Baseball season is officially underway for the Great Neck North Blazers, but apparently the weather has not coincided. Old Man Winter is still lingering around even as the start of Spring nears, but the bitter cold has not stopped the Blazers. One of the few baseball teams around the county to start off the preseason with simultaneous practices indoors, and outdoors, the Great Neck North Blazers have been hard at work, rain or shine, hot or cold.

Head Coach Scott Bersin, and newly acquired Assistant Coach Mike Lewis, have taken advantage of the nasty weather by working the team outdoors and on a baseball field, while many other teams have been confined to a very non-baseball environment in gymnasiums. On one such occasion the Blazers practiced their sliding and defensive diving techniques, on a mud covered field, during a rain and hailstorm. The appearance of the team was not a pretty sight when practice came to an end, but all in all, it was a fun filled, and productive practice. The aspects of the game the Blazers have worked on, that other teams staying indoors could not, has given the Blazers an edge, and a comfort level of being fully prepared when they step on the field to face an opponent.

Preseason play kicked off this past week, as the Blazers faced North Shore and Wheatley back to back. The results of the Blazers hard work at practice, and time spent playing outside, were well illustrated in the back to back scrimmages. Although the scrimmages do not count towards league standings, the Blazers were victorious in both games. After coming just one game short of the playoffs last season, added with the early success in the preseason, the Blazers are highly optimistic of taking that next step from where they left off last season.

March 15	Home	Great Neck South	11 a.m.
March18	Away	North Shore	4 p.m.
March 19	Home	Wheatley	4:15
March 22	Home	Carey	10:30 a.m.
March 24	Away	Great Neck South	4 p.m.
March 28	Home	Port Washington	4:15 p.m.
March 31	Away	Mineola	4:15 p.m.
April 1	Away	Manhasset	4:15 p.m.
April 3	Home	Roslyn	4:15 p.m.
April 7	Home	Glen Cove	4:15 p.m.
April 8	Away	Glen Cove	4:15 p.m.
April 10	Home	New Hyde Park	4:15 p.m.
April 14	Away	New Hyde Park	4:15 p.m.
April 15	Home	Bellmore	4:15 p.m.
April 25	Home	Hewlett	11 a.m.
April 26	Away	Bellmore	10 a.m.
April 28	Away	Jericho	4:15 p.m.
April 29	Home	Jericho	4:15 pm
May 1	Away	Jericho	4:15 p.m.
May 3	Away	Hewlett	11 a.m.
May 5	Away	W.Hempstead	4:15 p.m.
May 6	Home	W.Hempstead	4:15 p.m.
May 8	Away	W.Hempstead	4:15 p.m.
May 12	Home	Lynbrook	4:30 p.m.
May 13	Away	Lynbrook	4:30 p.m.
May 14	Home	Lynbrook	4:30 p.m.
May 16	Home	Great Neck South	4 p.m.