Today I went down the 365 Athletics to watch the LI Strong’s organizational workout for the 14u and 18u team. The Strong, run by Cristian Lynch and Jarad Vollkommer, are an up-and-coming program. Their college team was very impressive this summer, featuring some notable impact players such as Liam Pulsipher, Brad Sakellarides, Johnny Dougherty, Ryan Brewer, Jose Matos and Andrew Smith.
The 2021 team is especially strong led by a rotation of Adelphi-commit Jacob Pedersen, Queens-commit Dom LoFroscia and Felician-commit Jack Turner. The offense is led by three Manhattanville-commits; Danny Deutsch, Joe McDonald and Joe LaPorta as well as USC-Sumter-commit Joe Dwyer. Two Longwood infielders, Preston Gerena and Mason Mehling are two talented players as well.
The team is coming off a season with a record of 22-9 and were competitive in every tournament including our inaugural Axcess Invitational. I spoke to three players and a parent about their experience with the Strong and here’s what they had to say..
Joe McDonald (Longwood 2021):
“I’m enjoying my time with the Long Island Strong because it’s really just like one big family,” he said. “There’s one 14u team and one 18u team and we’ve been together – this 18u team – it’s our second year. We’re all together, we’re all good friends. We’re a bunch of upperclassmen and underclassmen, so we take the underclassmen under our wings. When I was an underclassmen last year, I was taken under someone else’s wing. So we’re taking other kids in because we’re one big family that plays together. We had a great season last year and we’re looking at another good one this year. We have a bunch of good underclassmen like Dom Gentile, Preston Gerena, Mason Mehling. We have a bunch of committed kids, like me – I’m committed to Manhattanville, LaPorta’s committed to Manhattanvile. Turner is committed to Felician, Dom LoFroscia is committed to Queens, Jacob Pedersen is committed to Adelphi. It’s a bunch of kids just looking out for other kids, that’s why we’re just a big family.”
Joe Dwyer (Shoreham-Wading River 2021):
“I’m enjoying my time with the LI Strong because they have a winning attitude. My teammates are really supportive, everyone works hard on the team, everyone pushes each other to be better everyday. Just a really competitive bunch.
It’s been tough with the college recruiting process because coaches aren’t really able to see you play in person. So my coaches made a lot of phone calls which I appreciate a lot. Obviously it’s tough because they can’t see you play but they put a good word in for me, told them how I work hard and got me into USC Sumter which is great for me. They did a lot for me.”
Brandon Bartnick (Connetquot 2025):
“I’ve enjoyed playing with the LI Strong because I enjoy getting along with my teammates. I also like the coaching – there’s a good coaching staff which is way different from my last team – the coaching was iffy. We had a lot of success. We won a tournament and made it to the semifinal in another. We all get along, since we came from our old team. We had a lot in common. I also enjoy coming here and meeting new kids as well. I like how the winter workouts are run as well.
Heather Smith (son plays on 14u team):
“We came to the Strong from the east end of Long Island. We became a member of the team in October. So far my son has enjoyed the experience, he’s enjoyed the camaraderie of the team. He loves the fact that the coaches are coaching in the collegiate level or playing at the collegiate level. He thinks that’s wonderful. I also think they offer so much training, speed & agility, all the hitting drills, all the running drills. Everything is outstanding.
