XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL 30 West 16th Street

The Xavier High School football team and its community gathered for the funeral of JV assistant and strength and conditioning coach Bill Costa on Tuesday morning at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in New York City.

Costa, who had officially been a coach with the team since 2005, died Thursday night of a heart attack at the age of 56 according to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

"We had our freshman in their white jerseys, JV in maroon jerseys and the varsity in their blue jerseys and we packed half the church," Stevens said. "The family really appreciated it and the kids appreciated the team being there to celebrate him."

Stevens said Costa had been with the program since 1998, when his son and current freshman coach James Costa became a student at the school. Costa officially began as a JV assistant and a strength and conditioning coach in 2005.

He developed the team's off-season regiment to help it train for the upcoming season, as well as helping out some other teams in the school. Stevens said Costa developed a "boot camp" for the football team and Stevens said it was noticeable the difference his workouts had on helping the players become stronger.

Last Wednesday, Stevens said that Costa told him during practice that his chest felt heavy and he did not feel that well. Costa skipped practice Thursday and died later that night.

"We're a pretty close group. We have about 130 kids playing ball and it affected the whole program," Stevens said. "He trained the upperclassmen and coached them when they were sophomores. He made a difference as a physical trainer. The JV was affected. His son coaches the freshman. It affected us program wide."

Monday, the team walked from its Manhattan-based school to the funeral. Stevens said that students from the school joined the football players to remember Costa and James Costa said some touching words about his father. Stevens said Costa was James' best friend and part of the reason he came back to Xavier was to spend time with his dad.

"It seems he kind of got cheated out of that," Stevens said.

While Stevens described the funeral as a "hard place to be", the turnout stuck with him.

"It was a packed church," Stevens said. "It was beautiful."

The team and school found out about Costa's death on Friday during its "spirit day". Stevens said the school called the football players down to the chapel and the administration talked to the players about how they celebrate as a community but also need to mourn together as a community during a difficult time like this.

There were guidance counselors or any other faculty members available for the players to talk to if needed. Stevens said many players were "broke up" by the news and it showed the effect Costa had on the team.

"They were told to tell good stories about coach Bill," Stevens said. "Keep him alive in our memories and thoughts."

On Saturday, Xavier played its scheduled game against St. Francis Prep, with the Knights emerging with a 35-14 win. Stevens said that football teams need to teach camaraderie and how to overcome adversity and this was adversity that the team was facing in real life. The team played in honor of their coach and picked up a big win.

"He was the most laid-back physical guy you would ever want to meet, that was probably the thing that struck me the most," Stevens said. "He never said a nasty word. He was truthful, but he was very laid-back. He was a really well-rounded guy. People looked at him and thought he was a muscle head but he had multiple layers of depth to him."