Trojan players calm nerves by fishing

CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Barbara Sullivan was fishing for something but she couldn't come up with anything. She was just spinning her wheels out there.

No, not in the game; she helped Garden City dominate 15-6 on Friday. This was the night before on a fishing trip, about 100 yards from their hotel in Cortland.

There is a stream nearby and assistant coach Dane Solomon has grown fond of fishing in it during downtime on the Trojans' trips to the state tournament. On Thursday, a few of the players chose to come along with him.

Solomon, an accomplished angler, reeled in "a couple trout and some bass," he said. But the players?

"Nothing," said defender Gabrielle Nesi, who has fished before with her dad in Montauk. "The only thing we got was Barbara catching a hubcap."

"I thought I had something," Sullivan said. "I pulled it in and it's a hubcap."

Sullivan is an All-American lacrosse player, a Newsday All-Long Islander in soccer and basketball. Heck, teammates even described her as "a great dancer." Clearly, she's less proficient with a fishing pole.

The coach, though, has been a sea captain for almost two decades and, during the summer, operates fishing boats in Great South Bay. Solomon, 39, who said he started fishing when he was about 3, also published a book in 2000 titled "Fishing: Have Fun, Be Safe."

The Trojans arrived in town at 1:30 Thursday and went fishing around 4:30, Solomon said. "It takes their mind off the game so they can save it for when it counts."

There might be something to it. On Friday, several other players said they wanted to go after the semifinal win.

"It's soothing," Nesi said. "Being in nature."