When the newly-formed Knights Nation 14U MXE Academy take the field in 2020 they will be as well-prepared as any 14U team can be.
The talented team will be guided by veteran coach Joe Giacomantonio, who has worked his way up the coaching ranks from freshman coach at Kellenberg to assistant varsity coach at New Hyde Park to assistant coach at Nassau CC.
Along the way, he has coached 10 years with the Long Island Titans, one of the premier travel organizations in the nation.
“I had a lot of success with them and I have nothing but nice things to do about the program but when I was asked to coach this academy team I decided to do it,” he said. “It was a hard decision but after being around Brad Jackson I knew this was someone I wanted to be around and to help develop their kids,” he added.
Although he has spent the past several years coaching the upper levels, he noted that he was drawn to the younger age group because it is “more developmental.”
Prior to getting in this position, Giacomantonio was a ballplayer himself.
He played on the 2004 Kellenberg team that captured the NSCHSAA Championship led by future draft pick Scott Gaffney (younger brother of LIU coach Mike Gaffney)– whom he called “the best defensive player I’ve every played with.”
Upon graduating in 2005, he headed just west to Nassau CC to play for Coach Larry Minor. Despite playing on two very talented teams, they dropped the regional championship to rival Suffolk CC both years. He transferred to Post University in Connecticut before settling at Albany, where he graduated from.
His first foray into coaching was at his alma mater, Kellenberg. He helped with the JV team in 2011 and 2012. He moved onto coaching varsity as an assistant at New Hyde Park alongside Coach Doug Robins.
“Coach Robins was a good mentor,” he said. “His father was Mr. Baseball so he passed on a lot of his knowledge to me. It was good to have another baseball mind to speak to. He definitely helped me a lot,” he said. He coached there for six years before taking the next step to coaching at the college level–which is where he is currently at with Coach Minor.
He noted that Coach Minor–along with his father–are his two biggest mentors in life.
With all that experience from the past decade, he is certainly ready to take on the challenge that awaits with his 14U team.
The talented squad will play in some high-end tournaments in 2020 including Perfect Game, Fort Myers, Diamond Nation and they have received an invite to play in the Dominican Republic next December.
They will definitely look like a professional team thanks to their partnership with Rawlings which will allow them to wear gloves and swing bats that the Major Leaguers do.
Joe is excited for the upcoming season.
“I just want to teach the kids everything that I know. I want to teach them the game on so many levels and bring the college-level activities to them.”
