Why the HSMSE boys varsity soccer team fell short of the playoffs

HSMSE Boys' Soccer Team / Mateo Galeano

The High School for Math, Science, and Engineering boys’ varsity soccer team put up a great fight during the 2013 season, just missing the playoffs. Although the team faced many challenges, they had a successful season. A major hardship for the team was finding players to fill in for the seniors who graduated.

“We’ve lost a lot of spots like Raven [Roberson] and Harry [Cummins] and Jeremy [Hirschberg],” senior Kofi Kordie said.

Having to fill the positions of six starters, the team had to recover quickly for the season. The teams’ collaboration improved from last year, using more teamwork than in past years.

“I think as a team, they shared the ball a lot better,” said coach Nicholas Diunte.

 Replacing players was not the only struggle for the team, they were bit by the injury bug.

“We had a lot of difficulty replacing players that were injured throughout the season,” Diunte said.

Another challenge this season was having players at new positions. Many of the boys played in positions that they had never played before. Much of the defense was rearranged due to graduation. Kordie went from playing an offensive position to a defensive position. Sophomore, Alexei Ohotin, not having much previous experience in goal, pursued a new position as goalie.

"If the team needs me in goal because the loss of seniors, I’m happy to play that,” Ohotin said.

The team has also taken into consideration what is necessary to reach the playoffs next year. This season was a learning experience that will help strengthen the team for next years’ season.

“It’s better to lose trying than to lose giving up,” junior co-captain Steven Limeta said.

Written by: Asimina Hamakiotes & Harry Smith

Dragons incorporate youth into game plan

HSMSE Boys' Basketball Team / Din Islam

Many basketball coaches will tell you that experience is a major part of winning. On the High School of Math, Science, and Engineering’s boys’ basketball team youth is the main focus. During the 2013 season, out of 13 players on the team, 11 were underclassmen allowing for growth both individually and as a team.

One of the many underclassmen on the team is freshman forward Eric Abreu. He benefited from the available playing time, averaging 8.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg.

“[Being a freshman] made [developing] kind of easier because you have a lot of time to improve,” Abreu said.

Along with youth, there must also be experience. The two seniors on the team played for two seasons, so they had much more exposure than the freshmen. Many of the younger players had to change their positions.

“It’s their first time they’re playing high school basketball,” senior guard Kofi Kordie said. “It’s different from middle school.”

It was new head coach David Scheiman’s coaching decision to recruit underclassmen because he believed they would grow together and get accustomed to being with each other.

“I felt that overall talent wise they were better, and they would develop over time,” Scheiman said.

He expected the seniors to take leadership of the team. He wanted them to be vocal and be on-court coaches for the younger players.

Although they ended the season with a disappointing 1-13 record, they are still hopeful. With the growth of the freshmen, they look to become a powerful basketball team.

“We’ll be a lot better than we are now,” Abreu said.

Written by: Daniella Smith and Sadeon Martin

The beginning of the future for HSMSE basketball

Annabelle Shultz shooting a free throw / Din Islam

Both the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are beginning the start of what appears to be successful futures. The Lady Dragons’ are now 5-5 as of this writing, piling up more wins than their previous three seasons combined. Meanwhile, the 1-8 record of the young boys' team, so far unfairly represents a well developing unit that contains only two upperclassmen.

The key to the great turnaround season for the Lady Dragons’ so far is freshman guard Annabelle Shultz.

“Everything starts with her," said head coach Jeremy Bassie. "She brings the ball coast to coast and finds Donna Fintzi for threes, and goes to the foul line and rebounds. We are very lucky to have her in the program."

Her presence creates a big three for the team similar to that of the Miami Heat. Fintzi and senior forward Mikaela Bloch no longer need to take control of every possession and instead can work more off the ball.

“We have a few freshmen who are more highly skilled than in years past which has allowed for Donna [Fintzi] not to have as much responsibility handling the ball so she can be more set up to shoot, instead of always having to shoot off the dribble and run around to so much. I think that has allowed her to really show off her shot a bit more because she doesn’t have to handle the ball as often,” said co-coach Nick Diunte.

For the boys' team, this season has showcased the vast improvement of a developing team. The team opted to go for a younger squad this year in order to develop players to replace the play of 1,000 point-scorer Kavan Edwards. Their game against Chelsea Career and Technical Education on January 9th, 2014 demonstrated this transition perfectly. Unlike their opening game of the season where senior guard Kofi Kordie was responsible for nearly all the points, the scoring was distributed well among the underclassmen.

“I think we've improved a lot of the whole year,” said coach David Scheiman. “We've improved so much, we’re competitive now. I honestly think that in two years we might have a shot at winning the division.”

It is crucial for for the Lady Dragons to replace the talent of Fintzi and Bloch if they want to continue their success. With Shultz already providing great talent in only her first year, already improving underclassmen may easily increase their contributions next season.

For the boys' squad, it is clear that they have a growing team which will only improve over time. The whole team, sparing the two seniors, have at least another two seasons together before graduation. This large amount of time that the team will be together, almost surely guarantees they will see an improvement over the next few years.

Video footage below of HSMSE boys' basketball team first victory of the season against Manhattan Village Academy on January 11, 2014.

Young Dragons begin their journey

Kofi Kordie (left) / Din Islam

The High School for Math, Science, and Engineering Boys’ Basketball team kicked off their season opener with a 67-22 loss against Fiorello H Laguardia on December 4th at City College’s Nat Holman Gymnasium. Ten of the team’s total 13 athletes are underclassmen, which more closely resembles a junior varsity squad. Despite the loss, the game offered the young team valuable experience in varsity competition.

The game was also the first for head coach David Scheiman with the Dragons. Previously, Scheiman coached at Richard Green High School of Teaching from 2004-2012. During his time there, Scheiman won back to back division championships in the ‘07 and ‘08 seasons, as well as moving the team to the A-Division. Scheiman saw this game with an optimistic eye.

“I think we’re a very young team," Scheiman said. "For a lot of them, this is their first time playing varsity basketball. I think they got good exposure today. I think we did alright the first half. I think the second half we went out of gas. It’s important for them to learn the process of what its like to play on a high school varsity team."

From opening the team’s scoring with a three pointer, to finishing the game with 11 of his team’s 22 points, senior guard Kofi Kordie demonstrated his leadership.

“I think Kofi had a really good game today and really showed heart,” Scheiman said.

Kordie's ability to shake off any pre-game jitters of playing in front of the home crowd enhanced his performance during the game.

“I wasn’t really nervous during this game," Kordie said. "I guess that’s the reason why I shot a little bit better today."

Freshman point guard David Li showed flashes of future promise, dishing out two assists, but also made some careless turnovers.

Dionys Gutierrez (right) / Paul Lee

“I need to not turn over the ball as much and keep my head up” Li said. "I can improve on my passing and my scoring.”

One of the things missing from the Dragons’ game was their ability to capitalize off of turnovers and defensive stops. A series of crowd-raising blocks by senior center Dionys Gutierrez failed to result in any points in transition. His defensive presence alone will not be enough to push this team forward unless they can find a way to convert easy shots near the basket.

This is the beginning of a rebuilding process for the Dragons, after the graduation of 1,000 point scorer Kavan Edwards. With ten underclassmen, HSMSE's team has a promising foundation to build upon in the upcoming season.

The replacements

Spencer Sharp / Sara Louie

The High School for Math, Science, and Engineering boys’ volleyball team is in a tough spot because of their top players graduating. The Dragons must now look to their current juniors to take their place next year and continue the teams’ success. Junior setter Spencer Sharp and junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Kofi Kordie are among these prospects.

Seniors Ardit Piroli and Jeremy Wain-Hirschberg led the team to a 7-5 season, taking them to the playoffs for the second straight year. This is the first time the Dragons have made the playoffs in back to back seasons in school history.

The Dragons’ hopes for a solid setter directed them toward Sharp. The accurate passes he contributed as the main setter were key to the team’s overall success.

“I think Spencer’s decision making as a setter will improve and that will come from more volleyball that he will play,” said coach Nick Diunte.

Kofi Kordie / Sara Louie

Kordie, a rookie to the team, will be a valuable asset next season. In his first game, he was thrust into a starting role due to complications with the availability of some of the starters.

“This was my first year playing and I had to learn very quickly,” said Kordie.

Improvement must not only come from these two if the Dragons want to enter the playoffs again next year. Other athletes who saw respectable playing time will have to harvest more of their abilities for their inevitable increased use.

“I think there is going to be more playing time for Austin Han as well and then we have to hope we get a few freshmen come in or maybe a sophomore that's in the school that wants to play that we can develop because we are losing four very talented and skilled seniors,” said Diunte.

These graduating seniors will create big gaps on the court for the athletes who will start next year. With prospects like Sharp and Kordie, the team has the capability to continue their playoff appearance streak; however, there still remains a need for a strong set of rookies.

Contributed by Velid Mulic and Kian Zadeh

A tough season for HSMSE boys’ basketball team

HSME Dragons / T. Henning

The boys varsity basketball team at the High School for Math Science and Engineering battled hard this season, losing some close games, and finishing 3-9. Although they had a losing record, they gained valuable experience in the process.

This season the team played twice against Chelsea Career and Technical Education splitting the two meetings. The first time HSMSE beat Chelsea by 29 points, but the second game they had a difficult loss, losing by four points. “I was disappointed the first time we played them we blew them out, the second time we played them they had a guy that they didn’t have the first time,” said Kavan Edwards, the team’s captain.

Edwards played a critical role, leading the team in scoring in all of their games. Unfortunately he is a senior at HSMSE, making his shoes that much harder to fill for next season. “Dionys Gutierrez , Kofi Kordie and Maxwell Drogin has [sic] to step up big time next season,” said Edwards.

This season six freshman made the team, which is nearly a third of the team. In the past the team was mainly made up of mostly upperclassmen . “In the past five years, we’ve never had more than one freshman on the boys' varsity basketball team. The skill level varies widely,” said Coach Richard Epstein “There has been tremendous growth and development for all of this year’s freshmen.”

The team is going to have a massive change to their roster next season. With the graduation of the seniors all  the other players will have to improve. “[Their] willingness to learn and to work hard is terrific,” said Epstein.

Shawn Watts
Justin Wu