Pelham Pelicans are constantly urged to be dedicated, to be driven and to play with heart. No individual better embodied these values than Mr. Anthony Senerchia, Jr., who sadly passed away on November 25 after a fourteen year long battle with ALS.

Raised in Pelham, Mr. Senerchia discovered his true passion for football during his high school years at PMHS. Senerchia excelled at the game and eventually became captain of the varsity football team before graduating from PMHS in 1989. He went on to study at Delhi University and later Manhattanville College, emerging from school with a degree in Civil Engineering. He began working as Project Manager with Tri-State Construction and later developed his own successful business, SCC Construction.

Two months after marrying Jeanette, his high school sweetheart, Senerchia was diagnosed with ALS. Though his life slowly turned into a daily struggle beginning in 2003, Senerchia refused to let his illness detain him from spreading his love and passion for life. Even as he battled a crippling disease, Senerchia devoted much of his energy and time giving back to the Pelham youth football program that had served him so well. He coached youth football and later attended every home football game after he lost his ability to walk and speak. His incredible devotion and strength touched all who he coached, inspiring them to cultivate a love for football similar to his own.

“When [Mr. Senerchia] would coach us, he would emphasize the meaning of two things: pride and heart,” said Kevin Coleman, junior, who was one of Mr. Senerchia’s players in fifth and sixth grade. “Those words stuck with everyone on the team, and really became a foundation for the Pelham football community.”

Senerchia extended his selflessness beyond Glover field to aid other families plagued by ALS. He and his wife started the Anthony Senerchia, Jr. ALS Charitable Foundation to raise awareness and money for families suffering from ALS. The foundation is most famous for being connected to the start of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which encouraged participants to demonstrate their support for ALS victims, and brought about awareness of the disease by posting videos of themselves pouring ice-cold water over their heads. The challenge went viral and raised 115 million dollars. The original ice bucket now sits in the Washington D.C. Smithsonian Museum.

Mr. Senerchia, a kind and loving man, is survived by his wife Jeanette, his daughter Taya, and his parents Anthony and Rose.