With no full-contact high school football in the fall, many student-athletes won’t have the chance to show colleges what they can do and potentially earn a scholarship. On Saturday, St. Joseph hosted a combine to give athletes the chance to record their times and measurements.
With no full-contact high school football in the fall, many student-athletes won’t have the chance to show colleges what they can do and potentially earn a scholarship. On Saturday, St. Joseph hosted a combine to give athletes the chance to record their times and measurements.
“We’re not going to have the film to show our colleges so this is going to be the raw truth of just how fast I am, how agile,” said Ridgefield junior wide receiver Terry Li.
High school athletes came from many different schools to run the 40-yard dash and three-cone drill, along with participating in the broad jump and vertical jump.
“It’s not the same but at the same time it’s something that’s a little better than just practicing with the team,” said St. Joseph senior wide receiver Brady Hutchison. “We’ve got some other teams out here, some other kids so there’s definitely good competition out here.”
The players have been training throughout the summer in hopes of playing a season. The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) canceled full-contact football in the fall but left the door open for a season in the spring.
“You know kids are resilient,” said St. Joseph football head coach Joe Della Vecchia. “They’re disappointed but they’re still pushing forward with anything they can do for the game they obviously love. They’re coming out here this morning, there’s going to be over 200 kids throughout the entire day here and they’re looking for an opportunity to better themselves for the next level.”
