HS EAST GIRL’S GOLF TEAM IS #1

Smithtown High School East 2012 Girl’s Golf Team, coached by Robert Woods, has had many accolades this Spring.  They won the Sportsmanship Award, were undefeated League 1 Champions and went on to win the Suffolk County and Long Island Championships.

Eagle Scout Dean Bauer Honors Memory of Sarah Long-Harte

By Chris Biancaniello

You don’t have to be a former student of Sarah Long-Harte’s to understand the impact she had on the peopleDean Bauer around her. Mrs. Long-Harte passed away after her battle with breast cancer almost 2 years ago, and yet her legacy will not soon be forgotten. In her name she already has a scholarship, a garden, and now a white picket fence in front of St. James Elementary where she taught for six years.

Dean Bauer and Alexander BeckerSmithtown East sophomore and Eagle Scout Dean Bauer created the new white picket fence that can be found in front of St. James Elementary. He was a student of Mrs. Long-Harte in 3^rd and 4^th grade when she was simply known as Ms. Long. “Everything she did was to help the kids,” Dean said just before giving an emotional speech about his project, “She’d want me to do something, at this school, to help and that’s why I built this fence.”

A pancake breakfast and a carwash held in front of St. James Elementary were responsible for raising the $3,000 necessary to create the 200-foot long fence. With the help from his friends Alexander Becker (Alex is in the process of creating a memorial garden for the St. James Fire Department for his project), Gregory Becker, and Dean’s family, he was able to complete the fence in just three days time. The fence was important because the gaps in the shrubbery permitted people to pass through and walk across the bus path. This was especially dangerous for some of the younger students.

Dean Bauer and Mrs. LongMrs. Long-Harte’s mother, Mrs. Long, was in attendance at the dedication of the fence on Thursday, June 14. Mrs. Long mentioned that students are still sending her letters stating that they have donated to breast cancer foundations in her daughter’s name. “We try to do everything we can to keep her memory alive, it’s very easy to do with the support we have.” Two scholarships were given out last week to two of Mrs. Long-Harte’s former students who decided that education would be their college path; the scholarship is called the “Sarah Long-Harte Memorial Scholarship.”

Dean’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor will be held tonight (Friday, June 15) at 6:30 in the Smithtown High School East Auditorium.

(Editor’s note - the photo captions initially mislabled have been corrected)

Kings Park Soccer Club's Coach Joe Piacentino Retires

By Dr. Phil Faquet

On Saturday Coach Joe Piacentino coached his last game on the pitch at Kings Park. The Paladins lead early on;  however, fell behind 2-3 late in the game. A late header would have tied the game but a heroic diving save prevented the goal. His team presented him with a framed Jersey signed by his present team as well as past team members. This U18 team has had over 40 boys wear the Jersey many of the members are playing in college.  It was an emotional fair well from the Coach and the parents.   

Coach Joe was a graduate and soccer player from Kings Park High School in 1976 and Syracuse University in 1980. He is computer expert and has been working at Brookhaven National Labs since 1998. Soccer is his passion. Before, during and after college Joe has always been involved with soccer. His personal involvement evolved from player to mentor; he coached and managed the Kings Park Soccer Club program. He has coached boys and girls travel and school teams; his teams have won titles on many different levels. He is proud that his teams have also won quite more than a few Sportsmanship Awards over the years. Joe has worked tirelessly to improve the soccer program in Kings Park and was one of the prime movers in the enhancement of Tiffany Field and its maturing into a first-class place to play this beautiful game . He is quick to point out that there are many members of the Kings Park Soccer Club who devote a great deal of time to our town and work just as hard to help our kids. His continued involvement with the Kings Park Soccer Club and his 40 years of Kings Park soccer experience is a testament to his dedication. The Kings Park Soccer  program has had over 25,000 kids come through.

Thanks for your dedication - Congrats Coach Joe Piacentino!

10th Annual Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve "Youth Fishing Awards"

By Carole Paquette

A pink Barbie fishing pole reeled in the most fish caught  at the 10th Annual Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve Junior Angler “Catch and Release” Fishing Tournament where over thirty children, ages 5 to 12, caught a total of 118 fish at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Smithtown on Saturday, June 9. Children age 5 to 8 fished from 9:30 - 11 a.m., and those age 9 to 12 from 1 - 3 p.m. 

During the morning session, Hannah Lentz, 5, of Lake Grove received the first place award for catching the most fish. With her pink pole, Hannah steadily caught morning winners21 fish including two 10-3/4-inch bass. Nicholas Churaman, 6, of East Northport received the second place award for the largest pan fish caught. His fish measured 9-1/8 inches. Gianni Faruzzo, 6, of Huntington Station received the third place award for catching the largest “other” fish, a 13-inch bass. Gianni also caught a 9-inch trout.

In the afternoon session, Jesse Goodman, 14, of Levittown caught a total of nine afternoon Wimmersfish to win first prize for the most fish caught. The Smith siblings of Hauppauge, James, 12, and Carly, 10, each caught a 9- inch pan fish, which created a tie for second place for catching the largest pan fish. However, James won the award as his total catch of six fish beat Carly’s five. Colin Dunn, 10, of Brightwaters caught an 11-1/4-inch bass to win the award for the largest “other” fish caught.

As he watched Carly Smith patiently sitting on a camp stool at the edge of her specified site on the Willow Pond peninsula, a tournament judge, Sheldon Billips of Smithtown, observed: “The girls tend to be more patient than the boys most of who throw out the line and if they don’t get a bite right away they pull it in. You have to just relax and let the fish do the work.”

Meanwhile, Nature was in its glory at the Preserve as a majestic family of swans glided across the waters, taking in the human scene before settling in near a group of austere, black cormorants to do their own fishing. Pop-eyed frogs hung out in the mud along the shoreline fishing sites waiting for bait to swing their way.             

An Interview With Frank Catalanotto - A Smithtown Kid With 14 Years In Major League Baseball "Heart And Hustle"

By Chris Biancaniello      

Frank Catalanotto at “Heart And Hustle” book signing at Book RevueFrank Catalanotto played baseball the way we all wished we could. He didn’t have the power of a Ken Griffey Jr. or Alex Rodriguez, yet he maintained a 14-year Major League Baseball career playing for the Tigers, Rangers, Blue Jays, Brewers, and finally the Mets. In his career he batted .291 with well over a thousand hits. Often times he eclipsed the .300 mark, and in 2001 batted a remarkable .330, which was the fifth best batting average in the American League.

He is one of only two players born in *Smithtown to reach the highest competitive level in baseball. The other is Craig Biggio (Kings Park). Shortly after Catalanotto’s retirement in 2011 he began to write his recently released book “Heart and Hustle,” which not only tells the story of his journey and career in the majors, but also provides insight into baseball and how to play the game.

If there is one thing to be said about the book, it’s that it shows that Mr. Catalanotto appreciated every moment of his career and he appreciated his fans. He has never forgotten the people that helped him.

Recently I sat down with Mr. Catalanotto to discuss his book, his life in Smithtown, and his baseball career.

SM: What made you decide to write a book that was both autobiographical and instructional?

FC: When I retired, a cousin of mine said, “listen you were a student of the game, you have a lot of things written down, (FC kept journals throughout his career) why don’t you write a book?” I wasn’t interested in it so I told him no. He kept pushing me every time I would see him. Finally, I started to write a couple things down and found I couldn’t put the pen down. I had a lot of things to share, the more I wrote, the more I got into it and realized that I had some things to say that could help kids. Things I didn’t learn about when I was a kid and learned going through the minors and majors.

SM: Did a lot of that come from the notebooks you kept from your career?

FC: Yes. A lot of if did. I wrote down everything as I learned it in the minor leagues. I kept a notebook on pitchers. So yes, I was able to use a lot of that stuff.  You know I found the books and started putting some stuff in this book.

SM: In your book, Heart and Hustle, I saw you had a little information on Carlos Silva and how he tipped his glove when he pitched in pictures from your original book. It’s crazy, as a fan you don’t realize how much of the game is a mental game.

FC: Absolutely pitchers seem to have tendencies or patterns that they fall into and many of them tip their pitches so writing something like that down gave me the idea, like ok if I see his glove a certain way, it’s a certain pitch.

SM: So how much of the game would you describe as a mental game? In your book you use the Yogi Berra quote “90 percent of the game is half mental.”

FC: You know for me I think it’s just as important as the physical, so I would say it’s 50/50. If you have a great swing that’s fine, but you also need to use your head. And you know if you just use your head that’s not good enough, you need the physical part so for me I think it’s 50/50.

SM: You talk about how you were nervous your first few at bats. After that were you at least a little nervous when you got up there or did it eventually all fade away and become routine?

FC: Every single game I would have butterflies before the game and even in my first at bat I would still be a little bit nervous, but once my first at bat was over I wouldn’t be nervous for the rest of the game. But, from my first game to fourteen years later in my last game I would still get those butterflies.

SM: Was it worse when you were facing a Curt Shilling or Roger Clemens?

FC: There were some guys like Roger Clemens that intimated a little more than the others. There were some guys that you knew that weren’t afraid to pitch inside and they’d throw one at your head if they had to. So yeah, I think there was a little more of an intimidation factor with some guys, but not so much that it would totally take you out of your game.

SM: Smithtown isn’t really known for being a baseball town did you feel it was harder coming out of a town like Smithtown?

FC: Well I didn’t know any better at the time but in hindsight it is harder because all these guys in Florida, California, and Texas are playing baseball year round. So they’re playing baseball all the time so it really is harder. However, I think we had a really good Little League program when I was coming up and the high school team was great. We had good coaching and good travel teams. I wouldn’t change a thing because it worked out for me. I do think that the kids in the northeast are in a little bit of a disadvantage though.

SM: After playing for Milwaukee, you decided to come back here and play for the Mets.

FC: I had always wanted to play in New York. It was a dream of mine to live at home, sleep in my own bed, and commute to work. I could be with my wife and kids so when Mets GM Omar Minaya called me and asked, “Would you be interested in playing with the Mets?” I jumped at the opportunity. He didn’t guarantee me a spot on the team, I signed a minor league contract and was invited to spring training. I knew I was going to have to make the team and I had enough confidence in myself that I knew I could make the team. I was thrilled to play with the Mets although it was only for a month in a half.

SM: After playing for all those teams across the country, you never left Smithtown right?

FC: No I did not. I bought houses in the places I played, but I would only stay there during the season. Smithtown is home for me, my mom and dad my brother and sister live here and I loved growing up in Smithtown I’ll never leave here.

SM: One of the things I noticed about your book is that you gush about your parents and your family and that’s a wonderful thing. How did they react to the book?

FC: They were very proud and very happy that I made this book more of a family book. It really honors them because it’s the truth, without them and without the rest of my family’s support and encouragement I most likely wouldn’t have gotten to the major leagues.  They were very happy and my mom and dad cried while reading some parts of the book.

SM: Was playing for a Canadian team any different?

FC: It was different in the regard that there were a lot more taxes taken out of the paycheck and you always have to go through customs so it was a little more of a hassle. The fans there are hockey fans, so the fans there didn’t come out like they did in the United States. That was a little disappointing, but I loved it, I thought it was a great place to play it definitely had a little different feel then it did in the United States though.

SM: Which was harder writing a book or playing baseball?

FC: That’s a good one. For me it was writing a book. I had never done that and I’m not much of a book reader. It was time consuming. I didn’t realize how long it was going to take and how much it takes to make a book complete. I’d much rather be at home plate hitting a fastball.

SM: What was your favorite moment of your career?

FC: My first major league hit. In ‘97 I got a hit off of Rick Helling, he was playing with the Rangers at the time it was a RBI single to right field. I always dreamed of being a Major League Baseball player, so to get that one out of the way I’ll always remember that.

SM: So what team do you root for now?

FC: I root for both NY teams. I root for the Yankees and the Mets. If it were a subway series I’d probably root for the Yankees. I’ll always be a Yankee fan because that’s the team I grew up rooting for.  But now that I’m retired I don’t really have an allegiance to one team. I follow my friends that are still playing I want to make sure they’re doing well so I try and root for those guys.

SM: Do you still talk to them a lot and which guys?

FC: I talk to guys like Michael Young, Ian Kinsler; I speak to Carlos Delgado, John McDonald, Gabe Kapler those guys. Sometimes I see them when I go to an alumni dinner in the city or last year in Cooperstown they had a game at the Doubleday field with a bunch of the retired players. I’ll see them, but not very often they live in different states.

SM: What was your proudest moment in baseball?

FC: My proudest moment was when I was in AAA my manager called me into the office he said, “Frank, you got the call you’re going up to the major leagues.” That was my proudest moment because that was what I had worked the hardest for, for so many years and for that to come true, that was my proudest moment.

SM: Were you a little nervous after realizing that?

FC: It was a moment of awesomeness but after I got out of that room I thought, “oh shoot, now its go time.” Because I didn’t know if I was going to fizzle out and not really make it, or play for 14 years.

SM: Tell me a little bit about your foundation.

FC: My oldest daughter, when she was born had a vascular birthmark on her nose. We took her to some local doctors, they said don’t worry about it, that it would go away. They started giving her steroids, prednisone, and it wasn’t working.  When I was in Texas we met this lady named Lynda Shannon and she was the head of the Vascular Birthmark Foundation and she told us that there are doctors that treat these birthmarks. So we got in contact with the correct doctor they did two laser surgeries and one surgery, and now you can’t even tell that she had a birthmark. So we started the Frank Catalanotto Foundation to support the Vascular Birthmark Foundation- so most of the funds that we raise go right to them. It’s nice my wife and I, we help promote awareness and we also raise money. This year will be our second golf outing for the foundation.  Last year it was great we raised a lot of money for the foundation. Fcatalanotto.org 

Frank resides in St. James with his wife Barbara and their four daughters.

***Please note that both Jim Mecir and John Curtis, both professional Major League Baseball players, are from Smithtown.  Mr Curtis was born in Newton Ma. and attended Smithtown Central HS. Mr. Mecir was born in Bayside and graduated from Smithtown HS East********