The nostalgia hits you as much as the biggest defensive lineman coming around the corner on a blitz. As you walk into Coach Cipp's house you can feel the pride and memories of decades of football come over you. In his back room is a museum of sorts filled with memorabilia of Bellport football. The trophies and accomplishments of this great coach, and great school are easy to write about, but Coach made it very clear to me this story was not about him but about the 50-year successes of Bellport.
The problem is how can I separate one from the other? The story of Bellport Football is Coach Cipp and the story of Coach Cipp is Bellport Football. So, let's start from the beginning. The Bellport football program was established in 1976 by none other than the legendary Coach Cipp. Over the course of their 50 years, they have established themselves as THE premiere football program in Suffolk County and Long Island. Their excellence runs so deep that in 2006 the program was named the best high school in New York State.
They were the #1 ranked team in the state in 1982 and 2001. Won the Long Island Championship in 1992,1995,1997,2002,2005 and 2010 and has won the Suffolk County Championship an unprecedented 13 times. The program was inducted into the Hall of Fame and named team of the decade.
With all that has been accomplished it can get lost on people that this is much more about what they have built as a community and foundation, rather than just immense success. Though one clearly follows the other and vice versa.
The success is certainly in the stats, but also the approach that this team had. Coach Cipp regaled me with a story of when no one wanted to play an unbeaten team from upstate and his players went into their house, after Coach called the team and agreed to play in order to fill out the schedule and beat the unbeaten squad. After that all of New York had to take notice of not just Bellport football, but Long Island football as a whole. Bellport never was shy to play the best and show that they can hang with the best. It's that moxy, with the unbridled success, that separates their program from everyone else.
We'll start with the coach himself. Coach Cipp was inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 2011. Coach is still a very important part of the school, and it goes beyond the field being named after him. Coach Cipp sat down for an interview with me that led to us walking onto the field to see the current coaching staff. He was greeted with the utmost respect, which is expected, but his glowing reviews of the new staff and team could not have been more profound. Coach Cipp might not be on the sidelines anymore, but he is certainly a part of the fabric of Bellport Football.
Speaking with Coach on a number of topics he lit up with a certain extra exuberance when he spoke of his sons. This went beyond fatherly pride and into sheer admiration for what they have accomplished. Coach Cipp coached from 1976-1992 and then again from 1996-2000. In between that Roy Still manned the sidelines and then Coach Cipp handed the reins over to his son Joe Cipp III in 2011. When you talk about Bellport coach's sons' legacies are as tied into Bellport lore almost as much as his own. Both of his sons went on to coach under his leadership at Bellport and as if it were destined to be one coached offense the other defense. When asked about this he smiled and explained that it was always the plan. To have them compete against each other made them stronger, and in turn the team better. Now that is long term coaching.
Current Head Coach Jamie Fabian took over the team in 2017. Meeting with Coach Fabian you could feel that old school style that has brought the school 50 years of success still instilled into the program. Fabian worked his way up through the ranks and already has a Suffolk County Championship and Coach of the Year honor under his belt. The tradition continues.
One of the most heartwarming traditions was told to me by Coach and it highlighted the connection that the entire Bellport community has with each other. After every game player, coaches, and alumni gather at Coach's house and sort of just hang out and have a good time. Each one of them has a place in Bellport's history and each of them adds to the story of the 50 years of greatness the school has been able to produce.
The story of Bellport football can't be told by a reporter or a writer. It has to be told by the community and the lives it has touched for 50 years. For Bellport football their 50-year story in the making is not just about wins and losses or shoulder pads and helmets, but it's about hearts and minds, and that is evident in everything surrounding the football program.