justice.

Over the summer, Small squeezed in time for yet another pursuit - perhaps the only one he's more passionate about than wrestling - going through the Massachusetts Student Trooper program. Though his family has no history in the force, nor in sports for that matter, Small is decisive about what he likes and what's worth his dwindling time. To say he speaks glowingly of the force in Massachusetts is an understatement.

"If I'm going to be a police officer, I want to be the best police officer," he said. "I want to be a Massachusetts State Police officer because they're the most well-trained police in our nation."

He has applications out to Bridgewater State University - where he might pursue wrestling and football - and Westfield State University. His initial plans of joining the Marines are heading to the back burner, but the attitude that he'd need to succeed in either pursuit is there. For Small, it's all a matter of choice. The conviction to follow through will be there.

"Whatever I do," Small said. "I try to do it to the fullest."