By: Jack Beck ’18 and Daniel Thompson ’18

Rain falling. Sweat dripping. Boys running around the Staples football field like it was their last day with legs. That was the scene at the inaugural game of the International Association of Boss Chiefs (IABC), a touch football league played in by Staples High School seniors. Created by Zack Bloom ’18, Jackson Daignault ’18 and Evan Zinn ’18, this league is solely run by students.
“We decided to start the league because we didn’t have school one day and wanted to play,” Zinn said. “A lot of us wanted to play something competitively in our off-seasons, so this was the best idea.”
With the 24 players split up into two consistent teams, IABC has brought kids from different friend groups and different backgrounds together in a community unlike others.
“The league needed some more guys and they asked me to join and it seemed like a no brainer,” Jack Sharkey ’18, IABC league member said. “Social gatherings and athletics are kind of my thing.”
The two teams, Team Daignault and Team Zinn, have faced off eight times so far this year, with each team winning four games. Almost all games have come down to the last play and have proven to show how competitive the league really is.
One of the most interesting parts about this league is how it brings together athletes and non-athletes into an athletic setting and gives all players a chance to succeed.
“The league has been so successful so far because it’s mostly comprised of kids that have failed at all their other sports to this point,” Sharkey said. “We’re all just looking for a chance to get back out there and show them what we got.”
Although the league is made up of mostly seniors, the players hope that even after the school year ends, the intense competition will not stop.
“For some kids in the league, this is the only competitive sport they play so they take it very seriously.” Zinn said. “I’m not sure the league will last after high school, but maybe we’ll have an alumni game once a year when we’re home.”
Winning is the most important part of the game. That is all the players care about. They leave everything they have on the field to win for their team.
“Everyone wants to win, and it takes winners to make something beautiful,” Benji Malowitz ’18 said.