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06/11/2015 12:01 AMEast Haven senior Michael DeAngelo started playing sports when he was about four years old and all the time and effort he’s put in since then led to Michael earning tri-captain status in his senior year with the Yellowjackets.
Michael was looked upon as a leader for East Haven’s football, basketball, and baseball teams as a senior and that’s something he will forever cherish.
“I thought it was a huge role for me. My coaches thought a lot of me and I could control the team and be a leader for the team,” says Michael. “For the younger guys, set a good example for them and basically lead everyone to winning games.”
Michael says he could feel his leadership abilities grow with each passing season as a captain. It was a new role for Michael with the football team, but by the time the recent baseball season arrived, everything was second nature. Michael says he wished the seasons were reversed, so he could have been an even better leader on the gridiron.
“It definitely got easier for me—100 percent. With football, I was a rookie basically at being a captain. For basketball, I got the guys together and got better and better. And by the time I got to baseball, I tried to lead my guys that same way,” says Michael. “I think that the leadership varies from sport to sport. Football, I felt that I needed to be a leader more because it’s just an everyday thing. I had to keep the guys up. We weren’t a winning team, so I had to keep the guys up and keep them motivated every day at practice. It’s a contact sport, so I needed to get the guys onto the field.”
Michael played all different spots on the field with the football squad. He loves defense and enjoyed playing both linebacker and the line, but he also enjoyed his time on offense during his junior and senior seasons. There was a lot to be learned with the transition to offense, especially because it involved competing at multiple positions.
“I had to switch to offensive guard because the line was not working as well, so I had to step up, move to the offensive line, and learn that,” says Michael. “My junior year, I moved to the offensive line my second week, so I had to learn all the plays and footwork to go along with that position. Junior year and senior year, I played offensive guard and moved to fullback the last four games of my senior year.”
Playing fullback to end the season was great for Michael as he had suited up at that position a lot throughout his days in East Haven’s youth league.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” says Michael. “I played there a lot in youth football and it always took the whole team to take me down with the ball.”
Head Coach Ricky Narracci was a big influence on Michael with the basketball squad. Michael played as a freshman and sophomore, but then took his junior year off to focus on baseball. Michael returned for his senior year, however, and made a big impact in the paint and on the boards.
“Coach Narracci had me play my senior year. To be honest, I thought I made a mistake by not playing my junior year,” says Michael. “Narracci was a main reason I came back. He told me that I’d play a big role this year, being a big body under the boards. He knew I’d be a leader on the court and off.”
Michael’s energy is something that Narracci really likes about him and it’s also what baseball Coach Butch Johnson says he brought to the diamond every day.
“He’s one of those great kids. He’s always upbeat and everyone that meets him likes him,” says Johnson. “There’s nothing not to like about the kid. He has a positive attitude, plays hard, and gets everybody up. He’s the type of kid—whether he’s up or not, we’re winning or losing—he’s going to give his best effort and going to go out there and play.”
Michael played first base the past two seasons for Yellowjackets’ baseball and really grew to love the position. He enjoyed how active of a spot on the field that it was, saying it kept his head in the game. Michael’s most memorable part of his senior season was his first at-bat of the year.
“My first at-bat, it was a great feeling,” says Michael, who will play baseball at Western Connecticut next year. “My first at-bat for my senior year, I come up and hit a three-run home run. It felt great. It felt like everything was going to go alright.”