It started out hard enough. With the loss of eighteen players and only two starters from last season, the new head coach Jamie San Filippo remains optimistic about the Panthers’ performance this season. His expectations are that the Panthers will bounce back from their slow start to make the conference tournament. “We may not have started the way everyone wanted us to start, but we are going to finish the way we need to,” said Coach Filippo before their first win against Yeshiva, in which they trounced their opponents 4-0.
This is Coach San Filippo’s first year coaching at Old Westbury, bringing nine years of experience at MacArthur High School into this challenging situation. Filippo has confidence in his team captain, German Parodis, joined in leadership by Mike Bayne and Stephen Burqos. Coach Filippo expressed his gratitude for the team’s player leadership and says that he wants to change the old way of doing things when it comes to the Panthers.
While soccer is a rough and tumble kind of sport, the Old Westbury Panthers have been known to be a hot-headed team above the rest. This is where Filippo wants to focus-in on the most. He stated that his number one goal is to mold this team to be known for their hard work and discipline. San Filippo shows that he is a man of his word and is quick to substitute out any player who may show signs of anything less than that discipline and concentration he seeks to instill in his team.
The work for the Panthers does not stop there. The Panthers have gone through such a change-up in the past year; building familiarity with each other on the field is also a point Coach Filippo stressed, “They need to know each other’s moves before they make them.” While this type of rapport can take several seasons to perfect, the Panthers seem to be well on their way to achieving this goal. While the Panthers may have gotten off to a slow start, their performance in the last few games this September has shown that they’re a talented, cohesive and for the most part, disciplined team.
When asked about the team’s prospects, Coach Filippo said to keep an eye on a few up and coming freshmen this season, which will ensure that the team gets to the Skyline Conference Tournament. One of them, Tana Weekes, a striker from Baldwin, New York who is easily recognizable by his fast pace game play, maneuvering his way past the opponents’ defense, and his bright orange cleats. While Weekes may be a little rough around the edges, in time it looks like he will be a major asset to the team, already among the team leaders in assists and shots on goal.
This season’s expectations are optimistic and are sure to come with many adrenaline pumping moments for all those in attendance. If nothing else, it will be interesting.