RSS 2.0 FeedFebruary 10, 2011, Merrick Life
Calhoun students sign with Division 1 schools
Colt footballers commit to a Division 1 level program.
TOUCHDOWN! From left are David Marcello; son Nick, who has been accepted to a Division 1 school; Calhoun Colts Varsity Coach Joe Bianca; student Coleman Meier, who was also accepted to a Division 1 school; and parents Lucie and George Meier. Merrick Life photo by Douglas Finlay.
Two Calhoun High School seniors who have played on the Calhoun Colts varisity football team have signed with Division 1 universities, guaranteeing they will extend their football careers at least another four years at two of the top football schools in the country.
Nick Marcello, the team’s kicker, and Coleman Meier, a linebacker, both signed with Lehigh University and Stony Brook University, respectively – partly through scholarship incentives – and will begin classes at their new schools in the fall.
Nick told Merrick Life he plans to major in biology at Lehigh, part of a pre-med sports medicine track, while Coleman said he plans to major in physical therapy.
Varsity Coach Joe Bianca said during a gathering of the students and family at the school that “it’s exciting and very rare to have two students signing with Division 1 teams.” He said it is a credit to the program that they have been able to achieve such a high level of play to be accepted by the schools.
Both Nick and Coleman credit and thank Mr. Bianca and the rest of the coaching staff with instilling the passion in them required to play – and to provide the necessary resources to enable them to play – at such a high level.
Dave Marcello, Nick’s father, said he is “extremely proud of Nick. It has been his goal to get into Division 1 football, and he has worked very hard to get it.”
Added Nick, “The fact a Division 1 school accepted me shows me what the rewards of hard work can be, and that I have the talent” the school was looking for.
George and Lucie Meier, Coleman’s parents, are also proud of their son for his acceptance into a Division 1 school. Their older son Jake, who played on the Colts, is a sophomore at Wagner College, also playing football.
Coach Bianca was a member of the Wagner team, playing the tailback position, when it won a Division 3 national championship in 1987.
But Mrs. Meier is also “relieved” at her son’s acceptance into Stony Brook, because Coleman pulled his ACL (miniscus) muscle early in the season and was unable to play, throwing the possibility of his Division 1 goal clearly in doubt.
“But school officials told us that Coleman has performed at such a high level for several years throughout the program” that his strained ACL muscle would not cloud their final judgment that he was fit to play for the Division 1 team.
Coach Bianca made clear that the new program he helped implement several years ago includes as a major component the families’ support for their kids in the program.
“This is a family oriented program, and to see the moms and dads at games, and driving their kids to practices and participating in all the extracurricular activities, is very important for the players’ development,” he said.
Mr. Meier added that before Coach Bianca came in, “the football program had been in tatters.”
Principal Dave Seinfeld said Coach Bianca’s program provides a supportive high-level college football experience for players who want to commit beyond the high school level, because he has several contacts at the college level, and those contacts know him and respect his evaluations.
