Darien, New Canaan Football Teams Meet To Destigmatize Mental Health

DARIEN, CT — Even though Darien and New Canaan are rivals between the lines, the two football teams came together in solidarity last week to help prioritize and destigmatize men's mental health.

On Nov. 12, the teams, coaches and several elected officials from both towns gathered at Lakota Oaks in Norwalk.

The Nov. 12 event was a spin on the traditional team dinner and had a goal to break down the barriers that prevent boys and men from reaching out and speaking up when help is needed.

There were remarks from football head coaches Andy Grant of Darien and Lou Marinelli of New Canaan.

Nate Checkets, a former New Canaan football player, a Darien resident, and the co-founder and CEO of Rhone, a men's apparel company, spoke about the importance of men's mental health.

Rob Thorsen, founder of the HT40 Foundation, and the father of Hayden Thorsen, a Darien High School student-athlete who died by suicide in 2022, shared key fundamentals of the foundation's Shoulder Check Initiative and the importance of reaching out, checking in and making contact.

The HT40 Foundation aims "to bring people together with empathy and compassion — leaving no one left apart," the foundation's website says.

The Shoulder Check Initiative looks to inspire young men and women to commit to supporting one another through small acts that have a big impact — as simple as a hand on a shoulder. The two teams stood as one and placed their hands on each other's shoulders.

The off-field meeting between the two teams, believed to be the first such meeting in the 100-year history of the Darien-New Canaan football rivalry, was held as part of "Stronger Together," a movement initiated by the Wave Strong Foundation, a grassroots organization based in Darien that was founded in the fall of 2022 after two students and several town residents died by suicide.

The group is made up of parents, students, teachers, coaches, and local businesses that have made it their mission to break down the stigmas of mental health, reminding each other it’s OK to not be Ok.

"There are many studies that point to social connectedness correlating with lower anxiety, depression, and suicide rates," said Tracy McEvoy, Wave Strong Foundation president, in a news release.

"What that means is that community is critically important to mental health and that doesn’t just mean where you live, it’s feeling a part of something that gives you purpose and that you know you can rely on when you need it most," McEvoy added. "It’s why we’re doing the Stronger Together initiative and using football as a launch pad to have this bigger conversation to de-stigmatize mental health in our beloved towns."

Darien and New Canaan will meet again soon, this time on the football field, for the Turkey Bowl at New Canaan on Thanksgiving morning.