Upstate Stars - 7/29/2012

>> Hello and welcome to Upstate Stars. I am Jeff Pexton and I will be your host as we travel central New York to cover our local amateur sports and get to know the athletes who play them. Our goal is to be your source for all things amateur sports. From the plush green fields of football, lacrosse, soccer and field hockey [music] to all of our high school and college gyms which play host to our basketball and volleyball teams, to the ice rinks that are home to our nationally renowned youth, high school and college hockey teams. We will be right there to cover central New York’s fine swimmers and divers. To the local baseball and softball fields where so many local heroes have left their mark. [music] We are right on track with some of the finest athletes anywhere. If you are in the bleachers, you can count on us to be right there alongside you as you root on your favorite players and teams. [music] >>We are here in Bridgewater on a cloudy Sunday in July. We will be talking to some of the riders here at the CNY BMX track. >>My name is Jake Wallack. I have been racing for three years now. On the Northeast Squad we have like, I don’t know [laughs], a lot of them. Um, this is my first time here, but yeah, I like it. Oh boy, it is a lot. I snowboard. I skateboard. I used to play basketball. Yeah, they are really supportive and everything so. Um, well they bought me my bike, so that is really important. Hi Mom! >>Since I was like two. I am sixteen now. Um, I don’t know. Seeing new people. Um, I do cheerleading and volleball, and yeah! Um, I don’t know. Just buying all my stuff, and bring me to all the tracks, and I don’t know, just talking to me about it. I think Kentucky. The one that is in New Jersey. It is called Howell. Because it is has like, I don’t know, it is faster. >>Uh, three years. Uh, thirteen expert. Oh, probably competition and hitting jumps. Uh, yeah, I have been to most of the tracks in New York and I have went to Vermont. I ride bikes around town and I, like, a street bike, and I snowboard during the winter. >> Three years. Um, meeting new friends. Um, sometimes I will like, I will, sometimes I will scoot on my scooter. I go hunting with my dad and stuff. Hi Mom! >>This is my second year. I like going over the jumps and the high speeds. In the winter I bowl, and I am also a cub scout. Hi Mom and Dad! >>This is my 5th year. Yes, I started when I was four. Um, that, um, when you get people faster than you, um, you have a little bit of a challenge, so then you can get faster. Um, I do soccer in the Fall. I do defense and then sometimes I do goalie and then when I am not doing either one of them I go out and kick the ball. Hi mom and dad! [music] >>Um, yes, I think um, at the beginning of the year I was kind of like, I didn’t really, I was like sittingng down the whole entire track, but then I did that at the beginning of the first year, and then I started to get like, um stand up, and the ended of the first year I ended up New York State number one. Yep, and then last year I just did it again, but there is a bike, it is a regular bike, it is called the 20-inch, and then there is another bike with bigger tires and a bigger frame. It is a 24-inch and I ride that, so I got New York State number one on both of those bikes. Um, probably my dad and Keegan Nelson and Nick Ralk and Jeff Hannigan because they have been riding for a while, so they know all this stuff, the tricks and everything to get you at first and help you get faster, so I have been listening to them and I have been getting a lot faster. This is actually my first big, big state qualifier and regional race, and I am an expert. I turned expert two weeks ago. I would give them, that you should come down. It doesn’t have to do with the motor, you just, if you know how to ride a two wheel bike and peddle and go over little jumps, then you know how to ride BMX. I just want to see kids out here who ride. [music] >>Ok, now I am joined by Tom Chia. Tom is going to be a junior here at New Hartford, and he has been playing lacrosse since seventh grade. Tom, I want to welcome you to Upstate Stars! >>Glad to be here. >>Well, we are glad to have you, and if you would please, tell me a little bit about this clinic, and you r participation in it, and what it has meant to you so far. >>Um, I have been playing it ever since I started lacrosse in about seventh grade. Um, it is not enough to just play in the spring, so you kind of got to work in the off-season too if you want to like get a step on other teams, and um, after a couple of weeks the clinic gets kind of, I don’t know, it gets hard to wake up in the morning, but it is a nice way to start your day. It gets you up and then you just get your day started early and you get some work done. >>Well, working in the summer definitely pays off in the following lacrosse season, and Tom, you are a defenseman, like I said, going to be a junior here at New Hartford. You have been playing since seventh grade. I gotta ask you. What drew you to lacrosse, and what is your favorite part about this sport? >>Um, I don’t know. I wasn’t not ever really a fan of baseball, so I wanted to do something during the spring, and like I watched some games on TV and it just looked like really fun, and then I just started playing it, and I just fell in love. >>Well, obviously because you are definitely rising as a lacrosse player and now we are joined by 9-year-old Kye Crever. Kye, welcome to Upstate Stars! >>Thank you. >> Well, you are welcome and you are 9 and, uh, you have been playing lacrosse now for two years and you are just now going into fourth grade, right? >> Yep. >> [laughs]And now my understanding from some of your coaches and talking with you is that your dad was a lacrosse player at Rome. Is that true? >>Yes. >>And, uh, tell me a little bit about what your dad’s support has meant to you. Has he helped you become a lacrosse player and has he taught you some stuff. >>Yes, he like taught me, like, if there was a d-man, I would hang back there and cover him. If the other team had a ball, and if my team had a ball, he told me to go with the open positions. >>It kind of helps you to have a dad who played this sport doesn’t it? >>Yes. >>Alright, and uh, let me ask you this Kye, we talked a little bit about the different phases of this game, offense, defense, goal. We talked about attack. We talked about midfield. What is your favorite position to play? >>Attack. >>And uh tell me, up front, on the attack you get to really *** that ball around and score don’t you? >> Yes. >>Is that your favorite thing to do? >>Yeah. >>Alright! And you are part of this clinic at New Hartford where there is about 120 kids coming out here every morning beginning at 8 o’clock on the field, in the heat, um, does it bother you to get up early in the morning to come out here and play lacrosse? >>No. >>No? You are ok with that? >>Yeah. >>Awesome! Well listen, Kye thanks for joining us here on Upstate Stars and for a 9-year-old guy you have done a wonderful job here. Thank you and good luck to you. >>Thanks. [music] >>Ok, now I am joined by Jesse Ondrako. Jesse is a 16-year-old here in New Hartford and he is going to be starting his junior year as well at New Hartford High School, and uh, Jesse first of all welcome to Upstate Stars! >>Thank you for having me. >>Well, it is my pleasure and I am going to start this interview off with a quick question. Your favorite lacrosse team is? >>Syracuse. >>Syracuse orange, and um, that is not a bad favorite to have being so close to the dome right? >>Umm hmm. >>[laughs] Fantastic! Jesse, what position do you play here in New Hartford? >>I play attack and midfield. >>Ok, and if you had your choice between the two, which would it be? >>Um, probably attack. >>And um, attack for someone who is not as familiar with the game of lacrosse like me, and I am not, and that is why I am here. Question, the attack position, um, what is that the, is it what the name implies, there are a lot of goals scored up front? >>Yeah, uh, it is more of like the offense players. There is three of them down low towards the goal, and they just kind of, they are the goal scorers. They usually move the ball around and catch and finish. >>Well, uh, that sounds like a fun position to play for sure and very active, and uh, tell me this too if you would please Jesse, you have been a part of this program for how many years now? >>I started in seventh grade and then loved it ever since. >>And what drew you to this sport, um, I mentioned it to one of your teammates before and he said he liked the action and he really wanted to play a spring sport, picked up a stick, and never stopped. What was it for you? >>Uh, I just like the speed of the game, it is fast, and you just keep running up and down the field, and I got cut from the baseball team in seventh grade and then Tom actually asked me if I wanted to play lacrosse and I tried out, and it started then. >>The rest is history right Jesse? >>Yeah. >>Awesome! And uh let me as you a question. Is chemistry a really important thing on a lacrosse team? You have got up to 25 guys on a roster. Ten guys are on the field at once. Tell me what the chemistry factor is, and are you guys really good friends on and off the field? >>Yeah, we are, we are a really close tight knit group. We, in order to be able to move the ball around quickly you have to have a lot of chemistry and be able to trust each other, so you got that. >>I am going to have to ask you another question. I know you guys get to wear some upper body pads. You get to wear a pretty decent sized helmet with a cage. You wear gloves that are thickly padded, but I gotta ask you a question. When you get hit in the leg with that ball, how bad does it hurt? >>It hurts, it hurts [laughs]. >>That thing is one hard piece of rubber, uh, to be tossing around at speeds of about 90 miles an hour, so I just had to ask you. I have seen kids get hit before, and I had to ask you the question. Last and definitely not least, um, what has this instructional program meant to you Jesse as a young player coming up in this town? >>It has done a lot, I mean, I probably wouldn’t be here right now as good of a player as I am if it wasn’t for the clinic because if you just play in the spring you are not going to be as good as if you played all year round non-stop, [music] >>Ok, now I am joined by 12-year-old Joe Kelly and this is Joe’s first year as a lacrosse player and it is his first summer here at the instructional camp at Don Edick field, New Hartford. Joe, welcome to Upstate Stars! >>Thanks. >>Well, you are really welcome and thanks for joining us, and uh, Joe this is your first year as a lacrosse player, and uh, you and I were talking a little bit earlier and you told me that you enjoy this sport because it is fast, because you can do some checking, you can do some shooting, you can do some running. Um, are those your favorite parts about this game? >>Um, yeah, probably. >>And, uh, Joe what drew you to this sport? I know you said your buddy plays and now he said “hey, you should come down and play this too.” You are a good athlete Joe, um, what drew you to this sport? What kind of made that final decision for you to come out and work your butt off here in July? >>It looked really fun, um, I watched it on TV sometimes with my dad and um, you are thinking about playing it, so I just started this year. >>And um, Joe, what other sports do you play? >>Um, basketball, baseball, and football. >>Alright, and now we are going to add lacrosse to that resume as a 12-year-old, that is not a bad thing is it. And, uh, you’ve got a big family at home Joe. Do you want to say hi to anybody in particular? >>Uh, yeah, to my two sisters Monica and Clarissa, my dad and my mom. >>Ad is it pretty safe to say that your dad Joe and your mom Joanne they support everything that you do? Is that a pretty safe bet? >>Yeah. >>Hah, Joe thanks for joining us on Upstate Stars, and I want to wish you the best of luck in your newest sports endeavor which is lacrosse and we wish you the best of luck buddy. >>Alright, thanks for having me. >>You are welcome. >>Hey, and welcome to Upstate Stars and I am joined by Mike Allesandro the winning pitcher Utica Post 229 Junior American Legion Team, a 10-1 winner over New Hartford today. Mike, congratulations from Upstate Stars and great job! >>Thank you. >>Well, you are very welcome. Mike, tell me, a 10-1 win, one run given up to an outstanding New Hartford team who hits the ball very well. Tell me what was working for you on the mound today? >>Well, with my fastball I was trying to throw that for strikes, that was working and my curve ball too, sometimes that was working, but I knew that they were going to hit the ball on me, ut you know, we have good defense and they would make the plays for me, and they did. >>Ok, Mike you are a student at Proctor High School. >>Yes. >>What grade are you going into? >>Tenth grade. >>And um, were you a JV player, a varsity player at Proctor this year? >>I played JV. >>And are you looking forward to moving up to the varsity ranks next spring? >>Yes, I am looking forward. >>That is really good, and um, tell me a little bit about yourself Mike you live in Utica, and um, a little bit about yourself, who has been the biggest influence on you as far as the game of baseball goes? >>Um, my dad. >>And who is that? >>Mike Allesandro too. >>Ok, and um, pitching is your primary position or do you play any other? >>Well, mainly pitcher but I play first base too also. >>Ok, awesome and um, a quick question for you if you don’t mind. Um, at what point in this game did you know your lead was safe and you were going to be able to put this one away? >>Oh definitely when we got the nine runs in the second inning. >>That had to lighten your load a little bit, huh? >>Oh yeah, definitely. >>Well listen, congratulations from Upstate Stars and good luck at the state final four for Junior Legion which is right here at Renee field just about a week from now. >>Thank you. >>You are very welcome. >>Ok, now I am joined by the second baseman for Utica Post 229 Josh True. Josh congratulations on playing a great game. >>Thank you. >>And in the first year of a league for Junior American Legion baseball here in District 5 tell me how it feels to bring home the first trophy in the very first trip? >>Oh, it feels great. I don’t know. I have never had this feeling before. >>And uh, Josh, uh, how many years have you been playing ball? >>Oh, I don’t know. Probably since I was like five maybe. >>Ok, so you have been at it quite a while, and so you’re second baseman. Do you play any other positions out there? >>I play short, third. >>And, uh, your biggest influence in baseball so far? >>Uh, probably my older brother Steve. >>Well, I remember your brother and he was obviously an outstanding baseball player as well and that is a pretty good influence to have. Um, tell me a little bit about your thoughts coming into this game today against New Hartford. You guys, both of you were on top of the league. It was a winner-take-all game. You guys were obviously lucky to come out on top, fortunate I should say, and uh, coming into the game today what were your thoughts today on what your team needed to do to get past this team? >>Um, I don’t know. Probably just, we needed base hits, some hard defense, and looks like we got it done. >>You really did, and playing defense behind Mike Allesandro today who let up just one run, did a great job on the mound, very efficient, very few walks, and kept the ball right over the plate, and kept New Hartford off of the bases. Um, at what point did you know, that uh, that Mike had it going on? >>I don’t know, probably like, in the middle of the second inning he didn’t give up really anything there, so, yeah. >>Ok, are you the speed demon on this team? >>Uh, I don’t know [laughs]. >>I think so. It looks like you are up there. Listen, Josh, congratulations on a great year and we wish you the best of luck in the upcoming state final four. >>Ok, thank you. >>You are very welcome. [music] >>Catcher, pitcher, and third base. My dad. He has pushed, he pushed me hard to get to this way and he has helped me get step by step by step and I have gotten to this part and he has helped me all the way through. Motocross. This year I am on an 85. Math. It is just I like doing math. Hi dad! Hi mom! Hi Jim! >>Um, I like to bat and hit the ball. It is pretty fun. Uh, first, pitcher, and third base. Uh, I like playing X-Box and Minecraft. Probably my dad, yeah, because he has helped me a lot. Hi mom, hi dad! >>Um, I play short stop, I pitch, and I play a little bit of centerfield. Um, probably short stop. Um, I just get a lot of chances to make a play. Um, I play basketball. Um, probably my dad because he has been my coach all through basically my whole baseball career. I have got to also say hi to my family. [music] >>Uh, yeah, I play for my little league team, all-star team, and fall ball. Um, I play second base, pitcher, and outfield. Pitching, um, my mechanics and velocity, more velocity, and better on my mechanics. Um, my dad. He has helped me pitch, he has taken me to, he takes me to practices, and he works out with me. [music] >>Basketball. Because I have been playing baseball for like for a while now and I am just used to all of the action and just like the game. I play short stop, third base, and pitcher. Probably Bob Cooke our coach because I have been working with them for a while now about seven years ever since T-ball. Well my family, my mom, my dad, and my grandparents. >>Yeah I play basketball. Pitching because I get to control the field and I get to show my talents out on the mound. I have learned a few new pitches like the cutter and the knuckleball from him. We would practice in our front yard when we had nothing to do in the middle of the day, and um, he just, my dad just played catch and would come out and help. Like he would teach me what I am doing wrong and what I am doing right, and then I would try to do the same thing in the next game. I like to play wiffleballl with my friends in the neighborhood. I would just join the game and play all day. >>Uh, for travel I am a centerfielder, and for the little league, I am a pitcher. Uh, Bob Cooke. Uh, he has helped me with my hitting and he has been a big help with my centerfield. Uh, I like math. It is just so easy. Uh, I would like to say hello to my family and friends. >>Uh, usually second and centerfield. Like my parents and one of my cousins. He has pushed me to do this team just to play it. I like baseball the best. Usually math. My parents.