Teens get chance to play like college athletes

Many young, elite athletes dream of being able to play on a college field — the chance to walk across perfectly manicured turf and hear their names announced to a crowd of fans is an alluring thought. For the softball players of the Bellmore Blue Fire, that dream became a reality one recent summer afternoon.

Coached by Joseph Maniscalco, the Blue Fire is an under-14 travel softball team that knows the level of commitment it takes to make it to the college level. About 10 of the girls have played together since they were 8 years old, which Maniscalco said he believes has led to the team’s success. Now that the players are entering eighth and ninth grades, they are starting to consider playing at the college level. The opportunity to play at Hofstra’s stadium was one that the team quickly jumped on, Maniscalco said.

The Blue Fire was able to arrange the game against the Long Island Greyhounds, another local travel softball team, because one of the fathers, Terry Kelly, runs the summer camps at Hofstra and is involved with its athletic program throughout the year. Kelly’s daughter Mairead will be an eighth-grader at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Bellmore this fall.

The game began much like a NCAA Division I game; the national anthem bellowed across the loudspeakers and the players names were announced as they walked onto the field. Players presented their mothers with roses as symbols of gratitude for the support that they’ve received throughout the years.

Maniscalco, who has coached the team since his daughter Brianna first took an interest in softball, said the girls were in awe when they stepped onto the field for the first time. “They walked on the field, and just their faces, smiling, walking on the field, was incredible,” he said. The father of four daughters played baseball for Fordham University on a full scholarship and wanted to give his players an experience that he once loved so much. His team couldn’t have been more grateful, he said.