When it comes to high school football in the state of New Jersey, DePaul Catholic is a household name. After a 3-0 start to the 2021 season, Coach Nick Campanile and the Spartans are poised to add more hardware to their trophy case, one that’s seen five state championships and a runner-up added since 2013.
How did the Spartans prepare for this season under their first-year head coach?
“We use GameBreaker because it allows us to practice in a way that we’ve never been able to practice before,” Campanile said. “GameBreaker’s equipment has taken our safety to another level.”
Like many high school football teams across the country, offseason rules prohibit players from wearing traditional shoulder pads and helmets. When Campanile and his staff were presented with the GameBreaker products, they knew it was the answer to making their practice sessions more productive.
“In the period of practice where we’re not allowed to wear our regular pads, we went with the GameBreaker products this year and it revitalized the way we practice.
In the past during summer practice, we really weren’t able to do much with the interior line. GameBreaker’s product gives us the ability to practice with all 11 guys and to teach the technique of the game inside and out.”
It’s one thing for the coaching staff to believe in a new safety standard for practice, but how have the Spartan players adapted to their new equipment? “The feedback from our players has all been positive,” Campanile said. “I think they like the way it looks number one, but more importantly I think it gives them a level of safety that they’ve never had before. They’re able to play harder and longer, whether it’s 7on7 or team periods.”
The Spartans face St. Peter’s Prep this Friday in a battle of unbeatens that will surely play a role in adding that postseason hardware to the trophy case. But when it comes to safety, Campanile didn’t hesitate to recommend GameBreaker to other teams.
“I would absolutely recommend this product to any program. Anybody that spends the level of time practicing in the summer that we do, I think it’s a bargain and it’s a great deal.”