Displaying items by tag: Saratoga Springs CSD

Thursday, 14 December 2017 14:06

Saratoga Springs Ice Hockey

[All photos by www.PhotoAndGraphic.com]

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Coach David Torres has been coaching the Saratoga Springs ice hockey team for seven years now. With the league games starting this week, Torres and his guys are ready to take their solid defense to the ice.

“We’ll be very competitive in the league. We have excellent goalies and excellent defense, I think those will be our strong points this season,” Torres said.

“We’re still learning to play together. We’re still young but we have some proven leaders on the team,” he explained.

The team has 23 players total this season; three goalies, eight defensemen, and 12 forwards.

“We had a record number of kids try out for the team; it was very competitive. It’s a lot of talent coming up. I like our team, I think we’ll be very competitive in the league and hopefully we could return to sectional finals if we do all the right things during the season and if we stay healthy, we should be in the mix,” Torres said.

Ryan Jones, a senior and one of the captains, has played hockey since he was four years old and is playing on varsity for his third season and plays hockey year-round.

“Ryan’s a great leader in the locker room. He leads by example and leads by being a good influence on the younger guys on the squad,” Torres said of Jones.

Matt Shamburger, a senior and third-year varsity player, is also one of the teams’ captains.

“Being a captain is a big role on the team and I’m taking it very seriously. I’m trying to lead our team and I want to create a team where the youngest and oldest get along, no one gets excluded. I think it’s really important that everyone feels like we’re all one unit. It helps the team perform at a higher level and creates a more fun environment for everyone,” Shamburger said.

Xavier Clarke, a sophomore who has played on varsity for two years, is described by Torres as, “a great player, one of the best defensemen in the league.”

“It’s pretty fun being a captain,” Clarke said, “I’ve got a whole different role on the team now rather than just being a regular player.”

All of the captains agree, they have a young offensive line and that is looking like their biggest challenge for this season, but that’s why they have upped their intensity this year in practice.

“I love the practices. The kids come to learn every day. They’re so enthusiastic about learning, they hate to miss practice. There’s just something about our practices that’s inviting. I’m not sure what that is exactly but maybe it’s the comradery combined with the fun drills we have. They want to learn, they work hard, and at the same time they have fun,” Torres said.

“During our practices we’ve been working really hard, conditioning more than ever before. We have a young team this year so everyone is out there working as hard as they can to prove themselves and that helps the older guys too,” Shamburger explained.

Jones had nothing but praise for freshman Will Detora, who started on varsity this season.

“We had watched him at his youth hockey games, we knew he’d be good but we didn’t expect him to make this much of an impact. He’s playing on the second line for us and he has been really impressive so far,” Jones praised.

Shamburger has been impressed so far with goalie Brad Hipsley, a senior.

“Brad’s a baseball guy but he came back for one last season with us. He’s been working really hard and we’ve all been extremely surprised at how well he’s been doing. We think he’ll be a starter for us this season and we’re really happy to have him back. He’s definitely a big factor for our team,” Shamburger said.

“Playing the game you love,” Jones simplified, “nothing beats it.”

Published in Sports
Friday, 08 December 2017 09:19

Men of the Mat

[Saratoga Wrestler Photos by www.PhotoAndGraphic.com]

[Other Photos Provided]

SARATOGA COUNTY — Few sports demand so much and give so little as wrestling. But as the legendary competitor and coach Dan Gable said, “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.” Locally, as the temperatures drop and athletes head indoors, a unique group of young men, and a few women, prepare to entertain loyal fans in one-on-one battles. Wrestling season has begun.

Frank Spatafora:

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Frank Spatafora, a senior and captain of the wrestling team, has been on the mat since seventh grade. He started on varsity as a freshman at Saratoga High School and is also a football player, which helps with wrestling because it keeps him lifting all off-season.

“Last year, along with a couple of my teammates, I got to wrestle in the sectionals tournament, which was a big accomplishment for me,” Spatafora explained.

Spatafora said that he had an awesome football season and now he is “definitely trying to keep that momentum going” in his final wrestling season.

Spatafora is trying to maintain his weight after losing some in the beginning, though he says that “candy and ice cream” isn’t helping him.

“My goal this year is to place as high as I can in the Class A tournament and the sectionals tournament,” he expressed.

Last year, Spatafora placed fifth in Section II.

Eric Griskowitz:

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Eric Griskowitz, a sophomore at Saratoga High School, started wrestling in kindergarten and has been trying to avoid “ice cream and pizza” to maintain his weight ever since.

“My parents always thought I was a crazy kid and they wanted me to do something and not be crazy around the house, so they brought me to the wrestling room and I started in the middle of the pee-wee season and continued from there,” he explained.

Last season, Griskowitz lost in the sectionals and is hoping to take the win this year. He has won several varsity tournaments since joining the team in seventh grade.

“I’ll be hopefully getting my one-hundredth win this weekend, which will be nice,” he said.

He says that his biggest challenge will be cutting weight.

“Maintaining my weight is definitely difficult for me. I’m trying to maintain a weight that’s lower than my average body weight,” Griskowitz explained.

He also played JV lacrosse last year and is hoping to move up to varsity this season.

He is a two-time Section II place finisher for Blue Streaks wrestling.

Ryan DiGuiseppe:

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Ryan DiGiuseppe, a senior at Saratoga Springs High School, has been wrestling since he was four years old. Though DiGiuseppe used to also play football, he did not continue this season so that he could focus solely on wrestling. He stayed in shape during the off-season by lifting.

When asked what his biggest accomplishment has been so far, he humbly said, “even just placing in a varsity tournament is a wonderful thing. Going to sectionals for three years in a row and placing twice, that’s a wonderful thing, too. It’s just amazing to be on the varsity team, it’s just a big accomplishment just to be here in general.”

DiGiuseppe had nothing but nice things to say about his coaches, led by Coach Kris West.

“They’re awesome, I love them. They push us hard. We have days where they’ll be on you about stuff, every coach does that though, and you just have to get through it. These coaches are so amazing, they’ve helped me for such a long time. They’ve had a big impact on my life,” he marveled.

DiGiuseppe has goals outside of wrestling; he’d like to be an EMT or a firefighter. If he is offered the chance, he would pursue wrestling in college as well.

Danny Jada:

BURNT HILLS-BALLSTON LAKE — Danny Jada, a senior and captain of the wrestling team at Burnt HillsBallston Lake High School, is ready to take on his fifth season on varsity.

“I love wrestling and I’ve wrestled ever since first grade,” Jada said.

His biggest accomplishment so far was placing second at sectionals last year. Being a captain requires leadership, both on
and off the mat.

“Jada is a great leader. He leads both by example and by just being a good teammate in the room and helping people out,” said varsity coach Stephen Jones.

“I really enjoy the leadership aspect. I think I try to portray a good example to the younger kids. I try and help out with the pee-wee guys when I can. I really try and put in the time to help everybody out,” Jada said modestly.

As far as his biggest challenge this season, Jada thinks of that from a captain’s perspective, too.

“Our biggest challenge is probably trying to get the team ready for bigger events since we do have a younger team this year. A lot of new guys are stepping into the varsity lineup this season,” he explained.

Jada is interested in finding a college that fits both his academic goals and one that has a wrestling team.

As far as maintaining his weight goes, he said his biggest crutch is, “probably my mom’s homemade cooking.”

John DeConno:

BURNT HILLS-BALLSTON LAKE — John DeConno is not a wrestler who started the sport as an elementary student, in fact, he didn’t begin with the sport until eighth grade after his sisters’ boyfriend recommended he try it out.

“My sisters’ boyfriend was a wrestler. He told me, ‘you’re going to love it, you’re an aggressive kid.’ I didn’t really like sports like baseball, which is just a lot of standing around, so this is a sport that I can use my aggression and actually do something all the time. I’m always moving. I wasn’t sure about wrestling at first but I loved it right away. I fell in love with the sport from the start,” DeConno explained.

Now in his junior year of high school, DeConno thinks he has an advantage to starting a little later than some of his teammates.

“I think a lot of the kids that start early may be pushed into it. Then they can get burned out later on, but I think I started at a good time. I was mature enough, I was stronger and more grown, and I think I can perform better than a kid that may have started earlier,” DeConno said.

“Wrestling is one of those sports where you’re always welcome. John’s a good athlete and a fast learner, he wants to get better every day,” said Coach Jones. Last year’s performance was the first time DeConno placed in sectionals.

DeConno has big goals for this season, “I want to wrestle as hard as I can, learn as much as I can, and get to a state level.”

Orion Anderson:

SCHUYLERVILLE – Orion Anderson, a senior at Schuylerville High School, is a three-time New York State finalist and a two-time state champion, which he achieved as a sophomore and a junior. Anderson began wrestling at age two, following in the footsteps of his older brother and sister.

“My favorite high school match was probably my sophomore year in the states final because I wanted to get that state title so badly after losing it the year before,” Anderson reminisced.

As a senior, his goal is simple: to be state champion again. He has committed to Binghamton, which offered him a full ride scholarship with an injury guarantee; he will sign his Letter of Intent in the spring.

“I’m really trying to focus on my school work this year,” Anderson explained.

The varsity team is coached by Buck Anderson, his father, and while the team isn’t large in number this year, Anderson is happy they have kids who are “definitely intense in the room and want to be there.”

“My favorite part of the match itself is knowing that there is no one else but you out there and you just have to get it done. No one else is going to help you.”

 

Published in Sports
Thursday, 02 November 2017 13:05

Blue Streaks Dominate

[Photo by www.PhotoAndGraphic.com]

SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Saratoga Springs Blue Streaks have had a record-breaking season this year. They are currently 9-0 with their Sectional Game taking place Friday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. against Troy. This will be a neutral non-conference game.

Published in Sports

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