Varsity Banquet for 2005 Wildcats
“Memories of Each Other”
Published December 13 2005
Varsity Wildcats celebrated the very successful 2005 season with their annual banquet on Monday, December 12. Football players, their families, and Wildcat volunteers arrived at Chantilly Country Club for a festive feast of fried chicken and pork barbecue with a plethora of yummy side dishes. Coach Skinner kicked-off the evening with an invitation to coaches to be the first to sample the fare. Coaches were followed by parents of senior Wildcats, who were soon joined by parents of juniors, sophomores, and freshmen. Then the team hit the line and almost emptied every chafing dish right down to the little can of Sterno.
The Cozy Club
The Centreville crowd filled two rooms of the club, with round tables surrounded
by players sporting neck ties, proud families, volunteers, team managers and
trainers. The front of the room was anchored with the podium, flanked by long
tables for the coaches. Behind them, rows and rows of awards for Wildcats and
their supporters. The club was garnished with a variety of holiday decor, adding
to the warmth coming from the fireplace behind the podium.
Important Supporters
As forks came to rest upon empty plates, Coach Skinner approached the podium.
He shared with the audience his appreciation for the efforts and support of
some vital Centreville folks that could not make it to the event. Peter
Noonan,
Jimmy Sanabria, and Frank Tranfa received particularly strong accolades from
the coach, thanking them for improvements to facilities, and their ongoing
efforts to manage details that are so important to the football program.
Coach Skinner conducted a brief tour through the season, recapping notable moments and statistics. He mentioned how Centreville is part of the most difficult district, packed full of state champs. Coach was very impressed with the results accomplished by his young defense, and the memorable talent of his more experienced offense.
Spaghetti Moms
With that, Coach Skinner began the many ’thank you’ moments of the evening. Of particular note was the long-time efforts of Irene Warren, mother of three Centreville Wildcat football players and wife of former Wildcat coach, Don Warren. Skinner introduced Mrs. Warren to share with the audience the efforts of the Spaghetti Moms and award their efforts. This is Mrs. Warren’s last year working with the football program, and you could feel love and appreciation throughout the room.
As Mrs. Warren shared some history of her participation with the program, she noted that Mary Margaret Gleason has been working side-by-side with her since their oldest boys (now graduated from college) were just juniors at Centreville. She described how Mrs. Gleason was instrumental with lots of things behind the scenes.
Better Than “Red Death”
Irene Warren described how the spaghetti dinners are a long-time tradition
at Centreville, and many other schools. Mrs. Warren expressed her hope that
the boys enjoyed the spaghetti. She knows of a story from another school, a
Centreville opponent, that has a similar dinner, but with spaghetti prepared
by a local store. Their football players created a special nickname for this
meal: “red death.” Mrs. Warren has hope the Wildcats feel differently
about their dinners, prepared with much more TLC than the ’red death.’ Coach
Skinner again took the podium to thank Mrs. Warren, the other Spaghetti Moms,
and share some anecdotes about the Thursday evening meals. Of particular note,
this season saw the introduction of the “butter burger” during
spaghetti dinners. He could only shake his head and say, “every year,
each team is a little bit different.”
The long list of ’thank you’ awards continued, leading to appreciation for the players. Coach Skinner introduced and chatted about each of the freshmen and sophomore players that were participating with the varsity team. Then Skinner introduced each varsity coach, who then presented awards to each varsity junior and senior.
Leadership Awards
Coach Skinner then began the presentation of senior leadership awards. Leadership
awards identify skills, talent, and ability of individual senior players. Coach
explained how, each year, the particular awards can be different to reflect
the special personality of each team. The football players began to loosen
up a bit, as witty repartée between coaches and players garnered laughter
and celebration from Wildcats in the room.
Thank You, Irene
As the evening began to draw to a close, Irene Warren became the focus of
attention. Coach Skinner shared how her efforts helped support the team for
more than seven years. The team presented Mrs. Warren with a very special gift,
and thanked her for everything she has done over the years. How will they ever
recover upon her departure?
But wait, it’s not over yet!
The senior Wildcats had some presentations for the coaches. After a series of gifts for coaches, a “training video” was presented for the enjoyment of everyone in the room. The video was a clever production of some of the senior players on the team, demonstrating all of the best football skills learned while attending Centreville High School. The video was followed by a very special moment, as Cam Dohse and Drew Dudzik (the latter dressed as and “possessed by” Coach Skinner) offered their recollections and reenactment of four years of football under Coach Skinner. Suffice it to say, you will never experience more laughter and red faces than were found in that room of the Chantilly Country Club.
What It’s All About
With that, the festivities wrapped-up as Wildcats and parents did what they could to stretch-out the end of a very special time. With handshakes, hugs, and many smiles, the Centreville team departed into the cold night with an important keepsake that Coach Skinner discussed earlier in the evening: “Memories of each other—that’s what it’s all about.”
Banquet Photos
Cameras were snapping the fun and festivities at the 2005 banquet. Click here to see a small gallery here at WildcatNation.org.
