Amityville looks to rebuild after pulling the plug on varsity football
The organization that oversees high school athletics in Suffolk County says Amityville is not the first program to face such challenges.
The Amityville School District says it is focused on rebuilding its football program after announcing there will be no varsity team taking the field this season.
Varsity players, including sophomore Gregory Chavis, spent the summer preparing for the upcoming season, only to learn days before the start of school that the varsity program was being suspended.
“I was a starting receiver, and now they’re telling me I have to play JV,” Chavis said.
Chavis broke his pinky finger during practice - and two other players also suffered injuries - further reducing an already thin roster.
“Since numbers were already low, those three injuries were very impactful, and we had to make the unfortunate decision to pause our varsity season,” said Amityville athletic director Evan Farkas.
With the exception of three seniors, varsity players will be able to compete at the junior varsity level this season. District officials say the move is part of a long-term effort to rebuild the program by developing younger athletes.
“As they get older and develop more and get stronger and faster and learn to play as a team, the goal ultimately is to bring back that varsity team,” Farkas said.
The organization that oversees high school athletics in Suffolk County says Amityville is not the first program to face such challenges.
“Take, for instance, the East Hampton program,” said Tom Combs, of Section XI. “About four years ago, they had to drop their program due to insufficient numbers. Last year, they were in the Conference III semifinals.”
Officials hope Amityville can follow a similar path back to varsity competition.
Chavis said increasing participation will be key to the program’s future.
“We need to work on getting more players here, getting more people to come out,” he said.
Amityville is not alone. The varsity football programs at Port Jefferson School District and Holy Trinity were also canceled before the start of the school year because of low participation numbers.
