Seaford Parents, Students Go To Bat To Add 7th Grade Baseball Team

On any given March more than 70 baseball hopefuls will try out in hopes of representing their school on the diamond, but with only a limited number of spots on the roster many are left disappointed. In hopes of giving more Seaford students a chance to play baseball at the middle school level an effort is underway to try and start a seventh grade team.

Two Seaford sixth graders along with parent Denise Ippoliti spoke at the Jan. 6 Board of Education meeting at Seaford Middle School asking that district officials consider including a seventh grade baseball team in next year’s budget. Ippoliti, who was supported in the crowd by other baseball parents and students, pointed out how many surrounding districts such as Wantagh, Bellmore-Merrick, Massapequa and Plainedge have separate seventh and eighth grade baseball teams.

“We feel this addition to our baseball program would strengthen our high school team,” said Ippoliti in her remarks during the public comments portion of the meeting. “If we started a seventh grade team the boys would develop into better players and teammates.” 

Ippoliti ‘s son Joseph, a sixth grader, and his classmate Michael Tito also spoke during the meeting about what the addition of a seventh grade team would mean to them. “There are only a few students who make the seventh grade team, so not many kids get the opportunity to play,” said Tito, who along with Ippoliti were decked in green Seaford Little League uniforms. “There are many kids who turn to other sports because they can’t play in seventh grade.”

“This is not to benefit just our grade it is also for Seaford’s future baseball players,” said Ippoliti. “We hope we can work together to make our dream become a reality.”

Seaford Superintendent Brian Conboy applauded Mrs. Ippoliti, her son and Tito for their courage to present their views at the meeting and said district officials will explore adding the team during the upcoming budget process. However Conboy cautioned that with the down economy and a lack of state aid the budget will likely have to be very tight so the district has to be weigh heavily the addition of any new programs.

“The cost of [a seventh grade baseball team] has to be viewed against all the other costs the district needs,” said Conboy.

Mrs. Ippoliti pointed out that a seventh grade baseball team would only play about nine games with only four or five being on the road, making the additional costs to the district not that expensive.

Joe Alfano, who has a son in sixth grade that plays baseball, said after the meeting that a tryout for the Seaford Middle School baseball team typically draws around 75 students with room for only 15 roster spots. Alfano said normally only four seventh graders normally make the cut and that adding the additional team would give his son and other Seaford baseball players a much better chance to play at the middle school level. He said that many seventh graders who don’t make the middle school team will often get discouraged and either turn to other sports or quit athletics altogether.

“It would be a valuable thing for these kids to keep playing,” said Alfano. “It keeps them playing and keeps them out of trouble.”

The next Seaford Board of Education meeting is a workshop session scheduled for Jan. 20 at starting at 7:30 p.m.