by Vinny Messana
The New York Baseball Academy has been home to some of the top young talent in the northeast over the past 40 years.
That–combined with a coaching staff that features former professional players and some of the most recognizable and respected baseball minds–has allowed the NYBA to be named one of the top five baseball camps in the country.
Group 8 getting ready to begin their day (Vinny Messana)
This week just concluded Week 3 at Hofstra. The camp had over 200 kids between the ages of 7 and 17. They were fortunate enough to get coaching from 12-year big league veteran and Long Island native, John Habyan. After building up the St. John the Baptist program to being one of the elites on the island, he became the pitching coach of Hofstra this past year. Another special guest was Kellenberg-grad and former big leaguer Reid Gorecki. He played for the University of Delaware and played with the Atlanta Braves in 2009.
In addition to learning a great deal, many of the players had awards bestowed upon them. More important than the skill-based awards were those who were honored for their ability to actively listen and incorporate that into the games. These individuals also gave their 100 percent effort all week and never failed to hustle. Below are the winners of the “Super Hustler” Award.
John Habyan explaining how the hands separate during a pitching delivery (Vinny Messana)
Group 1
Matthew Zammit
Chase Martone
Marc Fingver
Group 2
Gavin Langner
Eddie Nuczinski
Andrew Zammit
Group 3
Nate Davidson
Dylan McCauley
Nicholas D’Aquino
Kai Leftkowitz
Dylan Fisher
Michael Fonti
Group 4
Kamran Qureshi
Nick Remick
A.J.Biviano
Miles Flagg
Aiden Walsh
Nick Maggio
Group 5
Gavin Crawford
Christian Azzara
Bradley Rodriguez
Neal Della Ratta
Garrett Sanders
Evan Frias
Jack Petersen
Austin Carrera
Group 6
Aiden Sanders
Ryan Schmitt
Luke DiLorenzo
Antonio Atria
Matt Hetzel
Anthony Tufano
Mike Camardi
Trevor Rinn
Nolan Langner
John Verveniotis
Group 7
Tim Radtke
Francis Cappi
Aida Linehan
Jacob Ruiz
Brenden Rosario
Louie Sabino
Louis Rusconi
Ryan Pompay
Group 8
Mike Cinimiello
Mike McGoey
Christian Duarte
