The Hampton Bays High School Baymen and the Southampton High School Mariners, in conjunction with the Special Olympics, cooperatively recently hosted a unified basketball tournament at Hampton Bays High School.
The annual tournament gave Special Olympic athletes the opportunity to play alongside varsity athletes in eight-minute games. The evening included 54 players, team uniforms, referees, cheerleaders, a play-by-play announcer, coaches and many supporting spectators. In addition to the game, the event also served as a food and winter coat drive. Participants and spectators were encouraged to bring items to donate.

Photo Caption: A Hampton Bays basketball player gave a high five to a teammate during the basketball tournament at the Hampton Bays High School on Nov. 13.

Photo courtesy of the Hampton Bays School District

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Jan. 23, 2015) – This month, senior Eric Haslbauer (Levittown, N.Y.) — a member of the Lions’ men’s cross country and track & field teams — was part of a group of Molloy College students that went to El Salvador, along with Sr. Diane Capuano, Assistant Director of Campus Ministries. In El Salvador, Haslbauer and the rest of the Molloy students helped run a children’s camp.

Here is Haslbauer’s reflection on the trip:
“My experience in El Salvador truly was a life-changing experience. I’ve always enjoyed giving back to the community, hence my involvement both in high school and college in community service organizations. In addition, my twin brother went on a mission trip to Ecuador last year and hearing his stories from his experience greatly inspired me to go on this trip to El Salvador. In particular, his ability to connect with the children there despite the language barrier truly touched me, for he was unable to put his experience into words. This El Salvador experience was an opportunity for me to expand my love for servicing others at an international level. Most importantly, I was able to connect with those kids in such a special way despite the language barrier that I fell in love with them. I would do anything for those kids and can truly say my experience there is beyond words. I will forever be grateful for what those kids taught me in my short week there. Despite living in poverty, they showed me how to act with genuine kindness towards others and what true love for one another really is.”

Here is Sr. Diane Capuano’s reflection on the trip:
“For nine short days, students from Molloy College and Dominican College experienced what it is like to be a “missionary!” In the small town of Sol Naciente, in El Salvador, students helped at a camp for over 40 children for the week. Through sports activities, arts and crafts, music and lots and lots of outdoor games and activities, these students did an outstanding job in providing a week full of fun and laughter for these children! Although not everyone spoke Spanish, the “language of love” clearly broke down any language barriers. All of us found it hard to leave this special place and these children. We hope to go back again in 2016!”

See more at: http://molloylions.com/news/2015/1/22/MXC_0122154743.aspx?elinkdata=40345

The Hampton Bays High School Baymen and the Southampton High School Mariners, in conjunction with the Special Olympics, cooperatively recently hosted a unified basketball tournament at Hampton Bays High School.
The annual tournament gave Special Olympic athletes the opportunity to play alongside varsity athletes in eight-minute games. The evening included 54 players, team uniforms, referees, cheerleaders, a play-by-play announcer, coaches and many supporting spectators. In addition to the game, the event also served as a food and winter coat drive. Participants and spectators were encouraged to bring items to donate.

Photo Caption: A Hampton Bays basketball player gave a high five to a teammate during the basketball tournament at the Hampton Bays High School on Nov. 13.

Photo courtesy of the Hampton Bays School District

The Westhampton Beach High School Key Club (which involves several student athletes) is on a mission to raise $10,000 to purchase a freshwater well for a third-world village through an organization called the Thirst Project.

To date, through online donations, the club has raised just over half of their goal. They hope to reach their goal with the help of the community. “We chose to support this project because the organization donates 100
percent of the money raised to build in third-world villages,” said senior Kiera Solomon, who serves on the NYS Key Club executive board. “This is an amazing opportunity to help combat the global water crisis and make a difference in the world around us.” Solomon said the Key Club learned about the Thirst Project when they were introduced to Chuck Kovalik, a representative from the Thirst Project, who was invited to speak at the high school.

“Once we learned that roughly one billion people were affected by the global water crisis, we knew we had to do something,” said Solomon. In addition to fundraising online, the club is also planning to hold events in
the near future, including a car wash, bake sale, and a recreation night for students.

Photo Caption: Westhampton Beach Key Club members hope to raise $10,000 to bring water to a third-world village in need.

Photo courtesy of the Westhampton Beach School District

Clark sophomore Courtney Pharr, a member of the volleyball team, was fortunate enough as a freshman to travel with a contingent of other Clark student-athletes to Guatemala for an international service learning trip known as CAST (Clark Athletics Service Trip), which was the brainchild of former Cougars tennis player Harris Rollinger.

Rollinger earned his master’s degree from Clark last year, but he wanted CAST to continue. He asked Pharr if she wanted to lead this year’s trip.

“Yes, I did,” Pharr said, “and it was a life-changing experience.”

Earlier this month, Pharr and 10 other Clark student-athletes, as well as Micki Davis, director of community engagement at Clark, and representatives from Service for Peace, spent nine days in El Cidral, Dominican Republic, working with community members to build a schoolroom, interacting with local children and immersing themselves in a different culture.

El Cidral is located in a valley nestled in the mountains of Villa Altagracia County, about 45 minutes northwest of the capital city of Santo Domingo. Most residents are employed seasonally in agriculture, and many rely on remittances from family members abroad. The community has big plans for its future, however, including an improved educational environment for its youngsters.

“It’s refreshing to see the community is driving the plan for development, not external forces saying, ‘This is what we think you need,’ ” Davis said. “To go and be a part of that and see that they really have their own self-determination and plan for the schoolroom and a basketball court after the schoolroom and being part of making that happen was really exciting and something that resonated with the ‘Clarkie’ spirit.”

The elementary school where the Clark group worked was basically one big classroom divided by moveable walls — not ideal for teaching or learning. The Clark student-athletes began the work of building four new classrooms, putting up cement walls and doing other carpentry work.

To read more please visit: http://www.telegram.com/article/20150120/COLUMN11/301209606/1009/SPORTS