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02/19/2013 11:00 PMAfter a successful career on the gridiron, Anthony Avallone has come full circle. The North Branford graduate has returned to where it all began at the amateur level to dynamically change the Guilford Youth Football program while helping young teens prepare to become fine athletes and adults.
Following being a football and track star with the Thunderbirds, Anthony received a football scholarship to Central Connecticut. Anthony has taken this sports experience to aid in the process of molding boys into even better young adults through football. Personal and professional success through athletics is nothing new for Anthony.
"I just love working with these kids from day to day," says Anthony, who is also a managing partner for Reitman Personnel in Branford, a full service staffing firm that places multiple candidates in various industries. "I try to put the kids into a situation where they can not only be successful with the sport, but also develop into men. Football offers a lot of learning lessons and, while it is important to be competitive, there are so many of them kids learn throughout the season with training camps, practices, and games. With my job at the search firm, I'm able to meet and evaluate talent. They are successful people for a variety of reasons, but the one common thread is that they were all involved with competitive athletics at some point in their lives."
Anthony has continued to be a coach in an organization that has yielded great success both on the scoreboard and in building strong values and relationships between fellow players and coaches. Anthony feels that when everything coalesces together, it's a concrete example of all the positive aspects of sports among children and teenagers.
"A major part of the program is what people are able to get out of it," says Anthony, who was the 2004 recipient of the Branford Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year Award. "From Aug. 1 to the first week of November, we are all working. I and the others have changed the culture from being just a team to becoming a program. The commitment everyone puts into it has been great. We must have the smartest kids in the Shoreline Conference because all our kids are great in the classroom. When we all work together, it is an example of what is right about youth sports. The kids, of course, play other sports, but they have such a commitment of time and energy to the program."
Like most town team coaches of younger athletes, Anthony acknowledges the communal aspect of the game. He adds that while the kids are dedicated to making the next level of playing under the lights on Fridays, it also wouldn't be possible without the sacrifices of the parents.
"Like anything, you get out of it what you put into it," says Anthony, who coached the 7th grade team this past fall. "But none of it is possible for others and I without the sacrifices of the parents, along with the kids. There is a sense of community that develops through this with the kids competing for that next spot at the high school level."
Following a recent hot topic with the NFL, Anthony has helped address the issue of player safety. The solutions have not only been with hardware, but also the teaching component he puts into it.
"There has been a lot of discussion about concussions at this level," says Anthony. "But football is an emotional and physical game so those are factors you really want to evaluate when considering playing. Yet we really took time to invest in new helmets and shoulder pads, along with teaching the kids how make correct contact without making unnecessary blows."
Michele Robertino, a parent of an athlete who plays for Anthony, appreciates his hard work.
"Coaching means investing your life in others. Anthony's great efforts have made a difference in my son's experience. He constantly builds the boys' self-esteem and builds team camaraderie," says Robertino.
Looking at his experience with coaching, Anthony feels it has been as rewarding as it has been demanding. For him, it is more about the boys' development rather than the wins and losses.
"I tell my kids that I get as much fun out of working with them as I hope they do working with me," says Anthony, who gives credit to all his former coaches and various clients for success. "The best part of it all is the emails I get from parents telling me how much more confident their sons are after playing with this team. I feel that even if we go 0-8, which we rarely do, I am still doing my job in helping these kids become young men."