Alec Buresh finds a home at St. John's Prep

There is something about sports and its transformative power to – if not heal – then to provide a distraction at a time when a distraction is entirely needed.

As an eighth-grader, Alec Buresh shadowed his cousin, Chris Collibee, for a day at St. John’s Prep in Danvers. He immediately fell in love with the school, the campus, its athletic programs, and the community.

But instead of enrolling at the Prep, he and his parents elected to have him attend Central Catholic in Lawrence, from where his older sister, Julia, graduated in 2008 and brother, Andrew, graduated in 2011.

His parents also wanted to keep him closer to their Salem, N.H., home. Alec’s father, Bill – who grew up in Peabody and was a Bishop Fenwick football captain before graduating in 1978 – was being treated for renal cell cancer. Having Alec close by, his parents thought, would be easier for the family.

After two years, though, Alec decided to transfer to St. John’s, where he is now a senior captain on the basketball team.

Changing schools in high school can be difficult under the best of circumstances. There are tremendous adjustments to make.

“It was different, and starting all over after two years of high school,” Alec said. “But I have good teammates and the coach made the transition a little bit easier.”

"There's a worrying with every kid that goes to a new setting, a new school,” said St. John’s basketball coach John Dullea. “I think basketball comes very natural to him. Obviously there's going to be some things that are different with the team, like personalities. We knew of Al before. He went to Central Catholic and the kids knew him.

“The transition wasn't too difficult because we knew who he was. It wasn't like he was a kid coming from wherever and no one knew him. That part of it I don't think was too, too difficult on his end, or our end, because we were familiar with him, just by playing against him.

“Really, it was just a few things, some natural vocabulary things that we do that were a little bit different to him. But he's a basketball player. He's been one for his whole life, so that part was probably the easiest part in terms of transitioning to another school."

But it wasn’t just about basketball that his parents allowed him transfer.

“My husband was sick at the time, so I wanted a place for (Alec) that I could count on, that I don't have to worry about him, too,” said his mother, Leslie Buresh. “I was worried enough about my husband. I wanted (Alec) in a nice, safe, secure place. I kind of wish he had gone there as a freshman and then wouldn't have had to change him, but he did great.

“He liked (St. John’s). The kids were nice to him. He's kind of an easy-going, quiet kid, anyway. It was definitely, 100 percent the right move for him. I don't regret it at all. He has a lot of nice friends still at Central that he sees all the time. But he's just done so great at the Prep that I just don't think that it would have been a good place for him, to stay at Central."

After Bill died in October at the age of 55, Leslie knew they had made the right decision for Alec. At the funeral, the St. John’s basketball team formed an honor guard, the players showing their support for their teammate.

"That was unbelievable when I saw it,” Leslie said. “He had so much support from the Prep and from other organizations that he had been part of over the years. He played at Salem (N.H.), and the AAU team all showed up for him.

“But the (St. John’s) kids lining up at the end of the church kind of took my breath away. It was just so wonderful, the family and the support that we felt from the school, that we've really only be involved with for a year. Al transferred as a junior. So it's not even like he was there as a freshman.

“I think they went above and beyond, I really do. It was very, very important for Al. He’s a kid, he’s 17. I'm sure it meant the world to him. I think it just made him a lot closer to those kids, and made him appreciate the Prep.”

“They’re some of my best friends, in school and just in life,” Alec said. “So to have them there was nice.”

Basketball was something he had always shared with his dad, who used to coach his teams. Basketball, in the midst of all he was dealing with, provided a balance for Alec, a glimpse of normalcy among the turbulence.

“Yeah, I think that definitely is where I’m comfortable,” Alec said. “I’ve spent so much time in the gym over the years and that’s where I find comfort.”

"It's really been crucial for him, I think,” Leslie said. “I don't know if he sees it that way yet, just because he's always played sports. He's always played basketball. He plays year round. He's been doing that since he was a little guy. That was kind of important, just to keep him in the routine. I think it made his life as normal as normal can be for him. It kept him busy, his friends were there for him.

“Sports to him is just very important, and I didn't know how that would come around because he and my husband were always involved in that together.”

Alec has played through all of it, the bitter and the sweet.

"We talked, and he wanted to continue [to talk],” Dullea said. “I've spoken to his mother a few times, back and forth. She told me to keep an eye on him here and there. But I didn't really see him do anything that I would need to pull him aside, or say, ‘Listen, if you need a break, if you need to do this, or you need to do that.’

“He handled it very well. He handled it in stride, I guess, as best he could. Nothing on the court was really out of the ordinary. After everything he's gone through, I think the adversity has only made him a stronger person. We obviously had discussions at the time when things weren't looking good and things were coming to the end, and when it did happen, we talked, and he said ‘I appreciate it, thank you,’ and then went about his business as usual, as much as he could, I guess."

Alec, who hopes to play basketball in college – he’s looking at Amherst, Tufts, the University of New England, and a few others – is growing into his role as a team leader, becoming more comfortable and more vocal. But, he will probably always lead more by actions than by words.

“He is a quiet kid, but he's a quiet leader,” Dullea said. “He leads by example. Anything I ask him to do, or if we go over something in practice, he knows exactly what to do. He's definitely a leader by example. I think he brings a calmness to our team. When things aren't going well on the court – there's going to be times when things don't go your way – he doesn't panic. You don't see his emotions. He keeps going, back and forth. His body language always represents, ‘OK, we're fine. When things aren't going well, we'll get the next play.’ He brings a sort of

calmness. Nothing really rattles him.”

Follow Maureen Mullen on Twitter at @MaureenAMullen.