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# Thanks Guy: Vallace's drive pushed teammates
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/thanks-guy-vallaces-drive-pushed-teammates/
- Published: 2010-11-24T15:00:40.000Z
- Updated: 2010-11-24T15:00:40.000Z
- Description: Sometimes all a high school football coach wants to get out of his players are competition and confidence. In Merrimack High School senior Kyle Vallace, coach Joe Battista got both.
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, Fall Sports, football, Merrimack, Thanks Guy, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

*Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories that will be appearing about the unsung heroes who take the football field every week, the guys who coaches couldn’t get by without. At this time of year, it’s time to say “Thanks Guy.”*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/alvmerrfball0917-16-1.jpg "AlvMerrFball0917 16-1")

Sometimes all a high school football coach wants to get out of his players are competition and confidence.

In Merrimack High School senior Kyle Vallace, coach Joe Battista got both.

Thanks to the drive of Vallace, a backup this year on both the offensive and defensive lines, the Merrimack starters on both units had to be at their best at all times.

And the competition that was a result of Vallace’s efforts let Battista know he could count on the senior whenever he needed him.

“You know he’s going to do what he’s supposed to do,” Battista said of Vallace. “Whether he’s supposed to squeeze, whether he’s supposed to set the edge, he’s going to do it. You know what you’re getting when he goes out there.”

It started not in August, when the teams put the pads on for the first time, but in January. That’s when the Tomahawks started up their offseason workouts in preparation of the 2010 season.

From that first day, Vallace was a weight room warrior.

“He started working for it on that first day in the weight room and he just lived in there,” Battista said. “The kid never missed a workout. I think he was like 98 percent during offseason workouts.”

Vallace had one goal in mind – work his way into the starting lineup. When that didn’t happen, he was happy with pushing the guys in front of him on the depth chart.

“I was hoping to earn a starting job on either defense or offense,” Vallace said. I tried to keep it competitive with the people in front of me. I was always trying to fight for that spot and it paid off some weeks. The guy in front of me knew he wasn’t always guaranteed that spot. I know it made him better and it made everyone else better by me giving it my best.”

Because of injuries, Vallace did make five starts on the defensive side of the ball. And when he was in there, his teammates didn’t notice a difference in the level of play.

“When he stepped in, he played great,” Merrimack quarterback Zach Harris said. “He made big plays. It’s real important for a team to have that because if a starter does go down, we need someone just as good to go in there. Definitely (a luxury).”

After playing on the varsity special teams a year ago, Vallace saw his first action with the varsity offense and defense this year. He still also played special teams and was on the field for one of the biggest moments of Merrimack’s season.

When teammate Ty Costain kicked the game-winning field goal against Dover early in the regular season, Vallace got to witness it firsthand.

“I think our win over Dover was one of the best memories I’ll have,” Vallace said. “It was one of those games, in order to turn the program around, we needed to win. I think we really made a statement and it made us proud of what we accomplished. It was a big adrenaline rush. Coach got on us a little bit because we were going a little too crazy and got a little unsportsmanlike. We weren’t used to winning like that.”

The winning helped bring this year’s seniors closer together.

“I think we developed a brotherhood,” Vallace said. “Some of us have played since the (Merrimac) Cardinals (youth football). We’ve got each others’ backs. That carries on and off the field.”

Thanks to the drive of players like Vallace, Battista is looking forward to watching the program continue to grow.

“Competition is key to having a successful program,” he said. “Everything we do, we try to have a competition because it just makes everyone better. (Vallace) showed a desire to do whatever was necessary to get on the field. Didn’t matter to him where he was on the depth chart, he just kept working.”