Some short Frank Varischetti All-Star Game practice footage. More stories to come this week from the AML side. https://t.co/3o7YnR4dUd
JOHNSONBURG – No stranger to coaching in all-star games, Todd Silfies is just having fun.
Silfies previously coached in the Big 30 Charities Classic as well as assisting with last year’s inaugural Frank Varischetti All-Star Football Game. This year, he’s the head man in the second edition of the Varischetti game, as his squad of all-stars from the Allegheny Mountain League faces top graduated seniors from the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference on Friday night in Brockway.
Mostly for the Kane coach, he’s just happy it’s football season again after his District 9 Class AA champion Wolves were dispatched in the state quarterfinals over Thanksgiving weekend.
“Anytime you can get football going on in June or in the summer like the Big 30 game, it’s just awesome to be around,” Silfies said before the second practice session began Tuesday evening at Johnsonburg High School. “Anytime you can coach kids and they’re all good…they’re all here for a reason. They want it, they want to play. Some of these guys who aren’t from the Big 30 area, it’s their last time probably they’re going to play a high school football game.”
Tuesday was the second day of AML practices and in Johnsonburg. The coaches and players had a team meeting on Sunday and held practice in Kane on Monday. The AML all-stars practice at Ridgway today and Brockway on Thursday.
Silfies’ squad is made up of players from Bradford (2), Brockway (7), Cameron County (2), Coudersport (1), Curwensville (4), Elk Catholic (3), Kane (5), Otto-Eldred (3), Ridgway (5) and Smethport (1).
Kickoff on Friday night is set for 7 o’clock on Brockway’s turf at Frank Varischetti Field.
With most players having gone months without in-game action, Silfies has been stressing the need for his players to get physical during practice.
“We’re trying to encourage it especially through the first couple of days, just to get used to hitting again,” Silfies said. “Obviously, they did it for their entire career, but just to kind of warm up and get ready for the game. We’re not going completely live, usually some quick whistles.
“We do want to get them popping. We have to figure out who’s who, too.”
Despite being rivals for their entire scholastic careers, Silfies pointed out he is excited to see his team of players come together and play toward a common goal.
“It’s exciting to see all these young men who competed so hard against each other,” Silfies said, “especially in the AML, to band together and become friends and kind of put the past beside and do something for the common good of the AML.”
Some other observations from Tuesday’s practice:
Fantasy draft
With a team of all-stars, it’s hard not to look up and down a stacked roster and not be impressed. Silfies, when asked who is impressing right out of the gate, was quick to acknowledge Bradford High flanker Mitch Vleminckx.
“One guy that is jumping out right now at us is Mitch Vleminckx of Bradford,” Silfies said. “He’s just a super fast young man. He’s incredibly athletic. He’s going to do a bunch of different things on both sides of the ball for us. He said to us (Monday), I don’t get tired, when we were asking if he could do this, that or the other thing. It’s really nice to see him compete in this atmosphere and prove who he is in relation to the AML having only played in the AML for one year on the Bradford team last year.”
Exceeding expectations
Aside from Vleminckx, Silfies said he was already pretty knowledgeable of most of the players after spending years game-planning against them.
“Most of these guys I know because we had extensive scouting reports on every one of them scratching our head trying to decide if we were going to run at them or run away from them or tackle them or cover them or whatever,” Silfies said. “It’s really just been whatever my expectations were of most of these guys, they’ve exceeded them in how good they are and how fun they are to coach.”
Continuing coverage
Thursday’s coverage of the AML team will include a look at the coaching staff. Silfies is the head coach, but is being helped by a handful of his assistants as well as numerous area coaches.
