Photo by Gene Morris/Smithtown Patch

There has been no shortage of talent at Smithtown West the last few years.

Brett Madarasz, Jordan Stevens, Kyle Keenan and James Pannell are just some of the names that come to mind.

Alex Dodge knows them all very well.

Especially from practicing against them.

The dodging midfielder was able to hold his own, which helped him gain confidence and develop into a Division I recruit.

He’s signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Sacred Heart University.

But before heading to Fairfield, Conn., he hopes to help the Bulls match or even improve upon last year’s 15-4 season, which ended with a 12-11 overtime loss to West Islip in the Suffolk County Class A title game.

Now, here are Alex’s perspectives on the 2012 season:

What have you been doing to get ready for the season? 
I’ve been going to my speed/strength trainer at Revolution Athletics in Bohemia and have been shooting at West against one of our goalies, returning sophomore Matt Smidt.

How does your schedule look, what games are you looking forward to most, and who are some of your scrimmages against?
We’ve got a pretty tough schedule this year.  I’m looking forward to playing Ward Melville and West Islip at home.  Whenever we play them, it’s always a great game.  Just to name a few of our scrimmages this year, we play Shoreham-Wading River and Bayport-Blue Point.

What player or players on your team do you think will surprise some people this season?
Our long pole, Frankie Brier, will surprise some people.  He recently switched from a shorty to a long-pole and is a very fast and athletic player.  In addition we have a good amount of juniors and sophomores that will contribute to the team.  Juniors Eric Joseph, Pat O’Brien, George Schultz and Brian Masi as well as  sophomores Ryan Keenan and Matt Smidt should surprise a few people.

What do you think the strength of your team will be this year? 
The strength of our team this year should be the time of possession.  Our FOGO, Craig Madarasz, is one of the best in the country.  Another strength of ours should be our offense.  We are returning both Matt Schultz and James Pannell.

How do you view the race in your league and who do you think some of the contending teams will be? 
Suffolk A is one of the most competitive high school divisions around so you can’t look past any team, but the toughest teams should be be Ward Melville and West Islip. Sachem North returns some good players and should be tough too.

* For more info on Alex, check out his player profile by clicking here.

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Posted In: Long Island lacrosse, Player's perspective, Section 11

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3 Responses to “Player’s perspective: Dodge, Bulls eye return to Suffolk finals”

  1. Question says:

    Nice job Alex…but is Coach Keenan back this year?

  2. LI Guy says:

    Sounds like SW will be right in the mix again.

  3. Tigers Fan says:

    Don’t forget senior goalie Ryan Adler who will be playing at Towson,attack Eric Joseph is expected to have a breakout season,and midfield sophomore Christian Zawadski who is already commited to Maryland and defensive player Logan Greco.Bulls also have a new coach Bob Moltisante Jr and new staff. Good Luck to all the players.

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