Sports

Alyssa D'Errico has always been a star on the volleyball court. She has won state titles, club titles and two national championships at Penn State.

But one of her favorite volleyball memories is the 2006 Empire State Games when she was chosen to kick off the ceremony by lighting the torch that kicked off the opening ceremony.  

D'Errico has three gold medals in the scholastic competition and picked up a silver in the open division last year.

With the news that athletes may have to pay up to $300 to play in the games, she isn't positive she will be back for another ESG.

"It doesn't really bother me right now because I'm so far removed," D'Errico said. "If I was still in high school, it would bother me. But right now I'm not as big a part of the team and I would be playing open. But as a college student, I don't know if I could play if they charged $300. I think it would make it a lot less fun because I've always looked forward to playing for and representing Western New York."

Alyssa made an excellent point when the idea of having to pay to play in the ESG came up. She believes it is an honor to represent your region, but a player would be better off spending the money to pay to play club volleyball, where she will be noticed by college recruiters.

D'Errico won three state titles at Byron-Bergen while reaching the 1,879 kills and 1,521 digs in her career.

But a big reason why she landed a Division I scholarship to play with Penn State is because of her years with the VolleyFX Magic Club. She helped lead that team to four regional titles and a 17th-place finish in the 2006 nationals.

"For $300, you can go to a camp and get training, rather than just play," D'Errico said. "It was a great experience, but I guess it depends on who (the ESG team) is trying to attract. It is definitely going to deter people from trying out because of the cost."

Alyssa's mother Cindy was a member of the 1977 volleyball national A2 team and is still heavily involved in the sport. She coached the Bees while Alyssa was in high school and still attends all of her home matches at Penn State.

She helps scholastic coach Rob Werkmeister with player selection and runs the masters division, which could be one of the sports eliminated if there are cut-backs.

She thinks a charge would make things very difficult for a lot of players.

"It's going to be tough," Cindy said. "There are going to be families and parents that are going to have to decide if going to Empires is going to benefit their sons or daughters."

This very well could be the beginning of the end of the Empire State Games.

It was announced by The Buffalo News this morning that the Empire State Games might be downsizing, and in fact starting to charge athletes up to $300 each to participate in the summer games.

"I would say that this is a very unfortunate thing because it would keep a lot of scholastic athletes that are trying to play in Empires out," said Batavia coach Buddy Brasky, who has coached the last three Western squads. "There are a lot of kids that couldn't afford to pay that feed. It could lead to the end of the Scholastic Empire State Games." 

Western Regional director Lou Reuter also doesn't feel very good about the future of the games.

“I can understand that everyone is having to take a hit,” he told Buffalo News reporter Niki Cervantes, because of the weak economy and state budget crisis. “But it’s almost like the demise of the Empire State Games.”

Reports are that some sports - assuming the non-spectator sports - could flat out be eliminated, but without help from the state, this year's games in the Hudson River Valley could be in serious trouble.

Brasky can only keep 10 players on his scholastic boys basketball team, but can see where it will be a problem for him to attract quality players that are from lower income families.

"(If I were going to recommend) that a player tries out for the games, I would leave it up to the individual athlete," Brasky said. "I still think it is a worthwhile experience, but they have to see if it is worth a $300 experience. With all the AAU basketball out there, I don't know if kids would pay that kind of money to play in the Empire State Games."

Brasky has 10 roster spots to worry about. Imagine what the track & field coaches and wrestling coaches would have to worry about if those larger squads. 

As somebody that has covered these games before, I know that there is funding by the New York State Office of Parks and other organizations, but I have never noticed a lack of corporate sponsorships. It really is never a problem to get a $6 hot dog or $4 bottle of water either.

Times are tough for everybody as we are dealing with this economic downswing, but having a chance to get the best athletes in the state together during the summer time for a chance to compete is something worth fighting for. 

And it might not be just athletes that would feel the frustration if the student athletes are charged to participate. Some coaches just don't know if the extra effort of trying to get good enough talent to compete will be possible, or even worth it.

"I'd have to think about (coming back to coach this summer," Brasky said. "This is the first time I've heard about this, so I'm going to get in touch with director Lou Reuter. This is something I'm going to have to think about, if I want to keep going under these circumstances."

Many thanks to Sean Feeney for sending along this remembrance:

I remember playing in what I think was the original Batavia Lions Club tournament in December 1975 while playing for Attica. We played Batavia in the opener losing by a point or two to Batavia led by now coach Buddy Brasky and Jimmy Orosco. Kevin Kellogg and Doug Miller were our leading scorers. We played Notre Dame in the consolation game. ... I do not remember who Batavia played in the final. I believe Buddy Brasky was the tournament MVP.  Myself and I think Jimmy Orosco were on the all tourney team with someone from ND and the other team in the tourney. Batavia warmed up to the Ohio players "Love Rollercoaster".

The Batavian is great. I love catching up on high school sports back in WNY!

Sean Feeney
Alpharetta, GA

I wanted to post this to the site to see if it sparked any other memories in our readers. Was this the original Lions Club tournament in 1975? Or did it start later on, in 1982, as we had believed? Do you remember? Did you play?

A story in the Democrat & Chronicle yesterday features Batavia Notre Dame graduate Tim Sullivan, now one of the country's best basketball shooting coaches. Sullivan, who graduated in 1978, then "walked onto the team at Canisius College in Buffalo," now puts on some 400 shooting clinics across the country each year.

This article, by John Boccacino, is a fun read, and there are more than a few great tips for any amateur basketball enthusiast looking to beef up his or her shot. It's clear that Sullivan knows his stuff.

After every shot attempt Sullivan preached that, as part of their follow through, the participants kiss the shoulder of their shooting side to guarantee a complete, accurate shot.

His wise words were met with confusion. "When he started talking about that, my friend Matt Noto and I looked at each other and said, 'OK, that won't work,'" said Steven Ciotti, 13, a seventh-grader at Greece Athena Middle School who plays for Greece Basketball Association's seventh-grade house team. "But then he started shooting and he just wasn't missing. I think he made almost 95 percent of his 200 shots and we were all amazed."

The Batavia boys basketball team won the Batavia Lions Club Championship for the fifth consecutive year, and did it in convincing fashion. The Blue Devils thumped Notre Dame 59-33.

Andrew Hoy earned MVP honors, following in his older brother's footsteps, by scoring 43 points in the tournament, which easily made him the highest scorer in the tournament.

After four straight Blue Devil championships, this was a tournament where many area fans figured the Fighting Irish had a serious chance.

And ND came out red hot.

Batavia had a 4-0 lead before Greg Barr scored five consecutive points to put Notre Dame ahead 5-4.

Matt Thompson hit a 3-pointer and then added another bucket and the Fighting Irish had a quick 10-4 lead.

Marcus Hoy hit one of two free throw attempts with an Andrew Hoy 3-pointer tossed in the mix to get Batavia within a point.

Marcus and Adam Pettinella scored back-to-back buckets and the Blue Devils had a 13-10 lead after the opening period of play.

Batavia went on a tear in the second quarter and opened up a huge halftime lead.

Pettinella had five points, Andrew scored six and Rob Hoy pitched in five as the Blue Devils were up 34-17 at intermission.

Joe Schlossel had eight quick points in the third quarter and Andrew Hoy added eight points in the third quarter to give Batavia a 52-26 third quarter lead.

Notre Dame coach Mike Rapone received his first technical foul in three years near the end of the third period when he asked an official "How do you play 24 minutes against Batavia and not get a foul shot?". It was his first technical foul call since he received one against Prattsburgh a few years back.

Batavia did attempt just two free throw attempts over the first three quarters.

But in the end, it was the effort of Andrew Hoy and a ton of support from his supporting cast that gave the Blue Devils the trophy.

Schlossel finished with eight points and eight rebounds with Marcus Hoy getting eight points with five dimes. Pettinella had seven points.

Batavia's defense did an excellent job of limiting Notre Dame star Kevin Francis, who scored nine points and did make the all-tournament team. Vinny Zambito was held to three points, but made the all-tournament squad based on his 18-point opening round performance.

Thompson had eight points.

Rob Hoy made the all-tournament team with five points and Marcus made it for his scoring and passing efforts. Andrew, of course, was the MVP after making the all-tournament team as a freshman last season.

 Albion defeated Perry 53-39 in the consolation game, with Russell Craft leading the way with 19 points. He made the all-tournament team.

Notre Dame won the jayvee tournament, beating Batavia 62-43 in the finals. Perry beat Albion in the consolation game 61-49.

 With Notre Dame leading just 22-20 at the half against Perry in the opening round of the Batavia Lions Club Tournament, coach Mike Rapone needed somebody to step up and score.

He looked in Vinny Zambito's direction and the sophomore - who led the jayvee team in scoring last year - stepped up to score a game-high 18 points and lead his team to a 60-45 victory.

Perry's pressure defense forced ND star Kevin Francis into a distribution role and other players had to step up, even though Francis did finish with 14 points.

Tommy Rapone started a third quarter run and by the time it was over, the Fighting Irish had outscored the Yellowjackets 22-10 in the frame.

Zambito popped the second of his 3-pointers and Rapone added another bucket to give ND a 30-26 lead.

Zambito scored with an and-1, Francis scored, Zambito scored and then Francis dropped in another one to make it a double-digit lead, 40-29. Nick Wetherwax and Francis each had baskets to wrap up the third quarter scoring to give Notre Dame a 44-30 lead.

Zambito hit another trey in the fourth quarter along with a pair of free throws.

After Zambito and Francis' big games, the scoring was spread out for the Fighting Irish (5-0).

Rick Lair had seven points, Wetherwax six and Rapone had five. 

Derick Cicero, Wes Cox and Alex Syberg had nine points apiece for Perry, which falls to 2-6.

Notre Dame will now be facing Batavia in the finals for the second consecutive year. The Blue Devils won 63-34 last year. The teams played each other in 2000 and 2002, with Batavia winning 62-58 in 2000 and 58-36 in 2002. 

The Blue Devils also beat the Fighting Irish 70-39 in 1997.

You have to go all the way back to 1996 for the last time Notre Dame won the Lions Club Tournament. The Fighting Irish beat Batavia 56-49, with Mike Redick earning MVP honors.

 It never really wound up being much of a game.

The defending Lions Club Champion Batavia Blue Devils dominated Albion 76-40 in the opening round, with Andrew Hoy having a fantastic game. The sophomore - who was on the all-tournament team last year - kicked off this year's tournament with a 24-point, seven rebound performance. Hoy nailed five 3-pointers.

Each year when Batavia wins the Lions Tournament, it always seems that a single player has a huge game.  We've seen players like Phil Santiago, Michael Chmielowiec and Mike Hoy all have huge games to win MVP in recent years, and Andrew is well on his way.

The Blue Devils were on a tear early, going on a 13-0 run near the end of the first quarter and early in the second. But the Purple Eagles got four straight points from Matt Monacelli with a few minutes left in the half and closed the gap.

Mike Lee hit a shot for Batavia at the buzzer to make it 33-18.

Eight different Blue Devils scored in the third quarter to open up a 62-32 advantage after three periods of play and there was no coming back from that.

Dakota Irvin scored 11 points, and point guard Marcus Hoy scored seven points and dished out 13 assists. Lee had nine rebounds.

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Also: Batavia's jayvee team beat Albion 59-42 and Notre Dame downed Perry 61-51. The two Batavia squads will be in tomorrow's final.

Back in 1982, the Batavia Lions Club and Pete Arras decided putting together a basketball tournament would be a good idea to give some good basketball teams a chance to play on the court at Genesee Community College and make it possible for Batavia and Notre Dame to play each other.

Little could anybody have known, here we are in 2008 and the tournament is stronger than ever. It is also probably regarded as one of, if not, the best boys basketball holiday tournament in Section 5. There are typically around 2,000 people that attend the tournament at GCC every year.

That original tournament featured Batavia, Notre Dame, a very good Byron-Bergen squad and Albion. (The photo above is the original photo of the coaches).

With the Fighting Irish and Bees hooking up late in the previous season, so that was a great way to start the tourney. The two squads played in February with B-B winning 51-48. 

The opening round rematch was a stunner, with Byron-Bergen knocking off Notre Dame 54-43. Albion knocked off Batavia 62-45 

The Bees went on to claim the first Batavia Lions Club championship with 35-30 win over Albion, with Bill Ferris claiming the MVP trophy.

Ferris was also the MVP in the second year as the Bees routed ND 47-30 and then Batavia 80-43.

Notre Dame was the favorite when they matched up with B-B in the finals in the tournament's third year, but it was again the Bees claiming the title with a 52-48 victory. Notre Dame's Jim Pursel was actually the MVP of that tournament, mostly because of his 29 point effort in the opening round win over Albion.

History was made in 1985 when Batavia and Notre Dame finally had a chance to play each other in the finals. With ND playing in the Genesee Region League and Batavia in the Monroe County League, these teams never get a shot to go against each other.

Tournament MVP Ron Nenni dropped in 20 points and the Fighting Irish toppled Batavia 65-52.

The tournament has seen many changes in participants over the years, with teams like Oakfield-Alabama, Attica, John Marshall, Nichols, Bishop Timon, Perry, Williamsville North, Akron, Pembroke, Le Roy, Caledonia-Mumford, Iroquois and Alexander all having experienced playing in the classic tournament.

Despite not winning until 1989, Batavia leads the tournament with wins with 13. The Blue Devils have won the last four titles, and seven of eight. Timon knocked Batavia off in overtime in the opening round of the 2003 tournament and then toppled Notre Dame 48-44 in the finals.

Byron-Bergen - which hasn't played in the tournament since 1994 is tied with Notre Dame for  second in tournament titles with five. 

Perry has won two championships and Timon has the other.

There have been some special performances over the years. The most recent was by Batavia's Michael Chmielowiec - a senior at the University of Rochester - who set the single game scoring record with 40 points against Bishop Timon in 2004. He also owns the tournament scoring mark with 64 points.

There have been four other 30-plus point performances: Tom McCulley of Notre Dame dropped in 38 in 1991, Batavia's Phil Santiago scored 35 points in 2002, PJ Leavy of Batavia had 33 in 1995 and Notre Dame's Tim Wascott had 32 in 2002.

Leavy had 57 points in that 95 tournament, Albion's Ernie McDonald had 49 total points in 1983 and Batavia's Rick Lundy had 48 in 1997.

This year's tournament features the same four teams that have been in the last three tournaments. Batavia opens up against Albion at 7 p.m. Monday night, with Notre Dame and Perry following at 8:45 p.m.

The consolation game is at 7 p.m. Tuesday with the finals at 8:45 p.m.

Admission is only $2, includes a program with rosters and money raised helps the Lions Club to provide scholarships to local students.

If you are interested in checking out basically the entire history of the tournament, check out this link on Flickr for over 80 photos and stories from tournaments in the past.

Here is a link to the entire history of the tournament, with the scores for every opening round, consolation and championship game as well as MVP of that year's tournament.

Also, feel free to share past memories if you've played or watched memorable tournaments.

Also, here is the video from this year's team at the Lions Club dinner introducing the teams.

(most clips in the post and flickr gallery are used with permission from The Daily News)