Ward Sutlive, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor

Sammy Kunczewski, a freshman on the Berry football team, was made conference player of the week on the first week of the season. He had a 100-yard pickup return in his first game. In his short time on the team, Sammy has made quite an impression. 

He has a good rapport with all of the players on his team, from his fellow freshmen to the seniors. 

“He [Sammy] is a great guy,” senior Christopher Lewis, said. “He’s found his place, he’s found his people, and he does a really great job of what we ask him to do.”  

Sammy plays safety for the team. He also contributes to special teams such as the punting and kickoff teams. As a result, he splits his time between defense and prep team defense. 

“I’m proud of him, and it’s fun to be able to coach him,” Tony Kunczewski, coach of the Berry Football Team and Sammy’s father, said. 

Kunczewski has had an interest in football from a young age, partly due to the fact that his father is a football coach. At first, his father, Tony Kunczewski, the current coach of the Berry football team, held off on letting his son play football for a few years,  because he and his wife were worried about the potential injury risks that football holds. However, Sammy eventually managed to convince his parents and joined the Rome Youth Football league in fifth grade. 

“We’ve never pressured any of our kids to be involved in athletics,” Tony Kunczewski said. “But we have [always] encouraged [them] to pursue their passions.” 

 Sammy Kunczewski would then go on to be a part of the Rome Middle School’s football team until the end of eighth grade. After that, he transferred to Darlington school. From there he would be a part of their football team for the four years leading up to his graduation. 

“Football has always been in my family, and [it’s] always been in my life,” Sammy Kunczewski said.

Kunczewski has several years of experience in football under his belt, despite being new to this particular team. As a result, he has a good sense of his strengths and weaknesses on the field. According to Sammy has a strong work ethic, which allows him to push himself during practice. He also is very good at retaining the feedback that the coaching staff give him and putting that advice into practice. 

“I feel like I’m usually pretty quick to pick up on stuff like that,” Sammy Kunczewski said.  

While Kunczewski currently attends Berry College, that wasn’t always the plan. Originally, he was going to be playing football at the United States Naval Academy. However, since his peanut allergy levels were too high, he wasn’t able to get in. After doing some thinking, Kunczewski decided to attend Berry College, where he could play football.  

“It’s certainly a blessing to have him here and to be able to coach him,” Tony said. 

There are some parts of football that Sammy finds to be extremely difficult, while there are other components that he sees as easy. While the actual athletics part isn’t much of an issue, he does have to work hard to balance schoolwork and football. The major difference between high school and college has also been quite a hurdle for Kunczewski to overcome. Nevertheless, Kunczewski greatly enjoys being a part of the team and sees the perpetual balancing act as an acceptable sacrifice. He feels that he has finally adjusted to his new circumstances.

“If you love doing [something], then it’s going to be easy for you, because you love to do it,” Sammy said.  Sammy’s teammates all enjoy his company. While some of them did know him when he was in high school, as the coach’s son, this is the year that he’s truly had the chance build a positive dynamic with his team. Because of that, he’s found a good group of friends on the field.

“I’m really excited to have [Sammy] on the team, and to see what he can do for us moving forward,” Lewis said. 

According to  Tony Kunczewski, one of Sammy’s greatest achievements has been the fact that he’s been able to carve his own path and be more than just the coach’s son. One of the reasons for this is that Tony has made a point to treat his son like any other player on the team. This has resulted in everyone on the team having a good relationship with Sammy.

“I’ve been really proud of the fact that he’s been able to carve his own niche,” Tony Kunczewski said. “[And] that he’s not [just] the head coach’s son.  

As a whole, the team is very excited for the season. Sammy wants to become player of the year for the special teams and support everyone as best he can. While the team did lose to Carnegie Mellon College, they plan to learn from that experience and win this season.  The team won their game against Rhodes College last week. Their next game will be against Trinity University this weekend.

“I just want to support my teammates,” Sammy Kunczewski said.