Briarcliff begins a new era this season as the Bears welcome in new varsity coach Paul Bordonaro. One of the players Bordonaro will be relying on in his debut season is senior midfielder Troy Press, who has committed to attend Division II Wingate University in North Carolina.
Press, who is currently one of the standout on the Bears’ boys basketball team, is the subject of the latest installment of our new “Player’s perspective” feature.
* “Player’s perspective” archive
* For background info on Troy, click here.
How have you and the team been adjusting to a new coach?
When our former head coach Al Meola told us he will not be returning for personal reasons, a lot of the guys were depressed. Coach Meola started this program from scratch, loves it to death and will surely be missed. Our assistant coach Lou Rosten will be returning. Our new head coach Paul Bordonaro helped us out last year and is a teacher at Briarcliff so a lot of the guys know him. I’m excited to be coached by him these year and looking forward to see what he brings to the team.
What have you been doing to get ready for the season?
I am in basketball season right now, heading into the playoffs. Basketball always helps me from footwork to staying in shape. I know the team has been having their winter practices and I have seen a bunch of the guys in the weight room, which never hurts.
Can you talk about some of the key players you lost from last year and how you think you will be able to replace them?
We lost senior captains Brian Levine and Mike Perlow. Mike was our leading goal scorer, but I think our attack and midfield will be able to contribute very well. Brian was our leader on defense and taught the younger guys a lot of things so we are going to need the defense to step it up.
How does your schedule look and which ones are you looking forward to most?
I haven’t seen our schedule yet but we always look forward to playing our rival Pleasantville.
What players on your team do you think will surprise some people this season?
I think seniors Ryan Connery (attack) and Greg Elson (goalie). I played with both these guys this summer on Team Superstar, coached by Al Meola and Tim Schurr. Both of their games improved very much.
What do you think the strength of your team will be this year?
I think our offense will be very strong but to tell you the truth I’m excited to see what our defense is going to be like. We had a lot of younger guys last year who now have had a year of varsity lacrosse under their belt, I would expect them to be strong also. I know a lot of them played summer ball and with Greg Elson in goal our defense could be a surprise to many.
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Good luck Troy this season in Lax, congrats on yesterday’s hoops win, and keep it up! Little Bear says hi, and remember to take it to the cage hard
Interesting comments Troy Boy! Good luck in hoops sectionals and in lax after that!!
Good luck this season Troy. Looking forward to Pville vs. Bcliff too.
Briarcliff could beat Pville this year.
Nice job analyzing the team Troy.
Good luck today Troy and Briarcliff!