Antoine Sampah stood on the sidelines of Woodbridge’s new turf field watching a recent practice with an observant eye.

At the moment, it was the most football-related activity he could do outside of conditioning on his own.

Dressed in a gray Nike T-shirt and shorts instead of a helmet and pads, he was, in his words, an “assistant coach,” offering encouragement and tips, as he continues to recover from surgery Jan. 17 to repair a torn ACL in his right knee.