DeMazza Fallout: Thoughts for the Future


Out of the hubbub surrounding Housatonic football coach Mike DeMazza’s resignation, a couple of good ideas have emerged, and this seems an appropriate time to share them:

• As a means of repairing relations between Housatonic administration and parents, a search committee could be appointed to assist and advise with the selection of a new football coach. Members ought to include critics of the athletic program, parents who have not been part of the opposition, and a couple of elder statesmen — former principals or coaches from the community who have weathered these storms before.

• More volunteers are needed. The Steamrollers youth football program needs bodies, and not just players. Organizer Champ Perotti said that while last year the teams had a lot of walk-ons, he’d love to see an increased recruiting effort.

But that requires adults to go out, meet with parents and kids, and pitch the idea of youth football.

It can be done. Look at the Berkshire United soccer program — it’s well-organized and very visible.

And it’s not too much of a stretch to think that the more widespread the parental involvement, the less likely it is that events will occur in isolation and become full-blown causes, when often a frank, civil discussion between adults could resolve things before they reach crisis proportions.

• More volunteers could take the Connecticut coaches certification course and assist at the high school as well. While there is a chance of having too many cooks, it seems reasonable, again, that parents intimately involved with the program, and the coaches and administrators in charge of running things, will work better if they’re all (literally) on the same team.

Latest News

Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

Keep ReadingShow less