Schools show true colors to honor Massapequa High's Connor Kasin
Connor Kasin in his uniform as a member of the Long Island Sharks hockey club. He also played for the Massapequa High hockey team. Other school districts are urging students and staff to honor his memory by wearing blue and gold, Massapequa's team colors. Credit: Courtesy of the Long Island Sharks
School districts are honoring the life of youth hockey player Connor Kasin by wearing the blue and gold colors of his Massapequa High School team.
Kasin, 17, collapsed Saturday during a charity hockey game in Bethpage and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
As a show of solidarity, the Farmingdale school district is urging all students and staff to wear blue and gold to school on Thursday.
Farmingdale Superintendent Paul Defendini said donning Massapequa High colors was the least staff and students in his district could do following the broad community support after a bus carrying members of the Farmingdale High marching band crashed last year, leading to fatalities.
"We’re just trying to make sure Massapequa understands they’re not alone in trying to find a way forward in this unspeakable tragedy," Defendini said. "We just want to show some level of support from the land of green to show some blue and gold."
Kasin was playing for Massapequa High's hockey club Saturday evening at the Town of Oyster Bay Skating Center in Bethpage when he collapsed from a "sudden medical event" during an intermission, officials said. He was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Defendini said Massapequa was one of the first districts to show support last year when multiple students were injured in a bus crash that killed band director Gina Pellettiere and chaperone Beatrice Ferrari.
"It meant everything in the world to us, knowing so many people cared and seeing the whole island wearing green," Defendini said. "We felt wrapped up in a warm blanket from local communities. We want to do the same for them and make sure they know they’re not alone we’ve got their backs."
Students in East Meadow were asked to wear blue and gold Wednesday. Seaford schools asked students to wear the colors Friday. Seaford also planned to have counselors available for students.
"As a community, our hearts ache alongside our neighbors in the Massapequa School District as they face the unimaginable loss of a beloved student athlete," Seaford Superintendent Adele V. Pecora said. "We stand united in support, offering our deepest condolences to the family, friends and everyone impacted."
A visitation for Kasin is set for Thursday between 2 and 4 p.m. and 7 and 9 p.m. at the Massapequa Funeral Home in Massapequa Park. A funeral Mass is scheduled Friday at 9:30 a.m. at St. William the Abbot R.C. Church in Seaford.
"The tragic loss of Connor has deeply affected not only the Massapequa community but also communities across Long Island and beyond," said Massapequa school district Superintendent William Brennan in a statement Wednesday. "As we grieve this unimaginable tragedy, we are deeply moved by the outpouring of support, love, and compassion from neighboring districts, local communities, and countless individuals."
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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