Now that the Raiders are roughly halfway through the winter sports season, we wanted to check in on a few of SHS’s varsity teams. We spoke with boys’ ice hockey, girls’ basketball and boys’ basketball to hear about their progress and team development.

Boys’ Ice Hockey

The 2018-2019 season for the Scarsdale Raiders’ hockey team is an opportunity for growth and reconstruction. Towards the end of last season, varsity head coach Kevin Wright announced that he would not be returning for another season with the Raiders. In addition to the team adjusting their lineup after their senior players graduated, the Raiders welcomed new head coach James Synowiez and new assistant coach John Felix. Many members of the team play for Coach Synowiez on the lacrosse team and knew from the beginning that the season would be enjoyable. With all these changes, the team has won 5 out of their 9 games, only trailing by one goal in half of the games they’ve lost. Through overcoming the challenges of rebuilding a team and coaching staff, the Raiders are doing very well, but improvement and refinement are the qualities they’re striving for. “We have to learn how to win close games, but we have a really good team. We have depth in all positions, so we can go really far.” said senior captain Jack Brosgol. The Raiders plan to do well in the regular season, but their ultimate goal is to win a Section or State championship at the end of the season. And with the way they’re playing now, that goal remains a possibility.

Girls’ Basketball

With three wins out of five games so far this season, the SHS girls varsity basketball team is off to a great start. Their coaches “are really tough on us but want us to perform to the best of our abilities. They push us to work hard, but it really pays off,” said Ava Morin ‘22.

This year, there are eight new players: five freshmen, two sophomores and one junior. The upperclassmen “really took us as a part of the team,” said Morin. Since the majority of the team’s 14 members is new, the upperclassmen prioritized building team chemistry. “The bonds of the team are really strong on and off the courts,” added Dani Hoyt ‘22. Clearly, the upperclassmen’s efforts to help the team gel have been successful.

For the rest of the season, the team is excited to play games against Ossining and Ursuline, as well as a rematch against Mt. Vernon. The team is intensifying their training as they prepare for the challenge.

All in all, they are having a fun and enthusiastic year, and it is even the first time the Raiders have beaten New Rochelle with their current coach. “We hang out a lot [and] have team dinners, and I think that really translates to how we are on the court,” said Morin.  The team started strong, but since they are only about halfway through the season, they still have a lot of time to improve. With so many important games coming up, let’s see how they do!

Boys’ Basketball

The Raiders varsity basketball team has been off to an electric start to the 2018-19 season. They won their first eight games under new coach Joe Amelio, and they’ve won 10 out of 11 games. The standards were high for the new coach coming into the season due to his past success as the former coach of the elite basketball program at St. Raymonds High School For Boys in the Bronx. “I like it (coach’s style) a lot. He’s able to get on players when they’re not playing well and it gets us going,” said captain Jayshen Saigal ’20. As for the rest of the season, “I think if we continue to work hard and play hard then we’re gonna end up with results that we’ll be happy with,” said Saigal. “I want to win the section. That’s been my goal for a long time and I think there’s a very big chance that that happens.” With the big rivalry game against Mt. Vernon only weeks away, let’s see if the Raiders can keep their hot streak going into January and beyond.