Overtime

As mentioned last week, Darien High School graduate Sam Stevenson, who is going to be playing lacrosse at the University of Richmond, is writing a blog for The Advocate. And as of 5:30 today, Stickin’ With Sam is now live.

I just spent an hour working with Sam on the first entry, and as you will see, she exceeded even my very high expectations. She is a tremendous athlete. And she is an even better person.

Sam leaves for Richmond on Tuesday, and next week she will begin her weekly updates.

Here is the first entry of Stickin’ With Sam.

Here is the background on Sam’s blog.

And here is a day-in-the-life video project we shot last month as part of a feature story I wrote about her.

Cliff Louis got good news this morning: he suffered a lateral ankle sprain as a result of a fight in practice Saturday (see previous blog entry) and should only be out a few days. The injury initially appeared to be more serious.

Here’s the note Louis just sent me on Facebook:

“Everything was/is negative. So I’m just rehabbing. I was on crutches and ankle support boot this morning, but I’m off of both now. I’m kind of like Wolverine from the Xmen, with superhealing powers. lol”

Giants coach Tom Coughlin praised Louis today if you scroll to the bottom of this report from Mike Garafolo, the excellent beat writer for The Star-Ledger of New Jersey.

Westhill High School graduate Cliff Louis suffered an ankle injury during practice last night. The offensive lineman was hurt after a fight broke out between Dave Tollefson and second-round pick William Beatty. A skirmish between several other players resulted in Tollefson, a defensive lineman, throwing Beatty, an offensive lineman, who landed on Louis.

Louis wrote to me last night and said he was scheduled to have an MRI at 5:30 this morning. I will let you know when I hear back from him with an update.

I asked Louis how camp has been going since his last update earlier in the week. “Camp has been going well. Things have been progressing,” Louis wrote. “I’m ready to play mentally and physically.”

I also asked him how he thought he was performing. “I believe I’m progressing every day,” Louis wrote. “Getting better each play. The coaches are NFL coaches, they give plays but you never know what they’re thinking. And you know as I know, they have input but not the final call when it comes to the 53 (final roster spots).”

I told Louis to send any humorous anecdotes from camp.

“Something funny that occurred, some of the rookies got a few pranks pulled on them,” he wrote. “Lets just say that their toes are green.”

Justin Nemchek, the amazing 13-year-old Stamford boy who has been battling AVM that has left him paralyzed on his left side, is undergoing invasive surgery on Thursday that will hopefully cure his seizures and repair the AVM. Justin and his family are well known throughout Stamford — to learn more about him, scroll down and you can read a couple of posts about him, including his trip last month to Yankee Stadium as the guest of general manager Brian Cashman, who read about Justin’s plight in The Advocate.

Friends of the Nemcheks have organized a fundraising effort to help defray the astronomical costs the family is incurring. All the pertinent information is on the flyer.

If you would like to contribute to the cause, or can help spread the news to others who might know the Nemcheks, I know the Friends of Justin and the family would be most appreciative.

Here is the flyer:

friends_of_justin_final4

Though Jerry McDougall retired as Trumbull High School’s football coach 11 years ago, he never really got the sport out of his blood. McDougall still attended the scrimmages and practices of teams that were once opponents, went to every UConn contest, 2-3 high school games a week and attended clinics and the national convention every year.

McDougall’s closest friend, Dick Whitcomb, has been trying to coax him back to the sideline for some time, and McDougall has always said no.

Until last April.

In a major coup for a small private school that lives in the shadow of the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the 74-year-old McDougall has agreed to return to coaching, as the defensive coordinator at St. Luke’s in New Canaan.

“I’m excited by this opportunity,” McDougall said.

When McDougall stepped down in 1998, he was the winningest coach in state history, with 265 victories (he now ranks third). McDougall won four FCIAC and three state titles in his 34 seasons. McDougall stayed on as Trumbull’s baseball coach until 2005, finishing with a 466-221 mark, three league and two state championships in 32 seasons.

McDougall is a member of both the National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame for football and the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame for both football and baseball.

McDougall’s two children graduated from St. Luke’s. Whitcomb, who played football with McDougall at the University of Bridgeport, is a former football coach, athletic director and headmaster at St. Luke’s. The two speak daily and have summer homes on Cape Cod one quarter of a mile apart.

“I think this is going to work out great,” Whitcomb said. “He’s already put in a lot of time. I think this is not only going to benefit the school but benefit him as well.”

Ryan Brown, the Crusaders’ fourth-year coach, said he had no problem having a presence like McDougall on his staff. St. Luke’s was 1-8 last season. They open their season at home on Sept. 17 against Riverdale Country School.

“He’s going to bring a lot to the program and I’m excited about it,” Brown said.

Though McDougall decided to get back into coaching four months ago, he made a concerted effort to keep the news private.

“I want the focus to be on St. Luke’s and not myself,” McDougall said in the kind of selfless statement that has been his trademark.

Here’s my story that will appear in tomorrow’s edition of The Advocate.

Freshman year of college can be an obstacle course for any student, being away from home, with more challenging courses, greater freedom and a new environment.

It is even more difficult for athletes, who have extra demands on their time and must adjust to a higher caliber of play.

Sam Stevenson

To explore what it is like to be a first-year student-athlete, Darien High School graduate Sam Stevenson, who will be playing lacrosse at the University of Richmond, is going to write her own blog for The Advocate beginning next week.

Stevenson possesses all the credentials. She was the leading scorer for the Blue Wave last season as the team won league and state titles. During Stevenson’s career Darien won three FCIAC and three CIAC championships. Stevenson earned All-FCIAC and All-State honors three times.

Stevenson was also a starter for the Darien volleyball team, which won league and state titles all four years she was on the roster.

Stevenson’s athletic ability is unquestioned. She also competes each summer for the Country Club of Darien’s swim team and in her spare time plays tennis, softball and snowboards.

Stevenson is also an outstanding student. She graduated Darien with a 3.3 grade point average, and is known for her engaging personality and fun-loving spirit.

What makes Stevenson really unique is her wide array of interests. In her spare time she likes to ride all-terrain vehicles, is a volunteer with the Darien Fire Department, enjoys sketching and coaches both lacrosse and in the Challenger Sports Program for special needs children.

Throw it all together and you have all the ingredients for what should be a compelling blog in which Stevenson will take us through the ups (hopefully many) and downs (hopefully few) of her freshman year.

We will have more information and the link to Stickin’ With Sam when it goes live next week.

In the meantime, if you want to get to know Stevenson a little better, here is the link to a three-video day in the life project we did earlier this summer.

It seems as if Khairi Fortt can’t escape publicity these days.

Fortt, the highly touted Stamford High School linebacker who last week was named the most valuable defensive player at the Football University Top Gun Camp in Florida, was profiled in today’s edition of Sporting News Today, the publication’s daily online edition.

Fourteen members of the Sporting News’ top 100 prospects were at the camp.

For more on Fortt and King’s Silas Redd, who was named the offensive MVP at Top Gun, see this story in today’s Advocate.

I had a quick conversation via Facebook today with Cliff Louis, the Westhill High School graduate who is trying to make the jump from practice squad to the regular roster of the New York Giants. Louis is a 6-foot-8 offensive guard/tackle, and the line is one area where the Giants have good depth.

“Camp is going well, days are long, but will be worth it in the end,” Louis wrote to me. “I think I’m doing well. But you never know what the scouts and personnel (people) are thinking.”

This is the third training camp for Louis, who graduated from Morgan State and was first signed as an undrafted free agent by the Browns.

I asked Louis if having gone through camps before made it any easier this season.

“Camp is never easy,” he wrote. “It’s the unexpected that comes about that makes it so difficult. Not knowing what will happen at the end makes it a little difficult.”

If Louis cannot make the Giants, he is hoping to impress another franchise. Given that Louis is practicing every day against arguably the NFL’s best defensive line, including Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka, he certainly is getting the proper seasoning.

“That’s one of the best parts of playing in the NFL, especially the Giants,” Louis wrote. “The DLmen here are very good, in all aspects. It just helps a young player like myself to get better, by blocking and sometimes not blocking them.”

The Giants’ first preseason game is a week from Monday night at home against the Panthers on ESPN.