A high school football player collapsed on a Staten Island practice field and couldn’t be revived, officials said today, in a mysterious death that’s shocked heartbroken family and teammates.
Nicholas Dellaventura, a 15-year-old sophomore at St. Joseph By-The-Sea HS, was breathing with a skyrocketing temperature when paramedics rushed him to Staten Island University Hospital South, according to the FDNY.
Dellaventura had just finished a voluntary, 90-minute workout with his teammates, who had all taken a knee to listen to coach Rich Clark, according to New York Archdiocese spokeswoman Fran Davies.
As Clark addressed the team, coaches and teammates saw that Dellaventura struggled to breathe and couldn’t stand up on his own, Davies said. That’s when they gave first aid and called paramedics, according to Davies.
“While waiting for arrival of certified first responders and paramedics, Nicholas remained conscious and verbally responsive,” Davies said. He was pronounced dead several hours later at the hospital.
There were very few moments when the 5-foot-8, 210-pound Dellaventura didn’t have a smile on his face, according to Clark.
“He was a really nice kid, sweet, asked everyone how they were. He always had a smile on his face.”
“There are not enough nice things you can say about the kid. I feel like I lost a member of my family.”
Dellaventura, whose 20-year-old brother Daniel also played football for the Vikings, was expected to see significant playing time on the offensive line this season.
He was also being considered for double-duty on the defensive front.
“I was just with him in the Caribbean five days ago,” said Nicholas’ cousin Rob, who learned the tragic news from a friend. “My friend texted me and said `Sorry for your loss.’ “
“He was a 15-year-old kid, happiest kid in the world.”
Nicholas’ mother was too choked up to talk. She politely answered the door and said: “I’m just too sad right now.”
Former Vikings football player Joseph Giubileo, who just graduated, said Dellaventura had a big future on the gridiron.
“He was a really good football player,” said Giubileo, 18. “He would have been probably been one of the best to walk through Sea “He was really nice kid, sweet. Ask everyone. He always had a smile on his face.”
Dellaventura’s autopsy was completed today, a spokeswoman for the Medical Examiner said. But it will probably take about 10 days for results of tissue tests before a cause of death could be determined, officials said.
A steady stream of friends, neighbors and students dropped by the family’s Huguenot Avenue home to pay their respects.
Neighbor Sue Vitucci, 48, recalled how Nicholas would play kickball as a little kid, and always blast the ball on to the roof at nearby PS 5.
“He was so athletic,” she said. “He would kick the kickball on the roof [of the school] and the janitor would have to get it down a month later. He was so strong.”
Additional reporting by David K. Li and Larry Celona