By Joseph Langan
Over the past five seasons, there hasn’t been a team more successful during the regular season than Smithtown East. Unfortunately, they have been unable to get over-the-hump in the postseason and capture that elusive county championship.
As they prepare to hit the field for their 2020 season, coach Ken Klee and his team “prepare to be successful every game.” Coming off a 17-5 season, Coach Klee is no stranger to regular season success, but when it comes to the playoffs, things haven’t gone as smooth.
With Coach Klee well aware of his team’s talented roster and championship potential he “expects to win a championship” adding “there is no backup plan.” With that, he is also well aware of his teams past shortcomings, explaining that “the last two years we did not play well when it counted the most.”
Teams within Class AA are some of the best talent on Long Island, Coach Klee realizes that “making a significant effort to do the little things better” will put him and his team above the rest. Things such as “being on time, communication, working hard everyday, being a great teammate, and having fun” are some of the reasons as to why they’ve been so successful over the past couple years.
The expectations and goals set by coaches are just a model, it’s a players job to understand and execute them to the best of their abilities. These features separate the good players from the great ones. Coach Klee had to say goodbye to a couple of his own great players last season due to graduation, leaving big shoes to fill for returners and incoming varsity players.
The graduation of last year’s rotation of Doug Goodwin (Binghamton), Michael Storms, (Adelphi), Will Kennedy (Hofstra) and Nick Harvey (New Paltz) would cripple most teams. But this team has been loaded with pitching for the past several seasons and are still equipped to handle the losses.
This year those shoes and expectations are set to be filled by college-ready talent from top to bottom. According to Coach Klee “guys have waited their turn and are ready to have tremendous seasons.” Smithtown East’s pitching staff will be headed by their three senior lefty commits Mike Ciminiello (Seton Hall), Ryan Klee (Anderson University), and Jai Sharma (Oswego). As far as the lineup goes, two way player Mike Ciminello and Nick Dagnello (Charleston) will make up the heart of the lineup for Smithtown East.
As the county gets ready to start the season and go to battle against each other Coach Klee and his team aren’t focusing on the competition. “We focus more about what we try to do as a team than who we are playing. We do a lot of things in the off-season and on a daily basis to help foster a winning tradition.” That winning tradition isn’t built overnight though, teamwork plays an intricate role in Smithtown East’s success. Coach Klee simply tells his players “be great teammates. Do your job and trust that everyone else will do theirs.” A simplistic approach that has been seen on many championship caliber teams.
While Coach Klee has set the bar high for the 2020 season, Smithtown East has the talent and work ethic to fulfill those goals and finally bring home a championship. It’s clear to see that even though the number of county titles aren’t piling up, the amount of college commitments surely are. Coach Klee and his expectations are surely leading these young men in the right direction and fulfilling his personal coaching goal of preparing his players for the next level both academically and athletically.
They will kick off the 2020 campaign with a three-game series against East Islip beginning on March 30 at home. Following that series, they have three-game sets against Bellport, North Babylon, Comsewogue, Deer Park and West Islip.
