Cheshire High School Football Players

Football is undoubtedly one of the most popular sports in America as almost 107 million people watched the 2010 Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.

It is also one of the most dangerous sports played among athletes.

According to the Brain Injury Association of Arizona 10 percent of all high school football players will suffer from a concussion and 62 thousand high school athletes will suffer a concussion with two out of every three occurring in football players.

The Brain Injury Association of Arizona also reports that close to 60 percent of concussions will go unreported because athletes are not aware of the symptoms pertaining to concussions or do not believe the injury serious enough to receive medical attention. This means that over 30,000 concussions go unreported each year, 20 thousand of which were the result of playing football.

Concussions are not the only problem in football today… fatalities have become a problem as well. The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research reported 1,006 direct and 683 indirect fatalities between 1931 and 2007 that were a result from playing football in the US with high school football accounting for around two out of every three fatalities. The number of fatalities in high school has reduced dramatically from between 1968 where 2.6 of every 100,00 players died to 2007 where 0.2 of every 100,000 players died. The reason for the decline in fatalities is mainly attributed to the advancement in the football helmet. However, a lot of people argue the helmet, though used to protect the players, is actually what is causing the most damage.

Are there differences though between high school helmets and college helmets?

Greg Trifone, a graduate and football player for Cheshire High and Endicott College, says that, “For the most part the helmets are the same (brands and styles), with the only difference being that in college there’s more of the brand new helmets. In high school, we had the brand new helmets that come out every year, but in limited supply. In college, we would have more of the brand new, “state of the art” helmets each year.”

Helmets have created a false sense of security with football players. Wearing a helmet makes one feel as though they are protected and even before games players will often head butt one another as a way to pump themselves up for the game. These small collisions accumulate and can become extremely dangerous over a period of time.

Opposing opinions state that helmets are not the problem and that with new technologies helmets will reduce the amount of injuries.

Barbara Ruddy, the Cheshire High School Nurse, says “This year I only saw three football players for concussions. Accommodations were made as needed academically and a plan was put in place for the student if the headaches persisted during the school day. The student is always seen by their doctor and or a concussion specialist. All players had the impact test prior to season and are always retested after symptoms are resolved. Our sport’s trainer, coaches, athletic director, and myself take concussion injuries very seriously.”

Only three football players for concussions is three too many.

A new innovative approach is being taken by Riddell in their introduction to a new kind of football helmet called the Revolution™. This helmet is the product of a new found study that shows most concussions occur from the side of the helmet and not straight on.

Cheshire History Timeline.

Alcohol and Drug Policy For High School Athletes

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While many physicians would state that athletic’s leads to healthier lifestyles for adolescents there are some that believe sport’s leads to substance abuse because of the culture behind the sport.

In the NFL, 18 players this year alone have been suspended for either performance enhancing drugs, violating the leagues substance abuse policy, or for the possession of marijuana.

The pressures on winning in high school are so great that a lot of students feel the need to gain an advantage on their opponents. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention around 6 percent of high school students become subject to performance enhancing drugs

In high school’s like Cheshire there are alcohol and drug policies for student athletes. These policies are in place for the students safety and to deter the athletes from using drugs and alcohol. Matt Rapetski, a Junior on the Cheshire High Football team says that “the drug and alcohol policy is strict but a good one. If you are caught drinking which is considered possession of alcohol by a minor, then that would result in a 10-9. This means that you miss 3 weeks or 6 contest (whichever comes first). The second time you are caught can be 180 days and the third, you are done with that sport until all your suspenions are up.”

The policies for alcohol and drugs between high school and college have similarities but have differences as well.

“In H.S where their was a zero-tolerance alcohol policy, in college we had a 48 hour policy. What that meant is there was no drinking starting from 48 hours within a contest,” says Greg Trifone a 2006 graduate of Cheshire High and 2010 graduate of Endicott College. “This was a team-sanction rule. The only true school-sanction rule for athletes was that there was no drinking during pre-season camp. Now obviously, arrests and things of that nature were handled differently. As for the drug policies, both HS and college has zero tolerance for illegal drugs. In college, being a D-3 school, we were told we would be drug tested only if we made the playoffs.”

Map

This map plots out each high school football team the Cheshire high school Rams football team will face this season. For the games that have already been played it includes context on where they played, who they played, and what the result of the game was. With teams such as the Xavier Falcons and the Southington Blue Knights being two of the better teams the Rams will play this year. So far this years the Rams have displayed their inexperience standing at an uncharacteristic 3 wins and 4 losses. They look to turn things around when they play Notre Dame high school on November 5th, 2010 at home.

Impact of Youth on Cheshire High School Football

Athletic Director Steve Trifone sat down with Ryan for a one on one interview in which they discussed the reasons why Cheshire High School Football has been so successful and one of the biggest reasons why… The youth program. “A big advantage to us is that the youth program has bought into what we are trying to do here at the high school.”

The impact of youth on Cheshire High School football has been a huge part of the program’s overall success and is a big reason why the team has been among the top teams in the state year in and year out. Current Head Coach Mark Ecke took the high school philosophy to the Junior program where offensive and defensive plays were implemented to prepare these children for high school football. The incoming athletes are already prepared in the plays that the high school teams use however the dedication to the team and to the sport increases with long practices occurring four or five times a week.

When the youth program started taking on the philosophies of the high school program the result was 6 straight championships in the mid 90s (1992-1997) including a 49-game win streak that is still a state record today. The amount of success Cheshire has endured since bringing these philosophies to the junior level is a direct result of the children learning the philosophies early on.

Steve describes the importance of football and high school sports for these athletes by saying “High school sports are so important to adolescents, there are so many lessons that can be taught from that other than the wins and losses… the lessons that are learned there cannot be taught in the classroom.” Dedication, teamwork, leadership, are all lessons these children are learning at a young age and are lessons they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Most athletes will not compete in the National Football League which is why the lessons learned in football help them in other aspects of life.The children playing pop warner and high school students may not realize the lessons they are learning at the time, however one day they will look back and realize the importance of what the lessons in football has taught them.

Impact of Youth on Cheshire High School Football
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Where Is The Motivation Coming From?

What is motivating these high school football players? Is it the fans, the love of the game, the parents, the Head Coach, friends? Or is it a combination of all the above?

There are two types of motivation. Positive motivation and negative motivation. Positive motivation is what keeps players playing for the love of the game. Negative motivation for these teens can be the fear of disappointing their friends or family.

Kevin Washburn a former Cheshire High School Football Coach explains what he thinks is motivating high school football players. Ryan caught up with Kevin during the #5 Cheshire vs. #1 Xavier game on Friday October 1, 2010. Xavier went on to win this game 9-6.

Emotional Win

A 29-6 victory for Cheshire over Hillhouse has the Ram’s running toward another state championship. This was no ordinary win for the Rams though, it was their home opener, and gave them a chance to honor the memories of former player, graduate, and current assistant Coach Greg Schena and former player and graduate Alex Westphal. Both were one time members of the Cheshire football team and passed away between the state championship in 2009 and the start of the 2010 season.

Coach Greg Schena died May 12 from injuries he suffered in a car accident in Southington, Conn. Coach Schena was going into his fourth season as an assistant coach for Cheshire High. Athletic Director Steve Trifone was quoted by the New Haven Register describing Schena… “He was the type of coach that I wanted to be working around our kids. He was witty and intelligent, very knowledgeable about the sports that he was coaching, and he had a great rapport with kids.” Schena was a substitute teacher in the district as well.

Alex Westpahl, a 2008 Cheshire High graduate, passed away on Christmas Eve in a snowboarding accident at the Killington resort located in Vermont. He died after suffering internal injuries during a snowboarding accident. Alex, his father Ryan, and mother Ann, traveled to Killington to recreate a vacation they went on 15 years ago. Minutes before being found dead on the mountain Alex had sent his parents a photo he took from the top of the mountain. Alex was described by his baseball coach, Bill Mrowka as an easy-going kid who didn’t let things bother him “he just kind of rolled with it.”

Why High School Football?

High school football dates back to the late 19th century and has created traditions such as marching bands, pep rallies, and mascots. Football is changing and so are the players who play the game. Ryan Fitzgerald a senior at Quinnipiac University is integrating his passion for high school football with his academic studies in a professional environment. What drove him to create this blog is to determine what each athlete’s motivation is and where it comes from. Why do different athletes play the same sport for different reasons? High school football is one of, if not the most popular sport played among high school athletes, with websites dedicated solely to high school teams and player’s stats. Ryan wants to bring to people’s attention that a lot of high school football players aren’t just playing the game for fun, they also play for all the benefits that come with being a high school football athlete. Whether each athlete plays for fun, for the social advantages, for the team, or because of the pressures placed on them if they don’t all are a part of why the athlete plays. So what is it that really motivates these high school students to participate in football?

Ryan will take an in-depth look at why and where players find their motivation. If only around six percent of high school football players go on to play at a collegiate level where do the other players find their motivation? In attempting to figure out where this motivation comes from more than one million high school football players he will analyze a local high school football team in Cheshire, Conn.

The Psyche of High School Football Athletes

The purpose of this blog is to examine the psyche of High School football players and why they choose to play the game. Do these adolescents choose to play for fun, for the social benefits, because of parental or peer pressure, or the pressures of competing at a collegiate or professional level? Using Cheshire High School in Conn. as our niche this blog will take an in-depth look at what motivates players to play such a dangerous game.

Most players play because they enjoy the game but there are other motivating factors and benefits that come with playing high school football. There are social benefits that come with the identity of being a football player and being part of something bigger than the individual, being part of a team. A team game that develops lifelong friendships, teaches you to deal with adversity, and challenges one’s mental and physical toughness.

Not all players are playing football because they enjoy the game. Some children are under so much parental or peer pressure that they feel forced into playing. The opposite is true as well, some parents find football so dangerous they wont allow their children to play. This blog will examine the psyche behind why players choose to play football.