Coaches Corner: Colts season comes to an end
The 2016 football season came to a disappointing end for the Colts last Sunday in Long Island Championship Game at Stonybrook University. Our beloved Colts, this years Suffolk County Champs , came up a touchdown short against perennial Nassau County powerhouse Garden City in a physical and well played title game. I talked to coach Madden about a week after the emotional loss and here’s how it went;
Coach, after the difficult loss what did you say to your team in the locker room?
– ” I told them I was very proud of them, their Suffolk County Champions and no one can ever take that away from us. In the Long Island Championship we didn’t play the kind of football we had been for the last few weeks and you know we were 7 points away from being Long Island Champions”.
Did you have a special message for the seniors on the team?
– ” I thanked them very much and thanked them for all their hard work. I said that they had a great career, 3 Suffolk County Championship appearances, 1 Championship and Long Island Championship finalists, so you know a great year and just a great career for them”.
Despite the obvious disappointment of losing the Long Island Championship game, there’s a lot to be proud of by what this team accomplished. Can you talk about this group and what they’ve meant to you?
– ” They mean a whole bunch. I think they’ve learned a lot as to what it is to be on a a team and their roles on a team. I’m most proud that we have a real established program right now and that the expectations are through the roof year in and year out and next year we’ll be real good as well”.
When you woke up Monday morning after the tough loss did you second guess yourself at all regarding any coaching decisions? Is there anything you would have done differently?
– ” No. We did the same things we did the last few weeks. I wish we could have made some more plays. The weeks before we had made a lot of big plays and scored a lot of big points and when you watch the film they were the same type of plays, but we were just a fingertip away from big plays”.
As you look forward to next years team do you feel like the underclassmen will benefit from the success and experience of this years team?
– ” No doubt. There’s high expectations on this team, in this program and now we just have to get back into the weight room and on to the training field and get after it”.
Thank you for doing these interviews with me all year. Have a great offseason coach.
Throughout the magnificent playoff run the team played exceptionally well and the fans cheered their hearts out in support. The seniors will be missed, but the football program is on sound footing heading into the 2017 season. Thanks to coach Madden and his staff for a great season. Go Colts!!!!
Douglas Lattuca
