Amityville becomes latest Long Island school to cancel varsity football this season
Amityville Superintendent of Schools Gina Talbert said the district will still have a junior varsity season.
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Three schools on Long Island have now canceled their varsity football seasons before the school year even began.
The latest was the Amityville School District, which announced the decision on Monday due to the number of injuries in the program.
"While we understand this news is disappointing, we must prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes," Amityville Superintendent of Schools Gina Talbert told News 12 in a statement.
The district did not disclose the nature of the injuries or what percentage of the team was hurt that forced the entire season to be cut.
In a letter to the community shared with News 12, the Amityville Superintendent of Schools Gina Talbert said too many varsity players were injured and that it was unsafe to elevate younger players just to fill out the roster.
Taking into account numerous player injuries on the varsity level, the program has made the decision to pause varsity competition for the upcoming season and focus all resources on a junior varsity schedule.
The decision centers entirely on student-athlete safety and long-term program health. Football is a physically demanding sport, and fielding a varsity squad without sufficient upperclassman depth creates unnecessary safety risks for younger athletes. Transitioning our focus to junior varsity allows our players to build physical strength, master core fundamentals, and compete against age-appripriate competition in a controlled, growth-oriented environment.
The choice was made with heavy hearts for those on our varsity roster, especially for our three dedicated senior athletes, whose unwavering commitment and leadership during offseason workouts have set a standard for the entire program. State and league regulations prohibit seniors from playing at the JV level, but the district is actively working to support these young men through leadership roles within the program and by exploring all available avenues to honor their decication.
The future of Tide football remains exceptionally bright. With a large, promising group of rising freshman players who gained valuable competitive experience last season, this year serves as a crucial bridge to rebuild our roster safely and sustainably.
By prioritizing skill development, physical conditioning and safety today, the Amityville football program is laying the groundwork for a stronger, highly competitive varsity return in the near future. We deeply appreciate the continued support, understanding and pride of our community, parents and fans as we invest in the well-being of our athletes.
Talbert said there were three seniors on the varsity team and that the district is working to find them leadership roles to honor their commitment to the team.
The decision comes just days after the Port Jefferson School District announced it had to drop its varsity football team over a lack of players after falling below the 16-player minimum needed to field a team.
Port Jefferson school officials said they tried to reach a deal to combine teams with the Rocky Point School District, but were not able to finalize an agreement.
Port Jefferson said it went to Section XI, the governing body for Suffolk County high school athletics, regarding the proposed merger, but said Section XI denied the request, saying the move would disqualify Rocky Point from the postseason.
Section XI denied that, saying Rocky Point had declined to combine with Port Jefferson.
In July, Holy Trinity High School, a Catholic school in Hicksville, abruptly ended its varsity football program after Head Coach Cain Mack suddenly resigned.
Athletic Director Matthew Sloan said the school will begin looking for a new coach with plans to start a junior varsity team next year and try again with varsity in 2028-29. The school said it will continue to offer football-specific training sessions in the weight room for students who wish to participate this fall.
Section XI Athletics Executive Director Tom Combs told News 12:
While we are disappointed whenever a program cancels, Amityville worked and is working extremely hard to resurrect their program. They have expressed to Section XI that they will continue their JV program.
When the divisions were developed this year, our football committee recommended placing 15 teams in division 4. This has enabled us to move forward with the schedule as devised with very few adjustments. Our goal is to have every program play at lest 7 games with the majority playing 8.
We look forward to working with struggling programs to provide strategies to ensure they have the appropriate numbers to continue to play football in the future.
