Montgomery Blair High School student Rishik Shenolikar turned a small pandemic tutoring effort into Potomac PiRates Inc., a nonprofit helping elementary students overcome math anxiety through games, puzzles and mental‑math activities.
During the pandemic, Rishik Shenolikar offered to help tutor neighborhood kids in his garage.
It was a small group of elementary schoolers, and he used a mental math book that intrigued him. He helped the kids with their homework, explaining different tricks and using engaging math puzzles.
Shenolikar, a junior at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, has enjoyed math ever since he was a kid. He hoped to spread that excitement, and was successful. Some of the younger students wanted to discuss the puzzles with their parents over dinner.
What started as a kind gesture while in-person schools were closed has evolved into a nonprofit.
Shenolikar created Potomac PiRates Inc., which aims to help students recognize that math can be a lot more than formulas and equations.
“It’s such a useful skill,” Shenolikar said. “There’s so many careers that involve math, but it also just helps your brain in so many different ways.”
The group, which started about two years ago, offers tutoring support to elementary schools and other local organizations. It’s an official partner with the Montgomery County Recreation Center and supports their “Club Adventure” after-school program. They’re also offering math support to students with disabilities.
The sessions usually involve a lot of games, puzzles and mental math tricks. They aim to empower students to arrive at an answer faster than they would have otherwise. They often get feedback from teachers too.
“The main point is to help students with math anxiety because I’ve noticed a lot that I enjoy math a lot, but a lot of kids out there just don’t find it that fun,” Shenolikar said.
Separately, the nonprofit has sent nearly 1,000 math kits to students in underresourced communities. The contents of the kits depends on who they’re going to, but they typically include basic math supplies and a logic puzzle, such as a Rubik’s Cube.
Recently, they created and shipped 60 kits to a classroom “of very smart kids in Africa who, unfortunately, don’t have the resources to get into math,” Shenolikar said.
He’s planning to travel to Africa this summer to meet those kids and offer them some tutoring help.
Shenolikar first paid for the work using money he earned judging debate tournaments. But now, the group of 15 kids has been using funds from a grant it received through the Dodge Family Foundation. Moving forward, they’re hoping to collaborate with small businesses.
The work, he said, is making a difference.
“The best sign of our impact … where they start out not liking math, but eventually it grows on them, because they enjoy the games,” Shenolikar said.
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Two Montgomery County firefighters were acquitted of charges related to a July incident in which the Montgomery Blair High School baseball field was soaked with water from a fire apparatus hose.
Two Montgomery County firefighters were acquitted of charges Friday related to a July incident in which the Montgomery Blair High School baseball field in Silver Spring was soaked with water from a fire apparatus hose at an adjacent fire station.
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Water sprayed onto Montgomery Co. high school field during baseball game
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) Capt. Chris Reilly and firefighter Alan Barnes were charged Sept. 22 with three misdemeanors, including malicious destruction of property, conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of property and disorderly conduct in connection with the July 17 incident. Both men are career—not volunteer—firefighters who were working at Silver Spring Volunteer Fire Department Station 16 at 111 University Blvd. East. They were suspended from the department pending an internal investigation.
Montgomery County District Court Judge Rand Gelber dismissed the charges against Barnes following a morning trial and later acquitted Reilly after a trial in the downtown Silver Spring court. Gelber said during Reilly’s trial that there was “insufficient evidence” of destruction of the field by the soaking.
“You’re an innocent man,” Gelber told Barnes after the charges were dropped.
Rand Lucey, Reilly’s attorney, said after Reilly’s trial that while the firefighter was “satisfied” with the court’s decision and pleased that more information about the incident had been revealed, he was not proud of his actions.
“There’s no sort of win-win here,” he said, noting that Reilly remains suspended from the fire department.
The charges came after the July 17 incident in which water was sprayed onto the baseball field from the adjacent station before a scheduled game for the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts. The Thunderbolts alleged in a July social media post that the water was sprayed in retaliation for a baseball hitting a pickup truck parked near the station.
The baseball field is owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and used by the Thunderbolts, one of eight teams that play in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, during June and July.
Allie Coyle became the first women to lead a boys soccer team to a Maryland state title. Now, she prepares Blair High School to defend its standing.
From saving on school supplies to the impact of federal cuts, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series, “WTOP Goes Back to School” this August and September.
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Md. boys’ soccer coach ready for new season after team’s historic state title win
A light drizzle fell at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, as Allie Coyle marched the sidelines watching the boys’ soccer team play in an intersquad scrimmage. At the time, the 31-year-old stood silently, observing her players’ movements, passing and defending.
Yet, once a mistake is made, like crowding passing lanes or standing offsides, Coyle stepped on the field and demanded answers. If she shouted, it was a directive or advice.
“Hey, use your left,” she yelled at a striker. “I like it!”
Last year, Coyle made history, becoming the first women to lead a boys soccer team to a Maryland state title when the Blazers defeated Richard Montgomery 1-0 to become 4A champions.
Entering her fourth season in charge of Blair’s varsity team, Coyle told WTOP the weight of that victory has fueled her team’s drive to win its second consecutive title.
‘Can you coach us?’
Coyle never envisioned herself coaching boys soccer. She played high school soccer at River Hill High School in Howard County and was coaching Blair’s girls soccer junior variety squad. One evening, multiple boys players participating in a Montgomery County Recreation program for high-risk youth called Soccer4Change needed a coach and turned to their science teacher for help.
“The boys needed a coach, and so I had them in class, and they kept seeing me at the girls JV team,” she said. “They’re like, ‘Can you coach us?’”
That pull to boys soccer continued when Coyle became Blair’s JV boys coach. In 2022, she took over the varsity program, and in that first season, the Blazers made it to the state semifinals.
“They’re just awesome kids, and they sucked me in,” Coyle said. “They got me in as their coach, and then I couldn’t leave them, and then, it just led all the way to the boys varsity team.”
Yet, there were challenges. Early on, some parents questioned Coyle’s decision-making on cutting certain players. Coyle recalled speaking to Blair’s former boys soccer coach, who said they questioned her because, “You’re young and you’re female.”
When times got hard, Coyle leaned on a support group of coaches and athletic director Rita Boule, who coached boys soccer in the past.
Blair’s players also stood by Coyle. During one game, a rival coach referred to Coyle as “lady” the entire match. After the Blazers won, the team’s student-run Instagram account posted the final score with “Lady” as its caption as a measure of revenge.
Senior midfielder Jorge Mejia said he doesn’t see the difference in the way Coyle approaches the sport compared to previous male coaches. Instead, he said Coyle set boundaries for the players to build chemistry among each other and is harder on them about their grades.
“She’s a really good coach,” senior midfielder Lyon Alvarez said. “People doubt her just because she’s a female, but when it comes to conditioning, tactics in game, subs, she has like a discipline and everything. … She knows what she can do.”
Championship statement
The 2024 season was a culminating year for the Blair boys soccer program. Many of its seniors had been with Coyle since her JV days, anchoring the Blazers to a 17-3-4 record. After losing to Walt Whitman 4-1 in the regular season, Blair bounced back with a 3-1 victory in the state semifinals.
The night before the state title game, Coyle recalled one of her senior players told her that she could become the first woman to win a state title coaching boys soccer.
“I just kind of blew it off,” she said.
However, when a reporter asked her about it, Coyle attempted to look it up. Once confirmed, she attempted to block it out of her mind, even on game day.
Once the final whistle blew in the Maryland 4A championship, winning Blair’s first boys soccer state title since 1975, Coyle was speechless. After the game, she received so many emails and texts of congratulations, she elected to leave her phone in her car for the night to give herself time to take in the moment.
The Montgomery Blair High School boys’ soccer team won the Maryland state 4A title in 2024.
(Courtesy Tino Pham/Montgomery Blair High School )
Courtesy Tino Pham/Montgomery Blair High School
Allie Coyle looks on during training at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland.
(WTOP/José Umaña)
WTOP/José Umaña
A Montgomery Blair High School boy’s soccer player speaks to head coach Allie Coyle during training in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Montgomery Blair High School’s Allie Coyle observes training in Leesburg, Virginia.
(Courtesy Washington Spirit )
Courtesy Washington Spirit
Montgomery Blair High School boys’ soccer coach Allie Coyle participated in the Washington Spirit’s coaching mentorship program.
(Courtesy Breanna Biorato/Washington Spirit)
Courtesy Breanna Biorato/Washington Spirit
Montgomery Blair High School’s boys’ soccer team participate in training in Silver Spring, Maryland.
(WTOP/José Umaña)
WTOP/José Umaña
“I’m not someone who necessarily likes the spotlight,” she said. “I want it on my team and my players. I would not have gotten there if it wasn’t for them.”
The attention came from all angles: local media outlets covered the historic moment, while ESPN dedicated a social media post on the achievement. Coaches from Coyle’s youth reached out to express their support, too.
“They reached out saying how much it meant to their daughters,” she said. “I think it meant the most from all of it is knowing that actual people did find impact from it.”
RaShauna Hamilton, the Spirit’s vice president of fan growth and community, told WTOP in a statement the program aims to create opportunities for female coaches through access to on-field training sessions, interactive lectures with the coaching staff and an online master class on using technology and analytics to develop players.
“Allie has been an impressive coaching mentee throughout her time in the program and is a great representative of what we want this program to be,” Hamilton said.
The mentorship program was the final accolade Coyle needed to celebrate the championship success. As the summer break ended, her focus shifted to meet the standards she set for the Blazers program. She said athletic director Boule as well as her players and their families, helped remind her that to win another title, the team will need to be built up again.
“We knew what we had going into that season,” Coyle said. “We knew it was going to be our chance, and so we pushed harder than we’ve ever pushed to make sure that it all paid off.”
Preparing for the 2025 season
Thirteen players from last year’s title-winning side are returning for the 2025 season, seven of whom are seniors. They will be joined by 14 new players who have never played on Blair’s varsity team.
Some new players are getting accustomed to Coyle’s direct approach, which involves speaking to them in straightforward terms while encouraging them to work harder in training. At the same time, she allows her captains to run the drills, and during scrimmages, players can pick the positions that best suit them.
That balance of being a disciplinarian while finding a player’s strength is essential in team building, Coyle said.
“I want them to push themselves as hard as they can so that they see the hard work paying off if they do it over and over,” she said. “I think that’s a bigger life lesson — is hard work will pay off.”
Almost a year removed from the historic victory, Coyle said there is pressure to repeat last year’s success. She also understands her accomplishment will serve as a catalyst for others who want to coach in male sports.
One piece of advice she offers to any woman looking to make the leap is to have a support system that can keep you grounded and focused on the task at hand.
“It’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders, and not a lot of the pressure that I can really control,” she said. “You can say and teach them as much as you want, but really, at some point it’s got to be: How bad do they want it, also? I think this team might want it. We’ll see.”
Blair opens regular season play on Sept. 8 on the road at Clarksburg and at Blake on Sept. 10. The Blazers will finally play their first home match on Sept. 15 against county rivals Wheaton.
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