In the final verse of the 1992 song “Living Proof,” Bruce Springsteen sings, “Life is just a house of cards, as fragile as each and every breath.” For Haddam- Killingworth football’s new boss Erik Becker, that lyric signifies exactly what he’s trying to teach the Cougars in his first year on the sidelines.

As sports around country are continually altered due to COVID-19, Becker wants his athletes to appreciate the opportunities that are given to them through high school athletics. He also wants them to understand that someday, everyone will play their last game.

“They always make this analogy in sports. You never know when your last play is, you never know when your last game is. You have to cherish it. Play every play as if it’s your last,” Becker said. “Those kinds of things are oftentimes lost, because it’s really hard to realize it, but that’s life. We start practice on [Aug. 31], and I’m going to cherish it, because I don’t know if there will be a day two.”

Becker had only met with his athletes in person one time as of last week, although the team has been communicating regularly through email and Google Meet. While it’s been difficult to coach solely through a virtual platform, Becker said the Cougars are making the best of it and fully understand the situation.

“It’s tough. I don’t know these guys. I got to meet them once in person. But these are unique circumstances. It’s certainly better than nothing. The fact that we’re able to see each other’s faces is great,” said Becker. “We’re making the best of it, and it’s another lesson, really. It’s resilience, it’s optimism, it’s an opportunity to make the best of a tough situation. Our kids are doing that admirably.”

After the CIAC recently ruled that teams could begin non-contact sport-specific skillwork on Aug. 29, H-K stepped on the practice field for the first time this year two days later. The CIAC also announced that the six-game regular season will begin on Thursday, Oct. 1, instead of Thursday, Sept. 24. Coach Becker said the Cougars are cautiously optimistic about playing football this fall.

“The understanding from our guys is pretty realistic—that this is a one-day-at-a-time thing, and that it’s a fluid, evolving situation,” Becker said. “The lesson we can take from this is that we still have to show up every day and work hard to become the best we can be. Whether we get six games or no games, that doesn’t change the fact that we’re working every day to become better.”

The opening practice gave Becker his long-awaited chance to become acclimated with his squad. Becker called the 2020 season “the journey of 1,000 miles” and said the first practice is a major step on that journey.

Becker plans to have H-K focus on team speed at its practices. He said the Cougars will be running max effort 40-yard dashes, after which their times will be posted, so that everyone on the coaching staff knows where they stand. After the team starts to improve in the speed department, H-K will begin working on improving its skills on the field.

Practices will last for just one hour with the athletes broken up into groups of 10 people or less per CIAC guidelines. Becker said the Cougars are starting from scratch and want to make sure that their training is safe above all else.

Of the 54 players on this year’s roster, 22 of them are seniors. Even though he’s been communicating with them from a distance, Becker said that he’s been impressed with his seniors’ dedication to football in these unusual circumstances. One of those seniors is Alex Riccitelli, who enters his second campaign as H-K’s quarterback. Becker is also pleased with the leadership of senior captain two-way lineman Thomas Perry, who the coach praised for doing an excellent job of keeping the team unified during the offseason.

“It’s been awesome. I communicate with Thomas, and he gets the information to the team. They are working really hard on their own, and that’s another huge piece here,” said Becker. “Great teams have kids who want to become the best they can be. If a coach has to push you to become better, that’s a setup that’s not going to last. These guys want to be better, and it’s a reflection of our seniors and the older guys on the team.”

As he takes on his new role, Becker wants to help H-K have a solid season. However, beyond the wins and losses, he also wants to shape the culture of the Cougars through leadership and behavior, which, in turn, will generate success.

“Leaders create culture. Every kid has 20 square feet, and what you do in those square feet is either going to bring the culture up or down. Culture drives behavior. What you do, how you train, how you recover, how seriously you take football—that’s the behavior that comes from culture,” Becker said. “Behavior creates results. Any great program has the same culture of success. And sometimes the ball bounces funny, there’s some bumps in the road, but that’s life, and you get through it.”