On April 27,  the Holyoke High football team was given a very generous donation. Michael and Gina Cella presented a check for $3,000 dollars to be spent on equipment to make the game of football safer and more enjoyable to play. The money came from the Silvio Cella Foundation which, since 2010, has given over $85,000 in donations to high schools across Massachusetts.

When asked why Holyoke High was chosen to be the recipient of such a generous award Michael Cella said, “We get several applications for this award every year and we look at the economic background, the kids that are playing the game, how many kids they have on the team, and if we think it hits us hard enough that your school deserves it more than another school then you get the award.”

The equipment the team will be receiving are Shadowman Pro tackling dummies and tackling donuts. The Shadowman Pro dummies simulate real human movements and size without having to actually hit another human and it helps improve tackling technique.

“You put your head through the hole of the donut and wrap yourself around the arch of the donut, and now you can make full contact without hurting yourself because you’re not hitting a human object you’re hitting foam and rubber,” said Cella. “It’s actually a pretty good deal.”

For the Holyoke High football team this is an extremely big deal.

“Anyone who has participated in sports would probably know that getting hurt in a practice is one of the worst things that can happen, and in a sport as physical as football these injuries could be serious,” said HHS football player Nolan Keane. “Anything that could help improve the safety of the game we all love is a tremendous help.”

Look for the new equipment to debut next August.