Complex emotions for St. Joe’s after tragedy

There will be a football season at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull and already it is the most challenging of coach Joe Della Vecchia’s career.

“Our kids are devastated,” Della Vecchia said.

There is no loss worse than a parent’s loss of a child. Let’s make that abundantly clear. There can be no pain comparable to the pain the family of Jimmy McGrath has felt since the murder of the Fairfield Prep junior in May.

A lacrosse and football player, McGrath would have returned for a final season for Fairfield Prep and his loss is a mighty blow to teammates and coaches who cared most for him. It is a hole that never can be filled. That, too, must be clear. Yet there also is a powerful and singular motivation to play for Jimmy, to excel in his memory.

For Della Vecchia and his staff, for his St. Joseph players it is emotionally more complex. Certainly, there is considerable sorrow for McGrath’s family and the Fairfield Prep community. There also is a longing that they somehow could have prevented what happened and the myriad of emotions that come when a friend and teammate finds himself in so much trouble.

Raul “Lito” Valle, who would have been a senior player at St. Joseph this fall, is charged with murder in the stabbing death of McGrath outside a home at Laurel Glen Drive in Shelton in May.

“It has been very difficult and very trying on our kids,” Della Vecchia said. “Our role is to be there for them. We’re not shying away from the issue with them. We’re talking and keeping open the lines of communication.

“Being in a situation like this, it is unprecedented for me and the majority of the people in this profession. That’s their friend, you know. The healing process is on-going for everybody. We’ve lost a lot of kids from it. Some kids had trouble dealing with it, coming back.”

Three days of organized team activities (OTAs) be