Jaime Stein
CFL.ca
Every time I listen to the This is Our League video my ears perk up when I hear the line, “This is a league where superstars are extraordinary and ordinary at the same time.”
In the case of Tiger-Cat kicker Nick Setta he carries that saying from the field to the community where he has become an extraordinary citizen for the City of Hamilton.
Setta’s father worked in a steel mill as an electrician so when he arrived in Steeltown in 2007 as a rookie, he knew the city was a perfect fit.
“I knew what the city was about because I had been around it before,” he said. “It is a no-bull kind of town. I like that mindset.”
Setta turned in back-to-back all-star seasons in his first two years in the league and has been a rock on a franchise that had suffered more ups than downs between the lines this decade. Outside the lines; however, has been a different story.
On Friday afternoon, Setta and 150 children from the Greater Hamilton Area gathered at the Reebok outlet in Mississauga where he presented an early holiday gift to the kids. Each child was presented with a brand new pair of Reebok shoes.
Setta started a program in 2008 called Nick’s Kicks for Kids. He teamed up with Carmen’s, a local banquet centre, whereby they donated $100 per yard for every field goal Setta made over 40 yards (a 45-yard field goal was worth $500). The program raised $4,000 this past season, which was put towards Friday’s gift giving event.
“When I was at Notre Dame, it was a big school with giving, so I wanted to help. I always wanted to do something like this,” said Setta, a former member of the Fighting Irish football team.
“It’s such a cool event, where all these kids can come and get shoes. A lot of them haven’t had a lot of choices in shoes in the past so whichever shoe they love the most they can pick it and enjoy it.”
The President of Carmen’s is PJ Mercanti. He also attended Notre Dame, but he and Setta never crossed paths on the small Indiana based campus. But through this program the two have become “like brothers” according to Setta.
In the program’s first year, 80 kids were provided with shoes. This year, with additional support from Wills Bus Lines, Setta was able to expand the Nick’s Kicks for Kids program. Wills Bus Lines donated three coach busses to ferry the children from Hamilton to the Reebok store. For some of these kids, it marked the first time they had the opportunity to leave their neighbourhood, let alone jump on a big fancy bus and make a trip to the Reebok outlet for a shopping spree.
Setta flew in for Friday’s event from the Chicago area where he runs Setta Performance, a centre dedicated to training all levels of athletes with a focus on speed, agility and nutrition.
“You come in contact with so many kids – some privileged, some non – and shoes are such a basic element for athletics,” added Setta. “It’s a basic need. I can help, so why not?”
And this is what makes Setta ordinary. He really has no motivation for providing shoes to some of Hamilton’s most needy children. He simply does it because he can.
“With all the stuff going on in the world, even the smallest thing accumulates and gathers. You don’t have to have a reason or a story,” he explains. “It doesn’t have to be a huge amount. Do your little job. Half of it is being a decent person. Just be nice and do what you gotta do.”
Setta is one of several members of the Hamilton Ticats who spend countless hours in the community. And he believes this is no coincidence.
“The guys on our team are great. You can’t take anything away from the guys on our team,” he said. “But they only are who they are because the Ticats organization allows us to do this.”
“All I have to take care of is the easy stuff. The fun stuff. The playing. If you want to do something, the organization will help you do it.”
“The Hamilton Tiger-Cats do more for their players and their community than any team I have been around. All those players are awesome, but the Ticats organization is what is helping us become recognized for doing good things.”
When he is not playing football or training athletes Setta utilizes his finance degree as a day trader. His operation is small scale for the time being, helping mostly family with their finances. Maybe one day he will venture into the business world, but for now, his heart is in football.
The next line in the video states: “Where you can reach out and love a running back and they love you in return.” While not a running back, Setta sure received a lot of love on Friday from 150 new friends. And without a doubt, he loved them back in return.
