Elle George, Reporter
@ellegcourant
After an outdoor workout with his team, the linemen and captain of the football team, Teddy Declue, saw the notifications from GameTime CT on his phone. The CIAC had cancelled full-contact 11 on 11 football for the 2020-2021 season.
“The decision had been going back and forth for a little while. When we finally got the real nail on the coffin, we will not be playing, it was shocking and frankly, heartbreaking. You could see that on everyone’s faces,” Teddy said.
“It was an extremely tough day for me and the entire team,’’ Lineman and Captain David Siegel said. “There were a lot of emotions flowing. I cried, unfortunately.”
According to Chris Silvestri, who has been coaching New Canaan Football for nearly 20 years, one of the worst parts of the decision was talk over the potential cancellation during the summer. Players agreed with him.
“It depended week to week,” Mr. Silvestri said. “You know there were so many balls up in the air. We were hearing rumors that the season would be pushed back a week, and then we had news come out that it would be pushed back but we would put pads on. Then all the sudden, when they said they were going to cancel, it was a little jarring.”
The cancellation, aside from stripping players of a season, has created other problems for the team. Since early October, 7-on-7 games have started. However, these games only include skill players, leaving linemen like Teddy Declue and David Siegel without a game. Many players were planning on using this year’s season for film for college recruitment.
“For guys like myself, who are looking for game film to try to get into colleges, it hurts us and a lot of our plans. I’ve played this sport for a long time and hoped to use this sport to get into a good college or a better college. So not having this film is impactful and has a negative effect on my college hopes and goals,” Teddy said. “7 on 7 isn’t football. The linemen challenges are an insult. It does nothing to help the gap that was created by 7 on 7.”
However, not all is lost when it comes to recruiting. Relationships between players, coaches at New Canaan and college coaches still remain.
“One of the things that New Canaan is very positioned in is our coaches and their relationships with college coaches. They respect our opinions, our information, and they hold that in high regard. From that point of view, we might have an upper-hand over other schools in the school district because of the relationships and some of the success we’ve had in the past with linemen. Certainly, it is going to impact recruiting, where some kids can provide film on themselves, specifically linemen,” Mr. Silvestri said. “Even in skill players with 7 on 7, it doesn’t show the full picture.”
The cancellation has equally offered many players a new angle on what football means to them. Players agreed that they had taken for granted being able to play football over the years. Overall, the pandemic has been a learning experience for players.
“From the position of a leader, this is different than a captain would have to deal with any years prior. I have been able to get a better perspective on how to manage a team of people in a really difficult time,” Teddy said. “A football season has a lot of ups and downs on a base level, but with the pandemic, it’s been an experience being able to put my emotions aside and help a team.”
“I’ve been playing for nine years,” Safety Conor Bailey said. “So I’ve taken for granted how nice it is to be able to play and be out there with all your friends. Now it’s my junior year and it’s getting cut short or I’m not able to experience it the way I would have in the past. It makes me put some perspective on it.”
Since mid-October, 11 on 11 FCFL games have started up. These private league games will provide film on players, including linemen, aiding in their college recruitment. Despite a delayed start to the season, New Canaan Football had kicked off its new normal.
“The coaches and the parents have done a really good job of getting us to be able to do as much as we can: playing in the 7 on 7 league and then also in the private league with other teams that would be FCIAC,” Conor said. “I think we are finally going to be able to have somewhat of a normal season with a very delayed start.”
