At an age when most people are thinking about retirement, their grandkids, or even joining AARP, Tom Cillo, 58, of Williamsport, will be putting on pads for the Lycoming Warriors (movie and book deal coming soon).
Currently, there are only three people in football history who were older than Cillo to play the game. Two were kickers, with very little time on the field, and one, Mike Flynt, took the field as a linebacker in 2007 to complete his senior year of eligibility. Unfortunately, Flynt was out with an injury for most of that season. Interestingly, Flynt’s story was made into a movie that will premiere one week after Cillo’s debut on the defensive line.
Something worth noting is that Cillo will be the only player from the aforementioned group who will be a true freshman. He will be taking a full course load and will meet the same eligibility requirements as any other freshman, most of whom are 18. This would make him the age of not just their fathers, but grandfathers. I don’t know about you, but as fit as my Pap was when I played football in high school, I couldn’t imagine him playing on my team!
So, what on Earth would possess a man a full two generations older than his teammates, and older than most of his coaches, to play a sport as violent as football? “I thought, it’s now or never,” said Cillo.
Full disclosure, Tom and I have been friends since the late 1990s when I moved to the area. We met at the Williamsport YMCA in the weight room, of course, and later trained together for powerlifting competitions. Tom was one of those people whom everyone liked and who always gave things 100%.
Like many great stories, this one started over a beer. Tom and I had met for a drink to visit and reminisce, and at some point, the conversation turned a bit serious. “You know,” Tom said to me. “I have some regrets. I regret not going to college and getting a degree. I also wish I played football.”
“Why don’t you?” I asked.
“What?”
“Why don’t you? You’re in shape.”
Tom looked at me, and I could tell from his expression that he was giving this serious thought. “OK. I’ll do it,” he said.
Now I was both excited and worried. What did I just convince my friend to do?
“This is crazy. I love it,” I said. And so, it began.
Having helped five kids navigate college admissions, I had a pretty good idea of what needed to be done. Cillo had not even applied to school, and it was already spring, which is late to be just starting the process. He would need to pick some schools, get his transcripts, and fill out college applications. Assuming he would get accepted somewhere, anywhere, after not having been in high school for over 40 years, most scholarships had already been granted, and financial aid would be slim. Another thought I had was, would he even make a football team after having gone through all of the trouble of applying to college? He obviously wasn’t on any coach’s radar, and who would be interested in a 58-year-old?
Cillo was not deterred. His first move was to reach out to Mark Sitler, another long-time friend and a Lycoming College trustee. After a moment of apprehension, Sitler spoke to Mike Clark, head coach of the Lycoming Warriors. “I ran into Mark at a trustee dinner, and he mentioned what Tom had in mind,” said Coach Clark. “So, I looked into Tom and found out about his weight room background and was intrigued. I was willing to give him a chance.”
A few days later, Cillo and Clark met up for coffee to discuss the idea of Cillo playing football. “At that point, I knew he was serious,” said Clark. “I mean, the guy deadlifts 600+ pounds.” When asked what Cillo brought to the team, Clark responded, “Certainly, Tom would be a motivating factor in the weight room, but he also brings a ton of life experience. His positive attitude is infectious. Another thing that really got me, though, was that he did what he needed to do just to get to this point. Just applying to college, getting his transcripts, and going through the entire process is hard at 58.”
Still, staying in shape and being a lifelong sports and fitness enthusiast is a far cry from playing football with young men at their physical peak. There was a lot to consider, and Cillo only had a few months to prepare once he made the decision to make his dream of playing football a reality. Regardless of physical shape, Cillo was not going to recover as fast as his fellow athletes. The repetitive stress on his body, the volume of training, and the mental stress of learning the Lycoming playbook, not to mention taking a full course load after not having been in class for over 40 years, were all going to add up. Another major stressor, and one that his coaches most likely had never heard from a player before, was that Cillo, along with his siblings, was taking care of his 90-year-old mother.
I was lucky enough to catch Tom on a rare break between practice, conditioning, meetings, and interviews.
Dave: Tom, can you give my readers an idea of what was going through your mind when you and I first discussed the idea of you going to college to get your degree and playing football?
Tom: Well, at first, I thought it was crazy, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought, why not? Life is short, and it’s now or never.
Dave: When people hear that a 58-year-old guy wants to play college football, the first thing they bring up is injury. What’s your response to that?
Tom: Hey, I could get hurt stepping off a curb or get hit by a bus. I can find a million reasons not to do this. That would be easy. The only things I can really control are my preparation and my attitude.
Dave: I know your prep, as I helped design it, but please give my readers an idea of a day in the life of Tom Cillo and what you did to get to this point.
Tom: Well, as we discussed, conditioning would be a factor. Guys in their 50s and 60s don’t usually have the stamina of guys in their 20s, so that was a big part of our training program. Before training camp started, I typically got up at 5:00 a.m. and would eat something light, like a banana and some Greek yogurt. Then, as you know, I would go down to the field at the high school. Warm-up would be either a short run or I would walk the hill at the school, which is straight up. Then I’d do some dynamic stretching and run drills. I’d finish with conditioning, which was usually a lot of sprints, and then some visualization to go over more drills and technique in my mind. After that, I’d take a cold shower to speed recovery and go to work for the maintenance department of the school. Lunch would be more substantial with lots of protein. After work, which was physical, I’d either lift weights or do more conditioning, like run hills. Dinner would be another big meal with protein and vegetables, then I’d take a steam and go to bed, only to do it all over again the next day. Weekend training was pretty much the same, except I’d have a bigger breakfast. Usually, six eggs and some fruit.
Dave: We discussed at length how training and prep would be different for you when compared to an 18- or 20-year-old. Can you explain that?
Tom: What was the term you said? Aggregate of marginal gains? Basically, it means the little things add up. We’d look at everything we could possibly do to train, recover, gain flexibility, and be mentally prepared. I’ve been consistently strength training most of my life, so that wasn’t much of an issue, but football is so much more than just being strong. We knew endurance would be a factor as well as injury prevention, so we spent a lot of time on those things.
Dave: I spoke with Coach Clark, and he was definitely impressed with your strength and conditioning. So, your preseason regimen seemed to pay off. What was something you weren’t prepared for, and what did you do about it?
Tom: Camp was tough, I’m not going to lie. I don’t care how you are or what kind of shape you’re in preseason camp would take it out of you. We only had a few weeks before classes started, so we went for about 14 hours a day, seven days a week. Between specialty meetings, team meetings, drills, lifting, conditioning, and everything else, we were all wiped out.
Dave: OK, some fun questions. As expected, you’ve been interviewed quite a lot in the past couple of weeks. Can you tell us some of the media outlets that reach out to you, and then maybe someone else you would really like to have interview you that hasn’t yet reached out?
Tom: Well, of course, the Webb Weekly and also the local media like the Sun Gazette and NorthcentralPa.com. I was recently interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Penn Live, and WNEP, and Fox and Friends wants to set up an interview. As far as dream interviews, I’d definitely say Raider alum, Howie Long, on NFL Sunday. I also think it’d be really cool to be interviewed by Joe Rogan since we’re about the same age.
Dave: There is an obvious age difference between you and your teammates. Was it difficult to connect with them?
Tom: Once they say how hard I worked and how much I prepared for camp, they knew I was serious. Now we’re just teammates. I also have a son, Ryan, who is a professional gamer. When I told the story of how Ryan was recruited by the social media billionaire, Mr. Beast, to compete for $100,000, they were probably more impressed with that than anything I could ever do.
Dave: Speaking of social media, you’ve been posting regular videos on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. What was your motivation to post videos, and have you gotten much of a response?
Tom: I genuinely want to inspire people to follow their dreams, regardless of their age. I thought, this is sort of historic, why not bring everyone along with me on this crazy ride. The thing I didn’t expect is that I’d be contacted by people from all over the world telling me they were rooting for me. It’s really helped to keep me going when things got tough. One video got over 260,000 views and is still climbing.
As a writer and former athlete, I can’t remember that last time I was this excited about anything. I’m also sure, though she’s too nice to say anything, that my wife will be glad when football season is over, so I stop talking about Tom and this story. Regardless of whether he is an All-American or barely plays, the fact that Tom Cillo took a chance, put in the work, and is going all out for his dream is absolutely inspiring.
If you don’t already, go online and follow Tom on Facebook, Instagram (cillo.tom), and TikTok (night.shift.warrio). Trust me, the videos don’t disappoint and will suck you in faster than anything on reality TV. Also, the Lycoming Warriors will play their first home game on Saturday, September 6th, at the Shangraw Athletics Complex in Williamsport. Take your friends and family and pack the stadium to show your support.
Let’s Go Cillo!
