Yes, Staten Island academy has a golf team. Not only has this team been around for decades, but this year was the debut for new golf coach Shawn Novak. Mr. Novak is a very experienced golfer who has been enjoying the game for years. This year, the team amassed many new members. Sophomores Eddie L. and Ryan A. joined, along with junior Phillip B., and Senior Danny C.. Returning members include Sophomores Paul N., Vincent S., Yvonne B., and me, and Seniors Alex V. and Captain Paul B. Also returning is eighth-grader Zack Z. The tigers finished the season 6 and 6 overall, but 5 and 3 in league play.

Apart from just playing, the golf team enjoyed many fun traditions. Every player on the golf team has nicknames. The team’s favorite belongs to eighth-grader Zack Z. As soon as he sat down on the bus for the first time, Captain Paul Blanchard called him a “young buck.” Since then, “Young Buck” has become Zack’s name, and even the schools that we play know him by his nickname. Another great nickname that popped up this year belongs to sophomore Paul N. After every match, Coach Novak calls the Staten Island Advance to report the game details. The players with the best scores also have their names in the paper. Unfortunately, the paper never gets our names right. Usually, the flaws are negligible: some extra consonants, or occasionally a similarly sounding name. Therefore, we were quite surprised when our team got a “new” member. Supposedly, a “Carl Morgan” scored very well for the tigers, even though no “Carl Morgans” enroll at Staten Island Academy. We then discovered that it was not Carl Morgan, but Paul! Now, even teachers tease poor Paul because of the newspaper’s mishap. The laughs, the competition, and the bonding all make the golf team a great fit at Staten Island Academy.

This Spring Break away from school, our SIA Baseball team traveled to sunny, warm Orlando, Florida to experience Spring Training at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. After a good flight, we hit the ground running as soon as we landed, checking into our rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, then registering at WWOS, and finally getting a practice in to cap a long first day.

We played six games over the course of five days against some very good competition from teams from the northeast region who were also trying to escape the cold weather and snowy conditions. It felt great to be on the field in 87 degree temperatures playing the game I love with my teammates. The experience was awesome: it was like we were minor leaguers getting ready for the season, trying to make the big club. It brought back many fond memories for our coaching staff who shared with us their spring training experiences when they played in high school and college.

After spending our days on the diamond preparing for our season, we were able to unwind at night. We visited Epcot where we enjoyed a team dinner at Via Napoli in Italy, Cuban cuisine at Bongos in Downtown Disney, and ’50s Prime Time Cafe in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  While there, we also rode the Tower of Terror. We attended a MLB spring training game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies, and the last night we were there we spent at Magic Kingdom and saw a spectacular fireworks show.

Unfortunately, we lost all six of the games that we played, but we were able to play baseball in the warm weather, learned some things about each other, ate some good food, had a lot of fun and bonded as a team. All in all, it was a great experience for our team and the memories we made will last for years to come.

It is safe to say that the Boys Varsity Soccer Team had an “interesting” season. In the fall the team had over 30 players, so we had to be split into Varsity and a Junior Varsity teams. A handful of people played both Varsity and Junior Varsity, but they soon became full-time Varsity players. That is because of the curse that was inflicted on our team. Somehow, some way, we managed to lose 9 people—yes 9—to injury. We had broken hands (yes, plural), concussions, torn ligaments, and various other tears and scrapes. I, myself, succumbed to a sprained ankle late in the season. Adding to that, a 20-plus game season crammed into 2 months was not easy. However, despite the adverse conditions, our team pulled through, winning many more games than we did last season. When asked about the boys’ season, senior captain Dominick T. said, “It was great! We all worked really hard, and we had fun at the same time.” Junior Varsity soccer, returning for a second year, also had an unusual season: many of their star players were moved up to Varsity to compensate for the plague of injuries that struck the boys’ soccer season. Junior Varsity Captain Ryan A. ‘17 added, “We had a fun season; our team really meshed on the field. Towards the end of the season, it was getting a bit frustrating that all of our players were moving up to Varsity, but we managed.” Nevertheless, the boys arrived to each game ready for a challenge, and they would never give up until the last whistle blew.

By Trip M. ’17