The first three weeks of the Floral Park Summer 2015 Recreation Programs have been filled with day and nighttime excitement for both youngsters and adults. With evening activities providing recreational and competitive opportunities for 52 teams in volleyball and basketball divisions, the playground is filled with players and spectators. At the time of writing, the only undefeated women’s volleyball teams are Crushin’ It and Over in Two. In the men’s volleyball league, Toon Squad and Cannibals have the most victories. In nighttime hoops, Novus is the only undefeated team at this point.
The unsettled weather this past week put the Floral Park Recreation staff to the test and through their excellent efforts, the majority of summer programs were able to be conducted. Staffers could be seen in the early morning hours removing puddles off the volleyball, basketball, tennis courts and playing fields throughout the park. Afternoon tennis took ingenuity to a new level on Tuesday when they created an indoor tennis court in the shelter house so the students could review the rules when the courts were not playable. Top performers for week three of tennis were Matthew Rudzewick for the younger players and Faith Morris for the older. Kudos goes to all the counselors, especially the maintenance staff of Mark Minero, Tommy Mack, Liam Murphy, Keith DiLorenzo, and Eric Rosenthal for getting all of the fields and courts ready for the sports activities.
This past week, sports campers had a great time playing girls’ volleyball and boys’ soccer. Each camp has four teams in each division and the play was spirited throughout the week. The top players from the younger division were Daniella Zacharis, Julia Manolios, Erin Ring and Lauren Dodson while Leslie Bueno, Kerrin O’Grady, Shyanne Ali and Caitlin Kilcarr were top players in the older division. Leading the way in the boys’ soccer camp for the younger division were Tiernan O’Reilly and Aleksei Armas while for the older boys Danny Loumeau and Vishal Mirchandani were the standouts for the week. The league commissioner for volleyball is Aileen Willie and the czar of the football league is Dan McKeon. Both soccer and volleyball run one more week with Thursday, July 23, marking the second Championship Thursday of the summer. The finals for the girls and boys camps are as follows: Juniors (9:25 a.m.) and Seniors (10:50 a.m.). Parents are invited to attend Championship Thursday. Campers of Week 3 were Lauren Dodson and Aleksei Armas.
As in past years, the Floral Park Recreation Department attempts to sprinkle in some expert instruction along with the recreational format of the various camps. Lisa O’Grady ran a volleyball clinic for the younger girls on July 15 and 16. The clinic focused on defensive drills along with serving, passing, and spiking. For the boys, Nassau Community College football Coach Ed Mack, once again, will volunteer his time to give a few pointers for all youngsters’ grades 4 and above on Wednesday, July 29, with the rain date being Thursday, July 30. The junior football clinic kicks off at 8:30 a.m., while senior campers (grades 7 and above) will receive instructions beginning at 10 a.m. Some features will include pass and catch techniques and NFL style agility drills. All Floral Park graders 4 and above are invited to attend.
This week’s theme for preschool and arts and crafts was “Under the Sea.” Projects included seahorse craft, tissue paper fishbowl craft, clown fish, sea anemone pop-up, and paper plate whale craft. Enrollment is these programs are always open to the children of village residents.
Staff members of note for the past week were Laura Rostkowski, Catherine Callan, Will Weichert, Julia Greene, and Mike Imborino. The staff wants to wish a speedy recovery to John Michon. And special thanks to Elaine Arcari and Wendy Bilka for stepping up and helping out with afternoon tennis, while Michon is on the mend.
—Submitted by Paul Meyfohrt
