12 minute read
athletics
MARCO SCARANO ’22
Varsity Football Captain and Princeton Commit Leads Winged Beavers into Battle
When asked at the start of the school year about the 2021 football season at Avon Old Farms, senior Marco Scarano’s first few sentences included the words New England Championship. That all-in attitude earned him a spot at the top of the Winged Beavers’ roster and a spot on Princeton University’s as well. An Ivy-League commit since February 2021, Marco entered his senior year with an enviable clarity of mind and sense of purpose: lead his team to the best season it was capable of and create bonds to last a lifetime.
“Between Coach Driscoll coming back for an encore season with us this fall and Coach Jon Wholley joining the staff before he takes over as head coach next year, the entire team was really excited all summer to get back to campus and get to it,” he shares, noting that players from outside the immediate area had flown in early and were living with local teammates to attend captain’s practices even before pre-season sports camp began. “Last year, with COVID, a lot of students were struggling to find ways to show colleges what they could do. This year, we came ready to play.”
Coach Pierce Brennan recruited Marco as a repeat sophomore in the fall of 2019. At his public high school in Berlin, Conn., Marco had been a two-year starter and named all-state. However, he wasn’t always a football player. Marco explains that he initially played soccer, following in his grandfather’s footsteps. “My grandfather played for the Milan junior team in Italy, and my parents tell me that’s where my athletic genes come from,” he explains. “From a young age, I was playing soccer, but I started to get too physical for the game. I was playing up a level or two to be on my older brother’s team. When some of my friends started playing football, I joined them and fell in love with it from the very beginning.”
Marco also says his Avon experience taught him to lead, on and off the field. His interactions with students and faculty challenge him to approach the world with a more mature attitude and help him follow in his mentors’ footsteps of setting the bar high and encouraging others to do their best to reach it. He leads by example: a stellar student, his schedule is full of honors and AP courses; as a student volunteer, he’s a Big Brother to incoming new students and a dorm monitor. He’s also a founding leader of SNAP: the Strength Nutrition and Performance Club, which he and classmate Jack Maas organized to help show their brothers the importance of physical and mental health.
As soon as he donned the Avon Old Farms jersey, Marco learned that Avon was not just about football—nor just about the Brotherhood. There was a lot more to the quiet village of 400 boys. “I realized that in addition to being at a stronger academic institution and one that had more-advanced facilities than my public school, the culture at Avon was really helping me grow as a person. Now, when I talk to players we’re trying to recruit for our team, I try to explain that to them,” he says. “I share that it’s all the things between class and practice that make for a truly inspiring experience: it’s hanging out on the weekends with the guys; it's the conversations in Diogenes Dorm with someone who is different from you, who comes from a place you’ve never seen before, that open your eyes and help you think bigger.”
“We were seeing a ton of kids in the weight room not getting the results they wanted, and we thought it was important to share how to do things the right and healthy way,” he says. “We’ve done presentations on nutrition, vitamins, hydration, sleep, recovery work, and the molecular chemistry of working out. We’re trying to help other kids get to where they want to be.”
As those who know him can attest, Marco is all about helping each classmate he meets be his best self, and that leadership quality has been crucial during a transition period on the football sidelines. As one of the few returning players on the varsity football roster this fall, Marco explains how speaking with incoming players on Zoom and touring campus with them allows him to assure newcomers that they won’t regret the Avon experience. He also took on the job of sharing the legacy of Coach Kevin Driscoll with his new teammates. “For kids on campus, it takes no time at all to hear about Coach Driscoll and how he is the best football coach in Avon history. When the announcement came that he would be returning to the gridiron this fall, the look on our coaches’ faces said it all: it was going to be a great year. Seeing how much of an impact Coach Driscoll had on my coaches’ lives let me know how important this season will be in my life moving forward—just the chance to play for a coach like him would be life-changing. I want everyone else on the team to know that, too.”
Marco is most excited about the extra energy Coach Driscoll’s return will bring to Ryan Field: he hopes alumni will fill the stands alongside current students—the crowd’s spirit at a game gives the team even more reason to leave it all on the field. He recalls the big night game of 2019 when his schoolmates filled the stands, and their cheers filled the air. That night was one for the memory books, and he knows that adding the alumni community to that this year will be a special experience during his senior season.
Looking ahead, Marco plans to study finance, or possibly engineering, at Princeton, where he will continue his career as a wide receiver. Aware that he’ll be attending one of the finest academic institutions in the country, he’s not taking his educational opportunities lightly. “Of course, I have dreams of the NFL, but I want to have a solid education that I can rely upon. Living near New York City and having a background in finance will hopefully set me up for professional success in case football doesn’t.”
Of course, everyone at Avon wishes Marco the best of luck as he finishes his high school career and cannot wait to root for him in the future, wherever his path may lead. His wisdom will no doubt take him far. “In the end, it’s about having a great attitude every day and caring more about the team than the individual,” he says. “That’s the champion mindset.”
THE AVON BROTHERHOOD
The community of men linked by their common experience at Avon. Avonians are challenged to aspire and persevere in the quest for knowledge and self-improvement. Through their journey, students enjoy the unwavering support of their classmates and forge fraternal bonds that last a lifetime.
Kevin Driscoll '72, P'08 is the standard by which people measure the Avon Brotherhood. He is an Avonian in every respect: an alumnus, a parent, a teacher, a coach, a mentor. However, more than the titles, what resonates with those who know him is that Driscoll has always gone above and beyond for his brothers. He is truly selfless, and in the end, that’s what the Brotherhood is all about. Brothers come first. No man is left behind. The ways in which we differ are more important than the ways in which we are alike. To Driscoll, the Avon Brotherhood is more than a catchphrase; it’s a way of life, one he commits to through and through.
When he arrived in the fall of 1971, he and his brother Joe were the first of many Driscolls to enroll in Avon Old Farms School. In fact, he is one of 14 Driscolls to walk through Avon's campus, including his son, Blaise '08; six brothers: Joseph '72, Mark '73, John '75, James '77, Thomas '79, and Michael '81; and six nephews: Kevin '06, Michael '08, John '09, Stephen '11, Francis '14, and Francis '17. Kevin and his wife, Maria, also have a daughter, Margaret. Kevin came to play football and get his grades up before heading off to college. He found something much deeper.
“There were no computers, no cell phones, and not nearly as many televisions when I was a student,” recalls Driscoll. “Because of that, my classmates and I spent a lot of time together in the dorms and developed eternal bonds of friendship. Outside, we were always dreaming up a new game—roof ball, day boy football. You name it, we tried it.” That tradition of forming eternal bonds is what he has spent his life’s work maintaining.
Driscoll returned to Avon in 1978. During his early professional years at Avon, he taught math and served as director of residential life and dean of students. In those roles, alumni and colleagues recall, he focused on building relationships with students and giving time and attention to those who needed it most. “Kevin always took the time to talk to that kid who needed a shoulder to cry on,” comments Head of School Jim Detora. “His closest relationships are with those who needed a big brother. Kevin’s care and attention has undoubtedly changed the trajectory of many lives.”
PAT ASHE ’91 AND COACH DRISCOLL TAKE A KNEE DURING PRACTICE DRILLS.
STUDENTS DAVID FURRUCCI, ROD RINKER '85, BILLY CALLAWAY '85, AND MICHAEL TARDIO POSE WITH KEVIN DRISCOLL IN HIS CLASSROOM.
COACH DRISCOLL MENTORS DANNY CERDA ’97 ON THE SIDELINES.
As dean, Driscoll introduced and encouraged vertical housing, a residential-life initiative promoting camaraderie between older students and underclassmen. He also implemented enrichment hour, a daily teacher-student interaction period after dinner, and the residential life program, which featured inspiring guests speaking on community-based themes. As a coach, he was never an X’s and O’s guy; his attention was on building camaraderie, trust, and fraternal bonds among his players.
—BRIAN CONROY ’82, P’20
Driscoll’s approach resonated with students in the 1980s and ’90s and still resonates today. On any given day, kids filled his office during lunch, simply to spend time in his presence. Colleagues recall that while he was on duty running dorm check, no one was ever “missing” because everyone was with him. If a kid was late to class, it was probably because he was on a Dunkin’ Donuts run with Driscoll. Today, students still hang out in his office: advisees, players, and others who simply need a comfortable place to land during their day. He’s at Morning Meeting and meals in the Riddle Refectory. He goes to every football game and attends alumni events across the country. He’s at weddings. He’s at funerals. When a brother calls—whether to say hello or ask for advice or seek solace—Driscoll answers. When he does, no one ever doubts that he is present in that moment, dedicating himself to whatever story is unfolding.
At the end of the day, whenever someone asks “Why?” regarding his loyalty to Avon, he reflects on his experiences as a student and those he helped create. Experiences people share create bonds that keep them together. The Brotherhood exists because of the experiences Avon offers, experiences such as Chapel, Morning Meeting, sit-down meals, the Boar’s Head Festival. Today, after close to 50 years of living and breathing all that is Avon, Driscoll can still return to his time as a student and those experiences every time he walks into Eagle Dormitory. "The lifestyle at Avon is exactly what young boys need—for me, for my son, and for today's boys, I still see it working wonders," he says. “That’s what I’ve worked to strengthen.”
THE DRISCOLL FAMILY CELEBRATES BLAISE'S GRADUATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT.
So, what, exactly, makes an Avon experience unique? Turn once again to Driscoll’s character to see what works. “Kevin embodies all that we love about the Brotherhood,” says Detora. “He’s always watching out for the students. The same is true for all our alumni: he gives them time and attention and puts them before himself. I am sure there have been plenty of nights when he didn’t go home until it was very late. He’s always been selfless. He was always the student advocate, and kids knew that, and they trusted him. He has that natural ability to sit down for five minutes, and people think they’ve known him for a lifetime. He puts people at ease, and he instills confidence. That’s what the Brotherhood does.”
As Driscoll completes his last year on the Avon football field and full-time work at Avon, we invite you to support the Kevin Driscoll '72, P’08 Brotherhood Scholarship. This scholarship, originally founded in 1998, has supported young men who actively contribute to the Avon community to enhance the spirit of Brotherhood. Our goal is to raise two million dollars, making this one of the largest scholarships in the school's history.
“This is our way of honoring Kevin, his legacy, and his 44 years of service to the Avon Brotherhood,” shares Detora. “I suspect that while Kevin will be retiring from full-time work on campus, he will remain on campus doing his part to help us out with the centennial celebration.”
To learn more about the Kevin Driscoll Brotherhood Scholarship, please visit www.avonoldfarms.com/KD
