Mashpee father and son look forward to unforgettable season – Boston Herald

MASHPEE – As you walk along the sidelines of the Mashpee soccer practice field, you can smell and taste the fresh ocean breeze from Popponesset Island.

Also, in the fresh Cape Cod air of twice-daily training sessions come the sights and sounds of father-son duo Matt and Ryan Triveri’s latest roller coaster ride.

Matt Triveri has been a Falcon for 25 years as an administrator and is entering his 20th season as the varsity head football coach. Sharing the field for the final round is his son, senior Ryan Triveri, who transferred back to Mashpee as a sophomore from St. John Paul II to welcome the challenge and raised eyebrows of everyone in the posh Cape Cod town as a two-way starter for Coach Triveri.

“I never really coached Ryan until he got here, which is kind of unique to say the least,” Coach Triveri said. “Our family moved here when he was a sophomore and we had a conversation because it’s different here. We’re strict in the football program and if he was going to come here and I was in the building, (Ryan) would have to act a certain way and you’re going to be pushing football.”

Over the years, Ryan was a star in three sports, including basketball and baseball. While Coach Triveri dabbled in youth basketball coaching and occasionally as an All-Star summer baseball coach when Ryan was younger, the opportunity to coach the sport they both love never presented itself.

“I’m one of those guys that has to outperform everyone else to get the ball, get reps and get on the field. I’m definitely more demanding of him than any other kid in this program,” said Coach Triveri, who was named the New England Patriots High School Coach of the Year in 2015 after the program’s second ever Super Bowl title. “Hopefully, he becomes the example for the Marine Corps, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything and that’s how you have to act as a head coach here.”

Ryan finds the coach-dad or dad-coach dynamic more difficult to navigate, but he wouldn’t change a thing.

“It’s definitely harder than most people to be here, but I really think it’s the best thing for me, it motivates me the most, and I think it makes me a better soccer player,” Triveri said.

The season begins Friday when Mashpee debuts on the road against junior Dennis-Yarmouth. The completion of the nine-game regular season is an unspoken reality.

“It hasn’t affected me that much yet, but I think as the season goes on it will affect me a lot more,” Triveri said. “It’s definitely a unique experience, but one that doesn’t bother me at all. I always call him ‘coach,’ I never call him ‘dad.’”

Ryan has a dual role: that of speedy wide receiver and cornerback. Coach Triveri has his own dual role: that of father and coach.

“The guys can’t see it any different from the relationships I have with all the players. He’s a great player here and when he came to Mashpee he hadn’t played football in a while,” Coach Triveri said. “One of my coaches said, ‘Listen, if you have your kid in front of us and you see him athletically, would you want him to play here?’

Triveri’s one-word answer: “Absolutely.”

Matt admits that he has occasionally become a father on the field. Ryan has battled multiple injuries over the past two seasons, and one of them also robbed him of his spring baseball season.

Last season, Ryan had hurt his hip, but Coach Triveri acted like the pushy dad on the sidelines and chalked it up to nothing more than a pulled hamstring. Matt encouraged Ryan to keep going and fight through the pain when deep down he knew that if it was another player, he might have pulled the plug quicker.

“My mistake was that I was more of a parent than a coach, but we couldn’t tell what it was, but the problem kept coming up,” coach Triveri said. “We found out it was a torn labrum in his hip and now he’s injured, not hurt. So it was more of a parent mistake trying to give lessons, but as a coach, if it was someone else, you’d say, ‘Wait a minute. ’”

While Matt and Ryan will have fun every day until the very last moment, it could also be the last dance for the team. The confidence Coach Triveri has instilled in Ryan carries over to the other 17 seniors on the roster, but there are only about 14 football players left after the 2025 graduation.

So the team isn’t lacking in talent, but the numbers are showing their ugliness for the program.

“If you look at our team this season, our seniors are going to take us as far as they can,” Coach Triveri said. “We’ve had a great year so far at 7-on-7, they’ve been through it all, and while our line is changing, it’s a work in progress, but our expectations are high.”

Ryan is also on the same page as his father and head coach regarding the outlook for the season.

“I definitely expect big things from us this year. I think we can do it, we have the talent to do it, it just takes everyone to commit, commit every day and we have the opportunity to go far,” Ryan said.

“Despite the injuries, I learned not to take things for granted and to enjoy them while I can. Playing for your father is probably a different experience for most people, but I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.”