Neighbors

Building a local baseball community

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The LSW Baseball Clinic runs five days a week for three weeks in July in Seaford.
The LSW Baseball Clinic runs five days a week for three weeks in July in Seaford.
Briana Bonfiglio/Herald

Major League Baseball players just had their annual All-Star break, but local youngsters have been playing the game all month thanks to the Levittown Seaford Wantagh Athletic Association. 

For the 22nd year, LSW Sports hosted a clinic, teaching the basics of baseball to children ages 6 to 13 from all three communities. The program ran for five days a week for three weeks in July at the Alken Avenue Cuomo Field Complex.

“We teach them the fundamentals while keeping it fun,” Mike Lesak, the head counselor, explained. “It’s all about baseball. If you want to learn, this is the place to be.”

The clinic comprised three sessions, from June 27 to July 1, July 11 to 15 and July 18 to 22. Throughout this week, children continued to gather at the complex at 9 a.m. daily, focusing on the fun and fundamentals of America’s pastime until 2 p.m. 

Lesak said that clinic leaders aim to keep lessons fresh and the kids active. The counselors, including MacArthur High School alumni and local college baseball players, break baseball skills down to their simplest forms so the children can remember and use them during games they play in the program and elsewhere. 

Each session begins with warmup activities. The youngsters are then split into three groups to practice outfield plays, double plays and catching in 15-minute sessions. In the afternoon, they have the chance to use what they’ve learned in a game. 

At the end of the week, the counselors award trophies to players, including a Camper of the Week honor to the most improved player. That hard-working youngster also receives tickets to a Long Island Ducks game, Lesak noted. 

“The hope is that they keep playing baseball,” he said of the program.

Not only do some continue to play, but they also return to the clinic to become counselors. Chris Danetti, a 19-year-old Wantagh native, attended the clinic for six years as a child. He went on to play baseball for the MacArthur Generals and become an LSW counselor.

“I love working with the kids,” said Danetti, who has volunteered his time to LSW for three years. “They’re so outgoing and goofy.” 

The camp, he recalled, was where he made friends when he was young. Dino Danetti, Chris’s father and the clinic’s volunteer coordinator, said the social aspects of the program are important and beneficial to the youngsters. “It gets them outside, exercising and learning skills, but they also learn about camaraderie and friendship,” he explained, adding that children and their parents get to meet their neighbors and get reacquainted with LSW regulars. 

About 300 kids are enrolled in the program, its leaders said, with anywhere from 50 to 70 attending each daily session. Counselor John Caraccia, who supervised the counselors teaching children between ages 6 and 8 at the batting cages, said he looks forward to meeting all of the participants. “It’s the best three weeks of the summer,” he said. 

LSW Sports also supports spring and fall travel baseball teams and intramurals, a kickball league for toddlers and more. For more information about the association, visit www.lswsports.pointstreaksites.com