From High School to the Pros

New Canaan has had its share of outstanding high school athletes. But while many moved on to play at the collegiate level, and some even turned professional, few made it to the top levels in their respective sports. Making it into the top professional ranks is a tougher row to hoe than many high school athletes realize.

We reviewed New Canaan athletes who played in college or the pros, and interviewed three current New Canaanites who had successful pro careers about their own journey and how the path has changed in recent years.

BO HICKEY, DENVER BRONCOS
New Canaan Rams hockey coach and football running backs coach Bo Hickey grew up in Stamford, attended Stamford Catholic High School (now Trinity Catholic), the University of Maryland and then played for the Denver Broncos for one year before a foot injury did him in (it happened against the Jets in the next-to-last game of the regular season, a 33-24 win by the Broncos).

Hickey was ahead of his time, a 230-pound running back in high school, when running backs rarely weighed over 200 pounds. At 230 pounds, you were more likely to play on the line. When he arrived at Maryland, he was one of eight running backs on the freshman team (freshman weren't allowed to play varsity in 1962). One of the coaches asked him if he ever thought about playing the line at that weight. Hickey said he hadn't, and told the coach he was about to show him why. When the team ran 40-yard sprints at the end of practice, Hickey not only became one of two starters at running back but a tailback no less. He was the fastest back on the team. Hickey said the biggest shock for him at that first practice was suddenly being surrounded by a lot of kids who were All-Everything in their towns, counties and states. But it seems only to have honed his competitive instincts. Fast-forward nearly 20 years to when Hickey had added a few pounds (well, more than a few) and was coaching the Rams' running backs. He raced the team's running backs and beat all of them in the 40-yard sprint. Hickey was in his late thirties at the time. 

Hickey admits he's "old school" when it comes to evaluating high school prospects. "Even though there are many more specialized off-season camps and showcases for today's athletes, the good ones will be recognized anyway," he argues. Hickey adds,"there are still scouts evaluating young talent, looking at film, often spotting the opponent or teammate of someone he's interested in that he might not have known about."

TERRY HANRATTY, NOTRE DAME AND PITTSBURGH STEELER QUARTERBACK
Hanratty grew up in western Pennsylvania, which produced NFL quarterbacks like Kenya produces long distance runners. High school football was huge in that part of the country, Hanratty said. Players knew their choices were college football and hopefully the pros or working in the steel mills. Football was an easy winner. He got a scholarship to Notre Dame where he was the #5 quarterback when spring practice opened. By the end of spring practice he was #1 on the depth chart (he was in Coach Ara Parseghian's first recruiting class). Hanratty was a Heisman Trophy finalist in each of his three seasons with the Irish and finished as high as third in the Heisman balloting in 1968. He played in the NFL for eight years, seven of them with Pittsburgh. In his final season, he played for Tampa Bay.

His son, Conor, a junior tackle on the New Canaan varsity, is being recruited by colleges. Terry, like the parents of most of today's high school athletes, has compiled film of his son's games, a highlight film that is also accompanied by game film so a college coach can view the player's highlights but also look at footage that includes but doesn't feature the player. Hanratty said it was pretty basic when he played. A college scout or coach would come to games and evaluate. Nowadays film (or video) is almost a prerequisite for all aspiring athletes hoping for college scholarships.

Another New Canaanite who made the NFL, by way of Erwin, N.C., is Al Woodall. Woodall was an All-American quarterback  at Duke, a second round draft pick by the Jets in 1969 (#52nd pick overall). He played for five years, all with the Jets, backing up Joe Namath.

There are other Rams' football players who made the transition to Division 1 football, but not the pros. Bo Hickey named Pete Demerle (Notre Dame), Bobby Lynch (Temple), Jason Cooper (Duke), Scott Overbeck (North Carolina), Rick Horton (Notre Dame), and Pete DiVenere (South Carolina).

ANDRE DORE, FORMER NHL PLAYER
Dore's path to the NHL was typical of the long, slow rise through youth hockey that Canadian youngsters often took. It was an era when well over 90 percent of NHL players were Canadian and college hockey in the United States had not yet become a "feeder" to the professional ranks.

Dore played in  257 games for the N.Y. Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Quebec Nordiques. As a resident of New Canaan, Dore has coached teams in Fairfield County and reminds parents and players alike, how long and bumpy a road it is to the NHL. He was not a "child star" as a kid growing up in Montreal—Dore said when he was 10 years old he didn't make the travel team. He made it the following year, but only because "a kid got hurt." He said when teams were picked he would usually be the fifth or sixth defenseman picked, but that was about to change. He was attracting interest from college coaches and pro scouts by the time he was 13 and at 14 he played in a league against 19 year olds. At age 15, he left home to play junior hockey and by the time he was 20, he was in the NHL after playing in the juniors for five years. Dore says that "Some parents have no idea how many good hockey players are out there and just how difficult it is to make it to the top." Dore has remained in terrific shape and plays a lot of tennis and paddle at the Lake Club. At 6'2", 220 pounds, Dore remains in tip top shape. No one argues with him over a call.

The competition to become a professional in hockey, may be even more competitive than football. With all the good players who have come out of New Canaan High School over the years, only two have made it to the NHL.

Max Pacioretty started his freshman season at NCHS, then transferred to Taft School the following year. Parents who saw him play at New Canaan told me that he was "a little guy who really saw the ice well and made everyone better." After the Taft School, Pacioretty moved to the Sioux City Musketeers in 2006 where he was named Rookie of the Year. Little Max had grown into a 6'2", 205-pound Big Max. He was a first-round Montreal Canadiens pick (#22 overall) in 2007. After playing one season of college hockey at the University of Michigan, he signed with the Canadiens, started with Hamilton of the AHL, where he played 37 games and then got called up by the parent team where he played in 34 games, including the playoffs, where he scored 11 points and was an integral part of the team. He's expected to play for Montreal again this season.

The other New Canaanite to make it is John Emmons, who was on the hockey team at Yale and then played 85 games in the NHL. He spent four years in the minor leagues, then played 10 games for Ottawa in the 1999-2000 season, before moving back to the minors the following year and then back up to the NHL where he finished his career with the Boston Bruins in the 2001-2002 season. He played one more year of professional hockey in a European league.

Some other New Canaan residents who made it to the hockey big leagues: Kevin Nugent, who was voted High School Hockey Player of the Year in Minnesota, went on to Notre Dame where he played for four years, then four games in the Central Hockey League with Dallas and 25 games in the World Hockey League with Indianapolis in the 1978-'79 season. The 6'6" Nugent was a "protector" on a line with Wayne Gretzky. Nugent's eldest son, Kevin, played two years at NCHS, transferred to the Taft School, followed by a year of junior hockey with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League. The 6'2" forward played in 60 games and scored 21 points. He will play at Notre Dame this season. A younger brother, Chris, plays for the NC Rams.

WHAT'S CHANGED?

What's changed the most is how star athletes are recruited. Back in the "good old days" (the '60s and '70s) college and professional coaches and their staffs scouted and evaluated. That was and is great if you drew their attention, but not so good if you played for an obscure school in a league that wasn't seen as first-rate. Today, high school and college athletes attend "showcases"—the New Canaan football team attended one at Boston College—where wannabe college stars show off their skills in front of coaches and recruiters. Many of them provide their own film and/or game highlights, or tout their talent on specialized Web sites.

CURRENT PROSPECTS

Among the current New Canaan athletes seen as having a chance for college and even pro careers:

• Conor Hanratty, Terry Hanratty's son, is a 6'4", 300-pound tackle

• Turner Baty, a 6'2", 205-pound quarterback, is just showing local fans his skills after moving to New Canaan this summer from Florida.

• And in swimming, Christian Higgins, who's the national breaststroke champion in the Under 18s, is an obvious Division 1 prospect.

But as Terry Hanratty points out, other NC players could get scholarship offers as "late bloomers" mature and improve their skills. According to him, that summer camp at Boston College opened up the possibilities of four other Rams players getting some attention from college scouts.

And here's a final thought. If your son or daughter has a good athletic career at NCHS and doesn't play in college, what's so terrible about looking back one day and realizing that he or she was a good player at the high school level—and had a lot of fun doing it?

Editor's note: So who have I missed? I'm certain there are other New Canaanites who had careers in college or professional sports who we may have overlooked. Let me know by sending a note to bobgoldsholl@optonline.net.