Syosset High Sports Notebook

A big win isn't just beneficial for emotional reasons, according to Syosset lacrosse coach John Calabria.

During the non-conference campaign Calabria platooned senior goalie Jonathan Cohen and freshman goalie Ryan Feit. Cohen got the nod when the conference campaign began, but Calabria says their talent level is pretty much equal and the starter is a game-to-game decision.

In the meantime, Tuesday's 17-3 home win over Freeport gave Calabria the freedom to give both some playing time, which he says can help down the road.

"Jonathan could get hurt and Ryan would have to go in cold, or the other way around," Calabria said. "It's good to get the opportunity to prepare for that now."

Schedule Saga, Part I

How bad was the Syosset baseball team's luck in the first week of the conference season? The Braves played Plainview JFK three times, lost the first two games and won the third. But the final game of the series was considered a non-conference game. Teams are allowed to schedule conference opponents to fill out their non-conference schedule.

Syosset coach Pat Fitzgerald noted that when they played the third time, Plainview used its "A" team lineup from the conference games, so the win was personally satisfying.

You just won't see it in the standings.

Schedule Saga, Part II

On the opposite extreme, Syosset boys volleyball coach Todd Donaghy didn't schedule any non-conference games. The team lost four starters from last year, and one of the scheduled starters for this year left the team.

Said Donaghy, "We needed practice time more than games."

Ability Grouping Gone?

Hearing growing whispers that Nassau County's ability grouping system, in which conference affiliations are regularly tweaked due to strength or weakness of teams, may become a thing of the past for the next school year. The alternative would be a more classic system where teams are slotted based on enrollment.