Michael Zavarella knows a lot about playing against tough competition.
The Ossining senior defenseman has been covered such standout attackmen as Mike Daniello of John Jay and Case Matheis of Darien.
This season, Ossining is one of the teams competing in a Class B in Section 1 that may be as stacked as it’s been. Ever.
That’s among the topics we discussed with the Western New England College-bound Zavarella.
After you check out Michael’s perspectives, be sure to cast your vote in our poll question, which is on the Class B race in Section 1. (On the right panel of this page, just scroll past the “New Comments” and “Popular” tabs and click on “Poll,” and then cast your vote from the choices available, or write in your choice if it’s not listed.)
What have you been doing to get ready for the season?
I’ve been working really hard in track for the past couple of months trying to increase my acceleration and get faster. My track coach has been pushing me really hard to reach my full potential. Outside of track, I’ve been lifting trying to build up my upper body strength. Along with that I’ve been working on building up the speed and accuracy of my checks.
How does your schedule look, including scrimmages, and what games are you looking forward to?
Our schedule looks good for us this year. We lost 10 out of 11 of our starters, and a good chunk of our second string. We need a year to rebuild our program and get back up to speed. I think the league that were in is perfect for that. The team matchups are pretty even and we get to play some new schools that we haven’t played before which I really like. We also get to play some old competition as well like Briarcliff and Sleepy Hollow.
The game I’m looking forward to the most is Briarcliff. We didn’t get the chance to play them last year, and I can’t wait to get back on the field with them because there has always been a good rivalry between us and playing them its always a good time because of that.
What players on your team do you think will surprise some people this season?
A couple players that I think are going to show up well this year are Jackson Kane and Brian Kaufman. Last year, Brian had a good year as a defensive middie and showed good potential clearing the ball, this year I can see him scoring a good amount of goals and having a bunch of assists. Jackson had a great season last year as the only sophomore playing varsity. He played really hard and earned his spot on the roster and earned a good amount of time on the field. This year I think he’s going to really show up as an important piece of our offense.
What do you think the strength of your team will be this year?
This year our strength is going to be our chemistry. We have a very young team this year but we are all really close and we have all been putting in a lot of time and effort into preparing for the season on and off the field. We all have the same thing on our mind and that is to win.
How do you view the race in Section 1 Class B and who do you think the contending teams will be?
This may is going to be very eventful in Class B. There are a lot of great teams and it’s going to show in the playoffs this year. With big names like John Jay, Rye, Yorktown and Somers it’s all going to come down to who wants it the most.
* For more info on Michael, including his highlight video, click here.
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Posted In: Player's perspective, Section 1
Thanks for including Ossining in the perspectives Joe. Appreciated.
Thank you, Joe and Mike. Joe, we need a hundred copies of Lax for Dummies in Ossining! lol.
Unlike years past they have to rebuild the team, but not the program. O is seeing a vast increase of interest in the sport at the youth level because of last year’s team, and it has not hurt that they’ve placed players in college lax three years in a row. They hadn’t done that in … ever. lol.
Mike is the perfect holdover from last year because he emerged as an important player in the section and his patient, mentoring personality will help the young guys. They’ll win a few, lose a few and learn alot.
Keep your eyes open for days of youth clinics and camps in O in the months ahead and come on over for a fun day of lax!
Keep up the good work particularly at that youth level. Good to see the O program on the rise–from a Rye fan.
Thank you Slac…You’re definitely a Rye guy, but always have something good to say for everyone in the section. Your sentiments are much appreciated.
Good luck Garnets…they will fit right in ‘B’.
Good job Mikey. Have a great year.
Go get em Mike…all section this year…git it done!
Congrats, Mike, on being selected to run in the NY State Qualifier for the 300 meter dash.
Good luck!