Walsh, Lambert Receive Stenz Award

By Andy Hutchison

In honor of Chris Stenz, a coach in the Newtown Youth Football program who lost his battle with leukemia this fall, Newtown Youth Football & Cheer (NYFC) officials have established the Chris Stenz Award to honor his legacy and recognize individuals who go above and beyond the call of volunteerism for the program.

This year’s co-recipients are Kinga Walsh and Eric Lambert, both parents of players in the program. Lambert coached the eighth-grade team, for which his son, Jake, was a member. Lambert volunteered whenever and wherever needed, NYFC President Sean Dunn said. Walsh has led the NYFC community “give-back” effort for the past two years, reaching out to families and friends to donate clothes and food to area organizations that help those in need.

“It’s definitely an honor and a nice surprise,” Lambert said. “For me, it was about giving something back, and it being for the kids.”

Lambert added that giving back to the players and making it fun was the philosophy Stenz had when coaching in the program. “He was a good man,” Lambert added.

Lambert also got to know Stenz through their efforts in the town’s youth lacrosse program.

“I am very honored to receive the award and was very surprised. Many people give a lot of time to the organization, but the board explained that I was chosen as a result of my community-focused efforts,” said Walsh, who, a year ago, spearheaded a food drive and winter clothing drive for the Faith Food Pantry, Newtown Social Services, and St Rose to benefit Newtowners directly.

This year, Walsh and other volunteers concentrated efforts on a food drive for Newtown Social Services. The objectives of these programs, Walsh said, are to give back to the community and set an example for the children who participate in NYFC, emphasizing the importance of giving back and how simple acts can make a big difference in their own town/community.

“Giving back is something I try to do often, and helping NYFC make a community-focused difference is something I am very proud to be a part of. The football players and cheerleaders get directly involved by helping to sort collections and to generate monetary donations to name a few,” Walsh said.

This was the Walsh family’s seventh year of involvement in NYFC. Kinga’s husband Glenn and their daughter Aniko are supporters of the program. All three of their boys play football (eighth grader Logan since second grade, seventh grader Gordon since third grade, and fifth grader Owen since third grade).

“Chris demonstrated loyalty, respect, and hard work — the simple values we try to teach our kids everyday,” Walsh said.