WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JUNE 7, 2018 25
SPORTS
Maspeth wins City Championship in boys varsity tennis
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
The Maspeth High School varsity
boys tennis team capped off a
perfect season in style on May
30 by defeating a familiar foe to win
the program’s fi rst City Championship.
Maspeth won the 2018 title match,
3-2, against Bard High School Early
College. Four years prior, however, it
was Bard that got the best of Maspeth
during the 2015 championship game,
3-2. That was Maspeth’s fi rst season
competing in the Public School Athletic
League (PSAL), so for the seniors
now who were freshmen back then,
this was a shot at redemption, said
head coach Ryan Stansfi eld.
“There’s a little bit of an unspoken
rivalry with the programs just because
we’ve both experienced a lot of
success,” Stansfi eld said.
In fact, Maspeth boys tennis has
seen nothing but success in its early
years. In 2016 and 2017, the team advanced
to the fi nal four in the PSAL
playoff s and lost.
But that means that in its four years
of existence, the Maspeth tennis team
has been in the fi nal four or better
every time.
The impressive run has come despite
having no expectations when the
program began. Since Maspeth High is
such a young school — founded in 2011
— their athletic teams get approved on
a rolling basis in the PSAL, explained
athletic director Jesse Pachter. When
a team gets approved, the school oft en
has to fi nd a faculty member who can
coach but may not have a ton of experience
with that sport.
“With not a huge amount of prior experience
in tennis, Stansfi eld stepped
up to the challenge,” Pachter said. “Our
school was kind of on the edge of their
seat every year hoping that we’re going
to walk away with a championship. For
this to be the year, not only is it one of
the more surprising, but it’s defi nitely
one of the sweeter ones.”
Pachter added that many of the Maspeth
coaches in this situation have taken
it upon themselves to do research
on their own time and learn how to
be great coaches, but half the battle is
simply being able to build good relationships
with student-athletes.
Stansfi eld agreed, and he said that
his philosophy when he took the
tennis coaching job was to make the
kids love the sport and want to keep
coming back.
“If they are going to really enjoy it and
play it without me, then that’s really the
key to success,” Stansfi eld said. “The reason
our program took a huge step that
fi rst year was when the season ended,
our kids were at the park all summer
playing tennis and other teams weren’t.”
As for this year’s championship run,
Stansfi eld continued to praise the work
ethic of his players. When he leaves
practice at 6 p.m. he knows that many
of his players stay for at least another
hour to keep practicing on their own,
Stansfi eld said.
Moreover, some of the substitutes
on the team that didn’t see much playing
time this year stuck around aft er
the semi-final match, which lasted
until almost 8 p.m., and asked their
coach to leave them with some tennis
balls so they could go to Frank Principe
(Maurice) Park and practice under
the lights, Stansfi eld said.
With that level of commitment from
young players, combined with the
loss of only three seniors this season,
Stansfi eld knows Maspeth tennis has
a great chance to continue building on
its winning tradition.
“That’s what gives me an insanely
positive outlook for this program,”
Stansfi eld said. “Even the kids that
aren’t necessarily contributing right
now want to in the future and they’re
putting in that time.”
Photo via Maspeth High School
The Maspeth boys tennis team holds the trophy, plaque and banner after
winning the PSAL Championship on May 30.
Local clubs partner to host ‘Ridgewood Rumble’
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
With only a mile of Ridgewood
and Bushwick real
estate between them, the
International Boxing and Fitness
Club (IBF) on Weirfi eld Street and
the Brotherhood Boxing Club on
Wyckoff Avenue could be seen as
rivals that duke it out for the same
clientele. The owners of each club,
however, want to share the same ring.
On Saturday, June 9, the two clubs
will join forces to host the fi rst-ever
“Ridgewood Rumble Boxing Series,”
an amateur boxing competition
featuring local athletes from the
Ridgewood/Bushwick area. Hosted
at the recently expanded IBF Club,
the event is offi cially sanctioned by
the USA Boxing Metropolitan Association,
and IBF Club owner Jenny
Badillo said the clubs hope to make
the event an annual tradition.
While the IBF Club has hosted other
events this year that were created
by other organizations, Badillo said
that this will be the fi rst time the club
has started its own sanctioned series.
“This is really, really exciting for
us,” Badillo said. “When you do an
expansion like we did in such a short
period of time, it’s very scary, but the
community has been very supportive.
Space like this is so needed in our
boxing community.”
The event is open to fans who buy
tickets at the door, and they can expect
to see some of the best amateur
boxing in all of New York while also
having the opportunity to mingle
with notable fi gures in the boxing
world. All proceeds raised from
the event will be put toward the after
school programs at IBF Club and
Brotherhood Boxing.
Ray Cuadrado, owner of Brotherhood
Boxing and board member of
USA Boxing, explained that the two
neighboring clubs share the same
vision of using the sport of boxing to
help at-risk youth in the area build
character, so their partnership grew
naturally.
“We hit it off , and in many respects
we’re a family. We look at each other
as sister gyms,” Cuadrado said. “We
even share equipment and supplies.
It’s a strange relationship you don’t
see among owners who could be seen
as competitors.”
Brotherhood Boxing was located
on the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue
and Palmetto Street in Ridgewood
when Cuadrado first opened 15
years ago, and he added that coming
up with creative ways to fund their
youth programs is important for the
two clubs as they fi ght against the
rising cost of living in the area.
The doors open for the “Ridgewood
Rumble” at 5 p.m. at the IBF Club,
located at 1712 Weirfi eld Street near
Cypress Avenue, and tickets cost $25
at the door.
On the same day, Ridgewood native
Mathew Gonzalez will look to extend
his professional boxing record to 6-0
when he fi ghts at Kings Theatre in
Brooklyn in honor of Puerto Rican
Day Parade weekend.
Photo via Pixabay
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