This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
01/22/2020 11:00 PMFootball has been a part of Mike Caruso’s life for as long as he can remember. Mike grew up watching the Dallas Cowboys with his dad and, as soon as he was old enough, he joined the East Haven Youth Football program. Mike’s passion for the sport grew as he moved through youth ranks to high school, where he recently finished his final season with the Yellowjackets.
“Our group of seniors has played together since 3rd grade. They’ve always been my brothers. They’re not my second family. They are my family,” says Mike. “This team put in the most work out of any team I’ve ever been on, and it was really fun to play with these boys.”
Mike played a big role while leading East Haven as a senior captain last fall. At the end of Mike’s junior year, the team elected two captains. Then after spring practices, the team voted again, this time electing Mike a captain.
“Mike led by example. He practiced hard every day, didn’t miss a workout, and set a real good example for our younger kids,” Head Coach Scott Benoit says. “Mike had a great career and was a very steady player who was part of a great senior class, a class that will definitely be missed.”
Mike recorded 13 interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns, to go with a number of fumble recoveries throughout his career. As a senior, he had six interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Mike was named to the All-SCC Tier 3 Team as a defensive back—a distinction that he says was “cool because there’s a lot of good players there.”
East Haven finished with a record of 7-3 during Mike’s junior year. As soon as the season ended, Mike started pushing himself and his teammates to have another great campaign in 2019.
“I started going to the gym as much as I can, getting as big as I can, and trying to motivate as many friends as I can to go, too,” says Mike, who made the Levi Jackson All-Star Team as a junior. “Franny Belevich let us use his gym and trained us. He really inspired me. He was there at 6 a.m. and training us harder than I ever trained with workouts I’d never done before. He worked on making our minds stronger, not only our bodies, so we wouldn’t quit.”
Mike worked out throughout the winter, spring, and summer. Following the early morning workouts, he would post in the team’s group chat, encouraging teammates to join him at the gym or on the field.
One of the reasons Mike worked so hard in the offseason was because he wanted East Haven to qualify for the State Playoffs. While the team came up a little short, Mike still saw the effort pay off as the Easties posted a mark of 7-3 for the second-straight year.
“I really wanted to go to the playoffs and make history. I pushed my teammates harder to win as many games as we could. We were only 7-3, which really isn’t good enough, but it’s better than everyone thought we would be,” Mike says. “Our work really showed on the field. If we didn’t work that hard, we couldn’t have done it.”
Growing up playing football, Mike’s group became a top team when he was in 7th grade. Under Coach Nick Gargano, East Haven had a winning season and earned a spot in the playoffs.
Mike saw a bit of varsity time as a sophomore, then secured a starting spot in his junior year, which was Benoit’s first season as head coach. That year, Mike was also reunited with Gargano, who joined Benoit’s coaching staff.
“My junior year, he put me in at safety, and that meant a lot and let me know I could play,” says Mike. “In my first game, I didn’t think I played good and thought I would get benched, but in the second game, I had two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and that really boosted my confidence.”
In addition to citing Gargano as a big influence, Mike is also grateful to the late Melvin Wells and his coaching staff, who coached the Yellowjackets in Mike’s freshman and sophomore seasons. Mike also credits Coach Benoit for “turning the program around.”
Mike’s family provides another source of motivation. Mike feels thankful that his parents, sisters, brother, and uncle attended all of his games. His brother was also a big influence when it came to working out.
“My family always came to every game, and it made me play harder and meant a lot,” Mike says. “I started working out with my brother, which gave me more motivation because, on days where I wasn’t feeling it, he pushed me to go. When the season started, he came to every game to support and, by the end, loved watching us play.”
Mike adds that his dad has “come to every game I’ve ever played of anything.”
“It meant so much to me that he loved to watch and never forced me to play anything,” says Mike. “He told me to do whatever I had fun in and I’d see him in the stands an hour before every game started, which made me play very hard.”
After graduation, Mike plans on spending more time with his family, even though it won’t be on the football field. Mike is planning to join his dad and brother as a carpenter in New York City. He will miss playing football alongside his other brothers as a member of the Yellowjackets.
“I’ll miss being a part of that, coming every day, having fun with all the people I’ve grown up with, and the new kids on the team I could make bonds with,” Mike says. “I’ll miss putting on pads, hitting people, and getting to play with my brothers.”