High Impact Times: Happy Holidays From The NFP Sports Family
A guest article from MetalNED, the ECCs commitment to mental health, multiple new fundraisers.
"From All of Us at NFP Sports, we wish you and yours the very best of the Holiday Season. May it be safe and filled with family, friends, fun and lots of memories."
The Great Career of Paul “Wally” Christensen
A Guest Post From MetalNED
A lot has happened during Paul “Wally” Christensen’s 36 seasons (and 663 games) as East Lyme boys’ soccer coach, and he easily rattle off which years his team played for a CIAC state title as well as the opponent and the score. The 1989 Vikings were the first team in program history to made it to a state championship (Class L) where they were overwhelmed by powerhouse Guilford, which won five state titles that decade. Christensen’s 2002 team finished as Class L co-champions with Wethersfield. East Lyme lost in the 2003 and 2008 Class L finals, too.
The Vikings gave Christensen another final to add to his list and a memory that will be near the top of his list — they beat Notre Dame of West Haven, 3-2, to win the Class L championship on Nov. 18. “They get ingrained in you,” Christensen said about playing in state championship games. “Getting (to the 2023 L final) and winning it outright is certainly a special feeling because it’s yours. We’re not sharing it with anybody, so it was (very) meaningful for these kids.
“There were lots of tears on the bus. There were lots of tears on that field. There were lots of tears in the stands. They were happy tears, for sure.” It was Christensen’s 405th win at East Lyme. He was named the 2023 Boys’ Fall New England Region High School Coach of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches.
The 2023 Vikings began the season with the potential to win a state title as they had 16 seniors as well as some underclassmen that had been key role-players last season. Christensen played 17 players at times during the season and said his 2002 team was the only one that could come close to matching the amount of depth he had with this team.
Too much depth can turn into a negative, though, when players care more about how much playing time, they get than the team. “I talk to each kid before the season starts and tell them what they’re role is,” Christensen said. “They bought into it. They were willing to accept (their roles), and I always try to keep kids on the team.
“There were some kids coming off the bench that played very, very important minutes for us. I think they as the season went on, they accepted their roles, and they relished it. Without that, you're not going to be successful, and to their credit they accepted it, and they were able to put the (championship) medal around their neck like everybody else.” East Lyme (21-1-1) would go on to the win the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I title. It edged Norwich Free Academy, 4-3, to win its second straight ECC Division I tournament championship.
The Vikings won three of their four state tournament games by scores of 2-1, including a double overtime win over Simsbury in the second round on Nov. 9. They also knocked out Bethel, the South-West Conference champion, 3-0 in the quarterfinals (Nov. 11). The Class L final was scoreless at the half but had a frantic final 49 minutes. Robbie Stoddard scored on Ryan Wargo’s corner kick to give East Lyme a 1-0 lead with 31 minutes, 58 seconds left in regulation. Notre Dame tied the game at 26:04. Stoddard scored again on an assist from Dom Stefanski to put the Vikings back ahead with 15:03 remaining. Stoddard had seven goals and two assists in the tournament.
“He pulled his hamstring in the first round of the tournament, so we had to adjust a little bit,” Christensen said. “He played as much as he could but when it tightened up, he’d come out of the game and rub it out. “He pretty much didn’t practice for those two weeks (during the tournament) because he was with a trainer the whole time working his hamstring, so that was his practice. Basically, he’d watch film with us and then he went to the trainer.” The Green Knights tied the game again with 11 minutes left.
The Vikings’ Finian Gates scored the go-ahead goal with 4:09 remaining. “(Gates) came off the bench and scores the winning goal,” Christensen said. “That depth certainly helped us go a long way. “It was tense for sure. It was exciting for sure. It was a fun game to watch, at least from the stands, not so much from the sidelines from my perspective because it’s nerve-wracking. … Win, lose, or draw we knew we showed our best effort out there, so I was happy, certainly.”
The ECC Closes a Strong 2023 With a Commitment to Mental Health
Back in the early summer, I was asked to meet with Paul and Ann Dagle of the Brian Dagle Foundation. The meeting was requested by incoming ECC President, Marc Romano. It was one of several meetings that Marc helped to set up in our quest to increase the ECC’s sponsorship revenue coming off a few lean years, following the Covid-19 pandemic. Our meetings and outreach last summer were very fruitful, securing sponsorships with supportive companies, such as Valenti Auto Group, JayPro Sports, Metro Team Sports, Kelley’s Pace, Vocatura’s Bakery and Domino’s of southeastern Connecticut.
This meeting with the Brian Dagle Foundation was different. Instead of discussing the traditional value proposition with a business who wanted to promote their brand while supporting local sports, this was about awareness. It was a pivot from what we were focusing on at the time but one that we didn’t question taking on for one second. The foundation is named after Brian Dagle, who died by suicide in November of 2011. He was known for his love for life, for family and for friends. Their mission statement on their website reads:
Our Mission
The Brian Dagle Foundation — anchored in hope and empowered to support, is dedicated to the healing of grieving adults as well as community education on mental health and suicide awareness.
The foundation is extremely active through several events and programs. Their most notable events are their annual Golf Tournament and Niantic Jingle Bell 5K. Their Lax2Live Lacrosse program is what most student-athletes and coaches know them for.
In addition to their events and programs, they offer multiple support groups, which can be found here:
For the ECC, the goal was to acknowledge a topic that is increasing important, mental health and suicide awareness. In that spirit, we invited four student athletes from ECC member schools to participate in a series of video interviews in the late summer.
Links to the video interviews can be accessed on the following page on the ECC website: http://www.eccathletics.org/briandaglefoundation-304096.html
We would like to thank the following student-athletes for partaking in this endeavor:
Boden Frost, Fitch High School
Spencer Kennedy, East Lyme High School
Maddie LaForte, Waterford High School
Madison McLeod, Ledyard High School
This is just the beginning of a great relationship between the ECC and Brian Dagle Foundation. We look forward to being part of it and helping to spread awareness. We encourage everyone to visit brianshealinghearts.org to find out more.
CHSCA Field Hockey Banquet Photos
We wanted to thank everyone who attended the CHSCA Field Hockey Banquet. The event truly was great as it is alway fantastic to see some of the states best student athletes get honored.
If you’re looking to purchase pictures from the banquet of the Class L, S or M first or second teams, you can click on THIS LINK. From there, you’ll be able to click on the photo you’d like to purchase and you will be prompted to choose the quantity and sizing of the photo. It’s as easy as that! These photos serve as a great memento to remember your student athletes accolades.
Other CHSCA Banquet Photos
Over the past month and a half, many CHSCA All State banquets have been held in order to celebrate the best student athletes that Connecticut has to offer. To commemorate the Cross Country, Girls’ Volleyball and Girls’ Swimming and Diving, you can click on the links below to purchase photos from those banquets.
CHSCA Cross Country Banquet Photos: CLICK HERE!
CHSCA Girls’ Volleyball Banquet Photos: CLICK HERE!
CHSCA Girls’ Swimming and Diving Banquet Photos: CLICK HERE!
CHSCA Football All State Banquet Sets A Date
To wrap up all of this talk about banquets, we’re happy to announce that the CHSCA Football All State banquet has set a date for January 17th, 2024. The banquet will take place at the Aqua Turf in Southington, CT from 6:30PM to 9:00PM.
If you’re interested in purchasing tickets for the banquet, you can CLICK HERE! If you purchase tickets prior to midnight on January 11th, tickets are $55.00 and if you purchase between January 12th and January 15th, the tickets cost $70.00. After January 15th at noon, no tickets will be available.
East Lyme Boys' Soccer All State Championship Ring Campaign
This years Class L Boys' Soccer State Champions were the East Lyme Vikings. Hailing from the ECC, they earned the three seed in the Class L tournament and beat Windsor, Simsbury, Bethel, Cheshire and finally Notre Dame-West Haven at Trinity Health Stadium in the finals. Through the tournament, they outscored opponents 12-5.
With their season concluding and the celebration from winning a state championship over, the Vikings are looking towards next season with an intention to repeat on this past seasons success. In order for them to be a successful team, they need to fundraise. Right now, you can donate to the Class L State Champion East Lyme Vikings by clicking on THIS LINK. From there, you’ll be able to choose which student athlete you’d like to support with your donation and then you can pick the amount. This is an awesome way to support the Vikings in their quest to repeat in 2024.
Plainville Wrestling Coffee Cake Fundraiser
Nothing is better on a winter morning than a nice cup of coffee, or hot chocolate with some coffee cake. If you’re interested in purchasing a delicious coffee cake that comes in six different flavors, you can click on THIS LINK or scan the QR code below.
Whether you pick cinnamon, apple walnut or pumpkin spice, you won’t be disappointed. Every purchase of a coffee cake will directly benefit the Plainville High School wrestling team as they’re gearing up for a huge season on the mat.
Conard Wrestling Online Donation Campaign
This wrestling season, the Conard High School wrestling team is fundraising through an online donations campaign. To donate to the Red Wolves and ensure that they have a great season, all you have to do is click on THIS LINK or scan the QR code that’s attached below. From there, you’ll be able to choose which student athlete you’d like to support with your donation and then you can pick the amount. This is an awesome way to support the Conard wrestling team as they also gear up for an exciting season.
Hall Wrestling Online Donation Campaign
This wrestling season, the Hall High School wrestling team is fundraising through an online donations campaign. To donate to the Titan wrestling team and ensure that they have a great season, all you have to do is click on THIS LINK or scan the QR code that’s attached below. From there, you’ll be able to choose which student athlete you’d like to support with your donation and then you can pick the amount. This is an awesome way to support the Hall wrestling team as they also gear up for an exciting season.
Thank You To Our Sponsors
The NFP team would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of the sponsors who work with us and make it possible to highlight the high school athletes across the state of Connecticut. Thank you to:
Buffalo Wild Wings
Stadium System
University Orthopedic
Domino's of Southeastern CT
Game On & JayPro Sports
We appreciate their continuous support and hope that you’ll frequent them in the future.
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If you’re interested in fundraising with NFP or looking to work with us on the sports marketing front, you can send an email to james@nfpbrands.com.