Even though we’re coming to the end of our fall sports season, a moment of recognition for the rest of the Fall Sports captains can’t come a moment too soon. This year, seniors Alessandra (Allie) Borzillo, Ariella Guadalupe, Gianna Dilapi, and Giulia D’Onofrio were chosen to captain the Girls Soccer team; Chris Lucero, Jared Castillo, and Anthony Lucci were appointed captains of the Boys Soccer team; and William Mensah, Blake Charboneau, and Joshua Hutchinson are the football team captains. Appointed to their position by their coaches and, in the case of the football team, supported by the election of their teammates, the EHHS captains took up their roles just before the season started so they could start strong. Managing larger sports teams with many captains requires a lot of camaraderie and responsibility, and there are always some challenges along the way. Let’s learn more about our captains!

Girls Soccer: Scoring Goals While Setting Them

Ariella was given a choice: soccer, or volleyball. She chose soccer, and has never looked back. A ten-year veteran, Ariella played with the New Haven Youth league in third and fourth grade, but since has played for East Haven; she hopes to continue soccer in college, too. Ariella, a part of the track team in her sophomore year and a member of the marching band in junior year (where she played the saxophone and the clarinet), is currently a speedy left wing. She had a short stint as goalie in 8th grade, and would not recommend—“I got hit too many times in the face,” she laughed—and she’s also played other positions on defense. She only started playing left wing (an offensive position) until she got to EHHS, even though she’d only previously been a center back, where there’s more emphasis on communication and it’s easier on her asthma. Because of her asthma, she had to come up with signals for when she is on the field so coaches know when to substitute her. When she’s not jumping up and down or doing the chicken dance as a signal for coaches, Ariella is taking charge behind the scenes, where she’s been the backbone of the fundraisers for the team. “You have a huge responsibility on getting everything done. You can’t really be late,” she said. “For example, ordering uniforms: do you have everything on time? You have to make sure it’s all done.” Responsibility is a huge part of a captaincy, but so is perseverance. Being a first-year captain, there were a lot of unknowns when it came to leading this season. She said, “No one taught me how to fundraise. No one taught me how to set everything up, how to order everything, so trying to figure out how to do that [was tricky]. And then it’s also hard communicating because we have so many captains that are also trying to get things done.” Since the beginning of the year, the girls have learned to assign responsibility as needed, but they’ve also learned to lean on each other, too. “Gianna, because she has done softball before, knew how to fundraise and everything—so I would ask her questions on how to do it,” Ariella said.

Gianna played soccer in 8th grade, but took a break after a concussion instilled a bit of fear of the sport; at the encouragement of her teammates, in addition to her missing the sport, Gianna returned in her junior year after two years of volleyball and added two years of EHHS soccer to her belt. “It’s different than all the other sports I’ve played,” Gianna said. “[There’s] something about soccer that’s just amazing. It’s a beautiful sport, honestly.”

Gianna plays the left or right wing position, and her personal goal for the season was to create a drama-free, supportive space for her teammates and establish a foundation of chemistry for her and the girls. 

Meanwhile, Allie has been playing soccer for around 12 years, 3 of which have been with EHHS. She was recently named Spotlight Athlete for the month of October. She too has done the recreation league in East Haven, and has also been a part of the JMMS soccer team. Allie has dabbled in many sports, including basketball, volleyball, and football, but soccer has had a special place in her heart since her aunt introduced it to her as a kid. Allie, a center back, loves the sport because of how everyone works together, the adrenaline rush of playing and hearing the stands cheering and the life lessons it teaches. “Mistakes are gonna happen, but the mistakes are just second chances to leap for bigger success, and that’s one thing that soccer has definitely taught me. The amount of times that I’ve messed up, and I took those lessons and I used them, I succeeded bigger. I’ve done it a lot in soccer and it taught me…that that’s how it’s always gonna be with everything,” Allie said. She’s used her experiences and lessons to try and uplift those around her, and she’s excited about helping those on the team perform to the best of their ability. This mindset of motivation and perseverance falls in line with why the girls feel like they were given the captaincy: because they are responsible, committed, take initiative, and push their teammates to be their best. 

When teammate and co-captain Giulia was in Italy, she was always kicking a soccer ball around. But when she came to America, sports slowed down for her. Giulia found her passion for soccer again after she was a flyer in middle school cheer, saw someone break their leg after a fall, and thought: no thanks. She’s since spent four years with the EHHS team and a year or so with the middle school’s team. Giulia is a right back—a defensive position—so she, like Allie and Gianna, longs to score a goal, a task commonly executed by forwards (an offensive position). Despite her lack of goal scoring, “I’ve always liked the sport,” Giulia said. “[But] having a good team around you just makes it even better. It wouldn’t be as enjoyable if it wasn’t for a team. In soccer, you need a lot of chemistry, and that’s what our team has.”

Giulia wanted to bond with the girls, and didn’t want them to be intimidated or feel nervous to make mistakes in front of the other captains. “Being a captain means being a leader, being a role model, being someone that the younger girls can look up to,” she said. “I would like to be someone that they could come to and talk to, like not someone that [they’re] scared of. I think it’s because they’re more comfortable speaking to us, and they’re more comfortable with us on the field, and that’s what leads us to where we are.” 

The girls led their team to states with a tie against Career, and chemistry was a large part of it. Ariella said their car wash fundraiser was filled with fun and “help[ed] to get the girls together and bond”, especially those on JV and Varsity. A team tradition that also helps bridge that divide are their Sunday pasta dinners, where the girls (and sometimes the boys soccer team) bond at the dinner table and play games—volleyball, for example, iconically. Additionally, the two soccer teams have built a strong support system where they make sure to show up for each others’ away games, which is something the girls hope lasts longer than this season and long after they’ve graduated from EHHS. But there were a lot of speed bumps in getting there: Giulia sprained her ankle in sophomore year, and leaving it untreated left her in a boot for a portion of her junior year season, and in senior year she missed some time due to a concussion; Ariella has had six concussions, one of which kept her off the field for a month—but she “came back running”; Gianna, on the other hand, has had three concussions in her four years at EHHS alone, got Achilles tendonitis in freshman year, and she tore her labrum junior year and needed surgery in February; and last season, Allie got hit in the eye and was sent to the ER. She also dislocated both of her kneecaps and has an undiagnosed knee issue currently, but is determined to push through for this season. Despite a multitude of injuries, the girls let their passion fuel their play on the field, and no amount of pain can keep them off of it. With their season now over, Ariella said the next step is to “get the banquet done, and then, hopefully, get the girls to join indoor in spring to keep going.” With captains that are dedicated to the culture, the sport, and their girls, the girl’s soccer team is set to create a legacy in years to come.

Boys Soccer: Taking Charge After a Coaching Change

A versatile left, right, and center back, Jared has been playing for nine years in youth leagues and club teams. He hasn’t done any other sports, besides swimming classes, he laughs, which was when he was around five months old. “My older brother, he basically inspired me, because he played and I was interested as a child, so that’s why I started playing,” Jared said.  After playing for EHHS in freshman and sophomore year, Jared took a step back junior year to focus on his schoolwork, but returned as a senior—and he’s been captain of his club teams, so he has experience with the role that made the return easier. His goal for this season was to get back in shape and rediscover the sport he fell in love with and so thoroughly missed. “I went back into it, and although I could still play, I lost my stamina really badly,” Jared said. “I’d say my work ethic was definitely [about] mentality and a lot of practice to get back into it, and telling myself: work hard. This is the last year.”

Additionally, Jared has high-arched feet, which has been difficult for him to play with on the field—he’s needed physical therapy, but he says it was worth it. “It didn’t just improve my playing soccer, but it improved my daily life,” he said. 

Chris, a right back, has played soccer all throughout middle and high school. Chris grew up watching soccer, as his mom is a huge soccer fan. He played all four years at EHHS; he spent his first two years mostly on the bench, but after a coaching change, Chris saw an opportunity to show his growth and who he was as a player. “I thought, this year, I could prove myself and bring back my confidence,” he said. “I showed I wanted to be on the team. I put more effort in…and [Coach] started to play me instead of [others].” Chris’s motivation has spread to his teammates, just as Jared’s personality and experience and Anthony’s dedication and reliability provides support for the team too.

Anthony, a returning captain from last year, is a center back and has played soccer for 5 years, and he’s previously done a bit of wrestling and football before he found soccer as his passion (though he does track in the offseason). “What drew me to soccer was Jared Castillo,” Anthony joked. “No, I started watching the sport during COVID. I had really nothing else to do except play soccer. And then, obviously, it was hard to find a team, so I just kind of kicked around, got used to it. And that’s when I started playing, once we started going back to school.” Anthony has since received some college offers, including those from SUNY Purchase, Elms College, and Mitchell College, which was a goal of his for the season. His journey in getting there began with his first year of high school at Notre Dame, where he continued to play soccer after the pandemic. At Notre Dame, Anthony pushed himself a little too hard in an attempt to impress coaches and players, and developed a heart condition that left him prone to fainting on the field. He said, “I went from being a kid that would get a lot of minutes and start to kind of getting overlooked. They kind of lost respect for me, and they had players fill in [my position].” Anthony then explained, “It wasn’t something that was able to go away, but I tried to do as many sports as I can to stay active, so that my body’s more used to the constant moving.” Once he transferred to East Haven, he found it tricky to adjust to the different organization and routines of the boys soccer team. And once there was a coaching change, Anthony saw an opportunity to bring some of his Notre Dame experience over to EHHS to improve the program. The coaching change was a major improvement not only to the program overall, but to the boys individually. “[Our new coach] was a huge step up into how we made states this year,” Anthony credited, as the boys’ previous record of 7 and 9 qualified them for the next step in their tournament. “He’s able to make us connect on the field…We’re more of a united team. Everyone’s done their part so far. We’re lucky enough to have both talented and disciplined players. That’s where I think the switch really came from.”

And while there being three captains makes it seem like it would be difficult to lead, the boys handle it with ease. “All of us have the same goals for the team, so it’s not like, he’s gonna do this, I’m gonna—no. We all have certain expectations and we all have to [lead] the team. So if I have to speak up, he has to do it too,” Jared said.

“It was more of a learning experience for all of us,” Anthony said. “But as the season has progressed, we’ve all kind of learned. We all do our own part.” 

“If one of us is not here,” Chris explained, “both of us teach the team or talk to them. We never teach alone. We’re always there for each other.”

To prepare for states, they planned to do more “intense and disciplined training” so that they can reinforce the new behaviors and attitudes that they as captains were trying to shape into a helpful team dynamic. And though time in the tournament has since ended, there’s more to soccer than just winning. The boys are focused on their own improvement. “The next step is to keep pushing, work on all our flaws,” Chris said. Jared added, “There’s obviously things we still need to work on…from specific players, in terms of their playing style, their attitudes—those are things that I hope by the end of the season we got worked out so they could look just as good or even better next season.” However, for our captains, there won’t be a next season—they’re all graduating seniors. But they’re hoping the lessons they leave behind will linger longer than they’ll physically be able to. “Be humble,” Jared advised. “Doesn’t matter what team you play for, no matter where you’ve played, you’re playing for this team—you don’t look down on anybody, you don’t look at yourself as above anybody, and on the field, you make mistakes. It happens. But you can’t be having bad reactions. That’s what I hope I leave behind. [The idea] to trust your teammates, and not let them down all the time. Encourage them…Become more like a family… a team, not just players.”

“Give it your all,” Chris said. “Put 100% effort in. East Haven is a serious program.”

“Our older players, [our] upperclassmen, they’ve started to take that leadership step,” Anthony began, “and I hope it follows throughout the rest of the grades, especially next year. I just hope that that leadership and the mentality stay the same. I trust the coach and the players we have next year.”

Football: For the Love of the Game

William has been in love with football since kindergarten, where he began watching the NFL while bonding with his father. Starting in 8th grade, Will has stayed with the game because he finds that it gives him clarity, and began his EHHS career on the Varsity team. “I actually have genuine love for the game,” he said. “I like my position. I like what I do, that feeling of dominance, and it’s also almost like a sense of clarity because to play football, your mind, your body, and your emotions all have to be aligned for you to be able to play the game—how you need to play the game—to win.”

On defense, Will has played at defensive end and linebacker; on offense, he has played tackle and tight end. His current positions for this season are defensive end and tackle. “Offense and defense are different, but my positions, just because of my body type and my athletic ability and what I’m good at, they all kind of sit in the same realm,” Will explained. “All my positions thrive off the edge…off my wingspan, my height, and my speed.” Will tries to be a player that all of his teammates can rely on—so he worked hard this summer to become the best athlete he can be. Along with eating and sleeping well, Will tried to improve in areas that he wasn’t the best at. Acknowledging that nobody is perfect, Will made sure to make his catching more consistent. A talented pass rusher, Will also worked on defeating run blocks, and tried to improve his speed and strength. Will was a few votes short of All-State last year, so he hopes this year he proved those who voted ‘No’ that he’s earned a ‘Yes’ vote for All-States.

Josh, a football player for 11 years, finds football to be a good outlet for frustrations, and loves the rush of adrenaline that the sport brings. A defensive linebacker, Josh feels that the sport has taught him the meaning of discipline, and that discipline has bled into his off-the-field life. 

Blake was similarly inspired by watching the NFL with his dad, but he originally started out playing baseball—because his brother did—before he began participating in youth league football and later tackle football by third grade. Blake works with his personal trainer, who he’s been with since third grade, on agility “‘cause you have to have quick feet for a lineman; be sturdy when someone’s coming at you”, and strength. Blake is a tight end and a defensive lineman (but he prefers linemen because he loves butting helmets), and is drawn to football because of his love for the rush of adrenaline that Josh similarly enjoys. “I enjoy the feeling of when you hit someone, when you’re running to go get someone, just the energy you need to play the sport,” Blake said. Blake was fortunate enough to obtain scholarships from multiple colleges, including URI, UCONN, Boston College, Western New England University, Wilkes University, and more; he wants to commit to a college for football by the end of the season. The offers allude to Blake’s talents, but his talents were removed from the field when he sprained his ankle in two places in a game against Lyman Hall. He was out for about a month, and Blake said, “When I came back on Wednesday, I’ve never seen a smile [like the one] on Josh’s little face until I got back on the field, and [my teammates] were happy to have me back on the field…that shows how much that I meant to them, and [how much] they meant to me.”

Blake, Josh and Will have been playing football together since they were little kids, so their friendship and camaraderie is stronger than most. They know all about the discipline of the game—but Blake said it was difficult as a captain to instill that discipline to underclassmen in the beginning of the season, especially since there’s so many of them. “We’ve been here just like you guys,” Blake demonstrated saying to the students. “Freshman year, we were doing the same stuff as you guys. Can’t say no to us. 
We’ve been through all of that. That’s why we’re making you guys go through it, ’cause when you guys are gonna be seniors and captains, you guys are gonna do the same thing.” Josh also listed keeping morale high as a tricky part of being captain.  But looking back, the tough love made a difference. “I think I changed our whole mindset about it, ’cause, in the beginning of the season, the freshmen that came in were completely different to what the freshmen are now. So, I think I did a pretty good job in explaining everything about high school football to the freshman,” Blake said. After telling football coach Scott Benoit that transferring to Lawrence Academy—a move he would’ve made for better chances at getting recognized for scholarships—wasn’t going to work out, Blake found out about his captaincy when Coach later then said congratulations. It was a little different for Will and Josh though, who discovered their captaincy when they were brought into the coach’s room and were faced with three names on a whiteboard: Blake’s, and their own. Reflecting on being awarded captaincy, Josh said it meant “everything” and sees it as a way to influence and inspire his peers, and while Will wasn’t actively trying to get the position of captain, he was honored nonetheless when he was chosen. Will said, “I love being in this position. I’m happy I have it…It definitely felt like an honor, but I also knew I had so much more responsibility.

Before this year I didn’t [realize] there’s a lot of stuff that we have to do and deal with and talk about with the coaches, in meetings and things like that.” Between balancing relationships between JV and Varsity, upperclassmen and underclassmen, the football captains have found that relying on each other is the best thing; each has their own role when it comes to the team. “Josh Hutchinson is a great leader by example. [He is] really accepting of younger kids and showing them the way to do things in a very calm, welcoming manner,” Coach Benoit explained. “Will and Blake are probably a little more vocal. But they’re all good players.” Agreeing with Coach, Will mentioned Josh as the natural role model of the team, and joked: “If I’m gonna send someone to punish you, I’m gonna send Blake.” While Blake is good at creating order on the team, he also brings energy to the field. “As soon as I get a tackle or do something good, I get energetic, the whole team brings their [energy] up…like a light switch turns on for everyone else,” said Blake. “And we just end up playing good from that point on.” 

Even though they didn’t make the playoffs, the goal now is finish strong. “Play the best that I could, since we have [a few] games left. Last of my senior season; gonna miss playing football,” Blake said. “Just play the best I could for the team. And, I would say probably to get at least two or three more wins before the end of the season.” And while all three of the boys are graduating, their impact will be here long after they’re gone. Josh hopes that that impact is a distinct example of not only what to do on the field, but how to carry oneself off of it. Blake, on the other hand, hopes that his gameplay can be passed down to the underclassmen, and said, “I feel like if I teach the little ones on how I play, they can definitely play like me, or sometimes even better than me. And that can help them and the team later on.” Aside from sportsmanship and gameplay, Will hopes that they’ve as captains created a supportive environment for the team as a whole.  “I want to always do right [by my teammates],” Will said. “I want to create a culture. I want to create an environment where they like [football]. I want them to walk out and at least have one person on the team that, if something happens, or something gets rough, they always hit them back up.”

Our captains have faced many ups and downs this season—injuries, losses, and more—but they keep persevering because of their love for their sports and their appreciation for their teammates. While some seasons are over and some have yet to finish, all of our athletes deserve the recognition they’ve earned. Together, they’ve made EHHS athletics a more positive, connected environment, and their enthusiasm for their sports will linger even as they go on to graduate.