Football

Liberty Youth Football scores big

Collaboration between school district and Parks and Rec spawns next phase in Liberty’s athletic revival

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LIBERTY, NY — “Power I blast on two,” shouts Liberty athletic director Jason Semo, as a pair of swift blockers clear the way for the speedy back who bursts off tackle for a big gain. The players, eagerly participating in Liberty’s new youth football program, may be little in size, but the gains are huge.

There is much more on the line for these second-to-sixth-grade students than blocking and running skills. Each snap of the ball, enthusiastic run or crisp block may be a building block in Liberty’s athletic future and its collateral resurgence as a school with pride, in a community that can’t wait for its revival.

As Liberty heads into its second week of its fledgling youth football program, with Semo at the helm, ably assisted by former Liberty football standouts Matt Stoddard and Chris Sinceno, it does so as part of an ongoing empowering alliance with Liberty Parks and Recreation, headed up by Brian Scardefield, with Sinceno as his assistant.

With park and rec’s support, each student gets to participate in the dynamic program for the modest sum of $25. School and community, caring adults and kids: a flawless prescription for fun, success and character building.

The same collaboration worked like a charm in fostering Semo’s Liberty Youth Basketball program last winter. Already involved in AYSO soccer, parks and rec now opens a new front to engage participate in athletics, engendering personal and team pride and helping to build a solid foundation for Liberty’s return to the athletic power it once was.

It’s all part of Semo’s master plan, and his vision has drawn unbridled support from within the school district and the community at large.

While Liberty parks and rec has provided the funding and the support, Liberty physical education teachers like Ron Schulte, John Wilhelm, Hazel Yaun and Phil Fanning have done the recruiting. Cheerleading coach Audra Santillo has volunteered to help with the 30 kids who want to be cheerleaders for the young Indian warriors, who donned helmets for their first week of practice.

Everything about this program speaks volumes about cooperation and teamwork.

Nearby, a cadre of smiling parents watch with riveted attention as their kids go through drills, which are interspersed with constant encouragement and motivational advice, dealing with the values of commitment and sacrifices and their long-term yield in life. Life lessons are not just an ancillary part of this program; they reside at its core. In immediate terms, those attributes make for a winning combination that teaches kids to give their all and to handle victory or defeat with an equal measure of grace and poise.

Long range, Liberty aspires to return to its former glory in athletics, raise its academic standards and its stock as an educational institution that prepares students for the arduous challenges they must ultimately face.

With 57 enthusiastic kids in tow, the coaches are investing their time and energy from August 20 to the end of October. Beyond the fundamentals of running, blocking, passing and tackling, the message comes through that the program is about showing good sportsmanship, having fun and feeling good about oneself.

Games against Roscoe, which has developed its own similar youth football program, will feature two games under the lights with one at each of the school’s fields. The night game at Liberty will be on October 12, an important part of Liberty’s Pride Weekend that will also feature a soccer game and a varsity football game under the lights. A possible fray with Sullivan West is being considered at another time during the season.

Meanwhile, the kids can’t wait for their next session as they rush up to their coaches at the end of practice and ask eagerly about what comes next.

Football, for sure, but so much more.

Add in equal measures of pride, tradition and respect, the three pillars of Liberty’s athletic revival emblazoned on the t shirts that are seen everywhere in the school, along with more than a smidgeon of great fun, and you have all the ingredients for something rewarding in the present and enduring for the future. Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of pictures.