As preseason begins, Raiders seek to bond with teammates, grow success

Gavin Campolong exploded into the open field and cut to the right with the ball at his feet.

Suddenly, the ball was gone and the senior was rolling on the ground. A sophomore had poked it away, eliciting howls and shouts from everyone on the sideline at the Raiders boys soccer practice.

Campolong made a beeline for the sophomore. Then, he put his arm around him.

“That was varsity stuff,” the senior told him. “Varsity.”

At preseason practices around Red Hook High School this week, teams have been focusing on building bonds with new teammates and teaching upcoming talent as much as building specific skills and teaching plays.

For Campolong, who thought he was looking at a goal during the scrimmage on the second day of preseason, losing the ball only sprouted excitement at the skills of a teammate who may be joining the varsity squad.

“He got me good. It was pretty sweet,” Campolong said. During preseason, “you get to see the new talent. I don’t know half these people. There’s a lot of young kids who are definitely talented. It’s nice to see the next generation coming up.”

Under New York State Public High School Athletic Association rules, football teams were permitted to begin practices Aug. 19. All other teams started Aug. 26. That’s shortened the preseason to a little more than a week for many sports and accelerated the tryout process, making it all the more important to get to know teammates quickly.

Several of Red Hook’s teams, including girls soccer and field hockey, are navigating the departures of key senior contributors, creating opportunity for new faces to step into relied-upon roles. The football and field hockey teams also have new head coaches – former modified football and current baseball coach Tom Giorgio and 2021 Red Hook graduate Ciciley Manhart, respectively.

After stickwork Tuesday, the field hockey team wrapped up its early practice with an extended period of laps around the field and stretching. Sophomore Maya Anderson called out the stretches.

“We don’t have any seniors this year. We only have two juniors,” Anderson said. “Being here helps us get closer with each other and understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so we can understand how to play with each other again.”

Cardio and conditioning is a major focus for teams across the high school campus.

Field hockey junior Amelia Soave has looked around her team this year and thought back to how she felt as a freshman learning from a senior-heavy group.

“It’s kind of cool that that’s now my role on the team,” she said. “We want to just bond and hopefully create a close-knit team. Some of us don’t know each other year, but this is the whole point of preseason.”

That, and prepare for the year ahead. Though several teams have scrimmages and play days scheduled before then, the boys golf team will have the first official match of the 2024-25 school year on Sept. 4 against Spackenkill at McCann Memorial Golf Course. The Raiders teams enjoyed various levels of success a year ago, including a Section 9 Class B title in volleyball

Campolong said while winning is the goal, improving each day is the main objective.

“That’s what I look for,” he said. “And, definitely to win a championship, but that will come with time.”