Program Unity On Menu at Braves Baseball Dinner

It’s about the program for Pat Fitzgerald.

When the Syosset Braves baseball coach took over three years ago, his goals far outreached the confines of the high school level.

“When I began as a middle school coach, the program was very different,” Fitzgerald said at Monday’s Syosset Baseball Booster Club awards dinner at

“I said that if I ever got the opportunity to be a head coach, my first priority would be to coach a program and not just my team,” Fitzgerald said. “I’ve made it a priority to work with the middle school and JV coaches.”

It was that sense of “organizational pride” that brought members of Syosset’s four middle school and three high school teams out to celebrate each others accomplishments.

Aside from handing out certificates and offering words of encouragement before school lets out for summer, guests were treated to an address from former Brooklyn Dodgers farmhand Al Desiderio.

After stints in both the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox organizations, Desiderio coached at Port Jefferson High School for 37 years, winning 490 games along the way. Fitzgerald, who played for the affectionately named “Coach Desi,” beamed with pride as he introduced his former skipper.

Desiderio spoke about his love of the game and developing thick skin because of it.

“You’re playing a game that is teaching you how to fail,” Desiderio said. “When you’re up at bat and strike out, so what? It doesn’t matter. It’s over. Your attitude is going to carry you to the next level. You got to have that positive attitude that coach Fitzgerald has been telling you about.”

The night was organized by the , a group Fitzgerald had hoped to create following his head coach appointment. The club was instrumental in organizing fundraising events and charitable ventures throughout the year. Because of their efforts, they were able to hand out three scholarships to graduating seniors.  

Dan Ventricelli, Michael Capritto and Bobby Albanese were all recipients. Albanese’s scholarship was dubbed the George Tony Allen Leadership Award. Allen is the late grandfather of Albanese, who passed away in March.

Bobby’s mother, Kerry, is the president of the Booster Club and was instrumental in the early success of the group. She was unaware until the presentation that the award would be named after her father.

“Being a baseball player is very special,” Fitzgerald said in his closing remarks. “It’s a gift that should be cherished.”

For many players, Monday represented the end of their Syosset careers. But to the program as a whole, it marked only a moment in what’s designed to be years of success.