Luke Szyluk has played soccer his whole life.
The Longmeadow junior, who currently plays running back for the Lancers, had to put soccer aside his first two years of high school as both soccer and football take place during the fall season.
With the coronavirus pandemic delaying the high school football season in Massachusetts until the Fall II season, however, Szyluk found the opportunity to return to the pitch in a shortened season for the defending Division I state champions.
In the winter, Szyluk made the transition to the hardwood as a member of the basketball team, before ditching the shorts and sneakers for football pads and cleats. As a standout lacrosse player as well for Longmeadow, he is one of 17 student-athletes at the school this year to participate in four separate seasons.
According to Szyluk, the skills he develops from each sport blend together.
“Soccer gave me that speed and agility, basketball gave me that defense and footwork and then football gives me that mentality to get hit and get back up,” he said. “It all leads up to my main sport, lacrosse, so everything helps out and works out so when lacrosse comes, I’ll be ready.”
Lancers athletic director Michael Capotosto commended the 10 girls and seven boys “on pace to participate in all four sport seasons,” recognizing that for those like Szyluk, it could mean returning to a sport they haven’t had the opportunity to play for a long time.
“Some of those student-athletes stepped out of their comfort zone and participated on a sports team that they have not competed in many years,” Capotosto said. “Again, we are lucky here at LHS that many of our student-athletes are multi-sport athletes.”
When asked how he balances the constant activity with life off the field (or court), Szyluk credited years of practice for his ability to do so.
“It’s really not too bad because I’ve been used to it all my life,” he said. “Just always playing a sport, always getting up to go somewhere, I’ve been prepared for it.”
“I always love doing something,” Szyluk added. “I’m not a person to usually wanna sit down and not go somewhere. I’m always on the move, that’s just always how it’s been.”
Backyard football (almost)
As a result of the football season’s delay, high school players across the state woke up on Thanksgiving morning without the usual excitement of preparing for a game versus a heated rival.
One rivalry, Agawam and West Springfield, will be reignited this Friday when the two schools meet on the gridiron for the first time since the fourth-ranked Terriers shutout the No. 9 Brownies 48-0 on Thanksgiving in 2019.
Eager to break a three-game losing streak versus West Side, Agawam head coach John Benjamin said “it would mean the world” to bring home a victory for his hometown.
“We didn’t have our Thanksgiving game last year, and me and Chad (Labonte) were on the phone texting back-and-forth that morning,” Benjamin said.
“We would’ve played in a backyard in a cow field if we could’ve gotten all the guys together and wouldn’t have gotten fired,” he added. “We thought maybe we’ll play on St. Patrick’s Day or Easter, but we’re gonna do a random Friday on April and that’s OK with us.”
Junior Vinny Wallace, who secured an interception in last week’s 35-7 victory over East Longmeadow, is eager to carry over the momentum into this Friday’s showdown.
“We just gotta focus in practice, just keep our heads up,” he said. “We’re focused on West Side, one hundred percent. We’re going in there, it’s gonna be a dog fight but I think we’ll take it.”
No preparation, no problem
When its Week 3 game versus Easthampton got canceled, the Ware football team began turning its attention to Palmer, the Indians’ Week 4 opponent.
After finishing practice this past Friday, however, Ware players returned to their homes to a message from head coach Mike Fazio.
“We get home from practice and we get a call from coach saying ‘guys, we are playing Chicopee tomorrow at 12,” Ware quarterback Dillon Slattery said.
Because COVID-19 concerns led to the Northampton program going into quarantine, Chicopee suddenly had an opening in its schedule, and a contest between the Pacers and Indians was quickly born.
Instead of the traditional week-long preparation, Ware had to settle for watching film the night before the game.
It ended up being all the preparation they needed, as Ware defeated Chicopee 14-0 behind a passing and rushing touchdown for Slattery.
“We thought ‘oh my, we haven’t really done anything to prepare for this,’” Slattery said. “Usually we spend a couple of days watching film, but it was a good experience.
“It’s kinda fun not knowing what you are going against. It was a fun time.”
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