Incase you missed it, here is this week’s notebook on longtime Lakeland coach Steve Fallo, who recently hit two major milestones. I spoke with Fallo during the week and got some really great stuff from him. Phil Terrigno tackled Nanuet’s fundraising efforts to help victims of the Newtown tragedy. Read the full article below:
By Mike Zacchio and Phil Terrigno
(originally published in The Journal News/LoHud.com on Thursday, Jan. 31)
Steve Fallo has been synonymous with Lakeland girls sports for more than a quarter of a century, and with good reason.
A three-sport coach, Fallo collected his 350th basketball win and 800th victory overall in the past two weeks.
“Longevity has a lot to do with it, but all the credit goes to the kids,” Fallo said. “The kids have gotten me those wins, and I’ve been so fortunate to have such great kids year in and year out.”
Fallo (pictured left), who is in his 30th year teaching at Lakeland, notched his 350th basketball win on Jan. 14 when the Hornets beat Putnam Valley 49-17. He picked up his 800th win overall five days later in a 39-37 win over Yorktown.
“Basketball is my favorite (to coach) because of the tempo,” Fallo said. “You always have to be thinking, making adjustments. It’s totally different decision making.”
The breakdown of victories includes 353 in 25 years as basketball coach, 238 in 28 years as volleyball coach, and 210 in 16 years as softball head coach (he is now an assistant softball coach).
Fallo plans on coaching until his youngest child, Regan, graduates from Lakeland in 2018.
Charitable Golden Knights: In showing support for the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Nanuet started small.
“I saw NBA players writing ‘Newtown, Connecticut’ on their shoes,” Nanuet senior Theresa Jelalian said. “We all thought that it would be a great idea if we did that, too, and we did that at our next (home game against Suffern). Anything to show that we recognized what happened.”
The Golden Knights have since expanded their efforts by joining the “Threes for Sandy Hook” fundraiser launched by the Newtown High School girls basketball team.
For each 3-pointer and for every three foul shots made, $3 will be donated to support the families of the victims.
“We definitely think it’s great because our positives on (the court) can make positives for an awesome cause,” senior Dana Rohan said. “It will change the lives of people that need it right now.”
The team will wear patches on their jerseys commemorating the initiative, and the @3s4SandyHookTwitter account is used to publicize their efforts.
Playoff preview: The Journal News will be providing previews and complete coverage for the Section 1 tournament from Feb. 13 through March 3, on the girls basketball blog, which can be accessed at girlsbasketball.lohudblogs.com.
The blog will also provide live updates of the regionals (March 5-10), state tournament (March 15-17) and Federation tournament (March 22-24).
