KEITH HELLSTERN- FOOTBALL HEAD COACH FAIRFIELD PREP

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Episode Transcript

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That's Sports ninety sixty AM ninety sixpoint nine FM W E l I.
But it's been the talk. It'sbeen the talk of the CIAC state tournament.
They started all in six, theywon their last four, and on
Thanksgiving Day they say to themselves,boys, uh, don't put that equipment

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away. We're in the state playoffs. Okay, And there they are,
and Tuesday they're in the quarterfinals.And joining me now is a football coach
at Fairfield Prep, Keith Helston.Good morning there, mister Keith. Good
moright, coach? Are you I'mdoing great? Now? Seriously? All
right, I had I pulled yourschedule up because I was telling the folks

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about it earlier. Okay, soyou get ready preseason? Hey, there
we go, Ready to go?Boys? What what we got? We
had Greenwich Greenwich? Week one Greenwichand hey it's a good game, thirty
five to twenty one. Okay,not bad? Right, we were happy
with the showing. I'm sure,I mean, you want to win,

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but obviously not unhappy all in one. Okay, boys, no problem.
Now you play hand well, Isaw I saw highlights of that one.
You lose what double overtime? Thirtyfive thirty four Okay, that one must
have hurt. Oh and two.All right, boys, we're ready.
We're going to Derry. We playedDerry Ann ten to two. Rowing three.

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Okay, let's just hold it therefor a minute. Ollen three with
Cheshire coming up the next week.Your thoughts and what was the team like
after losing your first three? Well, I think after that point one of
the big points of emphasis going intothe season was like we had less than
a handful of starters back from lastyear, and that was a combination then

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of kids that don't have any varsityexperience and more youth than we've ever played
on Friday nights. There's lot ofsophomores playing, there's a lot of juniors
playing, and we're going to belearning on the job and learning the hard
way because we were going to getany GIMMI games. And I don't say
that to underestimate anybody we would everplay, but we knew that, you

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know, it was going to bea gauntlet and it was just that hard
early on. The first three wastough. We went in to Cheshire and
play our tails off in a monthsoon, but we've lost fourteen nothing,
and then it's just like, allright, how do we get this thing
going because we could not be asconsistent as we wanted. And we'll play
complimentary football the way we needed.But you know, we just kept our

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nose of the gunstone. And that'sagain a credit to my kids, and
it's a credit to my staff.Absolutely. But okay, all of this,
so you got you got cheshure.The next week you get shut out
fourteen nothing yep, okay, allright? Owing for now you got north
An. North Aven is rolling becauseremember they four for the difference games.
I haven't lost the game on thefield yet and they get you and this

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is twenty eight to six, rightgame? What was that? I'm sure
it was. I think all yourgame has been hard fought. Yeah,
but in five and now you gotI mean, it's not like you're playing
it's unbelievable schedule. People hear this. I go seriously. And now you
got Shelton, another playoff team,and you lose that one twenty eight to
seven. Okay, you are nowowen six? What is now? What

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are the thoughts going on? Well, acause it wasn't any better from the
last time I asked you. Yeah, no, it's it's we stay at
it. We did have a buyeafter Shelton, the first time that in
a while that we've had Dix ina row, which I'm not a big
fan of it. Then a coupleof games, you know, so,

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but we we took the opportunity toseem to work at where we were deficient
and get better. You know,we've been like every other team, battling
other issues, injuries, getting evenother younger guys are inexperienced guys and in
places to contribute. And then wejust started to gain a little bit of
traction. And once I think theplayers realized that this was not a foregone

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conclusion that everything's gonna turn out poorly, let's say, game by game,
we played with a little bit moreconfidence, We executed better, and the
train started rolling a little bit,and thankfully we were able to put four
together at the end. Yeah,let's get it. So you're all in
six. And let's face it,obviously we're not I mentioned it to you

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were not talking playoffs at all.You're just trying to get one wine,
get into the win colm and seewhat happens here. But a lot of
kids, a lot of teams couldhave packed it in and say you know
what, oh, in six.Okay, well, let's try to win
a couple of games, and youknow what I'm saying, be a season.
Not the case. You come backand you beat Hamden thirty seven twenty

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seven. That got your rolling.Now you beat Xavier thirty to seventeen,
and then you beat notre name ofwest Haven thirty five to ten. Now
did you have an inkling going intothe game on Thanksgiving Eve with Westaven that
you had a chance to make theplayoffs with a win. Yes, we
did, and honestly at that pointgoing into that game, it's going to

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be a big game no matter what, no matter what the record is at
and we knew how good West Stavenwas, there was no reason to ignore
that facts. Not because that shouldbe the motivation to succeed, but it
definitely helps the guys realize that,you know, if you're in the mix
and your very last game of theyear is a meaningful game to you,

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it's not just you know, itcould be a rivalry game, could be
a Thanksgiving game, to be anyof those things. But if you can
add a little bit more, youknow, significance to it, that is
a great opportunity. No matter howwe started, no matter how rough it
was in the beginning. So wefought hard, we played hard. We
did not get the results we wantedin the first six game, but they

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kept going and having that kind ofbrass ring in front of them us Wednesday
night was I think important. Ithelped add a little bit more energy to
it, but help us continue tokind of mature as a program. And
the way you were playing too.As coaches, they didn't want to play
fairfield prep. Now forget about it. They're playing the best ball of probably
anybody in the state. And herethey go. You win the game twenty

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one to fourteen, knock off WestHaven at home at their place, and
you go four and six. Nowyou didn't have it clinched then when you
won that game, correct, No, we did not got to wait because
East Hartford lurked in the background thereand it was going to be a matter

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when you talk about points, andI don't figure all that out, but
my gurus here did, and itwas going to be closed with these bonus
games and bonus points coming in.East Hartford was still being talked about.
Glastonbury was there and even Kennedy whoknocked off Crosby the next day. So
I mean, it was a touchand go for a while, but then

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the word finally comes in. FairfieldPrep has made it four and six,
and that's an unbelievable thing for youto win just four games, but four
huge games at the end of theyear. And now you're going to Staples
the number one seed on Tuesday,a team that you played last year in

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the playoffs, if you're right,right, So this is kind of crazy.
I mean, this is this iswow. So you're the number eight
seed, you go to Staples onTuesday night, and I'd have to say
magical season, wouldn't you. Iwould say that it's been a definitely,

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I think again culturally for us,as a program, for the kids,
for the school. I think thegreat lesson there is that no matter your
circumstances. As hokey as this maysound, it's actually true. You know,
you don't stop believing in what you'retrying to do and why you're trying
to do it. Because football isa team sport really gives you the ultimate

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opportunity to work together as self sacrifice, to have discipline, and it's just
a great lesson in life. Alwaysbelieve, and our guys did, and
we're able to manifest this opportunity.We're very thankful for it and we're going
to do everything we can to makethe most of it. I'm sure you
will. Did the kids have anyidea? Did you ever say any did
they listen? Guys, if wewin beat West Taven wins and we got

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a chance to be in the mixerfor a playoff spot, did they know
that going? I made sure tosay that to them going into the West
State in games, and we didn'tfocus on it, but we wanted to
make sure they should put it in. We got shot, gotthing else to
lose for. And imagine sitting aroundon Thanksgiving Day because other games are being

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played, obviously, and you're waitingnow when the points come in, Uh,
you know what happens, and obviouslyit worked out for you. And
here you are in the state playoffsand now you've got Staples and it's not
like there you haven't. Let's putit this way, with your schedule,
you haven't played anybody easy all yearalong. Why would you start now?

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Right? And this is no reason, no reason to stop. It's a
process we're used to, you know, and look look at this double l
Fairfield prepence Staples Southington at Manchester.When was the last time Somethington had four
losses going into the playoffs? UhStamford at Greenwich and New Britain at west
Haven. Again New Britain a teamthat helped out there too because they knocked

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off East Harford. You know whatI'm saying. So it was this is
like murderer's role here. This isunbelievable. But you know what, God,
God bless you. You guys asa coaching staff and players hung right
in there, saw a chance,sawt chance and took advantage of it.

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Good for you. I did wantto ask you before I'll let you go
your thoughts on the new proposal.Great question I got to I got to
see kind of laid out a littlebit more, to be honest with you,
George. But you know, inmy mind, there's a couple of
things, you know, from fromour end, especially after this season when

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you're playing a schedule like we are, and it was a mix of schools,
not just double L schools, right, double L and L even double
M. Right, but in thenews with some of the coaches like at
least that part of it. AndI know the sports writers we've talked.
They like the fact that you'd beplaying teams in your own class all year.
Yep. And I don't think there'sanything wrong with that whatsoever. I

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don't either, but I think there'ssomething appropriate to it. It's my bigger
thought is the picture is making thatwork with travel and you know, traditional
for its rivalries. If there's amiddle ground to be found, somehow to
combine those two things and to makeit equitable. Uh, you know.
I'll leave that up to some otherminds, but I think it's something that

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the more input they get from thecoaches in the state, and the more
open a conversation that we can haveabout it, that you know, can
appeal to the greater good everybody youknow, and try to make something that's
functional. I think that's what's gonnabe cute. It's gotta be it's gotta
be for the kids first and foremost. That's correct to compete at a high
level. I mean, I don'timagine now you and they say you can

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play your art rival if you want, you're gonna get Now you are losing
a game. Coaches don't like thatall this work, all this back for
just nine games, eight of whichwould be against teams in the same class.
The other would be against your archrival, which cod Or could not
be in the same class, butyou'd be playing West Haven on Columbus Day
weekend something like that. That's Ithink what the proposal was. So look,

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we'll take it as it comes.In hell, my biggest kit serve
right now is Stape. We gotto finish out the puppy that goes on
Tuesday. Keith, dear, greatguy, and uh you always uh come
aboard. I talked to you andwe talk. You've had a murderous schedule.

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Murderous with all these playoff teams inthere. I mean, look at
that schedule. You could just goyeah, okay again, credit to credit
to my players, Absolutely correct,absolutely yeah. I'll put it resilient and
surviving and keep pushing forward. Sowe're looking forward to the opportunity on Tuesday

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against an excellent Staples program, andyou know we're gonna get it all.
We got you got it, Keith. I'll tell you what, best of
luck, and I mean that sincerely. Best of luck here from me at
w E A line. I knowmy staff as well for to pull this
off what you did, it wasunbelievable, So good luck Tuesday, let's
touch base again. I appreciate it. Coach, thank you so much.