Overtime

(Recent Stamford High School graduate Khairi Fortt is in San Antonio this week for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the 10^th anniversary of the bowl. Past alumni of the bowl include the likes of Tim Tebow, Terrelle Pryor, Noel Devine, Mark Sanchez, Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush. Fortt won the ‘G Award’ at Football University’s Top Gun this past June in Florida as the elite camp’s top defensive player. Fortt, who is heading to Penn State, will be blogging about his week in San Antonio.)

Part of bowl week here in San Antonio is the fact that each U.S. Army All-American is partnered with a soldier hero. This is usually a soldier who has seen combat or a tour of duty. It’s more than just a partner during the week, it is an opportunity to share with them and learn from them.

And we also try to show them up a bit too. Just because our uniforms don’t have camouflage doesn’t mean that we can’t go to battle.

During the Player/Hero challenge last night, I was paired up with a soldier who was shot in the leg in combat. He and his friend were being shot at and his friend was killed right in front of him. He was running and got shot at when he was climbing a fence. He wears a bracelet now with the names of the soldiers in his group who were killed and I thought that was really intense.

I mean, to be reminded of that every single day makes you appreciate life a little more. He was actually pretty calm when he was talking about it — I guess that’s just reality for him, which is pretty sad. I guess when you’re in the army, you’re trained for that too.

After that we went back to the hotel and we were chillin’ with the Football University Youth All-Americans. I had a group of linebackers that was I talking to — I was trying to mentor them a little bit. I spoke to the kids about how to improve their speed, what colleges are looking for in high school players, and different things to work on.

Practice today was freezing, 25 degrees with the windchill. Coldest day I’ve ever had in a stadium. What made things worse was that I got absolutely belted during practice by Robert Crisp. I had tried to cheat on the play a little bit — coach told me to line up on the five-yard line and I was on the three-yard line. In comes along Robert Crisp and just floors me, feet off the ground sort of stuff. That and the cold, wow, not the best practice ever.

Next time, I’m listening to my coach. Just in time for Happy Valley.

(Recent King graduate Silas Redd is in San Antonio this week for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the 10^th anniversary of the bowl. Past alumni of the bowl include the likes of Tim Tebow, Terrelle Pryor, Noel Devine, Mark Sanchez, Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush. Redd who won the ‘G Award’ at Football University’s Top Gun this past June in Florida as the elite camp’s top offensive player. Redd, who is heading to Penn State, will be blogging about his week in San Antonio.)

For dinner tonight we all had a good time at Dave and Buster’s. That’s a fun place. We ate some good food and then had a chance to let loose and play some games. I spent most of the night on the hot shot basketball game, you know, the one where they give you a minute to make as many shots as you can? I love that game and I was beating everyone.

Today we had the skills challenge — East vs. West. I was involved in the running back challenge and the final obstacle course. It was great to go through those courses and measure up against some of the best athletes in the country. It wasn’t easy but I think I held my own. We lost to the West guys but to be honest with you they were cheating. That’s OK though because we’re going to get them back on Saturday.

The most memorable part was meeting the wounded warriors. These were soldiers who were injured in wars. Some of them had severe burns, others had lost their legs — it was sad to see. I spoke to a lot of them. Obviously I tried to avoid asking questions about their injuries but I emphasized how grateful I am for their service and what they do for our country. Despite all that they’ve been through, they were all in good spirits and having a good time themselves. To me, that was great to see and was a sort of reality check — it’s hard to complain about anything ever again after meeting the soldiers.

Tomorrow, we have the press conference for U.S. Army Player of the Year, and I am a finalist for the award. They don’t announce the award at the press event, but I get to meet the media. I might just steal that trophy if I see it. I also think I will run into Sergeant Henderson at the event — he won Soldier of the Year and I met him in New York. Real cool dude and we got to talk a lot during our Player of the Year media tour in New York. He is going to Iraq soon I think, so I will definitely be thinking about him over there and what he is doing so that I can live my life.

(Recent Stamford High School graduate Khairi Fortt is in San Antonio this week for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the 10^th anniversary of the bowl. Past alumni of the bowl include the likes of Tim Tebow, Terrelle Pryor, Noel Devine, Mark Sanchez, Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush. Fortt won the ‘G Award’ at Football University’s Top Gun this past June in Florida as the elite camp’s top defensive player. Fortt, who is heading to Penn State, will be blogging about his week in San Antonio.)

We went to Dave and Buster’s tonight, which was a lot of fun. I had a little pasta with alfredo sauce and Italian bread. Dave and Buster’s is part restaurant and part arcade, so after we ate we were able to play some games and have some fun.

I started off by playing some racing games but I really got to business when I saw that they had Guitar Hero — that’s my game. I was playing on expert and just killing people. If things don’t work out in football, I may have to become a professional guitar hero player.

Since no one was really challenging me I decided to play this jackpot game, where I had to spin a wheel and land the dial on a certain number. Looking back on it, that was a pretty bad idea since I lost all of my card money on that game — but it was pretty addicting.

After that we went back in the hotel and I actually got some more food. They were serving Philly cheesesteaks in the players’ lounge, so I had to get my hands on a few of those. Then I just went back to my room and called my mom and dad and my girlfriend. I always have to check in with them and let them know that everything is going OK.

Today we had the skills challenge, which was cool. The best part was interacting with the soldiers. Almost all of these guys have been in wars and have lost legs and just talking to them and seeing them here meant a lot. It made me want to try harder and play better just knowing they were around watching.

We also had a speech at the end of the skills challenge by Colonel Petrenko. Pretty inspiring. He told us that even though we aren’t joining the Army and are going to college – GO PSU! – we can still be leaders. He said what makes us great football players — hard work, dedication and teamwork — are the marks of a soldier. Then the colonel said that we can be leaders in the community and be role models. We can all have a little Army in us, every day.

Something to think about.

Khairi Fortt and Silas Redd have received some familiar company in San Antonio for Saturday’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Jay Clement, the running director at BlueStreak Sports Training in Stamford, who has trained both players, and sports performance coordinator Bill Hayden have been named performance training coaches for the East teams.

“It’s an incredible honor to be assisting with the Army All-American Bowl; I take personal satisfaction in knowing that two of my athletes, Khairi Fortt and Silas Redd, have been awarded the opportunity to compete with the nation’s best,” Clement said.

With the deepest pool of strong candidates to choose from thus far, Fairfield Ludlowe girls basketball player Sam Hickey and Tyler Rich of the Westhill hockey team have been named co-winners of the BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Player of the Week award.

Hickey and Rich will each receive plaques and T-shirts from BlueStreak.

Hickey, the first female winner, finished with 18 points and a school-record 25 rebounds for the Falcons in a 55-50 win over town rival Fairfield Warde at the Todd Burger Holiday Tournament.

Rich, a senior captain, had four goals and an assist to lead an 8-4 win over intracity rival Stamford, then added a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory over Milford.

Nominations for next week’s award will be accepted starting at noon today and run until noon next Tuesday.

Here again are the instructions for nominating an athlete.

(Recent King graduate Silas Redd is in San Antonio this week for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the 10^th anniversary of the bowl. Past alumni of the bowl include the likes of Tim Tebow, Terrelle Pryor, Noel Devine, Mark Sanchez, Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush. Redd who won the ‘G Award’ at Football University’s Top Gun this past June in Florida as the elite camp’s top offensive player. Redd, who is heading to Penn State, will be blogging about his week in San Antonio.)

I went to the space needle last night for dinner — the food was nasty. I actually went to McDonald’s afterwards. I got a double cheeseburger, 6 piece chicken nuggets, large fries and a sweet tea. That was much better.

Today before practice, Sharrif Floyd put his pads and jersey on backwards. As he was walking out a bunch of us just started laughing – it was pretty funny. He had to take it off and put it all back on – and for a big dude that takes a long time.

Practice again went well and was competitive. I’m still getting used to the speed out here — it’s definitely a notch up from what I’m used to, but I’m getting the hang of it. I’m learning a lot about blocking and getting a lot better in that area of my game. This is all getting me ready for Penn State.

One thing I’m really missing is the video game Call of Duty — I’m obsessed. Back home I was playing all the time and I don’t have it here. The players’ lounge has Madden and NCAA 2010, if they had Call of Duty here I’d be living in that lounge.

I’ve made a lot of good friends out here. Marcus Lattimore for one is someone I’ve gotten close to. We’re both running backs and I have family from South Carolina and he’s from South Carolina, so we’ve got a lot in common.

(Recent Stamford High School graduate Khairi Fortt is in San Antonio this week for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the 10^th anniversary of the bowl. Past alumni of the bowl include the likes of Tim Tebow, Terrelle Pryor, Noel Devine, Mark Sanchez, Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush. Fortt won the ‘G Award’ at Football University’s Top Gun this past June in Florida as the elite camp’s top defensive player. Fortt, who is heading to Penn State, will be blogging about his week in San Antonio.)

Last night we had dinner at that Space Needle, I can’t remember the name of the place. It was really high up — the planes were basically right near us. Everything was fancy and very expensive — we had some fancy chicken, Italian bread, it was all really good. The restaurant overlooks the city, so after we ate I decided to take some pictures of the view. At one point, Robert Crisp, who is like 6-8, snuck up behind me and picked me up — that was a little scary to be honest. Obviously he was just joking around though.

We had our 2nd practice today. It was a little more intense and you can tell everyone is in a little bit more of a comfort zone. I played pretty well today, especially during the one-on-one’s. I had 2 interceptions and a bunch of knock-aways — that felt good. I still can’t believe how big some of these players are. The line is so huge that I can’t see the backfield some times. I think we beat the West team for sure.

My body is definitely feeling a little sore. Practices are tough and everyone’s playing hard so you’re going to be sore. I ate a few bananas to get some potassium on my muscles though, so I think I’ll be alright.

(Cayleigh Griffin, a senior captain on the Trinity Catholic High School girls basketball team, is blogging about her experiences during the season.)

By Cayleigh Griffin

“I can’t. I have basketball.”

This seems to be the latest of my excuses as to why I can’t go hang out with my friends or attend other functions. For the next three months (and the one and a half that have already passed), I have chosen for the fourth year in a row to forego my vacations and a lot of my free time to the Trinity Catholic girls basketball team.

It seems unreal to think yet again that I am in my final season on this team. I can remember trying out for the team freshman year like it was yesterday. Clare O’Leary, Eileen Ornousky and I were so worried that we would get cut, and now here we are at the end of our high school basketball careers as captains.

Although the season is very long and free time is a rarity, I would not trade the seasons I have had for anything. Not many people can say they had the opportunity to join the starting lineup with Da’Shena Stevens, the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2009.

We are four games into the season and are ready to start fresh in the New Year. Our first two games were slow and out of sync, forcing us to refocus and pick up our game.

Our motto this year is, “Some wish for it, we work for it.” With that in mind, we pulled together, were able to pick it up in the next two games to get the W. We’ve had an extensive break this vacation considering we were not in a tournament this year.

That being said, our practices have been tough and we’ve been working hard to strengthen our overall game. I’m confident in what this team can achieve this year.

It’s impossible to see the FCIAC and state banners hanging in the gym and not want to be up there too. For the three captains, there would be nothing better then adding a third FCIAC medal to our collection. A state ring would be even sweeter.

We have a long road ahead of us but look forward to starting up again today. We face rival Fairfield Warde at home. I’m sure it will be a battle.

For the other three seniors on the team, softball season is on the horizon, allowing them to hang on a little longer to being a Crusader. For me, this is it. I want to honor the longstanding tradition of outstanding girls basketball at Trinity Catholic and, with my girls, go out with a bang.