Sal Mignano
Shoreham-Wading River: How Do They Do It?
by Patrick Duryea Consistency is a key to success no matter who you ask. You’d be hard pressed to find a program more consistent than Shoreham-Wading River. In addition to making the playoffs every season from 1986-2022, they have had only two coaches in their baseball program’s entire history. The current head coach is Kevin Willi, who took over for the legendary Coach Sal Mignano. He started the program at SWR and it did not take long for them to become a prominent figure in Long Island baseball. Under Mignano, SWR won 582 games, which makes for an average of over 15 wins per season, not to mention 12 league titles and 8 Suffolk County titles. Before taking over Willi coached under Mignano for several years and noted “he was my mentor” and “he took me under his wing”. The tradition...
Shoreham-Wading River Prepared to Continue Success
by Andy Smith Postgame interview with Shoreham-Wading River RHP Billy Steele who fired 6 no-hit innings in a 4-1 win pic.twitter.com/dzwO45Ztze — Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 4, 2022 Shoreham-Wading River had a very successful season last spring. The Wildcats qualified for the playoffs once again, a feat they have continued to accomplish for 36 straight seasons and finished the regular season with a 17-2 record. They were upset by Bayport-Blue Point in the postseason. Head Coach Kevin Willi is entering his ninth season as the skipper. Willi may sound familiar to fans of Stony Brook University, as he was both a pitcher and outfielder for the Seawolves. Willi credited his mentor, Sal Mignano, as a major catalyst to his success. Mignano, a member of the Suffolk County Sports ...
How To Develop A Team-First Attitude
(Photo Credit: Bill Landon) by Sal Mignano An integral part of any successful team is for its members to have an unselfish, team-first attitude. Teams are sometimes successful in the win-loss column just due to pure talent, but that is not typically going to be a yearly occurrence. In fact, when a team wins just because of the pure talent it has, it is often without the excitement and exhortation of a tight unit. The major responsibility of this development is of the Head Coach. There are some teams, of course, that have some players who might be natural leaders, but ultimately the Head Coach is the one to foster that development through out the year. As a HS coach for 38 years, I had the fortune of coaching a ton of tremendous young men. My most successful and enjoyable seasons were the o...
How To Develop A Team-First Attitude
(Photo Credit: Bill Landon) An integral part of any successful team is for its members to have an unselfish, team-first attitude. Teams are sometimes successful in the win-loss column just due to pure talent, but that is not typically going to be a yearly occurrence. In fact, when a team wins just because of the pure talent it has, it is often without the excitement and exhortation of a tight unit. The major responsibility of this development is of the Head Coach. There are some teams, of course, that have some players who might be natural leaders, but ultimately the Head Coach is the one to foster that development through out the year. As a HS coach for 38 years, I had the fortune of coaching a ton of tremendous young men. My most successful and enjoyable seasons were the ones where the p...
Shoreham-Wading River Enters 2019 With A Chip On Their Shoulder
No Class A Suffolk County program has come close to matching the resume of Shoreham Wading-River. In the past decade, we have seen five County Championship appearances, three County Championships and three Carl Yastrzemski Award winners (Brian Morrell twice). These are just a few of their highly prestigious accolades. Considering they have made the postseason 33 consecutive years, there’s no reason to expect this year will be any different. Head Coach Kevin Willi has set the bar high for this program, taking over for legendary coach Sal Mignano causing their players to consistently play to their full potential. In 2018, the Wildcats won their league title for the third year in a row, but fell short of their ultimate goal, losing to Rocky Point in the County Championship. Returning ma...
How To Develop a Team-First Attitude
(Photo Credit: Bill Landon) by Sal Mignano An integral part of any successful team is for its members to have an unselfish, team-first attitude. Teams are sometimes successful in the win-loss column just due to pure talent, but that is not typically going to be a yearly occurrence. In fact, when a team wins just because of the pure talent it has, it is often without the excitement and exhortation of a tight unit. The major responsibility of this development is of the Head Coach. There are some teams, of course, that have some players who might be natural leaders, but ultimately the Head Coach is the one to foster that development through out the year. As a HS coach for 38 years, I had the fortune of coaching a ton of tremendous young men. My most successful and enjoyable seasons were the o...
PODCAST: Special Guest Sal Mignano Discusses Best Teams in Class A History
On this week’s podcast, special guest Sal Mignano joins host Vinny Messana to discuss the best teams in Class A Long Island history. Mignano retired second on the all-time Long Island wins list with 583, but has since been passed by Bob Ambrosini. He has seen plenty of the best teams, including some teams that he’s coached such as the Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats in 1987 that were crowned New York State Class A champs. He’s also coached against the back-to-back NYS Champs from Bayport-Blue Point in 2013-’14 and Islip 2007-’08. He also coached in the Long Island Championship against the dominant Division teams. He provides unique insight as someone that has experienced these powerhouses first hand.
Podcast: Discussing the Mount Rushmore of Long Island Baseball Players
We had two very special guests on the podcast today discussing the best seasons in Long Island baseball history. Gregg Sarra, 32-year veteran reporter for Newsday and Sal Mignano (583 career wins) together have seen plenty of talented players on the diamond. We discussed who the best of the best are.
Avoiding Complacency
Each and every season brings high expectations for the upcoming year. Long Island crowned eight county champions in 2016. Center Moriches (Suffolk B), East Meadow (Nassau AA), Mt Sinai (Suffolk A), Smithtown Christian (Suffolk D), Southold (Suffolk C), Wantagh (Nassau A) Wheatley (Nassau B) and West Islip (Class AA) all won county championships last spring. These teams all hope to repeat last year’s success but also must be aware of the potential for complacency due to lofty expectations and being overconfident. Another hurdle these teams will have is that their opponents will all have extra motivation to unseat these champions. As a defending champion or even a team that had an outstanding 2016, you must avoid the thought of being invincible the following year. Many things change each ye...
Preparing for Tryouts and Showing Your Best
In preparation for high school and middle school tryouts for the upcoming baseball season, it is imperative that you are prepared to show your coach the best of your skills and commitment to the team in order to give yourself the best chance to make the team. The most difficult and painful job any coach has is to tell a young player that he has not made the team. There are only a certain number of players that a coach can keep on a given team. Sometimes, the number is based on the amount of uniforms a school has, the level of play (many times middle school teams can take more players), the number of quality players trying out for the team or a manageable number an individual coach can adequately instruct. This always makes it difficult for a coach, as it becomes very difficult to separa...
How to Develop a Team Attitude
(Photo Credit: Bill Landon) An integral part of any successful team is for its members to have an unselfish, team-first attitude. Teams are sometimes successful in the win-loss column just due to pure talent, but that is not typically going to be a yearly occurrence. In fact, when a team wins just because of the pure talent it has, it is often without the excitement and exhortation of a tight unit. The major responsibility of this development is of the Head Coach. There are some teams, of course, that have some players who might be natural leaders, but ultimately the Head Coach is the one to foster that development through out the year. As a HS coach for 38 years, I had the fortune of coaching a ton of tremendous young men. My most successful and enjoyable seasons were the ones where the p...
St. Charles Sports Medicine Hosts “Injuries in Baseball” Symposium
Earlier today St. Charles Sports Medicine hosted their second annual “Injuries in Baseball” Symposium at Ward Melville HS. The event was a must-attend for all coaches, parents and athletes as Dr. Luga Podesta, former team doctor of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Los Angeles Dodgers, went into great detail on his research of how to prevent injuries in young pitchers. Also on the panel was former MLB catcher Tom Gregorio, current Philadelphia Phillies International Director of Scouting Sal Agostinelli, legendary Shoreham-Wading River Head Coach Sal Mignano. Dr. Gregory Mallo, Dr. Danielle DeGiogrio and Dr. Ray Mattfield also contributed their findings and opinions. They combined their decades of experience and provided insight that is critical for all members of the baseba...
