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St. Luke's Football: Season Preview
The 2016 campaign was a tough one for St. Luke’s Football with a number of injuries over the course of the season hampering their win-loss record. The 2017 season looks much brighter and there is a renewed optimism in the air around Pedrick Stadium.
Head coach Noel Thomas and his coaching staff mean business and have been working hard during preseason to implement a new offense as well as continuing to put player safety at the forefront of everything they do.
St. Luke’s was one of the first high schools in the country to own the Mobile Virtual Player (MVP), a robotic tackle dummy that can ‘run’ a 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds. This innovative technology was designed by Dartmouth College to reduce the risk of injury, particularly concussions, during practice.
Coach Thomas says his team has been utilizing the state-of-the art apparatus, nicknamed “Roger”, a lot this preseason: “We have used the MVP more frequently this season and we plan to use it at least three times a week going forward. We have restricted the younger guys from using it until they can effectively tackle the dummies that are not robotic and use the tackling techniques we are developing.”
There are a number of new faces to both the playing roster and coaching staff and Thomas is excited to see what the group can achieve together this fall. On the new additions to his coaching staff, Thomas said: “We have two additions to our coaching staff this season in Lue Villa and Dietrick Greene. Coach Villa is young and energetic and has both played and coached the new offense we are implementing so he is a great fit. Coach Greene has a wealth of coaching experience at the high school level. He is a technician and a teacher so we are lucky to have him on board. We also have Joe Bonaddio Sr. returning this term which will be great for the program.”
This year’s team is captained by Shaka Moales ‘18, Brendan Casey ‘18, Ben Joseph ‘18 and Michael Hage ‘19 and Thomas believes the quartet will lead by example: “I expect these guys to lead from the front, to give maximum effort every day, treat everyone, especially the younger guys, with love and care and really be the the true big brother that everyone would want them to be.”
The squad has been working hard throughout preseason on tackling technique as well as the new offensive system and coach Thomas believes his players are in a good place: “Preseason has been very productive. We are committed to the heads up tackling system which is taking off around the country to make the game safer. We are being safe and cautious to make sure we take care of our boys.”
St. Luke’s will carry a lean roster into the season but Thomas believes he has a wealth of talent that can move the program forward: “I expect big things from a number of these guys. Chandler Greene (‘19) has played in this offense previously so I expect him to hit the ground running and be an impact player right away. Juan Rosario (‘19) is one of the fastest guys on the field at any given time so is going to have a big impact on what we do. Seth Kim (‘19) was one of the top performers in the scrimmage so I expect him to continue that progress. We also have Jordan Robinson (‘20) who we expect to dominate both sides of the line and Jamie Krill (‘18) has matured a lot so I am expecting major things from him too.”
Coach Thomas, who is entering his seventh season with the Storm, was cautious when asked about the team’s ambitions for the fall but concluded: “Our goal is to be successful every day. We feel like if we can get maximum effort in practice and dial it up every day, when the game is on the line, our good habits will keep us in the game.”
The St. Luke’s Football team has its home opener on Saturday, September 16 against Capital Preparatory Magnet School at 3:30pm.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
