Kyle Kalanta; A Young Man For All Seasons

Kyle Kalanta's family members are all huge football fans and are New York Giants season ticket holders. Amity's senior grid co-captain cites Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs as his idols and admits that he was heavily impacted by the excitement of the NFL and the thrill of athletic competition.

Kalanta began his football career in the fourth grade when he played running back and defensive linebacker for a team out of Derby. Two years later, in 2004, he enrolled at Amity Middle School in Orange, where he continued his football career for the next three years.

"Except for the broken collar bone I suffered in the eighth grade, playing football back then was a lot of fun: all the players knew one another and were close friends," he said.

In 2007, Kalanta enrolled at Amity High School in Woodbridge. He was named captain of the freshman team, which went 4-3-3 that season. Sophomore year, Kalanta moved up to varsity where he started as a running back. "We lost five or six of our star players, which wasn't a good thing, but it gave me an opportunity to start," said Kalanta, who helped lead the Spartans to a 7-4 season.

In 2009, the Spartans retained most of their key players, but had a rough 3-7 season. Kalanta, who was one of the future captains, told his teammates to take as much as they could out of the season and use it to stay motivated during the off season. The Spartans, who lost a few of their starters, went into the 2010 season with a greater sense of pride and dedication and slightly improved their record to 4-6. Kalanta, who's a senior, boosted his yards per carry from 4.9 to 8.2.

"My teammates are the best; I grew up with these guys. I've played football with them for six years, and they gave me and the program everything they could," said Kalanta, with a proud grin on his face.

In addition to the success he has had in football, Kalanta is also an accomplished basketball player and captain of the Amity team. He started playing AAU basketball in the first grade, and went to the national championship in 2005. In junior high school, Kalanta played guard for the CYO Orangemen and led them to a 63-7 record. 

In his freshman year at Amity, Kalanta played six games with the freshman basketball team before being moved up to junior varsity and varsity.

"I didn't really enjoy it because I didn't get to play with the guys who were in my class. I mostly just sat on the bench for varsity," said Kalanta.

This year, Kalanta, who's captain of the varsity basketball team, is confident that the experience will be much more enjoyable since he is playing with other members of his graduating class.

As if the pressure of leading the Amity football and basketball team weren't enough, Kalanta is also one of the captains for the Amity boys track and field team.

"My dad said that if I played three sports in high school, then I wouldn't have to get a job, so I took him up on that deal," said Kalanta, who, since the eighth grade, has participated in the 100 meter dash, the 4 x 100 relay and the shot put.

The Amity boys track and field team won the Class L state championship in 2007 and 2009 – Kalanta's freshman and junior year – and he went to States with the 4 x 100 relay team in 2008 and 2009, which finished 5th  in its class and 10th  in the state.

"Although I greatly enjoyed playing all three sports, being on the track and field team was probably my best experience at Amity. It taught me to take responsibility for my own success. My coaches didn't let me get away with anything. They preached dedication and discipline, and I feel that they made me a better man and athlete," he said.

"Kalanta helped us change the culture of the team: I could tell that there was more of a 'we' concept with him as captain. He's an excellent player, he's gotten stronger and faster over the years, and I believe he'll do very well in the future," said Amity Head Football Coach Bert Mozealous.

In addition to being a dedicated athlete, Kalanta is also an honor student with a 3.5 GPA. He regularly attends church at Holy Infant in Orange, does a lot of volunteer work in his community, and enjoys playing street hockey with his friends.

Kalanta  plans to continue his football career in college. He is currently being recruited by several schools, including Bates, Williams and Middlebury. He would like to major in Business and Economics, and he has aspirations of working in the field of Actuary Science.