High school central

During the first practice, after Glenn Lavey took over the Herricks girls lacrosse team two years ago, he assured the players that they would make the playoffs. And they all laughed at him.

This was a group deficient in depth, skill and experience, and one playoff appearance in program history had them a little short on optimism.

“We thought he was joking at first,” senior Sabrina Telmo...

MacArthur boys tennis coach Phil Machmer left Friday’s Conference IV-A championship match soaked in cold water, and that’s just the way he wanted it. The top-seeded Generals ended a 20-year title drought by beating No. 2 Bethpage, 5-2, to earn their first conference championship since 1993. The match of the day came at fourth doubles, where Matt Bellacosa and Justin Rouzier defeated Sam Romano and...

It's no secret that Allison and John Pfeffer, the married brain trust behind Bay Shore lacrosse, have ong been considered trailblazers in the sport, but Thursday, their status as Long Island icons received just the tiniest boost.

The duo, piloting a team that is now 13-1 and a favorite in Suffolk Division I, won their 300th game in a 19-4 win over Floyd Thursday. Let's hear what they have...

Welcome to another installment of Around the Diamond.  Each week we’ll sit down with a local high school softball player and ask her a series of questions…some that relate to softball, some that don’t, and some that may even be slightly embarrassing.

If you'd like to be featured, e-mail me at michael.gavin@newsday.com, or message me on Twitter at @mgavinjr, or just come talk to me at...

Andrew Lapreziosa of Smithtown West was the fastest. R.J. Foster of Riverhead leaped the highest. Thomas Reed of Deer Park leaped the farthest. Josh Devlin of West Islip was the strongest.

Those were among the highlights last Sunday at the 10th Blue Chip Prospects/Suffolk County Football Coaches Association combine held in morning and afternoon sessions at Sachem North.

The best all-around...

Shoreham-Wading River senior Tim Rotanz became the fourth player in Long Island high school boys lacrosse history to total at least 400 points Thursday when he scored a goal during the third quarter of a win at Rocky Point.

Rotanz scored six goals and six assists in his team's 18-6 Division II win.

Rotanz, who now has exactly 400 points, joined the elite club that includes Nicky Galasso...

Just get a little better every day.

That’s been the motto for the Bellmore JFK softball team.  Add up all those daily increments of improvement, and you’ll find that they are certainly a lot better than they were last season.

The Cougars went from missing the playoffs by one game last season to winning the Conference AA-II championship with a 12-2 record this season.

That...

As sure-handed as Francesca Casalino is in the circle for the Half Hollow Hills West softball team, the junior right-hander is as well spoken and professional off it.

In her third varsity season, Casalino is one of the main reasons the Colts (12-4) are right at the top of the League IV standings with Hauppauge (12-3) and Riverhead (12-4).

Entering the League IV Deer Park game May 7,...

Welcome to the second installment of Player Profiles, where we at Team Glax shamelessly rip-off Mike Gavin’s Around the Diamond blog posts to bring you the stories behind the players.   Today’s interview comes courtesy of Sam Croston, Mt. Sinai’s JV goalie who played in her first varsity game just last week against Kings Park. She’s fun, y’all, and the undefeated Mustangs are no joke this year....

After a rough start, Victoria Snak fought back to help Smithtown West clinch a share of the League I title. Snak shot a 39 (+3) on the front nine at Smithtown Landing on Wednesday, helping Smithtown West defeat Smithtown East 6-3.

The senior played the final six holes in one under par after double-bogeying the first hole and bogeying the second and third holes, according to coach Tom Kane.

"She...