These baby falcons are learning to fly early.
The Locust Valley varsity baseball team is looking to the players of tomorrow, boasting one of the youngest lineups, primarily comprised of middle school call-ups, on Long Island.
“When we took over the program three years ago, we had 10 to 15 seniors that were graduating,” manager Brian LoRusso, 28, told The Post of his squad, with just two seniors currently on it.
“We evaluated some younger guys, and we brought up, I think, in the range of 15 eighth graders over the last couple of years.”
LoRusso and coaches Andrew Bock and Rob DeSimone know the endgame isn’t about this Falcons season — they are 1-9 and won just two games last year — but instead their focus is on turning the page for the next generation.
And the team believes that day will come sooner rather than later.
Eighth graders out
“When we’re high schoolers, I believe that we could definitely dominate the league,” said eighth grader Mason Terrana, the starting left fielder.
“We’ll be bigger, stronger and more experienced than all the other guys on the other team. So I definitely believe we’ll be way better together.”
The young recruits — LoRusso has called up around 5-7 per season since taking the helm — are taking the opportunity in stride and learning from their older counterparts.
“Every time I see, like, some kid on the mound that throws a little above average for my age group, it can be scary,” starting eighth-grade right fielder Alex Karousos said. “But I go to the other guys and they always help me, and I’m able to just calm down and be more comfortable.”
Liam Baker, a junior shortstop, was one of the first to be called up in the middle school experiment a few seasons ago. Now, as an upperclassman, he still feels the concept is “awesome.”
“You want to play for the older guys who don’t have as much time left,” he said.
“And you’re also a little nervous because you’re playing against kids, like, four or five years older than you … but it taught me to lead by example.”
Baker has embraced the leadership mentality and has taken the younger teammates “under my wing” to show them the team’s core values.
Hit and fun
The Nassau County team’s lone seniors, pitcher Sean Lyons and second baseman Chris Gianoukakis, are also enthusiastic about Locust Valley going to the well.
Though it’s kind of surreal that seniors are the minority, Lyons is thrilled to see the next generation of talent get an early start. More than skill, which he feels will come naturally, it’s on the older players to pass along supportive habits and enjoy playing, Lyons said.
“We want to be loud on the bench, cheering on our teammates, and be teaching that to the future of this program.”
As it is, the tight-knit team comes together in the little ways, like calling LoRusso “Skip” as a term of endearment. The program’s win-or-lose camaraderie is attracting more talent to join the team, Gianoukakis said.
“There’s a lot of potential … definitely a big change from what we had the years prior, where we just barely had any people even trying out to play,” the senior added.
“I didn’t expect any of this after we lost like 13 seniors one or two years ago. So this is a big change, and I hope to see LV Baseball win a county championship.”
LoRusso, too, is eager to see his unorthodox approach, which he needed to get approved by the school’s athletic director, pay off someday, hopefully sooner rather than later.
“It’s just awesome to see their development, but we’re hoping that with more time on varsity, facing older kids, that it will really translate,” he said.
“We’re not so much harping on wins as much as the guys getting better every day. We talk about getting 1 percent better every time. Still, hopefully we squeak into the playoffs.”
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