Since their county championship appearance in 2016, Bellmore JFK has hit a bump in the road as far as success.
In 2017, the Cougars struggled to the finish line in a rebuilding year. Last season, they rebounded nicely with an 11-9 record before getting eliminated in the first round of playoffs.
Going from a county championship caliber team, to a lowly season, back to a playoff team in just a year, it was evident that Bellmore JFK had the talent to make another postseason run, but changes needed to happen. This year, a whole new coaching staff will lead the way for the Cougars.
After being the assistant coach for three years, Mike Gattus will take over as Head Coach this season. Dan McDermott (STAC ’11), will be the assistant coach for Gattus. By bringing in a change of scenery, it has propelled these seniors to work hard this off season, striving for another postseason appearance.
Although Bellmore JFK is returning seniors with strong leadership skills, they took a big hit offensively losing some of their best players. Two-time All-County recipient, Axcess Top-30 Player and Diamond Award finalist Jason Coules (Fordham) and Dylan Judd both graduated, leaving the Cougars with some big shoes to fill. All-Conference pitcher Matt Levine also graduated in 2018.
The Cougars will be led by Ben Cohen offensively, who was named All-Conference in 2018. Other offensive key players to be on the lookout for over these next few months are Zach Rosenfeld, Kevin Ziminski, Jordan Kanner, Matthew Jones and Matt Nachamie.
On the mound, Bellmore JFK will be led by senior Terry Beeker, who has caught some attention this preseason. Beeker will be accompanied by a talented group of juniors behind him in the rotation. These juniors include Ryan Schechner, Phil LoGiudice and Anthony Comunale.
As far as their conference, Bellmore JFK will be playing teams with a similar skill level to them. Therefore, there’s no reason why they can’t compete for a shot at the conference title. Conference A2 consists of New Hyde Park, Manhasset, Jericho, Carey and Garden City. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of damage Bellmore JFK can do this upcoming season.
With opening day a little more than two months away, the Cougars have a new culture and a new mindset revolved around winning. There’s definitely some holes to fill, but they have the talent to do so. Consider Bellmore JFK to be a “sleeper” come May.
