The College of Staten Island men’s soccer team teamed up with Team IMPACT to sign Staten Island dynamic duo Anthony Del Re and his brother Nicholas to celebratory contracts to play alongside the Dolphins for the 2017-18 season. Big fans of the CSI men’s soccer team until now, Anthony and Nicholas will now be a part of the team this season, working in drills, participating on the sidelines and being the inspirational leader the Dolphins will need to be successful as they look to bring a championship home.
Anthony Del Re is five-years-old and lives in Staten Island with his parents, Christian and Gina, and brother Nicholas. Anthony has Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS), a rare bone marrow failure characterized by low white blood cell counts, smaller stature and difficulties absorbing food. In addition to his regular appointments for SDS, he gets bone marrow biopsies every six months. Anthony receives his IVIG treatment every Sunday for two hours; IVIG has been a life-saving treatment for Anthony. His weakened immune system puts him at risk of infection/sickness, and he has had to miss out on many things (including sports and birthday parties) if anyone attending is sick. But Anthony loves sports, and loves the Dolphins, and has been such an inspiration to the team, they’ve made him a part of it.
“It was a great experience for myself and the team, and it will continue to be a highlight to our year,” said CSI Head Coach John Tardy. “Having Anthony on the sideline to work with us through pregame and postgame traditions we have and to incorporate him in what we do was fantastic. To see the smiles on his face and Nicholas’ face and on our team, it’s easy to see this is going to be a bond for us all. He is now a CSI Dolphin and we couldn’t be happier.”
For CSI, the bond with Anthony was born through Team IMPACT. Based in Quincy, Massachusetts, Team IMPACT is an organization dedicated to improving quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illness through the power of team activity. They have assisted many children, families, and sports organizations get involved and build relationships that often last a lifetime. The liaisons at Team IMPACT reached out to the Dolphins and informed them of Anthony’s passion for soccer and his inspirational story. Through Tardy and seniors Vasyl Fedortsi and Dardan Nika, the team immediately looked to adopt Anthony into its program.
To get Anthony ready for his big singing day, CSI team liaisons, representing each of their academic classes, Vasyl Fedortsi (Sr.), Matthew Bessler (Jr.), Ryan Layman (So.), and Joe Bolella (Fr.), worked with the great folks at Team IMPACT, led by Katie DePaolo and Carolyn Murphy, to welcome Anthony with an official recruitment letter, asking him if he would sign a contract to be a CSI Dolphin. He accepted, and quickly took to the field to join the Dolphins on the field during their 4-0 win over City College of New York on Saturday. It will be just the beginning for Anthony and Nicholas, as they intend to be fixtures at practices, games, fundraisers, and team get-togethers and functions. The event went well for Anthony, and his family is ecstatic about the partnership.
“We were so impressed and felt very included,” said Christian Del Re, Anthony’s father. “The CSI soccer team made us feel very welcomed and it was so exciting to see Anthony and Nicholas take part and taken in by the leadership on the team. We were so amazed to see how open the team has been and how quickly the kids warmed up to the guys. Anthony even got to play soccer with Danny the Dolphin and they can’t wait to do it again.”
On top of his love for soccer and the Dolphins, Anthony also loves playing with toy trucks and eating his favorite foods like macaroni & cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. Not only is he a wiz on the pitch, but he also loves to swim!
Anthony will be joining the Dolphins on Friday for team training sessions, and his teammates and new family will be joining his parents and friends for multiple SDS fundraisers spread throughout the year. To find out how you can get involved please call (718) 982-3165 or visit http://www.shwachman-diamond.org/ to learn more of Anthony’s condition and raise awareness for this very rare disease.
“It’s an eye-opener,” said Tardy. “Having a chance to work with Anthony and having him be a part of our team has been inspiration, and allows us to appreciate what he is going through and reflect on how fortunate we all are. Giving him an opportunity to just be a kid makes this so rewarding for all of us.”
CSI is next in action tonight at Aviator Field to take on York College at 6:30pm. Their next home game will be against No. Rutgers-Newark on Monday, September 25, at 4pm at the CSI Soccer Complex.
