Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK's Michael Li spreads his love of badminton to his community

Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK freshman Michael Li is used to having badminton in the family, but now he’s working on promoting the sport to the peers in his community.

Li’s older brother, Kangxi, founded the Plainview-Old Bethpage Youth Badminton program two years ago. He graduated in spring 2024, leading his younger brother to take up the mantle of teaching badminton to boys and girls grades 3-6 in the school district. This year’s sessions will be held once a month from December to March at Plainview Middle School.

“It’s more about helping kids enjoy badminton more than actually coaching them, so they get interested in it,” Li said.

Coach Jenna Cavuto and some of Li’s teammates come to help but Cavuto stressed that her team’s star freshman takes the initiative in leading the sessions.

For Li, who joined varsity as an eighth grader and junior varsity as a seventh grader, it’s a chance to showcase the sport to kids who were just like him.

“Just thinking about helping out the team, so later on other kids can join JV and varsity teams,” Li said. “That makes me happy, and it makes me want to keep doing it.” — MICHAEL SICOLI

Youth serves Frogs well

The Carle Place girls soccer team starts four times as many eighth graders as seniors and four times as many freshmen as juniors, but you wouldn’t know it by watching the Frogs play.

Carle Place is 7-1-2 through Thursday with a starting lineup of one senior, one junior, one sophomore, four freshmen and four eighth-graders. But Steve Cadet, in his first year as the coach after leading the Wheatley boys team, didn’t want the youth to define the team’s season. He wanted the young players to realize despite their age, they were varsity soccer players and they could succeed.

“Once this season started, I told them they aren’t eighth graders and ninth graders, you’re varsity soccer players,” Cadet said. “We use the term ‘varsity’ all the time because I found what happened early on is we’d make a mistake and someone would say, ‘Well it’s OK, she’s an eighth grader, or she’s a ninth grader,’ which is true, but I didn’t want them to think if they made a mistake we’ll always have that excuse.”

The message clearly worked as Carle Place sits atop Nassau Conference AB-III with a 6-0-1 conference record.

Eighth-grader Daniella Correia has 12 goals and six assists, sophomore Madison Reedy has nine goals and 11 assists and senior Amelia Fort has nine goals and seven assists. Carle Place, a Class B school, is 1-0-2 against the Class B teams it will face in the playoffs as a conference and county title is a more realistic goal.

“No one expected that,” Cadet said. “Nobody thought we’d be in that position and a lot of that is due to the youth of the eighth graders and ninth graders.” — OWEN O'BRIEN

October is prime gymnastics time

In Suffolk gymnastics, October represents the heart of league play.

The talent in League I is evident, with four unbeaten teams — Lindenhurst/West Babylon (6-0, 2-0), Middle Country (5-0, 1-0), Bay Shore/Islip (5-0, 1-0) and Smithtown (4-0, 0-0) — charging into the month.

Each has a returner from the 2024 Newsday All-Long Island team.

“We all can see each other’s scores and it’s like, ‘What do we have to do to make sure that we’re that 0.1 above?’ ” Middle Country coach Melissa Valentino said. “I think all of us are feeling the same pressure as we get into these league meets and what’s coming next.”

Middle Country, with three-time Newsday Gymnast of the Year Hannah Hughes and four-time Newsday preseason honoree Madisyn Rodriguez, won the 2023 county team title — its first since 2003.

LWB features All-L.I. pick Lindsey Kutchens, Suffolk’s reigning beam champ and all-around runner-up, and Olivia Stuart, who excels on vault and floor.

Two-time All-L.I. selection Isabella Field, a sixth-year varsity gymnast who coach Paige Giovanniello said “always gives it her all,” leads Bay Shore/Islip.

Smithtown coach Jessica Berroyer is “so proud” of the team’s depth, including Bayla Goldberg, Suffolk’s reigning bars champ, and Newsday top 10 selection Amanda Burns.

All four teams still face each other. The team championship is on Nov. 5. — BEN DICKSON