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12/15/2021 11:00 PMSteve DiCristina joined the North Haven football team as a freshman, but then decided to stop playing the sport following that season. However, in his senior year, Steve returned to the field for North Haven and earned a starting spot on the offensive line, ultimately finishing the season as an All-SCC Tier 1 honoree.
Steve started playing football at North Haven Middle School in 7th grade. He had grown up playing soccer from age 5 through 5th grade. After leaving soccer, Steve spoke with his father about what he should do next. Steve’s dad introduced him to football and encouraged him to do strength training, piquing his interest in the sport.
“I played soccer beforehand, but I really wasn’t feeling it anymore. I decided to just play football. I had been getting bigger. My dad recommended it to me,” says Steve. “He has done a lot for me athletically. Back in 8th grade, he introduced me to my first strength program. He got me into lifting weights, and I plan on doing for it for a long time.”
When he first stepped on the gridiron, Steve found that football wasn’t necessarily an immediate match for him. Steve was a member of North Haven’s JV team in his freshman season, but didn’t see any playing time. He decided to stop playing football and step away from the team.
“I didn’t like it at all. I thought it wasn’t worth it. I didn’t even get to play,” Steve says. “Practices were hard. It led me to quit my sophomore year.”
Steve continued to lift weights during his time away from the football field. As he approached his senior season, some of Steve’s former teammates encouraged him to come back. They wanted more seniors on the team and knew that Steve had been working hard throughout the offseason. Steve wanted to help his friends finish out their senior seasons strong, so he decided to return to the North Haven football squad.
“My friends were talking to me about it. They said they needed me back. They were short on seniors,” says Steve. “They said they knew I was in the weight room and that they knew I’d be good if I came back. It’s what led me.”
Steve always felt that he had the talent to be a varsity starter, but knew that he needed to put in the work to earn that role. During preseason practices, Steve split time on the starting line and worked with his coaches to get up to speed. With his work in the weight room, Steve had gained 60 pounds since his freshman year. When North Haven’s varsity offense stepped up to the line for its first possession of the 2021 campaign, Steve was in there blocking as the team’s starting left guard.
Steve continued starting at left guard throughout his senior season, helping North Haven win five of its last six games to finish with a record of 5-5 on the year. When the season came to a close, Steve was selected to the All-SCC Tier 1 team alongside fellow seniors Jake Langner (linebacker) and Matthew Dodge (defensive back).
“It was super out of nowhere and crazy for me. I remember going into the team meeting, and our coach said he had some awards,” Steve says. “He said, ‘All-SCC, Steve DiCristina, Matthew Dodge, and Jake Langner. I was like, ‘Whoa, this really happened?’ After all these months, that happened. I didn’t think I was worthy to be SCC, but I guess so.”
Head Coach Anthony Sagnella was impressed with Steve’s performance in the senior’s first year as a varsity lineman. Sagnella says that Steve proved a steady presence on the line who improved alongside his teammates as the season unfolded.
“Steve exemplified the growth of our entire team. He went from being a JV-type player at the beginning of the year to being one of the league’s best and being named All-SCC,” says Sagnella. “Steve was very steady every week and studied film intensely. He had great fundamentals and was impossible to move off of the ball. He brought great speed and energy to our run game as a blocker.”
Along with football, Steve has also been a member of the North Haven boys’ outdoor track team for the past three years. He’s entering his first season with the indoor squad this winter.
Steve never expected to win any awards when he returned to the North Haven football team for his senior season. As he walks away with All-SCC honors, Steve feels that he’s also leaving the program with a better understanding of how the sport of football can shape you both on and off the field.
“It feels great. Going on and living my life, I can instill the same things to my kids that my dad did to me,” Steve says. “I know it’s a really good influence to play football. You can really learn a lot as a person and an athlete.”