Often when I read the "Letters to the Editor" in the Manhasset Press I am struck by the negativity of the contents about "someone" or "something" in Manhasset and have to remind myself of the wonderful things that Manhasset brings to all of us.

The May 22 edition - which highlighted (a) on the front page, the success of the Boys Varsity Baseball Team and (b) on the back page, the success of the Manhasset Crew Team - brought to mind two key people to these success stories who are not mentioned at all, but without whom I believe neither success could have been achieved. Those two people are Manhasset residents Jim Judge and Maura Connolly, whose efforts provide the foundation for the smiling faces that appear on the front and back pages of the paper, adjacent to headlines that read "Championship."

I do not know how many children have gone through the Manhasset Baseball/Softball Leagues since they were founded by Jimmy Judge. Through this organization and the numerous volunteer coaches who have trained the young ballplayers, I believe Coaches Hess and Minerley were given a pool of talent that enabled them to have the team achieve above and beyond what Manhasset achieved for decades in baseball. Congratulations to the team, Coaches Hess and Minerley and a heartfelt thank you to Jim Judge and all the volunteer coaches who have worked in his organization.

With respect to the crew team, years ago I attended numerous meetings where Maura Connolly advocated for the district to add crew to Manhasset sports. She did so with an unselfish effort, as none of the children were intending to become members of crew. Rather, she proposed a Crew Team because she had done careful research and had seen how crew had been successful in other high schools, particularly with respect to the avenues it opened to its participants in the college admission process. Her efforts met with then strong resistance at the school, but through her perseverance and logical arguments, she was able to persuade the district to start Crew as a club sport, eventually evolving into a State Championship level athletic team. Congratulations to the Crew Team and Coaches Henriquez, Hartnagel, Pedisich and Kozerski and a heartfelt thanks to Maura Connolly, who persevered so many years ago for the benefit of so many Manhasset children.

Thomas J. Killeen