Success After Big Injury

Playing in the most competitive basketball conference in Nassau County, the Massapequa varsity boys team faces a tough task every year, having to go up against against county powerhouses Hempstead, Uniondale, Farmingdale and Freeport. This season, the task became monumental when one of the team’s best players, William Schlich, tore his ACL in practice before the season. It was a devastating loss for a team that already faced an uphill battle, but the Massapequa varsity boys team pressed on,  and made their coach quite proud by having a successful season,

“Their work effort was phenomenal,” said Marty Voigt, who has coached at Massapequa for 22 years. “One of the best teams I have ever been around.”

Visiting The Players

Local elected officials Legis. Michael Venditto and Town of Oyster Bay Councilman Joe Pinto visited with the players and coaches of the Massapequa PAL Kindergarten and first grade basketball clinic.  The elected officials met with the participants and encouraged them to display good sportsmanship when participating in team sports, but above all else, have fun.

Bowling ’Em Over

Massapequa’s Girls Bowling Team

Completes Fine Season

The Massapequa Girls Bowling Team just completed a very successful season, in which the team finished in third place in its conference, eighth overall in Nassau County and fourth overall in the Nassau County Championship held at Garden City Bowl. And next year, it looks as if the team will only get better. If the girls continue to improve as they have been doing, the team might have great things ahead of them.

“The girls are improving tremendously each year that they’re there,” said Steve Donovan, the team’s coach. “I’d like to see us in the top three in the county [next year].”

St. Rose CYO Victorious

The players of the St. Rose CYO fourth grade basketball team stand with their coaches, Lance Cohen and Larry Dupkin after winning a playoff game at Unqua School.

Winning The Race

Sal Nastasi, 32, of Massapequa Park captured first place honors in the 30-34-year-old age group at Sayville Running Company 10 Mile Run to the Blue Point Brewery. Nastasi braved cold winter temperatures to complete the race in 56 minutes and 41 seconds. He finished more than three minutes ahead of the second place finisher in his age group and fourth overall.

She’ll Coach Old Westbury

North Massapequa’s Brianna Day has been named as the women’s lacrosse first assistant coach at SUNY Old Westbury for the team’s inaugural season. Day is a graduate of Plainedge High School where she was a standout athlete, lettering in track and field, soccer and, of course, lacrosse. Her career continued at the University of Albany where she was a member of the women’s lacrosse team, which captured the America East Championship in consecutive years. Since 2009, Day has been a United States Lacrosse Certified Coach as a head coach of the Long Island Liberty Lacrosse Program as well as an assistant coach with Black Diamond Lacrosse Camps and Clinics.

Rifle Team On Target

The Massapequa Varsity Rifle Team is in the midst of a very successful season. The team will head to the Nassau County championships next week, after finishing 9-1 in air rifle competition and winning the division title. The team also went 3-1 in smallbore competition with one match remaining. Alex Norden is in his eighth season as the coach of the team. He says a special combination of skills is necessary for success in this sport, which is also an Olympic event.

“You have to be mentally disciplined,” he says. “It’s all about you and being able to control your mind. You have to train your body to do something it doesn’t want to do which is to stand still.”

Alumni Game Fundraiser

The Third Annual Alumni Basketball Game held in Massapequa High School’s gymnasium raised $1,200 for the American Cancer Society, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the varsity boys basketball team and alumni, the boys booster club, and family and friends of the boys basketball program. The game was held to support the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign spearheaded by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to increase cancer awareness and raise funds for research.

Gymnastics Team Heads To State Qualifiers

Seniors show leadership as Massapequa

careers come towards a finish

It was a simple question but the answer, or lack thereof, spoke volumes to the admiration that the coach has for his team.  

Massapequa Varsity Girls Gymnastics Coach Mike Capone was sitting in the bleachers prior to the events of Senior Night, the final home meet for the team this year. He was asked to speak about the group of young women on his team, and in particular, the seniors who will soon be leaving. The coach was left at a loss for words, in particular about the seniors, some of whom he has coached for six years.

“This is probably the best group of young ladies that I’ve had the pleasure to be associated with,” he finally responded. “I cannot say enough about the seniors and the team.”

Tennis Coach Honored

Michael Pavlides of Massapequa has been named the 2012 Virginia and Chuck Landis High School Coach of the Year by the U.S. Tennis Association Eastern Section, which encompasses all of New York State plus parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. Pavlides has been coaching tennis at Massapequa High School for 15 years. In 2011, Pavlides led both the Massapequa boys and girls teams to win the conference championship  – representing just a few of his 242 career victories as a coach.

In addition to coaching, he runs the Nassau County High School Tennis Championships for both boys and girls, and teaches adult tennis in Massapequa. In 2010, he was named the USTA’s Long Island Region Adult Volunteer of the Year.