Paul Caleca is thinking about baseball, even with temperatures hovering around freezing. He’s the baseball coach at J. Taylor Finley Middle School, which is coming off a 7-2 season. The Falcons hope to keep their momentum going this spring.
Many of Caleca’s top players from the 2017 team have moved on and are now high school freshman. “The Finley team will be young this year with plenty of openings for the new seventh grade class,” he said. Practice officially gets underway on Monday, March 26.
This year’s squad will be led by captains Kevin Drake and Dylan Schnitzer. “I’m hoping to add one more captain by the time the season opens,” Caleca said.
Last spring, Finley defeated West Islip Beach (5-2), Elwood (7-0 and 9-0), East Northport (9-1), Oldfield (5-2), West Islip Udall (15-0) and Stimson (9-0). The team dropped games to Hauppauge (6-3) and Northport (10-1). The Falcons were paced by eighth graders Chris Segreti, Alexander Bellissimo, Kyle Colleluori and Aidan Bender.
“We’re going to start working on the 2018 season as soon as possible,” said Caleca earlier this week. “Our school district offers a large variety of activities to our students so they can be involved all year long. Many of my ballplayers participate in a fall and winter sport.”
In addition to Drake and Schnitzer, Adrian Angueira, Robert Brown, John Chirico, Theodore Gress, Michael Heinisch and Emanuel Mejia are all eligible to return from last year’s team.
“It’s never too early to start thinking of the warm weather and spring baseball,” Caleca said. “I’m looking forward to having returning eighth graders and a ton of seventh graders tryout for the team. I’m planning to keep the momentum going and I’m looking forward to another strong season.”
Drake is the team’s shortstop and Schnitzer is Finley’s catcher. Most of the other starting positions are wide open. Caleca is excited about the coming season.
“The best advice I can give parents and students is to start early and get involved,” Caleca said. “The more you play, the better you’ll get. There are a lot of great baseball programs; not only in our district, but in our community as well. The younger you start, the better baseball player you’ll become. You can always call me at the high school if you have any questions about getting involved in America’s favorite pastime. Even though it’s January, the days are getting longer. Let’s start thinking baseball.”
Contact Caleca at pcaleca@hufsd.edu or (631) 673-1768 for more information about the Finley baseball program.
