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Letter from NCHS Athletic Director: ‘Our Student-Athletes Made Life-Long Memories’

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The New Canaan High School Fall Sports Season concluded on November 14th with over 650 New Canaan High School students participating in our programs.

As we reflect upon the season, I want to thank the NCHS Fall Coaching staff, our student athletes, and their families for helping to make this Fall season extremely successful. Even though the season was far from “normal,” our athletes and coaches focused on the positives, such as the joy of playing, the confidence that comes from improvement through committed practice, and the excitement being together to experience the challenges and successes of competitions. We began the season with uncertainty due to the COVID pandemic, and are concluding it with feelings of pride and gratitude. There were many highlights during the Fall Season. 

Boys and Girls Cross Country competed extremely well in the Divisional Meet in Waveny Park on November 4th. The girls team had many fast times and placed 2nd overall.

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Parks Officials Vote 11-0 To Support New Canaan Softball’s Proposal To Plant Trees by ‘Orchard Field’ at Waveny

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Parks officials last week voted unanimously in favor of a youth sports organization’s proposal to fund and help plan for the planting of trees by a softball field in Waveny. An iconic tree located behind the backstop at the “Orchard Field” at Waveny recently came down, prompting New Canaan Softball parents to plan for its replacement, according to Jeff Fortmann, a town resident and father of two children who serves on the organization’s board and who swam short-distance events in the early-1990s for the New Canaan Y team. “That tree was beloved,” Fortmann told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their regular meeting, held Oct. 14 via videoconference. Softball parents consulted with Recreation Director Steve Benko and Parks Superintendent John Howe, and have developed a plan to raise $5,000 toward purchase of trees.

News

‘O Jogo Bonito’ Uplifts Players and Parents as NCFC ’06-’07 Boys Start the Season 4-0

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Sports can be such a wonderful distraction.  And in times like these we all need something beautiful, to take our collective and individual minds off of our concerns and worries, and to remind us that, yes—there is joy in this world. 

We pause to take in the simplest gift that nature has bestowed on us these past four weekends—one pictured at right. The glorious sun beaming over the leafy trees as they begin to change over to their autumnal shades. The greenest of natural grass laid out like a carpet for young boys to meet and play, as Pele made famous, “the beautiful game.” The vigor of our youth, cheered on for a taste of the valor and glory of sport. So simple, so wonderful, so beautiful. So, please let me take a stab—at something really beautiful that our boys have given us these past four weeks in their victories…not a highlight of goals scored, or a recounting of how they won the games, but instead my adaptation of Frank Sinatra’s “You Can’t take that Away From Me” (play it while reading, embed below):

NCFC BOYS,

There are many many crazy things that will keep us cheering for you
And with your permission, may I list a few? Coach Meaghan– the way you wear your hat,
Oliver Sturn, Ben Bognon—the way you stop those free…
The memory of ALL THAT
No, No they can’t take that away from me…
Will Arnold, Rogan Lowe—the way your kick just beams,
Teddy Ansaldi, Ollie Carr, Harry Cullen—the way you pass so key. Dylans Rees and Ho and Snell – the way you play, such dreams!

Board of Education

Superintendent: Ice Hockey, Basketball To Be Limited to Small-Group Conditioning, Non-Contact Drills Indoors

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The superintendent of schools said Tuesday that New Canaan will continue following state public health guidance as winter sports such as basketball and ice hockey near, and only small-group conditioning and non-contact drills are recommended indoors. The Connecticut Department of Public Health has said that “high-risk sports” that also include wrestling, lacrosse, competitive cheer and dance should not be played beyond those activities, Dr. Bryan Luizzi said during a special meeting of the Board of Education. “It also recommends that indoor moderate-risk sports should only be played if they could be considered low-risk with mitigation strategies,” Luizzi said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School and viewable on the district’s YouTube channel. An example of such a strategy is volleyball, where the wearing of masks moves it from high- to moderate-risk, under DPH findings. “Indoor moderate risk sports such as basketball and hockey that don’t have similar mitigation strategies available, like the masks, are in that case DPH recommends only small-group conditioning and non-contact indoors,” he said.

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NCHS, Area Schools Plan Fall 7-on-7 Football League

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New Canaan High School’s athletic director is working with counterparts through the FCIAC to develop a 7-on-7 football league that’s in line with state health recommendations, the superintendent of schools said Monday night. The non-contact intramural league could include “linemen’s challenge type activities and even linemen 7-on-7 kinds of things,” Dr. Bryan Luizzi told members of the Board of Education during their regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS and broadcast on YouTube. “That is aligned with DPH recommendations, because the 7-on-7 that is non-contact brings it from a ‘high risk’ activity to a ‘moderate risk’ activity,” he said. “Which is the same as some of the other sports we are playing now, with the mitigation strategies—like volleyball with the masks, for instance. So the league would use our district coaches, have teams of approximately 15 players and they would play against each other in the beginning, and even against other schools.