The fall sports season has brought both new and familiar faces to Briarcliff Manor School District.
New and returning coaches are energized at the practices and look forward to seeing the student-athletes compete at upcoming games.
Varsity football is looking good this year, according to Assistant Coach Sean McCarthy.
“This is my third year as Assistant Coach and I am happy to report we are pretty loaded up with a lot of young talent and some strong senior leaders,” he said. “The seniors have been stepping up and showing leadership. Of the five captains, three are from Briarcliff: A.J. Alomar, Max Amador and Tyler Gualtiere.”
The team will play its first game on Saturday.
“This year the competition is a little different than what we are used to – it is more in our favor, I would say, so I am looking forward to winning a lot of games. That is our goal,” he said.
The girls volleyball Team has a new Head Coach this year; Rachel Mendes has coached both high school and college teams and is thrilled to be at Briarcliff.
“I really like this district,” she said. “Everyone is so nice, and the communication is great. It is a nice environment to be in.”
Ms. Mendes looks forward to watching the athletes develop.
“We want to see how much the underclassmen can develop throughout the season, and we want to get the seniors out of their comfort zone,” she said. “There are a lot of great parts, so I am looking forward to putting it all together. This is a great group of girls who want to win.”
Sophomore Zoe Amsterdam looks forward to continuing her role as team manager this year.
“I really like the role of team manager,” she said. “I do a variety of things, such as help collect player stats and take attendance at practice and games, and I am always there for the athletes and try to support them in any way that I can. I look forward to getting to know everyone, and, of course, to winning,” she laughed. “This is an incredible team.”
Varsity boys soccer Head Coach Paul Bordonaro also looks forward to watching athletes develop throughout the season.
“We have a lot of youth and inexperience and that youth and inexperience is going to take time to develop,” he said. “The boys need to figure out very quickly what their identity is, what each individual can bring to this team, and how can we add it all together.”
Mr. Bordonaro hopes the older students will step up.
“The seniors need to be the leaders to help the younger players develop,” he said. “We will also be relying on juniors and sophomores to step up and make names for themselves. I’m looking forward to watching the older athletes help the younger athletes but also to watching the coaches helping all the athletes develop.”
“Good luck to all of the athletes and coaches,” said Briarcliff Athletic Director Chris Drosopoulos. “Our Bears display commitment, hard work and team spirit at every opportunity, and I look forward to watching them at practices and games and cheering them on throughout the season. Thank you for all that you do.”
Additional fall sports are: Varsity and Junior Varsity Boys Volleyball, Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Field Hockey, Varsity and Junior Varsity Girls Tennis, Varsity Girls Swimming and Diving, Varsity Cheerleading, Varsity and Junior Varsity Girls Soccer.
