Hicksville averaged 13 wins a season in the three years prior to last season.
But the Comets are coming off an uncharacteristic 7-9 season.
Will Hicksville be headed back to the winner’s circle in New York’s Section 8 (Nassau County) Class A in 2013?
For more on that, we turn to Pat McCormick.
One of the nation’s leading juniors, the attackman committed to the University of North Carolina as a 10th-grader.
The lefty, who is the quarterback of the Comets’ offense, has been on the varsity team since eighth grade.
Now, here are Patrick’s perspectives on the upcoming season.
What have you been doing to get ready for the season?
To gear up for the season, as a team, we’ve been going to the gym working out after school or shooting on our goalies at night up at a turf field.
Individually, I started doing CrossFit workouts two times a week which has helped build my upper- and lower-body strength as well as endurance, along with shooting and lifting.
Also, every Sunday morning, we’ve been participating in a winter league at MacArthur and Division High School.
What player or players on your team do you think will surprise some people this season?
I believe that sophomore midfielder Michael Osmundsen will surprise a lot of people this year on the offensive end, as will junior midfielder Wade Walker. Both are capable of finishing the ball very well, as well as finding the open man.
What do you think the strength of your team will be this year?
I think the strength of our team this year will definitely be the defense. We have two goalies, senior Joey Germano and junior Ryan Toomey, who are both capable of starting in net.
We also return four defensemen who received significant amounts of playing time last year: Tom Brennan, Connor Hoehing, Mike Brumber and long-stick midfielder Steven Diaz.
Being so young on the defensive side of the ball last year really forced those four to grow up and the experience has helped them tremendously and should really benefit our team this year.
How do you view the race in your league and who do you think some of the contending teams will be?
I believe that Syossett and Massapequa are the top two teams to beat this year in Nassau County Class A as they were last year.
After that, I think that its a tossup between Port Washington, Farmingdale, Oceanside, as well as us to try and get the No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 seeds. Each team is so strong that it will be really interesting to see how it ends up in May.
* LaxLessons.com story on Pat’s commitment to North Carolina
* For more info on Pat, check out his player profile by clicking here
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Posted In: Player's perspective, Section 8
Nice job breaking down the team Pat. Have a great season.
Nice player. Just think he needs to keep improving his off (right) hand.
I think Hicksville will be much improved. We shall see.