My Two Cents

By Bill Riccio, Jr.

High school athletics begins anew.

The beginning of the school year has an important dividend – high school athletics. Tuesday night, the fall season of the school year opened for several sports. The football season, the iconic fall sport, still has another week to go before the season kicks off on Sept. 12-14. The dividend is important, not only to the thousands of student-athletes that play on the courts, swim in the pool, or run up and down a field. It is a unifying link in many communities. West Haven ranks well in that category.

High school sports are an extension of the classroom in the lessons the various team participants learn. Many times, today, courts or playing fields are the only place youngsters learn these lessons. They include winning gracefully, losing with class, dealing with success, but more importantly, dealing with adversity, getting along with others even if you do not like some of your teammates, listening to authority figures like coaches and officials, and, finally, extending your own boundaries and finding out what you can accomplish.

In West Haven sports talk always includes the local high school and the games and teams they face. Talk to a parent or grandparent, aunt or uncle, and the talk with gravitate toward the recent exploits of the local teams, be they West Haven, Notre Dame, Sacred Heart Academy, Lauralton Hall, even Fairfield Prep or Career. The city has athletes in all these institutions and more.

But we said it is a unifying element in a community. That is as true today in West Haven as it was decades ago. We take pride in our athletes, and we take pride in those students who do not take part in athletic endeavors. But it is in athletics that unity comes because most people relate to it, even those who never donned a pair of spikes or cleats.

And there is another reason high school athletics are different: they represent the purest of competition. Those who participate represent their schools and their communities. They are looked up to by youngsters who play in youth leagues, who hope to be in their shoes someday. It is also a part of those who have played in past years. Many are fans now that their playing days are over, and they support those who don the school colors now. It is being part of something bigger than yourself.

Those who don the blue and white of West Haven, or the Green and Gold of Notre Dame, or the red and white of Sacred Heart are doing so for the love of the game, and the love of the competition. While many hope to go onto playing athletics in post-secondary institutions, the fact is for more than 90 percent of those who play in high school, their career ends with the final game as a senior.

Those who run onto the fields at local high schools, for example our West Haven Blue Devils this week are working hard to hone their skills, many knowing the final whistle, or buzzer come October or November will spell the end of their competing days.

College athletics, especially on the higher levels, has been tainted by money, transfer portals, and the idea that winning is the only result that is acceptable. It has lost the idea of athletics as an extension of the classroom. Let us hope that never happens in secondary school play. There are lessons to learn, and ways to conduct oneself. Adolescents need that in a culture that is getting increasingly isolated.

Good luck ladies and gentlemen. Play hard, play fair, and represent your school and your community in the best conceivable way.

West Haven Twilight League

One of West Haven’s contributions to athletics in the greater New Haven area is the West Haven Twilight League. For those new to the city, or who never had paid much attention, WHTL completed its 92nd season. The league was formed on a park bench on the West Haven Green in 1933 and has been a summer baseball staple ever since. We were reminded of this over the last couple of weeks when the league announced its 60th annual Gold Bat Awars. Full transparency, this writer was a 2004 recipient of the award for his many years (35) as an umpire in the league. I have always had a fondness for the league and for the competition it offers local players.

In the 70s through the 2000s, WHTL was one of the premier leagues for collegiate players in the area. With the arrival of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, the Connecticut Collegiate Baseball League and others, the league is not getting the top-tier players it once did. But the competition is just as fierce and just as even as it always was.

While it began its existence at Noyes Field, Painter Park, the advent of metal bats made the old park a bit passe. That was too bad because many residents remember a summer night spent sitting on the benches or walking around enjoying the summer breezes. The new reality meant the league had to move to Quigley Stadium. The new venue, used since about 1980, offered bigger dimensions, but lights as well.

While things have changed for the league, it is an institution in the city, and one of the longest continuous senior baseball leagues in the country. Some say the longest.

Having something last for 92 seasons is quite a feat. It is due to the hard work of many individuals who want to see the institution continue. Best wishes to them as they celebrate the 60th Gold Bat — and many more!

Condolences to the Chambrelli Family

West Haven boasts many great families and many great “sports” families. Among them is the Chambrelli family, which has a long connection with baseball, in particular. The family suffered a setback recently with the death of George Chambrelli, Jr.

A great athlete in his own right in his younger days, Chambrelli was a coach, parent supporter, and all-round good guy when it came to helping leagues in the city. The last time I saw the paterfamilias was at Veterans Field last year watching a Pop Warner game and rooting for his grandson.

Always smiling and always having a good word, the elder Chambrelli was a family man who took pride in his children and his grandchildren. And he was never alone, wife Dorothy, who did a few stints as an elected official in town, was always by his side, and always cheering on the home team.

We offer our condolences to Dorothy, and the Chambrelli children, who have followed in dad’s footsteps, cheering their kids on, and coaching and supporting local youth. The legacy continues.