Just like every other senior at Cheshire High, Tim Covel is looking forward to the Rams' graduation ceremony and getting his diploma on Friday.
Graduation will signal the end of a successful academic career at the high school for Covel and will also signal the end of a successful athletic career, although that athletic experience was unlike most other Rams.
Covel, considered one of the hardest working athletes and an exceptional leader, enjoyed success while also dealing with Type 1 Diabetes. Covel was a receiver and defensive end on the football team, center/power forward and captain on the basketball team and defender on the boys lacrosse team.
"I was diagnosed with Type 1 (juvenile) Diabetes in sixth grade," Covel said. "I wear an insulin pump on my hip that administers insulin into a cite that I insert into my stomach and hip area. Depending on what my blood sugar is and what I eat determines how much insulin I get.
"I test my blood sugar using a different device roughly 15-20 times a day. My target blood sugar is 140 for when I play. It's had a huge effect on my sports career."
Covel said if his blood sugar is out of range his level of play drops drastically and his chance for injury goes up.
"I carb count everything. I eat to help avoid that as much as possible during games," Covel said. "It has only happened a handful of times in games. It is just something I have to keep control of. It will effect me in college as well, but my training staff will help me out when it gets hard."
Covel led the Rams boys lacrosse team to an 8-10 record and they advanced to the first round of the CIAC Class L tournament. His speed and communication skills were strengths in leading the Rams' transition game from the defensive zone to midfield to offensive attack.
"Tim is an excellent student athlete and his leadership abilities were a huge part of our success this season," Cheshire boys lacrosse coach Rich Pulisciano said. "Tim is a three-sport athlete. Kids look up to Tim. Being a captain is always tough, but Tim was fair not only with his senior peers but the underclassmen as well.
"He’s a great kid with a great attitude. When he stepped on the field it was all business. No matter if it was practice or a game, Tim was always ready to go. Tim’s work ethic rises to the top in everything he does. He will be missed not only by our coaching staff but the kids in this school."
Covel also provided some offense from his defender position in lacrosse with five goals and 10 assists.
Recently, Covel was presented with school's highest honor for a male athlete and named the 2013 Cheshire High Outstanding Male Athlete.
Covel was also named first All-Southern Connecticut Conference, named to the All-SCC Academic Team and an Academic All-American in football. He will play lacrosse and study economics at Connecticut College.

Cheshire football head coach Don Drust, who took the position on a one-year interim basis prior to the start of the 2012 season, has expressed interest in staying on as coach on a full-time basis.

Cheshire athletic director Steve Trifone said the job will be posted at the end of the football season and Drust is welcome to go through the application process.

“If they offered me the job, I would certainly sit down with school officials and discuss taking the position,” Drust said. “With our football season done now, I’ll take some time to think about going through the application process. I would love to come back here on a full time basis. Cheshire football has been a big part of my life.”

Drust took over for former coach Mark Ecke who decided to step down in May after being suspended due to an alleged incident at a junior varsity lacrosse game in Glastonbury.

Drust took a young Rams team and led them to a 6-4 record, including wins over Shelton and Notre Dame-West Haven.

“Don was hired on an interim basis,” Trifone said. “The full time position will be posted as planned at the end of the season. But Don can certainly apply for the position if he so choses.”

http://www.weather.com
Officials involved with the turf project at Cheshire High have confirmed a rumor that there is an outside chance the Rams football team could play its first game on the turf this Friday against Wilbur Cross at 7 p.m.
Playing on the turf this week all comes down to Mother Nature. Sheehan High was secured weeks ago to host the Cheshire “home” game with Wilbur Cross if it is necessary.
“Using the turf this Friday is totally weather dependant at this point,” said Bob Behrer, chairman of the Cheshire Turf Committee. “The crew from Georgia (construction company Shaw Sportexe of Kennesaw, Ga.) is installing on schedule but the issue of weather comes at the end game. Sand and rubber infill can not be done in the rain according to their foreman.”
Cheshire High athletic director Steve Trifone echoed Behrer’s remarks and said rain later this week could delay the final phase of installation.
The information on www.weather.com indicates a 70 percent of rain for Wednesday, 30 percent chance for rain in the morning on Thursday and 40 percent chance for rain early during the day on Friday.
Regarding another rumor, Trifone and Behrer shot down the notion that the installation of the new track surrounding the turf field will be delayed until the spring.
“I am not aware of the track installation being delayed until spring,” Trifone said. “The weather should be fine for the track installation this fall. Daytime temperature must be around 42 degrees and late October, early November should cooperate with those temps.”
Behrer said if the area has normal fall weather the track installation will start “the week of Oct. 17 and be finished in 2-3 weeks.
“Again, this phase is dependent on the weather,” Behrer said. “We’re talking temperatures of 42 degrees and rising in the morning with no moisture (rain) because of the bonding and coating that needs to take place.”

Rainy weather coupled with some cool days we've had the past few weeks have combined to delay the completion of the turf field project at Cheshire High.
Originally scheduled for completion on Oct. 14, the completion date is now termed TBA (to be announced). The Oct. 6 "home" game has already been moved to Falcon Field in Meriden with a 7 p.m. start. The Oct. 14 "home" game with Wilbur Cross on Oct. 14 has now been moved to Sheehan in Wallingford with a 7 p.m. start.
Another wrinkle in the project is the secondary project of resurfacing the track that surrounds the field. R.A.D. Sports company of Rockland, Mass., the construction company handling the project, is doing its best to keep the project moving forward according to Turf Committee chairman Bob Behrer. Behrer said the track resurfacing needs 2-3 weeks of curing before anyone can walk on it.
The hitch is that the curing can't be done unless there is a 7-10 day stretch of warm, dry weather.
"Right now the Oct. 28 home game with Foran (7 p.m. start) is TBA, all depending on the progress of the project," Cheshire High athletic Director Steve Trifone said. "I do not think they want to put the track resurfacing off."
One option is to delay the track resurfacing until next spring. But officials close to the project believe R.A.D. Sports will do everything it can to get the track done this fall.
According to one source, it is more than likely the first home game on the turf field will take place on Thanksgiving Day against Southington at 10 a.m.
However, Behrer said everything will be done to try and get the project done before Thanksgiving.

Cheshire High football's first home game against Hamden will be played at Sheehan High on Sept. 15 (a Thurs.) at 7 p.m. while the turf field is being built.
Groundbreaking for the new turf field began last week and Oct. 15 is the projected finish date. The turf installment/construction is being done by R.A.D. Sports, based out of Rockland Mass., and Shaw Sportexe based in Kennesaw, Ga.
"I have high confidence in R.A.D. Sports and Shaw Sportexe," said Bob Behrer, chairman of the Cheshire Turf Committee. "They are wonderful and will do everything they can to get this done on time or earlier."
The Hamden game at Cheshire was originally scheduled for Sept. 16. Cheshire also has home games on Oct. 6 against Hand and on Oct. 14 against Wilbur Cross.
Athletic director Steve Trifone is extremely happy the turf project is moving forward but no official decision on a rescheduled site has been made on the Oct. 6 and Oct. 14 home games.
One source said school officials will take it one game at a time, depending on the progress of the project, whether a home game needs to be moved and what other sites in the area are available if a home game needs to be moved.