At Season’s Start, Steelers Set Sights High

by Lisa Reisman

Members of the 13U New Haven Steelers at pre-pads summer practice including Romeo Ojeda, Kendrix Kelly, Noah Concepcion, David Gaskin, offensive coordinator Demelle Turner, William E.J. McClary, David Gaskin, Jomar Rodriguez, Kayden Wells, Davian “Brodie” Colon, Derrick Greene, Khalil Wooten, Andre Martin, and Landon Murphy.

On a recent Thursday evening at Goffe Street Park, wide receiver Romeo Ojeda took off from a crouch, breaking sharply across the green expanse of field.

“That’s it,” offensive coordinator DeMelle Turner called out, clapping, as Ojeda reached up and received a high, arcing pass from quarterback William “E.J.” McClary, cradling the ball in his arms.

Ojeda and McClary are among the 26 members of the 13U, or 13 years old and under, New Haven Steelers of the Pop Warner Youth Football League, one of multiple football teams across age-based divisions in the city. Last season, the team dominated the New England region, reaching nationals but falling short in the first round and finishing eighth in the nation. This year, they have their sights squarely set on a national championship.

The team has been practicing since early July. This week, they get equipment and uniforms. The season begins on August 22 with the Soul Bowl on Bowen Field.

There’s a lot at stake this season, according to Garrett Barros, who’s served as head coach for the last three years. Most of the squad has been playing together since they were six. “They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, they’ve been through it all,” he said. After this year comes high school. Under Pop Warner regulations, the majority of players will age out.  

That’s not the only challenge. The team plays its home games at Winslow Field, part of the Rock View Circle public housing complex that last season had opponents refusing to play without police and security. On Tuesday, Ricky Barrett, coach of the 9U team, issued an open letter to New Haven mayor Justin Elicker and the Board of Alders requesting that attention be paid to the athletic fields used by the Steelers, which he described as “overgrown and poorly maintained” and “posing safety hazards.”  

To judge from recent practices, none of that seems to have fazed the team, which throughout July has been going through physical conditioning, position drills, and learning the playbook. That’s where the route that Romeo Ojeda was carving comes in. It’s called a slant and it’s part of a so-called route tree, a package of nine routes that gives receivers and quarterbacks a shared language to map out exact depths and cuts.

“It’s something all our wide receivers should know,” Barros said, as offensive line coach Jaylin “Jay” Davis put the players through a series of drills to improve footwork. “They don’t know it, they’re not going to play.”

The goal, Barros said, “is to give our kids more structure. A lot of them come from single-parent homes, so we get a chance to provide that and also to teach them commitment, making sure you do something 100% rather than just do it just because, and that helps them get prepared for the next level and also for life.”

Offensive coach Angel Ojeda with team mom Delores Roberts. “She keeps the agenda on track,” he said.

Barros said he looks for coaches that understand football is more than Xs and Os. That might mean giving the kids a ride home if they don’t have one, or their phone numbers in the event they’re having a tough time at home, or taking them out for a meal. “It’s about wins and losses, but it’s also about pouring into them so they know we value them as part of this team,” he said.

“That’s a lap,” Team Mom Delores Roberts was telling one of the offensive lineman. Someone had cussed, and Roberts enforces a strict no cussing policy. That’s consistent with certain Pop Warner standards including a requirement that players maintain a 2.0 GPA in order to participate. “Education comes first,” said Roberts, the mother of quarterback E.J. McClary. There are also mandated safety measures, like reducing contact to 25 percent of practice time; banning full-speed, head-on tackling and blocking drills; and eliminating kickoffs for the youngest divisions.

Just then, offensive coordinator Demelle Turner approached, followed by a group of wide receivers and running backs, for team-wide drills. A former star quarterback and defensive back at Hillhouse High School who’s also known for his work in the community, Turner and defensive line coach Nate Morrison-Fuller have been with the team since the players were six. “They weren’t part of the staff back then, but they were around for the kids,” Barros said. “They proved themselves.”

Davian “Brodie” Colon, a defensive tackle, with his father defensive coordinator Martin Colon.

“I like the fact that I get to share this with my son,” said defensive coordinator Martin Colon, referring to Brodie, a standout defensive tackle; Angelo Ojeda (offense) and Cameron Davis Sr. (defense) also coach their sons. “And this group as a whole, they’re determined, they’re gritty, they’re tight-knit,” he went on. “The plus about football is you try to set a good example for them, get them to develop good habits, make them into better players.”

By then, it was the end of practice. The players and coaches gathered in a circle. Colon’s voice rose up. “You are going to have bumps in the road, you are going to have adversity, we get it,” he said, the players hanging on his every word. “Football is football. But if you know what you’re doing, you play good because you don’t second-guess yourself. You can go at 100 mph that way.”

“It’s okay to play with some swag,” Turner, the offensive coordinator, chimed in. “You get a stop, you get a touchdown, you celebrate, that’s okay. This is about winning but it’s also about having fun.”