1995-1996 schoolyear is the one I remember most...
Sender
Steven Shuford
Email
shudabomb@hotmail.com
Posted On
2002-11-08
Year
1996
Memoir
Well, since I do not see anyone from the class of 1996 sharing their memories, allow me to be the first to do so.
In my three years at ND, the '95-96 schoolyear is the one I remember the most. We had great sports teams that year, which included the girls varsity volleyball team (SI champs and undefeated in PSAL play), the girls varsity bball team (led by Robin Shields), the girls varsity soccer team (led by Leslie Lamb and Kelly Ollis), and of course, (my favorite), the varsity boys bball team.
I was fortunate to be a member of the basketball team while I was at ND, and that is the year we won the SI High School League championship. We had a balanced team - 5 people averaged 10 or more points a game, and our bench was probably the strongest on the Island. Although we started the season slow (after 9 games we were 5-4), we finished on a 14 game win streak before losing in the second round of the PSAL city playoffs.
The most satisfying aspect of our season was the fact that we proved our critics wrong. I remember that before the season began the Staten Island Advance had us ranked as one of the worst teams on the Island, and said that we did not have a chance to win the championship. We could have easily given up, but we just kept working hard and believing in ourselves. Till this day, I remember Coach Rafaniello (Raf Riley) telling us that if we put the team before ourselves, we would win 80% of our games. We finished 19-5 that year (which was pretty close).
We had soooo many close games that year! We beat Curtis twice that year by a total of six points, beat St Joe's by the sea that year by 2 points, beat Moore on a last second buzzer shot, beat Tottenville by 3 points, lost to Farrel at home by one point (came back from a 25 point deficit with 6 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter), and finally, beat Farrel, ON THEIR HOME FLOOR, IN FRONT OF THEIR HOME CROWD by two points in the championship game. It just seemed like we were at our best when the game was on the line.
Till this day, we STILL don't get any respect for winning the championship that year! After we starting winning, the Advance started calling us a "Cinderella team". Sometimes people just dont want to admit when they are wrong :|.
In ND, I had unforgettable teachers (Raf Riley, (Mr. Tennenbaum, Ms. Carter, Ms. Lynch, Ms. Rintel, Ms. MacNamara, Ms. Carannante, Ms. Rosenbaum (Tia), Ms. Chapman (lol), to name a few), but the 95-96 basketaball season is what i remember most from ND. The experiences I had in that season taught me that you can do ANYTHING in life if you put your mind to it.
In my three years at ND, the '95-96 schoolyear is the one I remember the most. We had great sports teams that year, which included the girls varsity volleyball team (SI champs and undefeated in PSAL play), the girls varsity bball team (led by Robin Shields), the girls varsity soccer team (led by Leslie Lamb and Kelly Ollis), and of course, (my favorite), the varsity boys bball team.
I was fortunate to be a member of the basketball team while I was at ND, and that is the year we won the SI High School League championship. We had a balanced team - 5 people averaged 10 or more points a game, and our bench was probably the strongest on the Island. Although we started the season slow (after 9 games we were 5-4), we finished on a 14 game win streak before losing in the second round of the PSAL city playoffs.
The most satisfying aspect of our season was the fact that we proved our critics wrong. I remember that before the season began the Staten Island Advance had us ranked as one of the worst teams on the Island, and said that we did not have a chance to win the championship. We could have easily given up, but we just kept working hard and believing in ourselves. Till this day, I remember Coach Rafaniello (Raf Riley) telling us that if we put the team before ourselves, we would win 80% of our games. We finished 19-5 that year (which was pretty close).
We had soooo many close games that year! We beat Curtis twice that year by a total of six points, beat St Joe's by the sea that year by 2 points, beat Moore on a last second buzzer shot, beat Tottenville by 3 points, lost to Farrel at home by one point (came back from a 25 point deficit with 6 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter), and finally, beat Farrel, ON THEIR HOME FLOOR, IN FRONT OF THEIR HOME CROWD by two points in the championship game. It just seemed like we were at our best when the game was on the line.
Till this day, we STILL don't get any respect for winning the championship that year! After we starting winning, the Advance started calling us a "Cinderella team". Sometimes people just dont want to admit when they are wrong :|.
In ND, I had unforgettable teachers (Raf Riley, (Mr. Tennenbaum, Ms. Carter, Ms. Lynch, Ms. Rintel, Ms. MacNamara, Ms. Carannante, Ms. Rosenbaum (Tia), Ms. Chapman (lol), to name a few), but the 95-96 basketaball season is what i remember most from ND. The experiences I had in that season taught me that you can do ANYTHING in life if you put your mind to it.