Father, Son Set to Go Head-to-Head

Because of his coaching duties at , John Gallivan can’t make it to many of his son Connor’s Burlington High basketball games. And likewise, Connor’s schedule prevents him from seeing many of Stoughton’s games.

The two won’t have that problem Tuesday night.

The Stoughton High boys’ varsity basketball team at Burlington, with father and son going head-to-head.

John Gallivan, a Burlington resident, is the social studies department head at SHS and is in his eighth year as head coach of the Black Knights. Connor Gallivan, a point guard, is a senior captain for Burlington.

“It’s going to be kind of weird,” Connor said of playing against his dad. “It will be hard at first, then feel like a regular game.”

“I’m going to think of it more as coaching against Burlington than coaching against my son,” coach Gallivan said.

Connor, as a captain, is actually hosting a Burlington team dinner at the Gallivan’s home Monday night on the eve of the game. His dad isn’t invited.

More accurately his dad can’t go—he’ll be coaching his youngest son Brendan, 12, and his travel basketball team.

“I’m a big fan of food; normally I would go,” coach Gallivan joked.

Last February, Gallivan coached against his nephew, Tim Gallivan, in . He’s also coached against Connor in scrimmages between Stoughton and Burlington, including a warm-up before each team’s run in the last winter.

But neither have gone head-to-head when it counts.

In separate interviews, both father and son lamented about not being able to support one another at their respective games more often.

“It’s awful; it’s terrible,” coach Gallivan said. “Watching [the game] on video isn’t the same.”

But Gallivan has seen his son play plenty of times—he helped coach Connor’s youth, travel and AAU basketball teams, squads that have featured many of Burlington’s current varsity players.

“He knows me pretty well [as a player],” Connor said. “He knows all my weaknesses.”

Asked to give a scouting report of his son, Gallivan said Connor is “the point guard running their show. He’s always been a good passer. He’s added more scoring to his game.”

Gallivan said he will treat his son as “one of the guys we have to stop.”

The key to defending him, like any opposing team’s ball-handler, is to get Connor to give up the ball; make someone else have to handle running the offense, Gallivan said.

Connor has a good guess who his dad might use to execute this game plan—Stoughton’s lockdown defender, junior guard .

“He’s been joking around that Marcus is going to be on my shirt all game,” Connor said.

Connor is pretty familiar with Stoughton as well. He’s watched plenty of film of the Black Knights before—although not leading up to this game (he said he gets kicked out of the room when his dad is breaking down film for Tuesday’s opener).

Connor hopes his team’s height advantage will allow Burlington to control the boards and then they have to slow Middleton and fellow junior guard Aaron Calixte “as much as possible.”

Coach Gallivan said Stoughton needs to play fast—“get out in transition and run.”

Gallivan said he expects his wife and his son Brendan (a big Stoughton High basketball fan) and Connor’s twin brother Patrick (a member of the Burlington High gymnastics team), and the rest of his family to root for Connor.

“That’s the way it should be,” coach Gallivan said, noting the window for a player is significantly shorter than it is for a coach.

The two said the postgame handshake line could be “awkward” or “weird.”

“He’s usually behind me, now he’ll be on the other end,” Connor said.

But once the game starts Tuesday night in Burlington, the focus for father and son will simply be to win.

Connor will just be another opposing point guard, and Gallivan is just another opposing coach.

Until the postgame handshake, that is.