12/16/2021
One of my earliest recollections of my childhood is driving an hour to a strange place I had never heard of called “New Egypt”, where my dad worked, to shoot baskets with my brother in the gym before my dad coached the girl’s basketball games. We would cheer in the stands and fall asleep on the long way home. On Thanksgiving, we would drive up for the football game and play tackle football behind the bleachers. Then we would go home and turn on the video game NCAA Football. We would use the create a team mode to make our own New Egypt teams, adding players with names like Wendel, Morfin, and Hopkins to our rosters. It would take hours to make sure we got the right shade of Vegas Gold. We would come out to the Warrior Sports camps in the summer and players like Uriel Morfin would make sure we knew everyone. When high school rolled around I had the choice of the local regional school, or to follow my dad every day for a drive up 537 to NE. I chose to go to NE for the camaraderie of the staff, the warmth of the students, and for the small-town closeness the school provided. I spent four memorable years at NE, went to Penn State, then got to come back to the Palumbos, the Sawickis, the Corbys, the Demarcos, the Brogans, Jenn Luciani, Mrs. Donahue, Mrs. Fox, Mr. Ng, Mr. English, Mr. Hughes, Mrs. Pender, and Mrs. Vidella, no longer as a student, but as a coworker. Mr. Palumbo even was kind enough to offer me a volunteer position as a coach on the NEHS Boys Soccer staff. Two years later, Mr. Palumbo decided to step down, and I took over as the Head Coach of the team. I was 24 and nervous, but Sam’s incredible support and faith in me gave me the confidence to believe that I could take over such a storied program.
It is now, nine years from that leap of faith, I will step down from my role as teacher and coach here at NEHS. It is hard not to feel as though I am moving out of my home, which I have known my whole life. It was my pleasure to work with incredible assistants, in Gabe Marquez and Sean Feddema, who taught me so much about the game and myself. To make that thrilling run to the sectional finals with that amazing group of guys. To know people like Charlie Spencer, Deb Neuman, and Lynn Kukoda who pour their lives into our sports programs behind the scenes and are as integral to the success of every program. To meet, guide, coach, and befriend so many incredible young men that passed through the program on their way to adulthood and bigger and better things. To have had the privilege to coach the alumni, and this current group of players has been one of the greatest joys of my time here at New Egypt. To see shy young freshmen become young adults, explain to the new crop of shy young freshmen how things are done within the program, and pass on tradition is the ultimate reason anyone gets into coaching, and to do that at my alma mater meant that much more. It hurts to leave such a special place and such special people, but in a way, New Egypt will always be a part of me. My only hope is, that in some small way, my time here has been impactful in ensuring that the NE traditions will continue. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart to the Warrior Family.
-Coach Carroll