Sanford H. Calhoun High School will celebrate its athletic history this weekend with the induction of its inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class.
The ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m. in the courtyard across from the school’s gymnasium. Family members, friends, former teammates, coaches, staff, alumni and community members are invited.
Jason Elias, chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee and a 1991 Calhoun graduate, said the idea was inspired in part by the Athletic Hall of Fame at Kennedy High School. He credited Kennedy educators Brian DiGiovanni and Craig Papach with helping establish that program, which became a model for similar efforts at Calhoun and Mepham.
“It was such a positive reinforcement for our athletes and the hard work and dedication that they’ve done,” Elias said.
Calhoun graduates have gone on to play professional sports, compete in the Olympics and earn MVP and Hall of Fame honors at colleges across the country.
“We have a group of athletes, as you’ll see in this class, that are just truly remarkable,” Elias said. “It just felt like now was the time. You know, why wouldn’t we do it?”
Elias sought input from current and former coaches, sports boosters and administrators, some with connections to Calhoun dating to the 1960s and ’70s. Organizers considered roughly 60 candidates and consulted records of past MVPs and junior and senior athletes of the year.
About 25 individuals and groups were ultimately selected, and roughly 20 are expected to be represented during the weekend, including relatives of posthumous inductees. Some are traveling from as far away as Utah and North Carolina.
Hall of Fame weekend will begin Friday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m., when honorees and their families will return for a walk through the school with Principal Mike Hughes, Athletic Coordinator Pete Palazzo and Elias.
Elias returned to Calhoun as a teacher in 2002, but for some inductees, it could be their first time walking the halls in 30 or 40 years.
“I get the chills just thinking about somebody coming back after 30, 40 years,” Elias said. “I can’t imagine the rush of memories that they’ll feel in that one moment.”
For inductee Dina Gentile, 56, returning to Calhoun carries particular meaning.
Gentile, a distinguished professor of sport management and esports management at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts, has been inducted into the Adelphi University Hall of Fame as a soccer player and the Endicott College Hall of Fame as a coach. But recognition from the high school where her athletic career took shape is different, she said.
“Now to be recognized by Calhoun High School Athletics has a special meaning to me,” Gentile said. “The Calhoun soccer field, the basketball court and the softball field shaped me and influenced me so I could accomplish so much as a collegiate athlete and college coach.”
Gentile’s family moved to Italy while she was in junior high school but later returned to the United States. She remembers riding her bicycle to the soccer field for the high school team’s captain’s practice.
“I remember the feeling — I was free on that field and I almost missed out on that opportunity,” Gentile said. “I wish I could bottle up that happiness.”
Gentile said representing the Colts also gave her friendships that have endured long after her playing days.
“Representing the Colts was a great honor as it symbolizes competition, camaraderie and fun with the people I grew up with,” she said. “And we are all still friends today. This honor is their accomplishment as well.”
The inductees will be featured on a permanent mural and wrap outside the gymnasium, which Elias hopes will connect Calhoun’s athletic past with its current students.
“It’s important to look back and see these incredible athletes, leaders, dedicated members of our community and say, ‘You know what? I could be that too,’” Elias said.
For inductee Jake Thomas, 33, a certified financial planner, the recognition is especially meaningful because he will enter the Hall of Fame alongside his former coach, Coach Corea, who is being honored posthumously.
“The induction means the world to me, especially knowing that I am being inducted alongside my coach, Coach Corea, who is no longer with us,” Thomas said. “He was a great man and a great coach, and it is a privilege to be recognized in the same capacity as him.”
Thomas said sharing the inaugural class with Corea and the other honorees adds to the significance.
“If there were a Hall of Fame for Hall of Famers, he would be in it,” Thomas said. “I’m incredibly honored to share this recognition with Coach Corea and the other inductees, and to be included among such a special group of people who have made a lasting impact on our school and community.”
Following Saturday’s ceremony, the honorees will be recognized during Calhoun’s homecoming football game, which begins at 3:30 p.m. Each will be honored at the 50-yard line during halftime.
Elias said homecoming was a natural fit because it brings together students, alumni, coaches and former players.
“I can’t imagine another weekend where Calhoun’s spirit is at the level it is,” Elias said.
Organizers envision inducting new Hall of Fame classes every two years, with future classes likely to be smaller.
For Elias, the inaugural class has also offered a chance to connect with generations of people who share his attachment to the school.
“It’s just nice to be a part of it,” he said. “I like that I get to talk to people who love Calhoun as much as I do and want to give back to it if they can.”
