Thank you to the members of the Syosset High School football and cheerleading teams, school board, administration and a special thank you to John Pappas, athletic director, Syosset School District.

I'm writing this letter on behalf of the Syosset Youth Football & Cheerleading League. Our league has been established for the past five years after the folding of the Syosset Spartans who played here in the 60s and 70s. Our league has been proud to be associated with the Syosset High School Braves and their long and well-respected tradition here in our little hamlet of Syosset.

Over the past three years, Mr. Pappas, his high school coaching staff and their student athletes have been around to help your children learn the game of football and cheerleading as well as teaching them the tradition of football and cheerleading here in Syosset.

As a high school and college coach, it's nice to see this cooperation between the school and youth programs. I know that this is a common bond not only in our sport, but I'm sure that this also exists in the other youth sports here in Syosset. It comes back to the thing we as coaches try and stress to the participants in any sport that there is a tradition. Every child should try and keep up the Braves' tradition that their parents and grandparents have set forth when they were playing sports, or when they represented their school, club or any other school activity.

This year the Syosset School Board has taken away your tradition that has been part of Syosset for well over 50 years. They have or are in the process of changing the school districts' mascot from the Braves to the Red Hawks. They have taken away your identity with your past championships and accomplishments. I can remember coming to Syosset as an opponent when they sang the national anthem, and "the home of the brave"; the stands would always sing out with pride "the home of the Braves."

Last week at our last home youth football game an elderly gentleman came up to me and asked, "when he goes to his high school reunion this year is he going as a Brave or a Red Hawk? As he told me he was always proud to be called a Brave, and he asked me, "Isn't the name of the hamlet of Syosset an Indian name?"

Our league will continue to keep up this well respected name of the Syosset Braves. We hope that it's not too late for the entire silent majority here in Syosset to go to a school board meeting and voice their opinion about this change; a change that apparently not everyone knew about. Why didn't the school board send out a survey like other school districts here on Long Island did who also have proud Indian names? If you didn't read the article in Newsday on Nov. 8, these other districts have not changed their proud Indian name.

Frank V. Sammartano

Commissioner

Syosset Youth Football & Cheerleading League