Senior quarterback Xavier Arline lunges into the endzone for SWR against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
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Senior quarterback Xavier Arline after his 5th touch-down against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham Wading River senior quarterback Xavier Arline skips into the end-zone against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham Wading River senior quarterback Xavier Arline breaks to the outside against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior quarterback Xavier Arline gets wrapped up against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior quarterback Xavier Arline throws a screen pass against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior quarterback Xavier Arline lunges into the endzone for SWR against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior quarterback Xavier Arline in traffic against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior quarterback Xavier Arline finds an open lane on his way to 5 TD's against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior wide receiver Tyler Schwarz breaks to the outside in downing Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats opener Sept 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Coaches call timeout at Sept. 6 game against Bayport-Bluepoint. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River sophomore runningback Max Barone breaks to the outside against Bayport-Blue Point in their season opener Sept 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River sophomore runningback Max Barone powers up the middle in downing Bayport-Blue Point in their season opener Sept 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior kicker Jake Ekert splits the uprights against Bayport-Blue Point in the Wildcats opener Sept 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior runningback David Tedesco drives upfield against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in a Wildcats 47-7 victory in their season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior running back David Tedesco finds an open lane against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in a Wildcats 47-7 victory in their season opener Sept 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior running back David Tedesco drives upfield against visiting Bayport-Blue Point in a Wildcats 47-7 victory in their season opener Sept. 6. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior quarterback Xavier Arline led the Shoreham-Wading River with five touchdowns to power the Wildcats past visiting Bayport-Blue Point 41-7 in the team’s opening game of the season at home. Arline amassed 227 yards on 25 carries delivering interim head coach Virgil Romer his first varsity career win. Romer took the helm after 3–year head coach Aden Smith was removed from the roster following an alleged incident Aug. 30 at Islip high school in a multiteam preseason scrimmage.
It was midway through the second quarter before Bayport-Blue Point put points on the board, their only score of the game. SWR sophomore running back Max Barone punched in from short yardage for the score and Jake Ekert, a junior, split the uprights five times in the rout. Outside linebacker Jake Wilson, a junior, was credited with a pair of sacks in the victory. The Wildcats hit the road Saturday, Sept. 14 to take on the Royals of Port Jefferson. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Smithtown West senior Emily Wallace clears the ball upfield. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West sophomore Nicole Menella battles for possession against Ward Melville in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville sophomore forward Samantha Lips heads the ball against visiting Smithtown West in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville sophomore forward Samantha Lips heads the ball against visiting Smithtown West in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville goalie Rebekka Dill clears the ball against Smithtown West in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville goalie Rebekka Dill makes one of her 4 saves against Smithtown West in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville goalie Rebekka Dill makes one of her 4 saves against Smithtown West in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville sophomore forward Rachel Ehrlich, left, battles with Hannah Maracina of Smithtown West Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville junior Mila Rosenthal-Vincenti with a header in a Div. I matchup against visiting Smithtown West Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville junior Mila Rosenthal-Vincenti settles the ball in a Div. I matchup against visiting Smithtown West Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Megan O’Connor heads the ball in a Div. I matchup against visiting Smithtown West Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West celebrates after a score in a 3-0 victory over Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West celebrates after a score in a 3-0 victory over Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West celebrates after a score in a 3-0 victory over Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville Co-Captain Kiley Hamou settles the ball in a Div I matchup against visiting Smithtown West Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West sophomore Julia Tylar heads the ball up-field in a Div I matchup against Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Co-Captain Jillian Meaney with a corner kick against Ward Melville in a 3-0 win against Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West senior Jillian Meaney battles for possession in a 3-0 victory over Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Co-Captain Jillian Meaney traps the ball in a 3-0 victory over Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Co-Captain Jillian Meaney sets up the play in a 3-0 victory over Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior Co-Captain Jillian Meaney #26 battles a pair of Patriot defenders in a 3-0 win in Smithtown West’s season opener Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West senior Isabella Justino settles the ball against Ward Melville in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West senior Isabella Justino settles the ball against Ward Melville in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West senior Isabella Cassucci settles the ball in a Div. I matchup against Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West senior Isabella Cassucci turns the play up-field against Ward Melville in a Div. I matchup Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West senior goal keep Emily Wallace clears the ball in a 3-0 win on the road against Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West senior goal keep Emily Wallace clears the ball in a 3-0 win on the road against Ward Melville Sept. 9, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West girls soccer scored three unanswered goals on the road handing Ward Melville a 3-0 loss in a Division I matchup Sept. 9.
Freshman standout Stephanie Schubert scored twice for the Bulls, and Nicole Menella, a sophomore, found the net for their second win of the early season. The Bulls beat Patchogue-Medford two days earlier and look to build on their winning momentum.
Emily Wallace, a senior, had four saves in net for the Bulls, and Ward Melville’s Elyse Munoz had five, along with teammate Rebekka Dill who stopped four.
Both teams are back in action Sept. 12 when the Patriots hit the road where they’ll take on West Islip searching for their first win; game time is 4:15 p.m. The Bulls play East Islip at home with a 4:30 p.m. start.
September 2, 2019 - Sportime2 youth tennis program during an on court demonstration at the 2019 US Open. (Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser/USTA)
Sportime2, a youth tennis league in Kings Park, participated in a Net Generation “Kids on Court” activation at the 2019 U.S. Open on Sept. 2. Twenty-four kids from the program were part of an on-court tennis demonstration prior to the start of a match between Aidan Mayo and Shunsuke Mitsui on Court 12. Sportime2 member Diane Durante, tossed the coin prior to the match and then posed for a photo with the players.
Kids On Court, part of the USTA’s youth tennis brand, Net Generation, is expected to give more than 1,000 youth tennis players from across the country the opportunity to play this year on the iconic courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Kings Park kids on the court at U.S. Open
This year marks the first time American tennis has one unified youth brand for children to get into the sport. Net Generation will make it easier for kids and their parents to learn about tennis and get into the game in schools, parks and tennis clubs across the country. The movement embraces all aspects of youth play for kids ages 5 to 18. For more information, visit www.NetGeneration.com.
Varsity football coach Aden Smith, far right, was removed from the team by district officials just before a game against Bayport-Bluepoint Sept. 6. Photo from SWR
Shoreham-Wading River’s varsity football coach Aden Smith has been removed from his position in time for tonight’s game after an alleged “incident” in a multi-team scrimmage event in Islip last friday, the district said.
A statement from Superintendent Gerard Poole said Head Coach Smith had been involved in a scrimmage against Islip that took place Aug. 30 at the Islip High School. Section XI’s website said it was a multi-team nonleague scrimmage.
The district did not provide further details on what kind of incident took place.
“While this investigation is underway, the head coach has been removed and the current assistant coaches will be leading the team,” Poole said in the statement.
Smith could not be reached for comment.
The team was set to play against Bayport-Blue Point’s Phantoms today at 7 p.m. at the SWR high school, and district officials said the game is still on.
Smith was installed as head coach last year and he helped take SWR past division finals in the 2018 season and to the top seed spot in Division IV this year.
The next SWR board of education meeting is set for next Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.
22 veterans kayaked across Long Island Sound to help promote PTSD awareness. Photos by Kyle Barr
August 30 was a day about numbers.
Twenty-two kayakers in 11 boats. Twenty-two miles from Bridgeport to Port Jefferson.
22 veterans kayaked across Long Island Sound to help promote PTSD awareness. Photos by Kyle Barr
On each of their minds, the estimated 22 veterans who commit suicide each day, and the many thousands more both veterans and others who suffer from PTSD.
In the final days of summer, the 22 veterans left Bridgeport at just after 10 a.m. and arrived in Port Jefferson at just before 5 p.m. As the fourth year of the event, called the 22-PTSD Awareness Challenge, those veterans have a long way to travel, having to turn their boats in a slight parabola to make it the full 22 miles.
Frank Lombardi, one of the co-founders of the event and a veteran himself, said the event is extremely poignant just by the number. Veterans Affairs averages the number of soldiers and veterans who commit suicide at approximately 20 a day.
“Twenty-two veterans make the 22-mile trek, and that’s the magic number,” he said.
22-PTSD Awareness Challenge was started in 2016 with Lombardi, fellow veteran Chris Levi and Alex Rohman, an executive of the Port Jefferson Station-based financial advisors Time Capital. That business, plus three others, helped get the first event up and running. At first, the three co-founders were the only ones to cross. Since then the number of veterans taking the challenge has only increased.
“I found that if I can get veterans to help other veterans, that’s the best way to help them,” said Rohman. “A lot of organizations compete for veterans, in a way, and we wanted to open this up to as many nonprofits as we can, so a veteran can walk in and see a multitude of services that can help.
On their arrival in Port Jefferson, the Port Jeff Village Center was crammed full of a number of veterans services initiatives for them to peruse. PSEG Long Island, while not sponsoring the event, aided the initiative through its community partnership program by providing volunteers. Eight of the kayakers were also employees of PSEG Long Island.
22 veterans kayaked across Long Island Sound to help promote PTSD awareness. Photos by Kyle Barr
Two tables were for Independent Group Home Living Program, of which Lombardi is CEO. The money, Lombardi said, is going to Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk County, a subsidiary of IGHL that provides therapy services for veterans, among its other services for those experiencing family violence and rape. The first year of the event raised $60,000 to start a treatment program at VIBS, hiring a treatment specialist. While the amount they annually raise has gone down to around $15,000 per event, the IGHL CEO said the event now focuses more on outreach and getting veterans in touch with the services that can help them.
The veterans who kayaked said the Sound was relatively easy on the swell, though that didn’t stop the wind from picking up at the opposite direction once they neared Port Jefferson Harbor. The kayaks they rode in used pedals instead of oars, though the trek wasn’t any less tiring for it, with veterans of several different ages participating.
Friends and fellow veterans Martino Cascio, of Huntington, and Dennis Stringer, of New Hampshire, laughed as they described Cascio flipping their boat to dunk Stringer in the water.
Still, the two, who together completed several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, had a refrain running through their heads. Both have known fellow veterans who suffer from PTSD and others who took their own lives.
“I personally had a couple soldiers I was in a unit with take their own lives,” Stringer said. “It’s definitely affected me personally.”
Bayshore veteran Donna Zephrine has completed the kayak crossing several times. Having done two deployments in Iraq and having seen many of her compatriots from the army days suffer from PTSD, a few taking their own lives, she said the event truly helps gather veterans from all over into a single place where they might find life-saving services.
22 veterans kayaked across Long Island Sound to help promote PTSD awareness. Photos by Kyle Barr
“I try to do it in remembrance of them, and all the brothers and sisters who are still struggling, and all those suffering from PTSD,” she said.
Mattituck veteran Tom Gross has done the event three years in a row. He served in the U.S. Army from 1984 through 1986 in the 82nd Airborne.
“Twenty-two vets a day commit suicide, that’s over 8,000 a year, that’s unacceptable,” he said. “It’s a brotherhood, I didn’t understand how much of a brotherhood it was 30 years ago when I was in it, and when I raised my right hand how far that would carry for the rest of my life.”
The Suffolk County Junior Tennis League in Smithtown runs a demonstration Aug. 26 at the U.S. Open. Photo from Sharp Communications
United States Tennis Association, the national governing body for the sport of tennis, is shining a spotlight on its youth tennis leagues during the 2019 U.S. Open, and two local teams are participating in events.
Children from the Suffolk County Junior Tennis League in Smithtown and the Sportime League in Kings Park are conducting on-court tennis demonstrations for fans.
Net Generation kids on court before a match between Denis Kudla and Janko Tipsarevic at the 2019 U.S. Open Aug. 26. Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser/USTA
The opportunity for young athletes to play a role in one of the world’s highest-attended sporting events has become a key component of the sport’s success. Suffolk’s founder and executive director, Joe Arias, was unavailable for comment this week, but national manager for USTA’s youth brand Net Generation, Leah Friedman, shared her insights.
“Our on-court experiences allow us to celebrate our coaches, who are offering tennis in their communities and going above and beyond to impact their players,” she said. “Joe Arias and Suffolk County continue to inspire and engage their community. We want the next generation of greats leaving the U.S. Open with a lifetime of memories.”
Madison De Cicco, 8, of Smithtown, tossed the coin Aug. 26 prior to the opening day match between Denis Kudla and Janko Tipsarević and then posed for a photo with the two players. The Suffolk County league delivered a demo session to fans prior to that match. On Monday, Sept. 2, the youth league at Sportime in Kings Park will put on a demo show on Court 12.
Now in its third year, the program, called Kids on Court, has expanded each year with 60 groups nationwide participating. The demonstration program is part of the USTA’s youth tennis brand, Net Generation. The nonprofit organization expects to give more than 1,300 youth tennis players from across the country the opportunity to play on the iconic courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the first 10 days of the 2019 tournament.
The youth demonstrations, called activations, will take place prior to sessions on each of the U.S. Open show courts: Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, Grandstand and Court 17 as well as Courts 5, 11 and 12. They will also be held in Arthur Ashe Stadium prior to four selected night sessions.
Net Generation wants to make it easier for kids and their parents to learn about tennis and get into the game in schools, parks and tennis clubs across the country. The movement is designed to appeal to kids ages 5-18. For more information, visit netgeneration.usta.com.
Vilage officials have been paying attention to the Port Jefferson Country Club lower parking lot. Photo by Kyle Barr
Port Jefferson village officials hope $12,000 is enough to cover the Port Jefferson Country Club parking lot and area around the golf pro shop with camera surveillance.
At its Aug. 19 meeting, village officials agreed to put together $12,000 from various budgets to replace seven cameras around the country club parking lot. These cameras will be at 4K resolution to better enable reading license plates in case that data needs to be forwarded to village constables or Suffolk County Police. The money will also go toward adding a new system to use the upgraded cameras at the country club.
“The system we got there is five years old — the cameras have always been cloudy there,” said Kevin Wood, the Port Jefferson parking and mobility administrator.
At the meeting, the village officials went back and forth on the cameras’ price tag, but Wood argued 4K is the way of the future.
“The 4K costs have gone down tremendously, even since we did Texaco a year ago,” he said. “We’re at the point where we don’t consider anything but 4K, it’s that close to the cost.”
The board unanimously voted to install the new cameras, and Mayor Margot Garant said she is looking to take some money out of the country club, the parking and main budgets.
In previous meetings, trustee Stan Loucks made a point of trying to stop people from parking in the country club’s lower parking lot and walking down to the beach to fish.
“We believe that a lack of cameras at the lower lot creates additional problems down at the east beach,” he said at the Aug. 19 meeting.
In May, the village announced it had hooked up its camera system to Suffolk County Police Department’s real-time crime center. The system is used by police to tap into local cameras and use that data in conjunction with databases to catch criminal activity.
Wood said they expect the cameras to be installed by mid-September.
Former Ward Melville girls basketball head coach Samantha Prahalis coaches the Patriots from the sidelines at a January 2018 game. Photo by Jm Ferchland
Ward Melville High School girls varsity basketball players, parents and residents lent their voices in support for former coach Samantha Prahalis at a district board of education meeting Aug. 21.
The speakers during the board’s public session hoped that they could convince the board to reconsider the decision to dismiss the varsity girls’ basketball coach, which was made earlier this month. But after nearly a one-hour public comment session, the board ultimately sealed the coach’s fate. It would not reevaluate their initial decision to sever ties with Prahalis, a former WNBA player, and she would not be returning to the sidelines.
William Connors, Three Village board of education president, delivered the news to the crowd through a prepared statement.
“While the district does not comment on matters of personnel, I can say the coaching position for the Ward Melville [girls] high school varsity team currently remains open for the 2019-20 school year,” the board of education president said. “The district will not be filling this annual appointment with the individual who served in that role for the past two years. As such, we are in the process of selecting the most qualified individual to lead our team next year.”
Supporters of Prahalis questioned the board’s reasons for the dismissal and argued they acted too harshly. Some also felt that the district ignored and chose not to meet with students during the board’s investigation of the former coach.
“They have been trying to reach out to you from May 19,” said parent Gina Agostino. “We sent out a letter that day because players wanted to share their feelings on coach. Emails have been ignored, phone calls were not returned, request for meetings were blown off. You chose not to hear their voices … and treated them like adversaries the entire time.”
District officials disputed those claims saying they had reached out to parents.
Chris Agostino said the fact that the district would have their own agenda is embarrassing.
“I’ll tell you something, if I had students like this standing up for a coach the way these young ladies are, its powerful,” he said. “… What I don’t understand is that you get one complaint, maybe two complaints from parents or players and as a board you acted. You never listened to these students. You’re not looking out for them. If you were, you would understand how they feel.”
A parent of a former varsity girls basketball player said he supported the decision to release the coach. He detailed how in May he received a phone call from the district asking for permission for his daughter to be surveyed by the district’s athletic department regarding Prahalis and the basketball team.
He said he told his daughter to tell the truth and others did too and added that it was more than two complaints.
“My daughter for three years was treated terribly and was abused verbally and mentally without the board knowing, she wanted it that way and I stood by her,” he said. “Sammy’s [Prahalis] abusive record speaks for itself and anyone that asked about her knew about her reputation.”
Six former players of Prahalis were present at the meeting. Many of them spoke of how their coach was the best mentor they ever had and how they had learned and grown so much as a player during that time.
“Coach has transformed me not only as a better basketball player but also as a better person,” said Katherine Kelly, a rising senior on the varsity team. “She helped me gain the confidence I’ve been lacking on and off the court. She helped recognize my potential … She has made this team a family.”
This summer the team won in their league during the Brookhaven Town recreation program playoffs and credited their former coach for the strong summer season.
Cheryl Pedisich, Three Village superintendent of schools, spoke toward the end of the meeting to clarify some things parents brought up, including that she had said to Prahalis in a meeting that the district had failed her.
“I said the district had failed her in not giving her the proper mentorship, that I think every coach deserves, every new coach deserves,” she said. “For new coaches that don’t have that opportunity to know how to work with students is a travesty. That was something incumbent on the district and the former athletic director to make sure that happened for all new coaches. Moving forward every coach that is new will be mentored in an appropriate way.”
Post was updated Aug. 30 to include a statement from Three Village district officials.
Dom Ware and Kelsey Pagan in their umbrella boat, which won most creative design. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The boaters gearing up for the semi-finalist at the 9th Annual Quick and Dirty Boat Build at Port Jeff Harbor. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The four finalists out of seven boats that made their way to the last round at the starting line. Photo by Julianne Mosher
And they’re off! Photo by Julianne Mosher
The winning boat, appropriately named “The Winner” crossing the finish line. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Made out of plywood, whoever made it around the pier at the harbor first wins. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The seven boats had to paddle past the Seawolf boat docked at the pier. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The winning pair, Sunny Drescher and Peter Charmalambous, embracing after their win. Photo by Julianne Mosher
The second finalists and their boat, No. 1. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Third place winners, Avalon 1.25, paddling through the finish line. Photo by Julianne Mosher
She wanted to help out. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Doug and Chris’ families wanted a ride after the race. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Best design winners: Dom Ware and Kelsey Pagan for their boat “Sunny Days.” Photo by Julianne Mosher
Second place winners: Doug Santo and Chris Voorhis of “No. 1.” Photo by Julianne Mosher
Third place winners: Kayla Krakerand Alex Serina of “Avalon 1.25.” Photo by Julianne Mosher
Peter, of the winning boat retrieving his prize.
1st place winners: Peter Charmalambous and Sunny Drescher. Photo by Julianne Mosher
By Julianne Mosher
The ninth annual Sikaflex Quick & Dirty Boat build went off without a hitch Sunday, Aug. 25 as a week of hot and humid air turned into a clear, warm day for racing hand-built boats.
Seven teams built their boats out of plywood and calk over Saturday and early Sunday before taking them into the water to race a short circuit around Port Jefferson harbor in front of Harborfront Park.
Peter Charalambous and Sunny Drescher won the day with their boat “The Winner,” while Chris Voorhis and Doug Santo finished second with the boat called No. 1. Kayla Kraker and Alex Serina took up third in their craft called Avalon 1.25. Dominic Ware and Kelsey Pagan won best design award for their craft called Sunny Days.
Kyra Sommerstad represents Port Jefferson at the Suffolk County championships. Photo from Sommerstad
Kyra Sommerstad, 17, lives for the water and the thrill of shaving seconds off her best swim times. Though she has been swimming competitively since she was 10, for nearly five years, her major goal was to make it to the Olympic trials.
Kyra Sommerstad will be attending the Olympic trials in June 2020. Photo from PJSD
This year, during a meet at the Nassau County Aquatic Center, she was wide eyed when she reviewed her time for the 100-yard backstroke. Her time, 1:02.66, just under the qualifying time by .03 seconds.
“I hoped I would make the qualifying time any time this summer, but I really wasn’t expecting it at this event,” Sommerstad said. “When I looked up and saw my time, I didn’t really realize at first, so I had to do a double take to make sure the time was right, and I just got really emotional.”
Sommerstad’s dad, Ray, said at the time he and the rest of the audience weren’t especially looking at the times, instead focused on the intense back and forth between his daughter and another swimmer during the second backstroke leg, where each was neck and neck. Once she finally got out of the pool, only then did eyes turn up to her final times.
“She goes to practice eight times a week, six days, some days she goes twice,” her father said. “She’s a hard worker — she shows up every day with a smile. Her positive enthusiasm is contagious.”
The Port Jefferson swimmer started in the pool when she was just under 10 years old, as part of what her dad described as every parent’s quest to find an activity for their kid that
would stick.
This one stuck. She took to the water like a fish, her parents said, and would improve in skill year after year after year. When she was 13, she set a goal for herself that she would make it to the Olympic trials, and she dedicated herself to that bar ever since.
While she represents the Port Jefferson high school in school swimming, for years, the Port Jeff swimmer has been practicing with the Three Village Swim Club. Her coach for the past three years, Mark Anderson, said she is as close to the perfect student as one can get. In his years of coaching, Sommerstad is the first he’s taught to qualify for the Olympic trials.
“She’s really a coach’s dream athlete — she makes corrections really well and she does what she’s told to do, and that’s really rare in a lot of people,” he said. “She’s finally starting to achieve every goal she’s set in front
of her.”
When she made it her intention to make it to the Olympic qualifiers, she, her coach and her parents would look at the times expected to qualify increase from 1:03.99 in 2012 to 1:03.39 in 2016. For 2020, the time jumped by close to a full second.
Kyra Sommerstad represents Port Jefferson at the Suffolk County championships. Photo from Sommerstad
And in swimming, when shaving off decimals of a second in a swim time is considered solid work for months of effort, the task looked daunting.
“I’m happy if a swimmer takes off half a second in months trying to get better,” the coach said. “She made it by .03 … It’s a sport of hundreds of seconds, and it puts a lot of things in their lives in perspective.”
As well as being a Scholastic All-American recipient, Sommerstad currently is maintaining a 95 percent average in school and is already committed to The Ohio State University where she plans to compete in swimming. While she hasn’t settled on a specific major yet, she said she was looking into working with children, either in teaching or in occupational therapy.
Those who have seen her train know she puts the same amount of effort into training for swim meets as she does the other important aspects of her life.
“[Her academics] do not suffer at all for all the time she spends in the pool,” her father said. “It actually gives her discipline to make sure she manages her time effectively.”
Though she is heading to the Olympic trials, she, her family and her coach are trying to keep their expectations realistic, as she will be competing against the best swimmers from all across the nation. Despite this, Sommerstad, who is traveling from state to state competing in swim meets, expects her training to ramp up hard as they head to the Olympic trials June 22, 2020.
“I’m definitely going to be working a lot harder this year — doing some extra stuff out of the pool to maybe gain some muscle so I can swim faster,” she said. “I’m hoping to swim a best time at Olympic trials, so I can be seated higher among all the people who have made it.”
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