Mineola varsity football coach Dan Guido heads into his 18th season with the optimism of a young coach just learning the ropes of the business. Guido has a simple expectation of this Mustang unit - make the playoffs. Guido has as large a squad as he's had in quite some time. So, depth is a plus to with some important and experienced players back from last year's playoff squad. The coach described those players:

Rich Carter, QB, SR., athletic, good arm

Greg Gabriel, RB-MLB, SR., returning All-Conference, hard hitter

Pat Gaffney, SS-RB, SR., Co-Captain, athletic, smart player

Anthony Tretolo, OT-DT, JR., strong, smart

Nick Laurino, OG-DE, SR., aggressive player

Dan Vezo, OT-DT, SR., good size and strength

Rob Wong, RB, DB, SR., excellent ball carrier

Mike Bencivenga, S, REC, SR., Co-Captain, smart player, athletic

Leo Morales, OG-LB, JR., strong, quick

Marcin Gajdziszewski, OL, DL, LB, tough, hard worker

Andrew Breen, OG-DT, SR., Co-Captain, powerful, tough

Coach Guido added to that list some of his hot newcomers, naming senior Derek Weber, who plays running back and defensive back, senior Tom Owens, who is a wide receiver and defensive back, sophomore Mike Roo, who is a tight end and defensive end, and junior Dave Gouveia, a defensive guard and defensive end. Guido also named others from his long roster as players to watch this season:

Kevin Franciotti, SR., OT-DE

Julio Gauto, SR., REC-DB

Claudio Saavedra, JR., OT-DT

Tiago Rodrigues, JR., RB-LB

Andrew Jakubek, SR., REC-LB

Nelson Lopes, JR., RB-SAF

John Cloghessy, JR., REC-MLB

Pat Cahill, SR., REC-DB

Joe Ricciardi, SR., RB-LB

Rob Olszewski, JR., OT-DT

Also adding depth to the squad are seniors Sean Bailey, Kevin Cahill and Chris Lyons plus a number of juniors - Tony Dos Santos, Tom Gajdziszewski, Jim Logan, Dom Marques, Charlie Molina and Dan Roo.

The Mustangs schedule opened two weekday They played at Roosevelt on Sept. 14 and their first Home Game on Thursday, Sept. 23. They will play Oct. 2 in their homecoming game against East Rockaway. The other change in the schedule is there are just seven regular season games. The reason is the playoff field has been doubled to eight teams. So, if the Mustangs make the playoffs that will be their eighth game. Coach Guido is hoping they'll be able to earn a home playoff contest.

The Mineola varsity girls' volleyball team is another squad that made the playoffs last year. This year's squad has a new head coach. Diana Nick moved up from the JV team. She brings with her some impressive credentials. Nick is a six year member of L.I.B.A. She played four years of varsity ball at MacArthur High School and was an All-County selection. She also played four years at the University of Albany. Nick has a strong roster of returning players. They are:

Michele Guido, Captain, Outside Hitter, Middle, LIBA member and very strong player.

Juliet Barber, Captain, Outside Hitter, LIBA member, very strong player.

Nicole Lapin, Setter, Very Strong Player.

Joanna Cohen, Off Setter, defensive specialist.

Amy Kemmler, defensive specialist

Eric O'Neill, Setter, Right Side Hitter, always can count on her.

Kaitlyn O'Neill, Outside Hitter, always can count on her.

Jill Shanahan, defensive specialist, good back row player.

Coach Nick pointed out the Mustangs lost three seniors from last year's squad. "But we have eight returning players plus Liz Campbell, a transfer student who is a starting middle player and has been a member of the LIBA volleyball club," she said.

The team also has three sophomores and a freshman from whom good things are expected. They are sophomores Cassie Olivos, Magda Jackowicz and Manda Ward along with freshman Jamie Medlock. Coach Nick expects to have a winning season and hopes for the playoffs in her first season at the helm.

Mineola High School cross country coach Kristin Degnan said, "The girls would like to finish in the top five in the division and top six in the conference. The boys team is looking to set individual personal records."

In discussing her returning runners, Coach Degnan will look to:

Julia Yan, Captain, leader, was All Division last year

Lauren Napolitano, strong finishing kick

Christina McCarthy, second girl last year, looking to lead middle pack

Samantha Hegman, most improved runner last year

Sarah Lasorsa, great attitude, always improving, supports all of her teammates

Coach Degnan said that the girls squad has more than doubled since last season. "We have seven new athletes who will add a lot to the team - Chelsea Rosner, Jen Pawlowski, Kasey Hughes, Roseanne Mercurio, Jessica Handibode, Yolando Gonzalez and Jamie Silva," she said.

The boys team consists of captain Edgar Galindo and Matt Wojis. They would like to have a successful season and motivate more runners to join.

The Mineola golf squad opens the 2004 season under the leadership of coach Al Weidlein. He's certainly no stranger to coaching in the district. But, he steps onto the first tee, trying to build a winner. Weidlein talked about his returning golfers:

Anthony Nicaj, Sr., good player, if he works hard could represent Mineola in the county tournament.

Kurt Schumacher, Jr., good attitude and enjoys the game.

Chris Lopes, Sr., good listener and a pleasure to have on the team.

Dan Siraco, Sr, a returning starter from last year.

The coach is also hoping three freshmen will be great contributors to the squad. They are Alex Eisen, Gabe Couto and Steven Goncalves. As far as expectations for the season are concerned, coach Weidlein said, "I inherited an extremely weak program. Our goal this year is to educate the players, make it fun and to show improvement over the course of the season. We also want to start a golf program during the summer athletic camps."

Weidlein pointed to Garden City being their toughest opponent.