SCHOOLS

Seaford bowling team has striking success

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Coaches and parents said they were impressed by, and proud of, the success of the 23-member Seaford School District bowling team in its inaugural season.
Coaches and parents said they were impressed by, and proud of, the success of the 23-member Seaford School District bowling team in its inaugural season.
Courtesy Berto Cerasi

In October 2014, Maureen Mele asked the Seaford Board of Education why the district did not have a bowling team. Her children — Mike, 16, Marissa, 13, and Matthew, 9 — had bowled in the Wantagh-Seaford PAL Bowling League since they were kindergartners at Manor Elementary School, and she had heard stories from parents from different neighborhoods about their kids’ high school bowling squads.

So Mele got to work. Over the course of three years, she filled a binder with news stories, letters of support from local bowling alleys and coaches, budget projections and a petition with 406 signatures, in the hope that district leaders would fund a team for Seaford students.

“This is how exciting it is,” she exclaimed, flipping through newspaper clippings and photos of championship-winning teams celebrating in alleys across Long Island. “To see someone throw 10 strikes in a row … it’s amazing.”

Mele said she was thrilled that, after years of researching and gathering community support, students in Seaford finally got the chance to bowl competitively this winter, in the inaugural season for the Vikings’ boys’ and girls’ varsity and junior-varsity bowling teams. Parents, coaches and players said they were happy that the teams not only received funding in the 2016-17 budget, but also that the bowlers did well in their conference.

The district takes in students from Seaford and part of Wantagh. Many of the 23 bowlers on the inaugural squads honed their skills in the Wantagh-Seaford PAL league, while others picked up bowling balls for the first time at the Vikings’ open tryouts at AMF Wantagh Lanes last fall.

Mele said she was inspired by her kids’ passion and commitment to the sport. She said she believed that Mike and Marissa, as well as other high school and middle school students, should have every chance to take part in their favorite sport.

She contacted 44 school districts in nearby communities and found that Seaford was one of only five that did not offer bowling. She presented that finding to the board, along with cost projections, information about U.S. Bowling Congress grant programs and studies on the sport’s potential benefits for children.

“Bowling allows every team member equal play with equal chances of success,” Mele told the board last February. “There are no age, size, strength or gender limitations.”

Berto Cerasi, the director of health and phys. ed. at Seaford Middle School, coaches all four teams. He said that bowling is unique because it is a lifelong sport.

When Cerasi heard that Mele was pushing the district to fund a team, he offered to coach it for free. Mele said she also received support from hundreds of Seaford and Wantagh residents, who signed her petition or donated to a GoFundMe page to raise funds for transportation for the bowlers to alleys in Wantagh and Levittown. She said she was grateful that the board listened to the community’s request with “open ears.”

Superintendent Brian Conboy said that Mele and the interested parents and students made the point that there was a strong group of teens with interest, talent and excitement about bowling as an interscholastic sport in Seaford. He said that Mele's efforts and the passed budget helped make the team a reality.  

"The team, under the direction of Coach Berto Cerasi, has had a remarkable inaugural season," Conboy said. "The district is proud of the efforts of all involved — most prominently, the student athletes on the team."  

Paige Donovan — a high school freshman who attended some of the board meetings at which Mele made the community’s case for a team — said she was grateful and excited that the team was funded. “It was really exciting,” she said, “because I knew that a lot of people in Seaford had lots of talent.”

In Seaford’s first season, Donovan qualified for this Saturday’s county championships, which will be held at AMF Garden City Lanes. She had the highest average (159.7) among the girls’ varsity bowlers.

The girls’ varsity and both JV teams went undefeated and won Conference 5 titles, Cerasi said. The boys’ varsity team “lost by just a few pins” to Hewlett, he added, finishing its first season in second place in Conference 5.

In addition to Donovan, Cerasi said that many Seaford bowlers would receive individual awards for their performances on the lanes this season, which ended in January. Chris Mirer, a high school senior and one of the boys’ varsity team captains, earned All-League designation.

Mirer, who said he fell in love with the sport when he was a kindergartner, added that he did not expect Seaford to be so successful this year. “We pushed for it,” he said, “and we showed them that we have talent.”

Mike Mele said he thinks that the bowling program can continue to grow, adding that he hopes the same bowlers who made the teams so successful this year and new students will come to the tryouts next year. He also said that the creation of the bowling team wasn’t simply about championships: He, Mirer and Donovan all said they met students in different grade levels through the program.

Mike said that he thought his mother’s advocacy on behalf of his siblings and the community was remarkable. Maureen noted that the positive reactions she has received from players have moved her to tears at times.

“One girl said to my daughter, ‘I’m so glad that your mom got the team because it’s my favorite thing,’” she said. “They’re all such super kids, and they truly deserve to be able to perform in their niche.”

Cerasi encouraged any students interested in trying out for the team next year to practice at local bowling alleys and join the Wantagh-Seaford PAL team. Registration sessions will be held at Wantagh Lanes on Feb. 25 and March 4 between 9:45 a.m. and noon.