Nashua South honoring memory of former leaders via shared jersey number

Nashua High School South’s football and field hockey programs began a new tradition this fall centering around the No. 8.

On the gridiron, you can see South junior slot back/strong safety Kyle Emmons donning the jersey, while Panthers senior defender Roseanne Shiju wears it proudly for the field hockey team. Both understand the responsibility this honor holds and all that their new number represents.

This new tradition at South, which honors the memory of former athletes that sported the No. 8 – Bill Monsen in football and Jenna Chiavelli in field hockey – is one that Emmons and Shiju do not take lightly. They may be the first to wear this jersey in its new significance, but they won’t be the last.

The Idea to Honor No. 8

It was a simple husband and wife conversation that opened the door to honor the memories of Monsen, who died after complications from a heart attack on Thanksgiving Day in 2022, and Chiavelli, who lost her battle with a Glioblastoma brain tumor in August of 2022.

South coach Scott Knight was thinking of a way to honor his former-player-turned-coaching sidekick when his wife, Trisha, brought up the idea that maybe that jersey number can be given to a special player who exemplifies everything Monsen brought to the table as a player and coach.

Scott Knight was all about it.

“I thought right away that’s a great idea,” he said. “It’s done in different college programs, and it’s a big tradition there. It could become something special here as well for who and what it represents.”

Field hockey coach Ciki McIntire also was thinking of ways to honor a former player when she received a call from Athletics Director Lisa Gingras to join a conversation.

That call was a discussion about the football program’s intent to use No. 8 as a leadership jersey moving forward. It just so happens, like Monsen, No. 8 also was Chiavelli’s number. Both programs adopted the idea and began the new tradition this fall.

“As soon as I heard of the idea I loved it,” McIntire said. “I think this is even better than retiring a number, because it’s being honored on the field every game by a player that shares those same values, work ethic, love of the game and team that these two former Nashua student athletes epitomized.”

Monsen Legacy

Ask anybody in the Gate City – or outside of it – who knew Bill Monsen, and they’ll all tell you he was Nashua through and through.

A hard-nosed fullback, he played for Knight at the unified Nashua High School through his junior year. When the school split into Nashua South and Nashua North, he was one of three varsity players who ended up at the new school, where he played as a senior and was part of the school’s first graduating class in 2005.

He’s the only player in Nashua football history to score a touchdown for the unified high school and North.

Monsen returned to Nashua after college to eventually become a history teacher at South. He worked the sidelines with Knight as a football assistant for the last 18 years and as South’s coach of boys lacrosse for 10 years.

“He was a blue-collar guy,” Knight said. “Even back as a player he would lead by example. He was a quiet kid who put in the work and just led with his actions.”

Knight saw Monsen mature from player to coach.

“He was a big personality,” Knight said of the coach Monsen became. “You knew he was in the room. It’s different when somebody who was such a presence isn’t in that room anymore.“

Knight joked that Monsen is technically still in the football office with him, as a Monsen fat head hangs on the wall staring at him.

“He’s missed not only as a coach, but as a friend as well,” Knight said. “He may not be here in the physical sense, but he’s still here with us always.”

When Monsen’s wife, Taylor, heard of this new tradition, she filled up with pride. She can’t wait to take the couple’s now 2-year-old son, Finn, to games as he gets older and point out that No. 8 on the field.

“I’m just so proud,” said Taylor Monsen, who met her husband while they were both teaching at South. “I’m honestly filled with such gratitude that they are honoring Bill in such a way that will keep his love for Nashua and the sports that he played and coached alive forever.

“I’m just so proud and excited to be able to take Finn to games and he will know how incredible of a person his dad was that the program did this in his honor.”

Chiavelli Legacy

A 2020 graduate of South, Jenna was an accomplished student athlete, competing in field hockey, lacrosse and track.

She was known for her love of the team concept and burning desire to help lift her teammates up.

“She was the life of the party – that person that everyone gravitated to on and off the field,” McIntire said. “She was a hard worker, but still loved to have fun. She was that burst of energy you needed whenever you were feeling down.”

Chiavelli’s desire to help her teammates carried over into her chosen profession. She earned her licensed nursing assistant certification and was enrolled as a nursing student at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in hopes of following in her mom’s and grandmother’s footsteps.

This is a legacy her mom, Maryann Rzeznik, and dad, Mark Chiavelli, are proud of. This new tradition at South honoring that legacy is special for the entire family.

“It’s an amazing honor,” Mark Chiavelli said. “It makes you feel amazing in one aspect, but sad in another. It says a lot about what our beautiful daughter meant to that school, the teams she played on and the community. It’s a lasting memorial to all she was as a person and it is humbling.”

Wearing It Proudly

Emmons and Shiju know what honor was bestowed upon them, and although hesitant at first, the No. 8 jersey has proven to be a perfect fit.

Emmons, a junior captain, played for Monsen. When approached by Knight about this new tradition and that he would be the first to wear the special jersey, Emmons was taken aback.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was worthy of it,” said Emmons, who previously wore and was personally attached to the No. 10. “Coach Knight explained why he thought I was the right person to wear it and I was touched the coaches chose me. It’s a big role to wear this jersey now, with everything it means to our team.

“Coach Monsen taught me a lot. Not just on the football field. He taught us all to be the best player and person we could be on a field or off it. This is such a big honor and I’m proud to be part of it.”

Shiju was surprised when McIntire informed her of the decision that she would wear No. 8 for the field hockey team. She shouldn’t have been.

“Everything Jenna represented – teamwork, helping teammates, doing whatever was needed to succeed – Roseanne is that person for us,” McIntire said. “She was a forward and had been training as a forward right up until the fall when we asked her to drop back to defense because we were shorthanded back there. She said yes right away with no hesitation.”

For Shiju, it wasn’t anything to think about. The team needed her on defense and she was going to switch positions.

“I’m a very adaptable person,” Shiju said. “I’ve played just about every position so moving around wasn’t anything I was against. I’m here to play my role, whatever that is, that will help the team.”

That’s why McIntire felt Shiju was the perfect fit for her program. Shiju was honored but also surprised by being the coaches choice.

“It was definitely shocking,” said Shiju, who unlike Emmons never really tied herself to one specific number. “I understand what this means to our team and to the Nashua South community. It’s special. I don’t look at it as a responsibility, but more of an honor that I wear proudly.”

Shiju only had one interaction with Chiavelli. She remembers it fondly.

“We were at her family’s home for a preseason team-bonding event a couple of years ago,” Shiju said. “We were making t-shirts for the Play with a Purpose Jamboree and she was just so kind and welcoming to us all. Her entire family was so inviting and kind.”

Now Shiju and her South teammates will be giving back to the Chiavellis.

Saturday at Stellos Stadium, the field hockey team will be selling magnets, t-shirts and decals beginning at noon while the girls soccer team plays. The sale will continue following soccer, when field hockey takes the field for their Gray Out Game versus Dover around 2 p.m. All sales and donations will go to the Jenna Chiavelli Foundation.

“We want to spread awareness and help in the research for what Jenna went through,” Shiju said. “We want to honor her legacy.”

Nashua South is doing just that for Chiavelli and Monsen with this new tradition honoring No. 8.