Amidst Championship Season, Three Teachers Forge Connection Between Hen Hud, West Point
In the midst of a special season on the football field, three Hendrick Hudson teachers began to forge what they hope is a lasting bond between their school and coaching communities.
Blue Mountain Middle School social studies teachers Sean Kelly and Michael Lynch and Hendrick Hudson High School history teacher Michael Witkowich were on the sideline as Army captured the Collegiate Sprint Football League Championship with a 21-16 victory at Shea Stadium in West Point on Saturday, Nov. 16.
The championship victory over rival Navy capped an 8-0 season for the Black Knights, who won their 37th CSFL championship and completed the program’s 18th perfect season. Witkowich, now in his sixth season at Army, served as the team’s co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Lynch, also in his sixth season, and Kelly, who is now in his fifth, were both assistant coaches as well. Lynch coaches defensive backs and Kelly coaches the defensive line.
“We’re blessed,” Witkovich said. “The men and women at West Point, they are the best. These are all people who signed up to sacrifice their lives in order to protect our freedoms. Everyone on that field is willing to lay down their life for the country. As a coach, you know you can never have an off day. They are the future leaders of our military, our future officers. It’s the biggest honor to be able to coach them.”
Because of that respect for their players and for West Point, the coaches often impart lessons from their experiences in the classroom. However, this year, with the help of Hendrick Hudson parents, they took that a step further.
A group of about a dozen students and their parents attended a game in October, watching Army defeat league rival Mansfield 42-21 at West Point. The contingent watched the game and then the students joined their former and current teachers on the field afterward.
Stacey Retallick, a teaching assistant at Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School and a football parent, helped organize the outing. She said members of the Hen Hud Football Parents Club had sought a team bonding experience for the players and thought the game provided a perfect opportunity.
“It did not disappoint,” Retallick said. “Our players went on the field after the game and talked with the coaches for a while. It was so nice to see them interacting and reminiscing with their former teachers and coaches”
“We were hanging out here on the field, catching up with them, but also talking about the leadership qualities we see in our cadets,” Witkowich said. “We answered questions the students had about West Point. It was just a really nice experience.”
Both the parents and coaches hope the connection will continue in future years. Sprint football itself is unique — a full-contact, intercollegiate varsity sport played under standard American football rules except all players must weigh less than 178.0 pounds and have a minimum of 5% body fat. The restriction often leads to dynamic football with a focus on execution and fundamentals.
In sprint football, Army often finds itself competing with Navy for league supremacy.
“It’s been a great opportunity for us,” Witkowich said of coaching at West Point. “That’s why we hope to continue to foster the relationship between the two communities in the future.”
