Chip Salvestrini has had to deal with many issues, many problems over the past 35 years involved in student athletics. But he has never had to deal with the disqualification of one of his teams.

Until earlier this month, when the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference disqualified the Boys’ Soccer team from competing in the state championship and also vacated the Hatters’ semifinal win over Shelton.

The Hatters finished the season 13-3-4, and ranked No. 3 in the final 2016 state coaches poll.

“I believe that this whole problem is political, with adults making decisions that impact the children and that is wrong,” said Salvestrini, the CIAC decision still clearly stinging. “Unfortunately, no one is willing to work and talk to us.”

The athletics director continued: “We were given no chance to defend ourselves and given no real justification as well. The punishment was done quickly, there was no face-to-face discussion. We even tried to appeal but it was denied.”

Trying to understand CIAC’s reasoning behind its decision has been a struggle for Salvestrini, Coach Anthony Howard, the team, fans and Principal Dan Donovan, who issued a letter to parents and students explaining the CIAC’s decision to disqualify the team.  

CIAC claims one of the team’s players was ineligible, because of grades, at the time of the semifinal win. The conference’s 25-year-old rule is that players must show a hard copy of their report cards to prove eligibility. DHS report cards are on Power School, the school’s grade portal. Hard copies are handed out a couple of weeks later in Advisory.

“Danbury High has always applied rules appropriately, but I believe the CIAC did not, and that is unfortunate as well as illogical and unethical,” said Salvestrini, who argues that the player was indeed eligible.

Last year, the same penalty was levied against Bridgeport Central’s Boys’ Soccer team when a player was determined ineligible, kicking it out of the CIAC tournament.

Meanwhile, the players are still trying to process the CIAC decision.

Co-captain Edwin Rosano said he is filled with “disappointment and heartbreak. It’s always been my dream to win a state championship for my school, and I just wanted to end my last season in high school soccer with a championship.”

The senior said CIAC could have taken the time to explain its decision and put thought into the soccer team’s attempt at appeal.

Jonathan Souza, a senior, said, “I’m upset and mad that it came down this way. We gave it our all to get to the finals after 20 years and for it to end like this is devastating.”

He added that the “CIAC should have never disqualified us. Disqualifying us over a hard copy of his report card was stupid.”

Co-captain Ricardo Rodriguez said the decision left the team ‘devastated as you would expect. You could see it on our faces. We were all distraught and some of us were crying. We just couldn’t believe that everything we worked for this season, and over the past four years, was for nothing.”

Rodriguez explained that it was impossible to describe the “dramatic shift in emotion we had. From getting hyped for a championship game and a chance to bring the title back to Danbury after a long drought to utter despair and frustration in a matter of minutes.”

Even throughout the hardships and the anger, Rodriguez stated that he’ll always be proud of what the team has achieved. He said ‘we had a very good regular season with our only two losses coming to two undefeated teams. We later put up a great fight in the FCIAC tournament before falling just short in the semifinals.”

When asked whether the CIAC rule should be revised, Rodriguez said, “I understand the purpose the rule serves but it seems outdated. Many schools don’t even print report cards anymore so to require a printed copy to determine eligibility no longer sounds appropriate.”

Salvestrini and Donovan said they will lobby for the rule to be revised. The team, meanwhile, will forever wonder if it could have taken Farmington, the eventual champion.

“It just hit us so quick, for the seniors, that we had played our final high school game and we wouldn’t get another chance to put on those jerseys ever again,” Rodriguez said.