Saturday, November 14, 2015 was the last time I stepped on Worcester State’s Coughlin Memorial Field, as a player. Monday, August 14, 2016 was the first time I stepped on the same field, but not as a player, but as a coach.

 

A New Beginning

Nothing really could prepare me for the transition from player to coach, but all I knew was that I couldn’t wait to get back to the sport I loved most. I was given the opportunity to coach during the 2016 season from my former head coach Brien Cullen and assistant head coach Adam Peloquin, who I had created a strong relationship and friendship with over the past four years of playing. The job title that I was given was assistant defensive backs, where I got to coach thirteen awesome individual players. Along with coaching, some of my responsibilities included: weekly film breakdowns and scouting reports.

An example of a scouting report that I created can be found here: umdscoutingreport-2

After my senior season, there were thirteen of us that had graduated. An average amount for a senior class and there were only ten juniors behind us, meaning that the 2016 team would be relatively young. Though they were young, there was a load of talent to offer. Throughout the season we had at least five freshman who started or played the majority of the season, one of them playing the most important role on the team: quarterback.

 

The 2016 Season

The beginning of the season did not start off as planned. Going 0-4 for our first four games. Not only did it effect the morale of the team, but also the coaches, and made our job that much harder. How were we suppose to go out there and try to convince a bunch of young players that there was still a lot of season left to be played and more opportunities to turn this ship around. Luckily for us we had a bye-week going into our game against Fitchburg State University, a rival of ours. Not only did this allow us to put more time into drills and game planning, but it gave the players to rest up and heal from any previous injuries.

Game day eventually came on Saturday, October 10, and the bye-week had proven to pay off, with the Worcester State Lancers defeating the Fitchburg Falcons 17-14. The monkey was off our back and we were able to get back to work. The morale was pretty great for the rest of the season and we were able to tack up two more wins against Plymouth State University and Westfield State University. Those wins sent our seniors off with at least a few wins and some great memories, and that’s something to be proud of and happy with.

Below are the links to the box scores and game summaries for the three wins for the Lancers:

 

Lancers Rally Against Fitchburg

Lancers Victorious Over Plymouth

 

Lancers Triumph Over Westfield

What to Take Away

I’m very fortunate to have had this opportunity. That comes without saying. And I am very thankful for everything the coaching staff and players have done for me. Some of the players that were on the team during the time of me coaching I had played with for three years and had grown a very good friendship with. This made it a bit difficult on a respect level because sometimes players have a hard time listening to someone they just played with. Luckily I didn’t have too much of an issue with that, and players seemed to truly take away from what I was teaching them. Not once did any player call my by nickname “Genc” throughout the season, every time I was addressed it was by “Coach.”

This was for sure an experience that I will never forget and I’m glad I did it. Though coaching is not what I intend to do in the future, it was something to keep me involved while I was still in school, and a way for me to be around football. All of the coaches and myself got along great, where on several occasions we wet out after games to get pizza and drinks. Some of them I have grown a friendship with beyond football that I never would have thought I would if I were still playing, so I am thankful for that.

I graduate this winter so I will no longer be in Worcester, but I intend on coming back and helping out for spring ball, which I look forward too. It’s a way for me to say bye to all of the players and coaches and help out with the team one last time. The Lancers have a bright future ahead of them and I wish them nothing but success in their 2017 season. I can’t wait to see how it all pans out for them.

Go Lancers!

Introduction

It’s been twelve years since the day I put on my first football helmet, a moment in my life that I’ll forever be thankful for. Football has meant the world to me and I don’t think many people can say they have consistently done something they’ve loved for twelve years. In this blog post, I want to share my experiences throughout the years and how this sport has played a major role in making me the person I am today.

Early Years

Like most people who play or have played football, they started their athletic careers playing soccer at a young age. I started playing soccer around the age of six and had played all the way until I was eleven. It wasn’t until I was twelve that I decided to play football for the Waterford Lancers Youth Micro A’s team. A big contributor to the reason for me playing was my older brother, Michael. He had been playing on varsity for our town’s high school team and was a stand out linebacker and fullback. Having an older brother who was as good as he was at football influenced me to give the sport a shot.

In my first few years, I struggled. I was smaller than most of the kids on my team and I could never really hold a starting spot at any position. I shared time at quarterback, but rarely took any snaps, and I also rotated in at cornerback. It wasn’t until my last year of youth ball, in 2007, that I had an actual starting spot and became one of the team captains. That year was special to me. Football had finally given me that fulfillment that I had been looking for and I had been doing really well to the point where I only wanted to get better.

The next year, going into high school, I competed in freshman football and had picked up where I had left off in youth ball. I played quarterback and safety and shined throughout the year. Halfway throughout the season I had been doing well enough to be called up to junior varsity and had stayed there for the remainder of the season. My sophomore year I had only spent a small amount of time on junior varsity and spent the majority of the season on varsity.

My senior year was probably one of the most memorable years of my life in regards to football. Voted a team captain, starting at quarterback and free safety, I had one of the strongest seasons of my career. I didn’t have the flashiest of statistics on offense: 815 passing yards, 277 rushing yards, and only 5 interceptions. On defense: 76 tackles, 6 interceptions (2 for touchdowns), and 10 pass breakups. Before graduating I had received numerous accolades including The Norwich Bulletin All-Area 1st Team, The New London Day All-Area 1st Team, All-Eastern Connecticut Conference 1st Team, and 1st Team Defense All-State Medium Division.

Norwich Bulletin: Brian Gencarelli (Article written by Marc Allard of the Norwich Bulletin in regards to my final season in high school)

College Football

Coming out of high school, I received a few letters from colleges asking to play football at their school. Many of them were small division III schools that offered no money towards tuition or scholarships (Worcester State University, Western Connecticut State University, Western New England University, and Nichols College), and one division I AA school (Central Connecticut State University).

It took me about a month to make my decision where I wanted to go, but in the end I decided to attend Worcester State. Playing football in college was a whole other animal that I did not expect and required much more time and effort, but I loved every aspect of it and played all four years and started each year at strong safety on defense. My senior year I was voted captain by my teammates and had a season to remember, recording 49 tackles, 1 interception, and 9 pass breakups, and was also nominated 2nd Team All-Worcester Area Defensive Back, after the season.

 

Life After College Ball

After concluding my long twelve-year football career, I look back at all the incredible times that I experienced and the people I’ve met along the way and couldn’t be more thankful for it all. These are memories that I will have for the rest of my life and will be something I cherish forever.

Life after football has been strange to me. It’s weird not having practice every day, or having the aches or bumps and bruises, or playing every Saturday. But, I know that all good things must come to an end and you have to move on. Since I had an extra semester left of school, I decided to volunteer as a student assistant coach for the Worcester State Football Team. This case I could still be around the sport I love and could also give back to the program, coaches, and team that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.

All of this wouldn’t have been possible without my family, who constantly supported me throughout all twelve years and coming to every game, no matter the location, and just being there for me whenever I needed them, so to them I say thank you.