The pieces are falling into place for a June all-star football game matching the finest players from the state of New York, but one big piece is still missing.
“There have been no contracts signed, but we’ve got some irons in the fire for potential sponsors.” said Tom Heinzelman, president of the New York State High School Football Coaches Association, which is overseeing the game. “All systems are go. What we need to get now is corporate sponsorship. I’m pretty sure we can do it.”
Corporate sponsorship is needed in part to defray the cost of meals, uniforms, housing and transportation for 100 or so athletes selected to represent the North and South teams.
Heinzelman said plans are being worked out for the North team (Sections II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, X) to practice at Syracuse University, and the South team (Sections I, VIII, IX, XI, New York City) to prepare at West Point, before the Sunday, June 6, contest at the Carrier Dome.
“[Syracuse University football coach] Doug Marrone has been a lot of help in this process,” said Heinzelman.
No coaches have been selected to direct the all-star teams, and the game has no official name, though Heinzelman said New York State High School Football All-Star Classic is among those being considered. Where proceeds from the game go has yet to be determined, Heinzelman also said, although he mentioned the U.S. Army’s Wounded Warriors Program as one possibility.
“We’re still in our infancy,” said Heinzelman, former football coach and athletic director at Hudson Falls. “We’re trying to get it rolling. I figure by December we’ll have more answers, more information to provide.”
Top seniors from New York competed against those from New Jersey in an all-star game known as both the Governor’s Bowl and the New York-New Jersey All-Star Classic from 1998 though 2008. Those games alternated each year from one state to the other. That game ended this summer because of New Jersey’s unwillingness to play the game outside of the Garden State.
“We wanted to provide an opportunity for kids from New York state to play in an all-star game,” Heinzelman said. “We’re trying to make a weekend out of it.”
What they’re doing
Schenectady High School graduate Bob Nolte, a senior diver at Binghamton University, was recently named the America East representative to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Nolte, a history major, was involved in the SAAC program for three years at Binghamton before his appointment.
Nolte competed at Schenectady for three seasons, and as a senior tri-team captain in 2006, placed seventh in the diving competition at the Section II championships. Schenectady won its first of four straight Aqua League titles that season.
He currently is ninth on Binghamton’s all-time record list for one-meter diving, and 10th on the three-meter board.
Here and there
Defending Section II Class AA girls’ soccer champion Bethlehem is ranked No. 38 on the ESPN RISE Fab 50, and is one of five teams from New York listed in the national poll. Bethlehem concluded its 2008 season with a 21-0-1 record after losing to Baldwinsville on penalty kicks in the state quarterfinals. . . .
The state boys’ soccer semifinals and finals will not be affected by the decision to close the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta to the public, starting this week. Though the facility will be shuttered, the games in five classes will go on as scheduled Nov. 21-22, according to HOF chief operating officer Jonathan Ullman. The girls’ state tournament will conclude Nov. 20-21 at Cortland. . . .
Fall two-sport athlete Erin MacBeth of Schenectady had a goal and an assist in Thursday’s 3-1 soccer win against Johnstown, and placed first in Saturday’s Division II race at the Fonda-Fultonville’s annual cross country invitational.
Categories: High School Sports
