By Sarah Opdahl

New Fairfield High School (NFHS) faculty member and coach Greg Schwarz is thrilled to have a new way to celebrate lacrosse team members and honor alumnae Nicole Vengalli with the newly created Nicole Vengalli Teammate Award. The award honors the team’s “nowhere-else-you-would-rather-be mentality,” Schwarz said, and the commitment level they operate in is to “show up for your teammates and work hard when you are there because there is nowhere else you would rather be! This award is about being the ultimate teammate.” He went on to say, “It goes to the player who shows up every day, does the hard things, puts the team first, and lives our standards. It is not about stats, it is about culture. There is no better way to acknowledge both than a Perpetual Trophy.” The first recipient of the award is sophomore Gianna Imhoff.

Schwarz shared that Gianna “was the perfect candidate for this award because she did not play a single game due to an injury prior to the season…Gianna was expected to start on our defense for us. Despite the disappointment, she attended every practice, games, and remained an integral part of our team chemistry. Talent like Gianna’s is rare. Talent paired with humility, consistency, and a relentless commitment to teammates is even rarer, and it was something I needed to acknowledge to our team.” In turn, Gianna expressed gratitude for the acknowledgement, saying, “Being the first person to receive this award has been a great honor, as was being part of New Fairfield Lacrosse from a very young age. Getting to see the legacy Nicole left and the impact she made all over town is very important. Thank you to Brenna Romanello and Coach Schwarz for recognizing me with this award, and I cannot wait to see recipients of this award in the future.”

“I was concerned that our ‘Vengalli Games’ would be lacking a connection with our team as time passed,” Schwarz explained, so he created a way to anchor the connection and commemoration with a tangible and worthy award. Having  tragically lost her life in 2021, Nicole Vengalli-Ferarri’s memory is alive at NFHS in many ways, including a scholarship, named football and other games, this award, and more. Her mother, Lori Vangalli, said, “Our family is so honored that the NFHS Lacrosse team, and their coach, Gregory Schwarz,  created this Teammate award, in honor of our daughter. Nicole’s lax teammates remember that she always cheered everyone on and hyped them up no matter their skill level. She was friends with all of her teammates and made sure that they were all included. Nicole was there to back you up whether on the field,[or]  on the sidelines. She could turn a bad day around with just her smile, her hugs and her contagious laugh.” She added, “Gianna Imhoff is the perfect teammate to be chosen for this award. Even with an injury, she was at every game, every practice and rooted for her teammates nonstop. In our eyes, Gianna epitomizes all that this award signifies. It makes us so happy to know that Gianna is such a kind and loyal young lady who will do wonderful things for others. Congratulations, Giana!”

The NFHS lacrosse team has had a series of successful seasons, which Schwarz attributes to “Togetherness…accountability. This group fought for each other and honored the jersey. That is when you know you are doing something right [including] an extremely well run Toy Drive in December. Our record during the season was 22-1 Varsity Program, 14-0 SubVarsity Record, SWC Champions, Class M State Champions as well.” In addition, lacrosse players participated in weekly visits to New Fairfield Elementary School where they enjoyed reading to future Rebels. He appreciates the culture the group has developed, “We have got players who understand the standard and want to raise it. When that’s in place, the future takes care of itself. I am very excited to start building our new team around that culture. I am especially excited for this group of seniors to leave their mark on this program.”

For younger players who are making their way through the lacrosse paces on the way to high school, Schwarz suggests that they strive to, “Be a great teammate first. Hustle, listen, work hard, and respect the game. Do that long enough and you will become the player everyone wants beside them. Even if you are not at your best, show up and cheer for your teammates & MAKE MEMORIES!” In the end, Schwarz is playing the long game and is working diligently to steward the program in the best manner for current and future students, including with this new award, saying, “This program is bigger than any one season or player. We are just the current caretakers of something special—and our job is to leave it better than we found it.”