BEYOND THE SCOREBOARD
An occasional sports feature highlighting the unique stories of local athletes.<\/p>\n
Tom Cillo straps on his helmet and waits for his chance.<\/p>\n
A defensive line coach calls him over at practice. The Lycoming College nose guard gets in formation and faces players 40 pounds heavier \u2014 and 40 years younger.<\/p>\n
The hits feel harder and the recovery longer for the 58-year-old.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tom Cillo watches his team practice. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a little more challenging than what I had anticipated, and I didn’t come into this naive \u2026 Whether you’re 18 or 58, you better have a little bit of crazy in you to step out on this field,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is college football, and it’s real, and it’s live contact, and it’s physical, and it’s tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cillo spent 33 years plowing streets, fixing roads and maintaining parks in Williamsport before retirement. He\u2019s sore now, but the criminal justice major is living his dream that took four decades to achieve.<\/p>\n
If Cillo plays a snap this season, he\u2019ll be one of the oldest to ever play in a college football game. The NCAA has no age limits for Division III sports. In 2009, a 61-year-old kicked an extra point for Austin College in Texas. A 59-year-old played linebacker for Sul Ross State University in Texas in 2007.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there’s people all over this world that are talented, that have dreams and desires and something holds them back. And it might be themselves. It was for me for years,\u201d the Williamsport resident said. \u201cBut if something falls within the framework of your talents and your abilities, and you have a dream and a desire to do it, do it. Go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Finding his way<\/p>\n
As a child, Cillo loved football, baseball and basketball. At 15, he signed up to play football at Williamsport Area High School. He didn\u2019t play for long.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tom Cillo is world-record holding powerlifter.<\/p>\n
He started drinking alcohol. Then he turned to illegal drugs. He went down a path he never expected \u2014 and needed a way out.<\/p>\n
He got a job with the city in his 20s. He began working out and lifting weights, and his fitness routine helped keep him sober. He competed in Strongman competitions and last year, set a world record for the deadlift in the 55-59 age group at the International Powerlifting Association contest in Indiana. He lifted 580 pounds.<\/p>\n
As a young boy, Cillo would walk from his home, through the Lycoming College campus, to the YMCA. As a city employee, he plowed the streets around campus. He always wondered what it would be like to be a student there. As he got older, he wondered if he could play football there, too. If there was any chance of that happening, he needed to do it now.<\/p>\n
He had a conversation this spring with Mark Sitler, a member of the college\u2019s board of trustees. Sitler then told head coach Mike Clark, 54, about the 58-year-old who wanted to play for the Warriors.<\/p>\n
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Head Coach Mike Clark says Tom Cillo has been a positive influence on the Lycoming College football team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initial reaction is like, \u2018Really?\u2019 But I trust Mark, and so if Mark is telling me someone’s a good person, well, I was interested in at least hearing Tom out,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n
Clark and Cillo scheduled a meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe met one time for coffee, had a really good talk, and here we are,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n
Clark never promised him playing time, but gave Cillo a chance. Now, Cillo is training with teammates younger than his three children: 32, 28 and 21.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s surreal sometimes, honestly, but the bond with my teammates, it’s amazing,\u201d Cillo said. \u201cI’m just Tom at this point. I’m not the older guy. It’s just Tom, and it’s getting better all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘This isn’t a joke’<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lycoming football player Michael Sipps says Tom Cillo is a role model for the team.<\/p>\n
Before the season started, Michael Sipps heard about his new, much-older teammate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it’s a joke, in all honesty,\u201d said Sipps, 21, a graduate of Cowanesque Valley High School and a member of the defensive line.<\/p>\n
Then the team had a Zoom meeting, and Cillo\u2019s face popped up on the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Whoa. No, this isn’t a joke,’\u201d Sipps said. \u201cThey ain’t messing around.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new teammate was older than most of the players\u2019 fathers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Defensive line coach Steve Wiser taught Tom Cillo civics in ninth grade.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s a great influence in the weight room. He’s been a good influence with his experience in life,\u201d said veteran defensive line coach Steve Wiser, who taught Cillo in ninth grade civics at the former junior high school down the street from the stadium. \u201cI think he’s having an influence, in a positive way, for the players on the team, and they’ve been very, very receptive to him.\u201d<\/p>\n