The Nor’East Lightning eighth-grade boys basketball squad has already enjoyed plenty of success the past few seasons and is looking for more this weekend at the Providence Hoop Group Jam Fest.
The event will take place in eight venues in the greater Providence, R.I., area, including Rhode Island College.
“Over 36 teams will compete in the 14-U (eighth-grade) division,” Lightning coach Franco Foti said. “Many of the best teams, representing seven states in the Northeast, will be at this tournament.”
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The team has already won a few tournaments this year, including the AAU Spring Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., on April 1-3. That event, which the Lightning won for the first time, is considered the first big travel team event in Florida.
Included on the Lightning roster are local players Matt Ryan of Cortlandt, Walter King of Cortlandt, Dylan Demurro of Yorktown, Zachary Nolan of Putnam Valley, Vincent Foti of Cross River, Chris Esernio of Mahopac, Brandon Parker of Mahopac and Patrick Racy of Ridgefield, Conn.
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“We have a core of kids that have played together since they were in second grade,” coach Foti said. “They are all good kids who love basketball. We play 80 games a year. They are a close-knit unit.”
The team, which is based in Brewster, also won the Westchester Basketball Championship Tournament sponsored by the Mount Vernon Knights, whose high-school squad won the federation and state Class AA championships this winter.
Racy was the MVP of the Feb. 19-21 tournament while Ryan and Vincent Foti were selected to the all-tournament team.
The Lightning are also the two-time defending AAU Division II champions of the New York Metropolitan District, which covers the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties.
“This year the district championship tournament begins on May 7, and we are hopeful of defending our championship,” Foti said.
The team will go back to Florida to look for more success on the national stage as it has qualified for the AAU Division II National Championship tournament, which will take place in Orlando July 14-21.
The Lightning coach said the team had been able to accomplish as much as it had because of its ability to work as a group.
“We very rarely have the best talent,” Foti said. “But we have a better organized team and a better functional team in terms of execution. We may not necessarily have the most talent but we have the teamwork that is able to overcome the great talent.”
While Foti loves the players on his squad, like any other coach, he is always looking for more, particularly in the size department. He said the team was looking for strong players over 6-foot-3 to complete its roster and help the squad compete on the regional and national levels.
“We need a big man desperately, as many teams we face on the elite level have kids over 6-foot-5,” Foti said.
Interested players should call Foti at the Brewster Sports Center, 845-278-2040.
