Football
Favorite athlete: Kobe Bryant
Favorite teams: Any Philly sports team
Favorite memory competing in sports: Being in the locker room with my teammates before games. No other feeling like going to battle with your brothers every Friday.
Most embarrassing/funniest things that has happened while competing in sports: Freshman year we were traveling to an away game. Unfortunately, as a freshman, I was on the bus with all the water and other equipment. We turned out of South, and gallons of water spilled and drenched all of us and our equipment. The water was ice cold.
Music on playlist: Pop Smoke/Lil Baby
Future plans: Play college football and study Political Science or Athletic Training
Words to live by: “You can either count the minutes, or make the minutes count”
One goal before turning 30: Be able to provide for a family of my own and take care of my parents
One thing people don’t know about me: I enjoy freestyling
By Mary Jane Souder
Comparisons were inevitable.
Alex Checchia knew as much before he set foot at Council Rock South as a freshman. With four older siblings – three brothers and a sister - who excelled on and off the athletic field, it was bound to happen.
“It wasn’t something I wasn’t used to,” the CR South senior said. “In elementary school, I always heard, ‘Oh, you’re Matt’s brother’ or ‘You’re Tony’s brother’ or something like that.
“I was kind of used to it, but it is difficult because they were all really, really good kids, good role models. It kept me in check a lot. I had to make the right decisions, I had to be above the line when I was in school, someone was always watching. It was a really good thing because I definitely was a little bit wild when I was younger.”
Competing in sports was a natural progression for Checchia.
“I would say I got thrown into the fire, not necessarily by choice,” he said. “My parents were supportive of whatever we wanted to do, and it kind of became – what sport are you interested in?
“For me, it was football and basketball. I fell in love with football. That became my focal point, and I figured out that was something I could play in college. When I was five, I started playing weight ball, and it took off from there.”
Tony Checchia – 11 years Alex’s senior – has had a front row seat to his youngest sibling’s football career, most recently as the assistant head football coach at Rock South.
“He puts a lot of pressure on himself sometimes because he appreciates there is a legacy,” Tony said. “He sees his brother Matt who is close to him in age, and he’s playing at West Chester, so he’s coming from a line of us that have all left their mark at South.
“He’s always put that on himself – to be a captain, to have a successful season, to have a successful high school career. There were always some ups and downs, and this season wasn’t the most successful, but just the way Alex attacked it – prepared and his work ethic in the weight room - I think he was highly, highly motivated – ‘Hey, I want to put my stamp on this legacy.’”
Rock South head football coach Vince Bedesem had high praise for the entire Checchia family.
“It has been a great pleasure to have coached Alex and the rest of the Checchia clan – Tony, Michael, Matt, and even though I didn’t coach her, Sophia - who I’ve known for close to 15 years,” Bedesem said. “Tony Sr, the dad, and Michelle, the mom, model on a daily basis with a high degree of integrity, responsibility and ambition, and all of their children have benefitted. They are the ultimate support system.”
Brother act
Checchia – 6-5 and 230 - may have been the youngest, but he was not the smallest. At least not for long.
“Alex was closest in age to our brother Matt,” Tony said. “When they used to play pee-wee at Pop Warner and Northampton – Matt was small for his age, and Alex was obviously really big. Even though Matt was three years older than Alex, they played on the same team.
“From the earliest age, they were always competing. I think what shaped Alex in a lot of ways was the fact that he was always competing with these older groups. These kids might have been the same size, but they were so much more mature. The competition between him and Matt from the earliest age was always there.”
According to Alex, there were the usual sibling battles.
“It was kind of the ‘don’t tell’ mentality,” he said. “We all had our own things, picking on each other. It was almost every man for himself kind of mentality. It was me and Matt as the younger guys versus all the other guys. We weren’t going to rat on each other.”
No one picks on Alex these days.
“Now it’s the other way around,” Tony said. “All those years of him taking the licks, he was able to flip it. It definitely made him a better football player, a more prepared football player – those humbling years when he was the baby morphed into a pretty good player for us.”
“I had a chip on my shoulder growing up,” Alex said. “They tried to pick on me when I was younger, but I grew into a bigger guy.
“I always loved playing. It was just the competitive nature. I always want to be the best at whatever I was doing.”
Checchia acknowledged his siblings have had a profound impact.
“They were inspirational in different ways,” he said. “Tony – he lived in the classroom. I was younger when Tony was in high school and was probably seven when he graduated. I saw how hard he worked.
“My other brother Mike – he was just a naturally gifted guy school-wise. It’s two different kinds of people. Matt was my role model on the field – the kind of mentality and how to lead. He definitely shaped me into the football player and the leader I am. I found it cool that they all contribute different things to who I am.”
The season
The Golden Hawks struggled this fall during a season of transition, winning just two games.
“To Alex’s credit and to a lot of the guys’ credit, they always approached it the right way,” Tony Checchia said. “Alex didn’t have a ton of catches just because of the nature of his position in our offense, playing tight end and playing a little wide receiver, we’re just not a high-volume passing team. I think at times inside it was frustrating, but on the outside, he was – team first, leading by example.
“Even on the defensive side of the ball – from week to week, his role fluctuated. He had a real strong game against Truman. There were other weeks it wasn’t his kind of game defensively, but being a senior captain and leader, he understood that what we’re trying to do is what’s best for the team. Here’s a guy getting a lot of attention, whether it’s Division I, Division 2 or Division 3, with a pretty high profile, and he’s on board, he’s buying in. There’s something to be said for that. At any level, you need your top guys to be bought in. All of our seniors – those guys gave their very best effort to make it work.”
As a captain and leader, Alex made a concerted effort to remain positive.
“It’s easy to get down yourself, but you just need to keep the mentality – it’s high school football,” he said. “These are the best years of your life. Not that it shouldn’t be taken seriously, but if you’re going to let the (negative) hype overrun how you’re going to play and how you’re going to approach aspects of the game, you’re not going to perform well.
“We said, ‘This is a game we’ve been playing together for a while. Let’s look out for each other and play for each other.’”
Despite the Golden Hawks’ struggles, Checchia never stopped working, providing a role model for the young players.
“The most important qualities are Alex’s passion, enthusiasm and hard work,” Bedesem said. “He is consistently early and stays late during the practice week, emphasizing to his teammates his desire for them to be the best student-athletes they can be.
Added Tony Checchia, “I think the biggest thing – and I think every coach on staff would say – he’s constantly asking, ‘What can I do to get better?’ This is a guy that is 6-5, 230 pounds. He could say, ‘I’m the biggest, I’m the strongest’ but it was always the opposite with him.
“He was always in the weight room, always pushing himself harder and harder. You see guys with all the physical gifts, so they don’t push themselves, and they end up being average. He’s got that great work ethic, and he’s still very young and raw. When he goes on to the next level – whatever program he ends up with, he’s going to have a real nice prospect. He wants to learn, he wants to be shaped from any coach that can give him insights.”
As for playing the role of both brother and coach, Tony admitted it was a balancing act.
“At the end of the day, it’s always tough love,” the Hawks’ assistant head coach said. “That’s what we’re trying to do – ‘Hey, we’re trying to make you tougher, we’re trying to make you better.’ No matter what you do, you’re either playing favorites or you’re being too hard on them compared to any other person. I do step back and say, ‘Am I being a brother right now or am I being the football coach?’
“There have been some icy dinner nights where people aren’t necessarily talking to one another, but at the end of the day – it’s always kind of hug it out.”
Beyond the game
Checchia is undecided on his future – he’s been talking to schools at all levels. The three he’s been in communication with the most are Pitt, Yale and West Chester. He also holds an offer from Clarion.
“It’s been a blessing to be in contact with these schools,” he said.
When it comes to a major, Checchia has narrowed it down to two decidedly different fields – political science and athletic training.
“I think they both play to my strengths as a student,” he said.
Checchia took several AP classes last year and has always been enrolled in honors classes.
“I’ve always known – you’re a student first and then you’re an athlete,” he said. “If you can’t hold up the student part – what kind of athlete are you going to be?”
Checchia is looking to join the basketball team this winter for one last go-around after stepping away for two years. He is involved in the school’s Athletes Helping Athletes program. When he’s not in football season, Checchia works at the Northampton Township Civic Center.
For the Checchia clan, the end of Alex’s football career marked the end of an era.
“It is strange to see it come full circle,” Tony said. “Pretty much since my freshman year, which was 2007, there’s always been a Checchia there and somehow involved in the (football) program.
“It’s been going on for 15 years, and for my parents, it’s strange as well because they’ve also been there, and this has been part of their routine.”
Ask Checchia what his best memories of Rock South football are, and it’s not a big game or any accolade he earned along the way.
“Competing with the guys and being the guy people turned to in the locker room – I think me and my brothers had that characteristic,” he said. “The competition is something that was naturally instilled in us. My dad always said, ‘There’s good competition, and you want to chase good competition.’
“Me and coach Bedesem had our competing moments in the weight room and practices. We’re both fiery guys, and we want to see the team succeed and do our best in the offseason – outwork other schools and be one family.”
Checchia, according to his coach, will carry those leadership qualities with him wherever he goes.
“In addition to his excellent leadership qualities, Alex is a dependable team player,” Bedesem said. “He is truly going to be missed.”
