To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Tom A. Ford Jr. and I’m a graduate of Webutuck High School, and I’m an alumnus of the Dover High School varsity football team, from the summer of 2014 to fall of 2015. Myself and several other Webutuck H.S. classmates were part of the original group of Webutuck students, to be a part of the Dover-Webutuck joint football team. Being a part of a football team was always a dream for many students at Webutuck. For my last two years of high school, it became a reality to the most committed of students, thanks to former Head coach, Chris Lounsbury. Being a football player taught me how to be stronger and dedicated to my dreams in life. Practicing in three-a-day practices in the scorching heat, to playing in the energizing Friday night game in the freezing temperature. Giving everything you have mentally and physically will help you to earn your goal, rather than getting it.
It is heartbreaking to hear that the dismantlement of the joint-football program in Dover, was only to “drop down” a class to play in an easier conference to try and win one or two more games in a season. The great Tommy Lasorda once said, “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” This is in my opinion a cowardly move on the entire Dover School District. The question that has been in my head since the news finally came out is, “Is this how you teach your students and past Dover graduates? When they are confronted by a challenge, or a ‘wall’, do you tell them to walk around it to marginally get by, or too push through it to earn success in their future goals?” Football is a great tool to teach students to be better people, who will be entering the workforce or college after their time in high school. It’s a school’s duty to inspire students to be more successful and motivated for their many short-term and long-term goals in life. The joint school football program only reached to more students.
In only a couple days of the first joint football team practices in August of 2014, we quickly became friends and teammates. Many of us each earned respect of each other overtime. I looked up too many of them, such as Sid Ball, John Lieto, and the entire football coaching staff. Those two years I gave my blood, sweet, body, and tears in Dover football, were some of the greatest years of my life. The second year of the program, we were able to reach the playoffs for the first time in school history since the 1997 Dover Championship. In the years after my football playing years, I’m still friends with all my past Dover teammates, and have several lifelong friends that I stay in touch with. I only wished my youngest brother was able to enjoy the benefits of playing more seasons of football in Dover, like my other Webutuck classmates, middle brother, and myself.
I hope this letter doesn’t offend you in any way. I write it in the most professional and respectful manner possible, to show my frustration on the entire situation. I understand that this is politics and have no possible way to change the outcome, but leave politics out of it. The many rumors, lies, hate of Webutuck students, and cost should be left out of the decision itself. The main focus should be only the students, and not the parent’s options and school politics. Respectfully,
Tom A. Ford Jr.
Webutuck High School ’15
Sport Management Program
Cazenovia College ’19
