By Chris Piccirillo, Courier Senior
Sports Writer:
In the early days of
North Haven’s youth football program, there
were four Indians’ teams who rotated playing against each other every weekend,
yet never faced competition from other towns.
So one day the program’s
vice president, Mike Zurlis, had an idea to try and find a league in which North Haven could compete, thus enabling the Indians to
face same towns they’d eventually play in high school.
Mike found the
Shoreline Youth Football Conference and through the efforts of himself and program
president Bill Plantz, North Haven soon had teams
at three different age levels clashing heads with kids from other towns. And
though its beginnings were humble as Mike says they often had to scramble to
get players and equipment, the program has come a considerable way in the
decade-and-a-half since.
The North Haven
Youth Football program now has more than 200 athletes on five squads and has
seen its fair share of playoff appearances—along with a few league championships—as
it athletes are not only learning the sport’s fundamentals, but also the
importance of working towards a common goal as a team.
And one person who’s
as happy as anybody about the way the program has flourished is Mike, who is
not only still vice president, but also coaches North
Haven’s seniors’ team.
“To think about
where we were and where we are now is remarkable and I was just saying to Dave
[current program president, Dave Mikos] that I couldn’t be happier with what’s
happened with youth football in town,” says Mike, whose three sons, Michael,
Gregory, and Mark, have played football in North Haven. “It was my dream to get
a lot of kids in the program and have them get used to the competition that
they’d face in high school while learning the sports’ basics. So to now see
about 200 kids and 40 coaches involved with us putting teams in the playoffs
every year and helping the high school program while they help us is something makes
me teary-eyed.
“I feel so proud to
know that we’re where we want to be as an organization and that North Haven is
well-respected for playing a good, tough brand of football.”
Another person who’s
proud is Mikos, who discusses the positive impact that Mike has had on youth
football in North Haven, both as vice president and a coach.
“Mike has been a key
leader for North Haven youth football and it makes sense that he has a keen
resemblance to Santa Claus because Mike is a man with a big heart,” Mikos says.
“Back in the day when finances were tight, Mike would often dig into his own
pocket to make sure that the kids had equipment so that the program could
continue to function. And as a coach, Mike not only has a great knowledge of football,
but also the ability to recognize what kids fit best in what role in order to
put his team in the best position to win, which is why his teams are usually in
the playoffs.”
And that’s something
which unquestionably makes Mike happy, although nothing makes him happier than
simply working with his young athletes as he not only makes them better
football players, but also helps them become more mature young adults.
“I love going to
practice and being there with the kids everyday. They really do bring a lot of
joy to my life,” Mike says. “I try to teach them that football is a lot like life
in that you’ll always have ups and downs, but will be successful if you work
hard to achieve your goal.
“Sometimes I’ll run
into a kid who I coached when they’re playing in high school or have graduated
college and they’ll come up to me and say ‘Hey Coach Z!’ And to see how they’ve
become successful is something that gives me such a charge. To know that I
possibly had something to do with a kid being successful in life, you just
can’t get a much better feeling than that.”
Sidelines with Mike
Zurlis
Who is your greatest
influence?
My father [John] taught
me the old-fashioned way of coaching football, which is not only teaching the
boys the correct way of playing, but also how you correct a kid when they do
something wrong and then give them a pat on the back when they do something
right.
What is your most
memorable sports moment?
One was being named
as an All-American swimmer in high school [at Kennedy High in Waterbury in the 100 freestyle, 100
butterfly, and 100 freestyle as a junior and senior] because that was something
I really wanted to achieve. The other was watching my son Greg make All-American
as a catcher for Team Connecticut
of AAU [the Amateur Athletic Union]. He was one of 26 out of the 300 kids who
tried out for that team to make it and it was great to see him grow
tremendously as a baseball player in one year.
Who would you like
to thank?
In addition to my
father, I want to thank my wife [Susan] for never once complaining with the
amount of time that I spend with my involvement in the program [the North Haven youth football program]. I also want to thank
Bill Plantz [former president of the program] and Dave Mikos [current
president] for allowing me to get involved and giving me the chance to coach in
North Haven youth football.
Pictured: Mike Zurlis
has been affiliated with youth football in North Haven
for the majority of the past two decades.
Photo courtesy of Susan Zurlis