Foxboro YMCA Makes Lifetime Memories During Patriots Preseason Game

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – For nearly 80 youth flag football players, last Thursday’s Patriots preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints provided the kind of lifetime memories that few are able to experience – like playing football under the lights, on the Gillette Stadium field, in front of a packed house.

“The kids had a blast,” said Tim LaConte, sports director of the Hockomock Area YMCA Invensys Foxboro Branch. “From the moment they arrived at Gillette Stadium and sat in their seats, to heading down to the field level and watching the second quarter of the game from behind the Saints bench, to seeing themselves on the video board and hearing the crowd cheer for them during the scrimmage; the whole experience was absolutely amazing.”

The experience was part of the NFL’s Play Football Month initiative, in which the Kraft family and New England Patriots Charitable Foundation invited youth flag football teams from Foxborough, Stoughton, Carver and Hookset, N.H. to participate in 7-on-7 scrimmages during halftime of the Patriots exhibition game with the Saints. In addition to the scrimmages, the four teams each received 100 tickets to the game for the players, coaches and their families to share in the memorable event.

“The kids couldn’t contain themselves,” LaConte said. “They were cheering, yelling and in awe of how awesome the experience was. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing every child smiling ear-to-ear with excitement to play on the same field as the New England Patriots – and during a Patriots game no less!”

The Foxboro YMCA flag football team fielded players, ranging in age from 9 to 12 years old, from Foxborough, Sharon, Plainville, Mansfield, Franklin and Walpole. The team took the field against Hookset, N.H. in what turned out to be a high-scoring affair, much to the delight of the crowd, as both teams swapped touchdowns and big plays seemingly at will.

“It was amazing to see the pure joy on the faces of the children as they executed their plays and scored touchdowns,” said LaConte. “They truly beamed as they celebrated while pointing to their families, friends and YMCA sports staff members in the stands.”

The kids also celebrated with the fans sitting in the front rows along the sidelines and behind the end zone, something LaConte and his staff enjoyed seeing.

“They loved their moment of fame and thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the crowd, giving them high-fives as if they were the Patriots themselves,” LaConte said. “One of the more memorable moments during the scrimmage was definitely when the kids could see themselves celebrating a touchdown on the video board as the crowd cheered them on.”

Through all of the excitement, LaConte was most grateful for the memories every member of his team created Thursday and what they will each take with them from the experience.

“I hope they will be able to take away the fact that a positive attitude, hard work, determination and good sportsmanship are rewards unto themselves and qualities to incorporate throughout life,” said LaConte. “I also hope it reinforced the love of sport and the fun of active involvement. I cannot begin to express my gratitude and appreciation to the Kraft family and New England Patriots Charitable Foundation for the opportunity the Foxboro YMCA flag football players received Thursday.”

INSTALLING THE GAME PLAN

In the days leading up to Thursday’s scrimmage, LaConte encouraged his staff of Ross Gemba, Nick Mecsas-Faxon and Dan DeMars to take on a more active role in preparing and coaching the team for this event – a challenge the trio quickly ran with.

“To watch my staff members coach our team during practice on Wednesday and serve as coordinators during the scrimmage was phenomenal,” said LaConte. “Their level of dedication and commitment made me proud and the whole team really had a blast preparing for the scrimmage. The coaches and players developed their own plays at Wednesday’s practice and created laminated pictures for the sidelines to go along with each play.

“It was awesome to see how creative and amusing everyone got in creating plays such as ‘Cocoa Puffs,’ ‘Ninja,’ ‘G.O.A.T.’ and ‘Rexy,’ to name a few.”

THE ROSTER

The following Foxboro YMCA flag football players participated in last Thursday’s scrimmage at Gillette Stadium:

· Alex Antinoro of Plainville

· Rohan Bommaraju of Sharon

· Michael Campagna of Sharon

· Riley Harrison of Walpole

· Jack Lund of Foxborough

· Ryan Martin of Franklin

· Jonah Mercer of Foxborough

· Dylan Mullin of Mansfield

· Patrick Sennott of Millis

· Bryan Singleton of Foxborough

· Oren Spira of Sharon

· Barry Spoto of Sharon

· James Spoto of Sharon

· Jacob Welitoff of Foxborough