Dr. Michael Yannucci is now principal of Martin Avenue

By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com

In September, Martin Avenue Elementary School students in the North Bellmore School District will be welcomed back to a new school year by a new face. The district recently welcomed Dr. Michael Yannucci as its new principal. He began his role on July 1.

Yannucci arrives at Martin Avenue with more than 15 years of experience in elementary education.

He began his career as a teacher in the Rocky Point School District, where he later became a coordinator of English and reading, his first administrative role, he said.

After Rocky Point, he spent four years in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District as an assistant principal.

Most recently, Yannucci worked in the Massapequa School District, where he was the principal of Lockhart Elementary School.

“What brought me into education?” Yannucci said. “I grew up having a substantially younger sibling, and I found myself oftentimes working with him, doing activities with him, helping him. I found that I really liked working with him, and engaging with younger kids and helping them reach that ‘aha’ moment.”

Yannucci received his bachelor’s degree

The Merrick Bellmore Little League comprises around 1,100 kids, Jay Rogoff, a player agent on its board of directors, said. There are roughly 85 players in the 10U division, and 30 were invited to try out for a special team in early May.

Twelve boys were then selected to represent the league on a journey to the state tournament — and then possibly, the Little League World Series, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The 10U age group is the youngest eligible to compete for a chance to play in Williams - port, and they play six-inning games.

The team was coached by Chuck Amato, who is also a player agent for the league, Rogoff and Brandon Raymar, one of the league’s vice presidents. Their sons C.J. Amato, Hunter Rogoff and Ethan Raymar played on the team.

The boys’ first battle took place at a district competition on Long Island, in which they went up against teams from North Bellmore, North Merrick, Wantagh, Seaford and Massapequa. This phase of the competition ended in early June.

“We had our first game, really not knowing what to expect kind of going into it,” Amato said. “We were practicing three, four times a week prior to our first game to really get the boys acclimated into the style of play that we were looking to play.

“We were down 3-0 after the first inning,” he added. ‘The boys really showed resiliency and fought back, and that was kind of the M.O. for the entire CoNtiNuED oN pAgE 12