Merillon News
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Merillon Little League Sweeps District 28
Merillon Little League Holds 56th Annual Opening Day Parade
Peter Williams Coach of the Year
Instructional Division Opening Day 2009
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Articles:
Merillon Little League Sweeps District #28
Merillon Little League sweeps District 28! For the first time in Merillon history the 10, 11 and 12 year-old All-Star teams win their respective Williamsport District Championships. The 9-10 year old All-Stars managed by Tom Murphy and coached by Bill Donovan, Al Rossello and Mark Quinn, the 10-11 year old All-Stars managed by Lou Messina and coached by Mike Varrone, Greg Kyro and Coach Haug, the 11-12 year old All-Stars managed by George Theodoropoulos and coached by John Young, Liam Slattery, Jack Clark and Jim Cioffi. Congratulations to all the players and good luck in the Sectionals!
10 Year-old All-Stars
Merillon Sharks win District 28!
The Sharks completed the sweep for Merillon by winning the Williamsport District 28 championship for the 9-10 division. They follow the 11 Year Old & 12 Year Old teams that won their championship earlier this week. The Sharks practiced hard and played as team throughout the tournament. They were led by a strong pitching staff, Greg Haynes, Tom Murphy, Louis Plomitallo and Christian Carrick and were anchored by catchers Brendan Quinn and Anthony Lanzilotta. They also can hit led by Nick Mangia, Peter Restivo, Yanni Rigos and Matthew Vowinkel and have strong leadership, the captains Greg Donovan, Jack Nuttall and Vincent Rossello. The Sharks are looking forward to playing in the sectionals.
11 Year-old All-Stars
This year the Merillon 11 year old Williamsport All-Stars captured their second consecutive District 28 Championship. Over this two year period the Merillon Sharks are 9-1 in District play and have over 30 wins in various other tournaments. This year was our toughest challenge as the team faced elimination in 3 straight games but still came away with the district crown. The championship game was a classic against Port Washington as Merillon came away with a 2-1 win on a walk off hit in the bottom of the 6th with 2 outs and 2 strikes on our batter. Individual accomplishments although significant do not reflect why and how we won, as the team always came first. The team had it’s strongest roster over the past few years as each player has worked hard to improve during the off season to hone their baseball skills. They are James Messina, Greg Kyro, Mike Varrone, Brian Haug, Justin DiDonato, Peter Tagios, Justin Marder, Jake Kennedy, Adeel Bari, Mike Carbone, Giuseppe LoDuca, Brett Baker. The coaches all worked hard and deserve a big thank you: Mike Varrone, Greg Kyro, Norm Haug along with Manager Louis Messina. The team will now move on to sectional play looking to capture a Long Island Championship.
12 Year-old All-Stars
12-Year Old Merillon All Stars Win District 28!
Congratulations District 28 Champions! Merillon defeated East Williston at Port Washington’s Lions field to win Merillon’s first 12-year old title since 1993. For the last 5 years Manager George Theodoropoulos has consistently instilled in the boys, we come as 12, we play as 12 and we win (or lose) as 12. It was belief in that philosophy that let these boys put aside personal goals for the greater good of team. It was that belief coupled with their dedication and commitment to practicing 4 to 5 times a week without ever complaining that led to their success. Their love of the game, desire to improve and to compete at the highest level motivates them to play to the best of their abilities. What is equally impressive is the collective conviction that the District Championship is just the beginning of Williamsport play. Thanks should be given to Manager George Theodoropoulos, Coaches John Young, Liam Slattery, Jack Clark and Jim Cioffi for their dedication and devotion to the boys. Thanks also should be given to Mr. Crames for keeping pitching records, Dr. William (Bill) Facibene for being our team physician/photographer, Ken Patrey and Tom Scanlon for assisting us with the pitchers and batting practice and to the numerous fathers and mothers who assist us by making sure the boys are at the right place at the right time. The victory catapults the All Stars to sectional play beginning July 22nd at Sagamore Field as they vie for the State Championship.
Merillon Little League Holds 56th Annual Opening Day Parade
By: Margaret Whitely, as printed in the New Hyde Park Illustrated News, May 8, 2009 edition
As Merillon Little League gears up for its 58th year with 56 parades under its belt, the many boys and girls involved this year can be proud of the accomplishments made, through the years by the Merillon Athletic Association. More than 650 boys and girls are registered this year and the roster is continually growing. Chairman Tony Camilleri, who has been involved in the operations of Merillon for many, many years said, "As we embark on our 58th season, which in itself is a great accomplishment, I would like to take the time to thank all the volunteers that have made it possible. Those are the people who work hard to make Merillon Athletic Association a very unique organization. The community is very fortunate to have so many wonderful people that give so much of their own time so that we can provided the very best playing environment possible. We must say thank you to the Town of North Hempstead officials for their cooperation and support, which is essential to provided the safe and comfortable environment in which we play. We must also say thanks to the state officials for their continued fiscal support, which helps us to pay for so many projects. We do all of this so that our children can enjoy themselves and play in the very best conditions possible, because, let's face it, the reason we do all of this for the children. We must never forget that very important fact. So as we begin the 2009 season, let us keep working together so these ideas will continue to flourish in to the future.
Merillon President, Michael Luchino thanked all parents for registering their children in the Merillon Little League Association. He added, "At Merillon we work long and hard behind the scenes for 12 months to accomplish this and I think it shows. We have a very strong and committed Board of Directors, Managers and Coaches, all of whom volunteer countless hours of hard work for our sons and daughters. This years Coaches Achievement Awards were then presented to:
Challengers – Christine Boppert
Instructional – John Vissichelli
Boys Lower Farms – Anthony Russo
Boys Upper Farms – Joe Carbone
Boys Minors – Tom O’Donnell
Boys Majors – John Young
Boys Juniors – Al Pugliese
Girls Farms – Marcie Zeitlin
Girls Minors - Joe Renta
Girls Majors – Denise Barilli
Girls Seniors – Tom Kimkowski
Peter Williams Coach of the Year
By: Tony Camilleri
The 2008 Joe Roy Coach of the Year
Award is presented to Peter Williams. Peter started his Merillon Career in 1995
coaching his sons Matthew and Cory in the Instructional Division. In 1996, he
was an assistant coach in the Farms Division. In 1997 and 1998, he managed a
Farms Division team. From 1998 to 2008 he coached in the Minors, Majors,
Juniors and Seniors Division. In addition to managing the spring season he also
managed travel teams in the Summer and Fall season.
In 2004 and 2005, Peter also coached
his daughter Nicole in the Girls Softball Minors Division taking his team to the
championship game.
In 2006, Peter was elected to the Board of Directors as Assistant Vice President
of the Girls Softball Division. In 2007, he was elected to be the Vice
President of the Girls Softball Division. During his tenure he
expanded the girls spring program from 9 teams to 29 teams.
Noteworthy Achievements - Took Seniors team to the Connie Mack Division Championship game; Under his direction Girls Division expanded from 9 teams to 29 teams; Coached teams in the Girls and Boys Division simultaneously.
Peter is the consummate volunteer who is truly deserving of this award. Besides coaching, in his position as VP of the Girls Division he worked closely with other surrounding towns coordinating schedules and ensuring the girls had fields to play on. He volunteered his time on many occasions to work on special projects such as field repair, spring and fall cleanups, tryouts and clinics. He also serves on our finance committee. On behalf of the League, I want to personally thank him for giving so much of his time to our community. I also want to congratulate his wife Lina, his sons Matthew and Cory and his daughter Nicole.
By: Mike Luchino
Merillon Athletic Association held its first ever food drive during the our Picture Day Weekend April 19th and 20th in conjunction with Island Harvest. For those of you who don't know about Island Harvest, they are the largest hunger relief organization on Long Island. You can find out more about them by visiting their website at www.IslandHarvest.org
All of our players and families were terrific and together we were able to donate 20 cartons of food and $70 in cash to help those families in need on Long Island. Our biggest collections came from the Boys and Girls Instructional Division and from the Boys Juniors Division. The Boys Juniors Division was led by Luke Viscusi, pictured below, who went to his classmates and collected 4 bags full of food and $10 in cash donations. Way to go Luke!
Thanks to all who contributed to this very special cause and we look forward to running another drive in the near future.
Instructional Division Opening Day 2009
By: Mike Luchino
Merillon Athletic Association opened its 58th season on Saturday March 28th.
Mother nature held back the rains as our 2009 group of Instructional Division Boys and Girls took to the fields this morning to develop their skills and to play baseball. Smiling faces were everywhere as the young baseball players kicked things off while flash bulbs were popping catching all of the excitement. With just under 200 people in attendance Merillon kicked off it's 58th season led by our League Chairman Tony Camilleri who got things off with a rousing speech followed by the playing of our National Anthem. Once the kids began to throw and hit the ball I could just tell that there were some future stars of our League out on the diamonds. Special thanks go to Lou Messina who is our Instructional Division Vice President and to all volunteers who helped make this happen. Keep up the great work Merillon!
By: Mike Luchino
Judging by the smiling, happy faces of all the players this years Winter Clinic was a smashing success. Once again this year the clinic was run by Dean Tartarian of the The Fundamental Baseball Camp and he did a fantastic job. Assisting Dean were former Merillon Little Leaguers, Tommy Roulis, Eric Dittmeier, Matt Dillon, David Luchino, Danny Luchino and Joey Richards who all worked hard and shared their talents with the younger kids. I can't wait to see these players on the field this spring season using the techniques they learn at the clinic.
Below are some pictures from the clinic, see how many faces you recognize!
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Revised: 08/05/09.