7A District 14 Preview

Dwyer figures to be in the district race to the very end.

State realignment did not change much, as Boynton Beach comes in to join the other three teams that had been together for years as part of a huge district. With the scenario as routine as normal all four teams will play in the district playoffs needing one victory to reach the championship and earn a spot in the regional playoffs.

“It’s definitely different now,” said Dwyer manager Frank Torre. “We only play district games once a week on Friday nights. At the end of the day your number one goal is to take care of those district games. We have the luxury that allowed us to schedule more teams now and that is how we got games against Flanagan, American Heritage-Plantation and playing Gardens and Jupiter twice. At the end of the day you have to win those district games and hopefully put yourself as the one seed and put yourself in a good position to get that regional.”

Dwyer – Team Page
2015 Record: 16-11
Manager: Frank Torre
Coaching Staff:
Key Returners: Kyle Khachadourian, Dylan Jones, Jack Iervolino, Jacob Deen, Tyler Ahearn, Shane Roberts, Colton Rendon, Alex Morales, Myles Colangelo, Justin Alintoff, Daniel Lynch, Matthew Cooper, Michael Siriani
Newcomers: Zach Yoder, Ryan West, Ryan Wimbush, Dylan Arcadipane, Sean Maletzke, Mitchell Heezen, Eli Battenfield
Team strengths: Pitching

A season ago the Panthers had a very young team on the field. While the Panthers still delivered a solid season despite their youth, now they can feel even more excited about what’s to come. The program only graduated four guys and will only graduate another four guys after this season.

“Last year I think we had six sophomores and two freshmen in the lineup at times, so them getting that experience going into this year we feel really good about that,” said Dwyer manager Frank Torre. “They are mostly juniors now and they are a year stronger and better and they have some experience under their belt. We’re feeling really good about having that core group coming back. They are working really hard so the sky is the limit.”

Dwyer has always played a tough schedule every season and the 2016 campaign will be no different. Going into battle against many plus arms and dangerous teams, the coaches are confident that they will have another good year even with a younger team that is still molding into form. The closeness is there and that bond helps them get through the struggles along the way.

“We all just have a lot of chemistry and we have come together,” said junior Tyler Ahearn. “We all played together as six sophomores on the team last year. So it is our second year together and we’re expecting a good year.”

Olympic Heights – Team Page
2015 Record: 5-19
Manager: Casey Beck
Coaching Staff: John Damian, Joe Centrone
Key Returners: Jared Spector, Da’Reese Gutierrez, Jason Patel, Roger Edge, Matthew Levine, Aaron Weldy, Matt Feigenbaum
Newcomers: Carlos Gutierrez, Trevor Valleau, Brandon O’Bryant, Jonathan Marcus, Adam Will, Dylan Mish, Brooks Lamb, Jason Richman, Stephen Werksmen, Francisco Hernandez
Team strengths: Pitching, Defense

Manager Casey Beck took over the program last season and begin to work to get the Lions on the right track. Practices are very regimented and guys are held accountable for their actions. Discipline is in place and there is a direction that has been lacking for too long. Now it is about getting them to translate that into more success on the baseball field.

“We had 12 seniors graduate but a lot of the other guys came back and they are starting to buy into my style and what I expect of them,” Beck said. “We have a young bunch that have come up from ninth and tenth grade that are going to contribute right away so we’re excited about the progress where we are going. We had a great offseason and we had at least 30 to forty kids show up every time for offseason workouts. We kept 32 in the program and this year we actually had to make some cuts. Within the next year or two I think we can make some moves in our district.”

The guys love to play for their manager and it has helped to create a new wave of enthusiasm around the school. Everyone believes in what is being done and they are following the example.

“I got here new from Myrtle Beach last year and all our sports programs back home were state champions,” Beck said. “So I’m trying to bring that hard work mentality here. Put Olympic Heights on the map. I have set the bar high to have a season with a record over .500, and I think we can win this district. I’ll ride or die with my seniors and these younger kids. So the future is good.”

West Boca – Team Page
2015 Record: 10-16
Manager: Nate Underwood
Coaching Staff: Matt Mulroy
Key Returners: Alex Cordero, Julian Corzo, Corey Bruno, Dominic Iagrossi, Cory Kuchta, Vincent Bell, Christopher Sanders, Christopher Cavallo, Jordan Keller, Oscar Bustamonte, Christopher Charlock, Gabriel Barone
Newcomers: Ryan Powers, Joseph Brown, Shavon Taylor, Aundre Rolle, Landon Shimel
Team strengths: Defense

A younger team got off to a hot start but then struggled the rest of the way last year. With many of those guys back and a much stronger core of leaders stepping forward to take charge, the outlook is much brighter going forward into this season. The team spent the fall together and got everyone unified while establishing some leaders.

“This year we actually did something different than we have ever done since I have been here in 2011, and we put a leadership council together this year,” manager Nate Underwood said. “We have a few seniors and a couple of juniors on there and I let them decide if there were a couple more guys they wanted to bring on there. They said they had it, and they are going to be an extension of our coaching staff. If they feel they can control something or handle a situation then we are going to allow them the ability to do so. They have a better knowledge of what may be going on inside the teenage head than the coaches do so we can work together.”

If the Leadership Council runs into an issue they feel they cannot handle themselves they will take it to the coaches. As Underwood puts it, the coaches have been doing this for a lot longer so they can handle anything. But otherwise these selected guys are an extension of the coaching staff that is helping to keep everyone on track.

“It’s almost not even about the assignments to do it, and we would have done it anyway because we all knew leadership was lacking last year,” said senior Oscar Bustamonte. “The Leadership Council is a good thing because us four can talk and we know what to do. I feel the team is much more together this year and I feel much more positive attitude going into the season this year.”

*Boynton Beach also in district. Report unavailable.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!