Anthony Pagano is a senior at Valley Regional High in Deep River,Connecticut and is one of the most inspirational stories I have experienced in my 30 years of coaching. Our coaching staff to a man, headed by Tim King, not only respect this student-athlete but in many ways are in awe of his commitment to the game and to his team! Anthony is a four year veteran player for Valley and at one point vied for the starting QB position. Although he became a solid back up, he was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in April of 2008. As you know this is an ongoing disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive or gastrointestinal(GI) tract.

Consistent with the effects of Crohn"s, Anthony's immune system was greatly weakened and he was depleted of all his energy physically. He has never once used it as excuse to his coaches or peers for lack of better performance or even to lighten his workload in drills and in fact in large part never even mentioned it except to let the coaches know when he had to miss practice for blood work and iron transfusions (8 times to date!) Anthony not only has never missed a practice outside these mandatory medical procedures, but as a 3 year backup QB has been invaluable in running the demo squad to prepare the starting defense week to week and he does so with pride and the sense of urgency usually only displayed by those players with significant playing time .

Moreover,while Anthony has a burning desire to play, he has supported and helped those players in front of him to become better QBs (including a sophomore who actually has become the #2QB) due to Anthony's tutelage. He has an outstanding head for the game, shares everything he knows and sees on the field with the other QBs and with players at other positions as well who often seek him out as it is a general rule of thumb that if there is a question..." just ask Anthony!"

He understands fully that this only widens the gap between himself and them as players. He does all this without reservation or fanfare or reward. While he has labored in obscurity though out his career and received almost no attention, this incredible story should be known. Anthony's love of the game and yearning to be on the field led him to become a skilled holder for place kicks and his superior knowledge and poise lends itself well to this crucial though often times forgotten role! So it should be clearly apparent why Anthony inspires by his example and selfless contributions to the team while enduring being in pain, experiencing being physically drained and depleted, and having to live with being uncomfortable a great deal of the time.

On a personal note, through all my years in coaching young people, I have rarely seen the kind of exemplary example of commitment and dedication from healthy athletes that Anthony exhibits or the joy in being a part of the team. He has surely agonized over the seeming lessor role than one he may have envisioned for himself prior to his condition but has never allowed that to interfere with the betterment of the team!

One would only have to have witnessed a team reminder drill at camp for transgressions by a few others at witnessing how completely selfless and willing Anthony was at never attempting to get out of work which it would seem more than reasonable to request. He has certainly inspired his teammates and those who have come to know what he has gone through.

We as a coaching staff could not recommend him more highly in the spirit of Rudy as a young man who overcame obstacles that certainly would have been insurmountable to most. Athony Pagano is absolutely a special student-athlete and deserving of this award!