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Volleyball fever in Elmont By NIColE WAGNER nwagner@liherald.com
Courtesy Sarah Campbell
Long Island Knights, an Elmont-based nonprofit volleyball club, has fostered a surge in volleyball success stories within the Elmont community. With more athletes interested in the club than it can support, the Knights have 150 boys and girls setting, spiking and bumping on the court every week. The club’s growth is a credit to the coaching staff that help teens excel in the sport. The club began in 2018 when students voiced concerns over the accessibility of the sport in Elmont. The program started with 15 girls enrolled in the
Long Island Knights Girls-18 team wins gold medal in gold bracket at Massachusetts Home for the Holidays Tournament on Dec. 10.
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Community laces up their skates at UBS Arena’s The Park
Two new ice rinks for pond hockey, public skating open ahead of the new year By NIColE WAGNER nwagner@liherald.com
Elmont community members, Islanders’ fans and neighbors of surrounding communities recently laced up their skates and took to the ice at The Park at UBS Arena. Two new ice rinks opened to the public on Dec. 27 as fans enjoyed T he Park’s debut before the New York Islanders a n d P i t t s b u r g h Pe n g u i n s matchup that evening. Community members tried out the synthetic ice rink of UBS Pond and the authentic ice rink of North-
well Pond. Phil Connolly, an Islanders’ s e a s o n t i cke t - h o l d e r f ro m Farmingville, tested the ice at UBS Pond for the first time last Wednesday. “I’ve never been on this kind of material before, it takes a bit of getting used to,” he said of the synthetic ice rink. Colin Smith and Mateo Kolody, both 15, of Shirley, took to the ice and enjoyed the new rink. “I definitely prefer the regular ice, but it’s really nice right next to UBS,” Colin said. Lindenhurst resident Daryl
Cowf and her daughter, Mikaela, 13, said they enjoyed the new pregame venue at Belmont Park. They’ve held season tickets for the past two years and are excited to visit The Park throughout the season. “People can come early and hang out,” Cowf said. “It gives you something to do.” John Collins, operational manager for the Islanders, said the project quickly came to fruition, with its conceptual birth happening over the summer. Working collaboratively on the project were the Islanders, Northwell Health, the New
York Racing Association and UBS Arena, providing community members with an ice rink to visit at The Park. “We knew how great and authentic the whole (idea of) pond hockey was, and we thought there was a real opportunity to maybe just bring it to
Elmont and bring it to the Belmont Park campus,” Collins said. The Northwell Pond will host a series of four-on-four pond hockey tournaments following USA hockey guidelines and cater to youth and adult divisions at various competiConTInueD on paGe 16