Grant Will Help Increase Safety for Hoosac Valley Football
 Hoosac Valley football coach Dayne Poirot and his captains accept the grant from Gina Cella of the Silvio Cella Family Foundation. |
Hurricanes coach Dayne Poirot on Friday was presented with a check from the Lynnfield-based Silvio Cella Family Foundation.
The 5-year-old grant program honors the memory of Revere High School coaching legend Silvio Cella and aims to "improve playing conditions, increase player safety and participation, build teamwork, pride and confidence," according to the foundation's website, www.silviocellafoundation.org.
Hoosac Valley is one of four schools throughout the commonwealth to receive the grant this spring.
Hurricanes coach Dayne Poirot said the money will be used to acquire about 10 new Riddell helmets to supplement Schutt helmets the team currently provides players.
Nothing against the Schutt product, Poirot explained. But the team now will be able to provide a couple of different options for players.
"Kids have all different shapes and sizes for heads, and between the two companies, they have a good mix of helmets that fit well," Poirot said. "Both helmets come a little bit different, so this way we'll have a mixture."
And that choice will pay dividends.
"Fit's huge," Poirot said. "Fit is probably the biggest thing when you start talking about concussions. Proper fitting of helmets is probably the biggest deal. It's the biggest deal that I've seen — kids with helmets not inflated all the way or helmets that just don't sit on their head the right way. That's a huge thing."
Poirot said if he could add other manufacturers' helmets to the team's collection he would, but Riddell helmets already have gained favor among some of the school's student-athletes, to the point where they have purchased the equipment on their own.
The Cella Foundation is dedicated to making football safe and accessible to all high school student-athletes.
To date, the program has awarded $60,000 to 20 different high school programs in all parts of the state. Last year, Monument Mountain in Great Barrington became the first recipient in Berkshire County.
Silvio Cella's daughter said Friday that past recipients have used the grant for everything from weight room improvements to transportation to and from practice fields to tackling dummies that help teach proper form.
"We're committed to maintaining the integrity of the game and keeping it safer for the players," Gina Cella said.
"It's a privilege to help support high school football and understand what that can do for kids and communities."
The Cella Foundation has a partnership with Boston University Medical School's Sports Legacy Institute and hopes to expand its program to include safety workshops for high school coaches, she said.
To support the grant program, the Cella Foundation each summer hosts a golf tournament at Middleton's Ferncroft Country Club, among other fund-raising efforts.
"We plan to do this as long as we can," Gina Cella said.
Tags: high school football, high school sports, HVHS, school grant,
