Bedell, Scheld give back as youth coaches

The last time we saw Stacey Bedell on a football field he was breaking records and scoring four touchdowns in the Long Island Class I championship game last November. The Floyd junior left an indelible mark in the title game against Freeport. His 97-yard touchdown return with the opening kickoff broke an LIC record and set the pace for a wild game.

"He did great things all season," said Floyd football coach Paul Longo. "He's a wonderfully well-rounded young man. Just look at what he's doing. He's an excellent role model for the younger players."

Bedell is doing great things with young people in the surrounding communities. He and long time friend Nick Scheld of Chaminade volunteered to coach a group of young football players from Patchogue-Medford at the Coastal Sports indoor complex in Hauppauge. Neither has any connection to the players, who range from 5 to 7 years old, yet they are there every week guiding and teaching aspiring football players.

"The kids absolutely love these coaches," said Patrice Garone, whose son Thomas plays for Patchogue-Medford. "They have taken the time to mentor these young players. And they're giving them the foundation for a successful experience in the sport. While other guys their age are out hanging with their friends and or seeing girls on Friday nights, these guys have decided that giving back to the community and teaching youngsters is very important."

Winning and losing takes a back seat to instruction and sportsmanship with Scheld and Bedell. Both are in tune to the boundaries in which they can teach such young players. The plays are simplistic and the fundamentals are the key to smiles and successful plays.

"It's very hard for these guys to learn the plays," Bedell said. "And we switch positions a lot - so that can be confusing. Everyone gets a chance to try every position. The challenge lies in the attention span of the player. But I think we're getting through and having success."

While some of the opposing coaches get overly excited and the parents become overzealous on plays, these two guys seem to have things under control. Scheld was busy fixing one player's pads and Bedell had to buckle the same chinstrap a few times.

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"Safety is so important," Bedell said. "We want them to learn, have fun and be safe."

The responsibility of handling such young players hasn't inhibited the coaches. The volatility of opposing coaches and parents hasn't turned them off. They never scream. They only offered words of encouragement in a lopsided loss against a powerful North Babylon squad Friday night.

"They're just learning the basics," Bedell said. "This is all new to them. They didn't have a coach to start the season and Nick called and asked me if I'd be interested. It's been a lot of fun."

So how have the parents reacted to having two 17-year- olds coaching the team.

"They've been great and very supportive," Scheld said. "They see that we care and we try to teach as much as we can. It can be challenging because some of our players are only five years old."

Bedell and Scheld led the team through a stretching routine and warm-ups before the North Babylon game.

"You have to give them a lot of credit," said North Babylon coach James Kolk. "They come out and work with the kids and teach sportsmanship and the fundamentals of the game. They're also getting the opportunity to see what their coaches have to deal with on a daily basis. They've done a good job."

"The kids see these guys on the television on the MSG Varsity channel and they really look up to them," Garone said. "Everyone knows them and the kids look forward to coming down to play football. What an experience."