Chatham football player Tommy Douglas is the Chatham Wealth Management Athlete of the WeekPhoto Credit: TAP Chatham
Chatham tight end Tommy Douglas with the ball after a catchPhoto Credit: Glenn Clark
Tommy Douglas (5) and Michael MacAniff after a Chatham touchdown in overtime vs. Warren HillsPhoto Credit: Glenn Clark
Tommy Douglas gets up for the pass from Will Allen in the state playoff win vs. Wayne ValleyPhoto Credit: Glenn Clark
Chatham football player Tommy Douglas is the Chatham Wealth Management Athlete of the WeekPhoto Credit: TAP Chatham
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By Ed Barmakian
Published November 7, 2024 at 10:16 AM
CHATHAM, NJ – Tommy Douglas admits he was getting bullied a little bit on the football field as a 15-year-old sophomore linebacker for Chatham last season, butting helmets with the likes of Mount Olive's Aidan Lynch, now playing at Virginia Tech.
“That was my welcome to the varsity moment,” Douglas said. “I was running into offensive linemen who were 260. I weighed 180 and was getting bullied out there. I knew I needed to have an advantage coming into this season. We had great summer training to get in shape; I never had done anything like that before. We ran as a team almost every day, did change-of-direction drills, and lifted three or four times a week.”
Douglas went from 6-3, 180 to a much stronger 6-4, 210, and it's made a difference in his game, where he's now the one administering the hits, not taking them.
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“I got a lot of reps last year on the varsity field and it's paying off," he said. "I love being a part of any position, but linebacker is really fun. You get to deliver the blow and be the hammer. ”
That's the role Douglas played last Friday night when he collected nine tackles, including a hit that forced a fumble (see below) that he recovered in the third quarter of Chatham's 24-7 win vs. Wayne Valley.
Douglas played a key role when the Cougars shut out Wayne Valley in the second half and held the Indians to 33 yards rushing for the game, an average of just two yards per carry. The win broke a nine-year postseason win drought for Chatham.
Tommy Douglas is the Chatham Wealth Management Athlete of the Week.
“Tommy is a great kid who has a really high football IQ; he understands the game and he's also a leader even though he's only a junior,” Chatham head coach Evan Picariello said. "He has really good leadership qualities. Even though he was a sophomore last year, he was taking to the technique we were teaching him and showing it on the field.
“He was a little overmatched physically but he still played very well in spots, especially on defense where we used him. This year, he's a two-way player for us and he's a stud. He's one of our best linebackers, we utilize him as a blocking tight end and a receiving threat. You throw a jump ball to a 6-4 kid, you're in good shape.”
So far, Douglas has nine catches from the tight end position, but when Chatham lines him up wide, it draws extra attention from the opposing defense, and rightly so.
“Tommy is a terrific athlete,” Todd Pivnick, Chatham's offensive coordinator, said. “He has a lot of potential and as the year has gone on, he's grown more and more into his body. Every game he just gets better and better.”
In its seven wins this season, Chatham (7-2) has held opponents to seven points or fewer in six of them. Douglas has been highly active in the defensive scheme that has improved the Cougars' defense against the run.
“In our defensive structure right now, he's an outside linebacker, but he's very versatile, he could be a defensive end, he could be a stand-up outside linebacker or he could be an inside linebacker,” Picariello said. “There are three positions he fits the mold for defensively.”
Against Wayne Valley, Chatham held a 14-7 lead at the halftime break and that's when Douglas and his teammates decided that there would be no more points scored against them.
“We said, ‘if they don’t score, they can't win,” Douglas said. “They had 8 plays in the third quarter. There wasn't really a lot of pressure on us. We just needed to get the job done. We didn't feel like underdogs.”
In addition to his defense, which helps Chatham get the ball in the hands of senior quarterback Will Allen and the offense, a more subtle contribution is his blocking at tight end.
“He's forced a lot of turnovers and made a lot of tackles, which keeps the defense off the field and gets us on the field,” Allen said. “Blocking, he's opened up a lot of holes for me, Al (McWilliams) and Caden (Gabriele).”
Douglas has been playing football in Chatham since he was in sixth grade and it was pretty much a given that he'd be playing the sport as the son of Jets GM Joe Douglas. His father was an offensive tackle at the University of Richmond, where he played 45 consecutive games for the Spiders.
“He wanted me to be an offensive lineman,” the 16-year-old said. “I have a lot of passion for the sport. There is a lot of stress in the family during the football season.”
Douglas, who also plays baseball at CHS, won't turn 17 until late April. A year ago, his birthday fell on the day of the NFL draft.
Editor's note: The Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Chatham Wealth Management in recognition of the commitment a Chatham athlete has made to their sport, their school and their community. For over twenty years, Chatham Wealth Management has been committed to putting our clients first by crafting customized investment solutions. Call us at 973-635-4275 or email us at [email protected] to discuss how we can help meet your financial goals. To learn more about our products and team, visit us at www.chathamwealth.com.
