SEC Toga Party

On Saturday April 18th South East Consortium held a Toga Party and so many people came dressed the part! It was a fun night filled of dancing, hanging out with friends and enjoying the sounds of DJ Mike! 

Sound Shore Stars Basketball Game

The Hawks took flight once again last Tuesday night against local team Sound Shore Stars led by coach Suzan Elson. Last Saturday at the Special Olympics tournament at Albert Leonard Middle School both Hawk teams met defeat at the hands of the Stars.

“It was a bitter sweet game,” said game captain Alex Pflaum on loss last Saturday. “We played our hearts out but some bad calls with some aggressive offense from the Stars tipped the scale,” Pflaum continued. The Hawks had lost 28-24.

It was a different story last Tuesday night. The Hawks had sharpened their talons and were ready to play. Major improvements were seen in defense and ball handling. The Hawks were relentless in their game under the net led by James Beveridge and Andrew Brooks. Also, their long game was on point with Alex Pflaum and John Reichelt sinking back to back three pointers. Nothing but net.

The game played at the Hommocks Middle School took place during the Stars normally scheduled practice time. The Stars have an upcoming tournament this Saturday at Marist College.

The night also saw many players debut appearance on the hard top including Douglas Campbell, Vincent Mulvey and Richard Egan who put up two points in the second quarter. The Stars offense seemed to come up against a brick wall every time they came to put up some buckets.

Defense was the theme of the night with the Hawks. An aspect they had been struggling with in recent games. Andrew Brooks went vertical and slapped a ball away from the net to the cheers of the crowd. Matthew McCarthy was playing his heart out, racing from one player to another harassing them all the way to the net.

Although the intensity was high on the court the comradery and good sportsmanship was palpable as well. “I love playing with these guys because it’s a lot of fun,” said Stars player Nick Brown.  “I love South East!” said Joey Lombardozzi.  Both Brown and Lombardozzi participate in several South East Consortium programs throughout the year.

It was a fantastic game where everyone received some playing time. The Hawks are now turning their attention to their next big game on April 25^th against Bronxville High School. Are the Hawks nervous? What do you think?

Madame Tussands and Dave & Busters

On Sunday March 15th South East took a group to visit Madame Tussands in Time Square. Everyone had so much fun posing and taking pics with some the their favorite celebrities, sports stars, pop stars, movie stars, historical figures and more!

After a fun day exploring the wax museum we went next door to eat a delicious meal at Dave & Busters and ended our day we playing games at the arcade. Everyone had a busy day full of fun and excitement... with picture to prove it!

County Center Game

The Westchester County Center hosted the annual Challenger’s Game between the South East Consortium Hawk’s and the North East Knights yesterday afternoon. Next to Madison Square Garden the venue does not get much better;  now home to the Westchester Knicks farm team, the Westchester County Center game allows players on a regulation size court, scoreboard and announcers belting out player names and jersey numbers.

 In years past the Hawks had a difficult time finding a team to play let alone a team that would challenge them. This was not the case yesterday. The Knights came out hot, scoring 15 points in the first quarter led by number 23 of the Knights.

In the second quarter the Hawks crept back up on the Knights coming within 8 points of the lead. At the half: Kinghts 23, Hawks 15. Hawks looked tired but not ready to give up at the half. With DJ Jason Frank spinning some hot tunes the Hawks seemed to become re-energized!

Led by Alex Pflaum up top and James Beveridge and Andrew Brooks under the net the Hawks were able to put up 12 more points before the final buzzer. Unfortunately it was not enough to stop the Knights from taking the day.

Of course winning isn’t everything. The Hawks have shown much improvement in their ball handling skills, defensive positioning, setting picks and passing the ball. This is due in large part to the addition of two new coaching staff members, Johnathan Powers and Teddy D’Alessio.

“This is team has come so far this season, its amazing. We are just going to keep building on where we are right now” said coach Jonathan Powers.

“I think the pick and roll is one of greatest assets in our offensive arsenal. We have height under the net and quick ball movement up top, that’s chemistry right there,” said coach Teddy D’Alessio at half time in reference to Andrew Brooks and James Beveridge.

The participating players in yesterday’s Challenger game included Gabriel Mineard, Chris Bisconti, Johnny Reichelt, Maggie Stone, William Byrnes, Christopher Horan , Matthew McCarthy, Andrew Brooks, James Beveridge, Alex Pflaum and John MaCaulay.

One aspect of the Hawks that certainly can’t be taught or drilled is the team spirit and good sportsmanship they exhibit in every game they play. That’s always just natural for them. 

St. Patricks Day Dance

Everyone came dressed in green and ready to have a great night last Saturday at our St. Patricks Day Dance! The dance floor was rocking all night long as we listened to the music of DJ Mike. There was also delicious refreshments to enjoy! Our dances are so popular because its a fun night out with great friends.

Rock Climbing

South East participants rocked out last Saturday afternoon at the New Rochelle Rock Club climbing walls of varying heights and difficulty.

The New Rochelle Indoor Rock climbing facility hosts a number of realistic rock walls simulating what it would be like on an outdoor climb. By changing the placement of the holds periodically the paths morph, thus offering a challenge to both new comers to the sports and avid climbers.

Our participants were assisted by volunteer belayers who, on their own time, agreed to come out and work alongside our climbers. The volunteering aspect of this program is key to its success. Without the volunteers it would not be possible.

“I love to climb and I am interested in working with children with special needs,” said Nick Quill, 14, a volunteer belayer. Nick and his brother Charlie both came out this past Saturday to belay and just hang out and make friends with some of our participants.

All of our returning climbers showed progress on their last climb. Peter Rice essentially ran up his first three climbing walls, all of a higher difficulty than he had previously accomplished. Zoe Smith made close friends with her belayer and had some fun climbing and even swinging from the ropes! Ryan Ballantyne ditched the top roping and focused more on the free climbing bouldering also available at the Rock Club.

The New Rochelle Rock Club staff was helpful and accommodating as they always are. “We love having you (SEC) guys come out to climb,” said Meghan McDonald, program coordinator at the Rock Club. “Climbing is a great sport to build strength, endurance and coordination. It is also a great way to meet some great people,” she added.

The climbing group will be meeting two more times this Winter and there is still space available in the program!

Medieval Times

On Sunday February 8th South East took a group to see Medieval Times in New Jersey. We boarded the SEC buses and took the short ride to the Lyndhurst castle where we were given green crowns to wear. The green crown represented which knight we were to cheer for during the games. There was a live jousting tournament, horsemanship and falconry along with a four-course meal fit for a king! It was such a great time, fun was had by all!