SPARTANS move to NEFL AAA Division - read all about it!

CT SPARTANS set to kick off season.   by Michael Hayes        posted July 18, 2011. The Middletown Spartans semi-pro football team will kick-off the 2011 season on the road, when they travel to Plainfield to take on the CT Gamblers. Recently, the team held a 'meet and greet' event that included current players, coaches, sponsors and family members at First and Last Tavern on Main Street Middletown. Among the crowd of various supporters was co-owner and head coach Jim Greco, who will lead the Spartans in the team's sixth year of operation as a member of the New England Football League, the largest semi-pro league, geographically speaking, in the nation. Players come to the Spartans on a "word-of-mouth" basis and must pass a different kind of tryout. "We have no physical tryout, players get people who would fit the organization. We have a civic organization, community service is big. [We're] looking for people who embody the Spartan character. A good person, who works hard in the community. If that happens to be a good football player too, then it's a win," explained Greco. As an organization, the Middletown Spartans are a member of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce and lend a hand in all MCC events. Some of the more recent events they have volunteered at include Christmas on Main Street, the Middlesex 5K Road Race, and the annual car show on Main Street. Their involvement goes beyond the Middletown area, though. "The players pick up the civic involvement. We had two players who cooked and DJ'ed a party in Bristol for a young child with cancer when the DJ service didn't show up. We're a local organization, but our community is any place that needs a helping hand," says Greco. The team's open boundary for involvement only makes sense, as they draw players from Middletown, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, Norwich, Durham, Middlefield, and East Lyme. As Greco spoke of the respect the team's players must develop on the field and in their personal lives, two players, as if taking a cue from their coach, came up at separate times and introduced themselves as Khari and Cedric. Simultaneously echoing their coach's words through their actions, the assumption that the Middletown Spartans were similar to a men's softball league was proved to be completely untrue. Leading the charge on and off the field, is 52-year-old quarterback and Durham resident, Brian Curry. Starting his football career at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, Brian continued to play at Southern Connecticut State University but had his career cut short by a knee injury. When the Middletown Spartans formed six years ago, he decided he wanted some closure to his football career, initially punting for the team to get back in shape. On a team whose average age is 23, Curry is an anomoly. Using yoga and the workout program P90x to stay in shape, Curry says he just might be "the oldest quarterback in the nation." Yet, he says his greatest enjoyment comes off the field. "The football thing is great, but making the kids better people, helping them with jobs, resumes, and the interview process is really cool. Meeting kids I would never have met outside the organization is awesome," he says. With Curry leading the charge, the Spartans head into the 2011 season taking the organization to another level on and off the field. The Spartans will move up to AAA, the highest level of play in the NEFL. Yet, their focus on the community remains balanced with their focus on the field. Their are plans to transform a September 17th game into a fundraiser event, in which all proceeds will go to the After The Storm breast cancer foundation and the New Horizons domestic violence prevention organization. The Middletown Spartans play their July and August home games at Miller-Fillback Field on Hunting Hill Avenue in Middletown and their September home games at Palmer Field on Washington Street in Middletown. While the violent nature of football can cloud the beauty of the game, its ability to bring people together is something that is unquestionable. The Middletown Spartans are just that, community members first, football players second.

Former SPARTAN honored.           posted January 22, 2011. Middletown High Wrestling Coach Mark Fong has been selected as the CHSCA Outstanding Wrestling Coach of the Year. Coach Fong is a former SPARTAN Head Coach and player. The SPARTAN Nation is most proud of Coach Fong’s accomplishments.

Christmas on Main Street 2010

The Tebughna School, Tyonek, Alaska. The SPARTAN players and coaches donated nearly 100 items to the Tebughna school in Tyonek, Alaska. The items included pens, pencils, erasers, paper, notebooks, crayons, markers, basketballs, jump ropes, and soccer balls. "The Tebughna school is a K-12 school with 31 students and is in the Alaskan bush. All of the students in the school belong to my tribe and are related to me in some way. This will be a yearly event for the SPARTANS and we hope it gets bigger every year.” Jeff Hurlburt, Middletown Spartans Owner

Hawkwing, Lakota Reservation, South Dakota, along the Cheyenne River. The SPARTANS load trucks that bring medical equipment, books and toys to the Lakota Reservation in South Dakota.