Farewell Fairbanks Field. You were good to us. In the past eight seasons you saw us post a 34-4 home record while going 10-0 in home playoff games. In the last five years, only one school in the State of Vermont has walked off your grass with a win. You truly gave us a home field advantage.
More importantly, you saw players enter your gates as boys and leave them four years later as men and leaders in their community. You saw individuals come together as a team, a family, a brotherhood. You saw us work as hard Monday through Friday as we did on Saturdays.
Over the coming weeks, we will lay down an artificial turf field and erect lights. Games this fall will move from Saturday afternoons to Friday nights. While I am thrilled for our program, I am equally excited for our local community. The residents of St Johnsbury and surrounding towns will now have their own version of “Friday Night Lights.”
Kenny Chesney’s song “The Boys of Fall,” includes the lyrics:
“When I feel that chill, and smell that fresh cut grass
I’m back in my helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads
Standing in the huddle listening to the call
Fans going crazy for the boys of fall…”
Thank you to the past Hilltoppers whose hard work and dedication lead to the success that made this possible. While you may never play on this new field, you are the reason future Hilltoppers will. Future teams might not “smell that fresh cut grass” but they will most certainly work as hard as you did, uphold the legacy you left, and it is my most sincere hope they will look back as fondly as so many of you do.
Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!
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