The Edge continues to top local AAU programs with wins against the Hudson Valley Knights, the Playmakers Academy, the Hudson Valley Hurricanes, the Walkhill Panthers, the Wappingers Seminoles, and the Kingston Komets. All victories come in the last two weeks across multiple age groups. In the 16u division, the Edge boys defeated the Hudson Valley knights on Friday evening in a come from behind victory at the Tom Dowd Memorial tournament held at Monroe Woodbury High School (see full story in Edge Athletics News). It’s the second time in two weeks the Edge bested their Hudson Valley opponents. The Edge defeated the Knights in their host Get an Edge VI tournament last week at Millbrook High School. The 16u also had a very strong showing on Saturday splitting the days games and finishing up with a win on Sunday. With their Sunday win, 16u earned a Tom Dowd Tournament overall record of 3-1, which follows up their 4-1 record in the Get an edge tournament held two weeks back.
In other local program contests, the Edge 14u’s defeated the Playmakers Academy on Sunday afternoon in the Tom Dowd Memorial tournament. The Playmakers Academy is a rising program based out of Gold’s gym in LaGrange. But the Edge proved too much for the new program, demonstrating strong offensive and defensive fundamentals. The Edge put on an offensive clinic, setting a scoring record for the year with 86 points while holding the Academy to just 51 points. ”We showed good offensive and defensive progress today,” said Coach Santoro of his team’s performance. It was the defense, however, that fueled the offense. ”They had a difficult time handling our pressure at the perimeter and that led to easy baskets in transition. We also did an outstanding job defending their big man,” coach Santoro added. Outstanding defense doesn’t come easy. ”There is a purpose behind everything we do defensively and must be drilled for hours each week for it to be successful,” said coach Santoro.
After watching the Edge teams play, it’s obvious the focus is on fundamentals at both ends of the court. “It’s the cornerstone of what we do and we are very proud of it,” said Coach Hayes, the Program Director for the Edge. ”Often times teams will spend most of their practice hours on multiple offensive sets and multiple zone presses. And that helps to win games, but it’s not our philosophy. Coach Santoro and I both feel that individual and fundamental player development is more important than running numerous offensive sets,” coach Hayes added.
Mark Bianco, the Edge 17u coach agrees. ”I’m new to the Edge program this year and I have had a chance to see this staff practice what it preaches. They are very specific in their objectives and I am pleased to be a part of it,” said Bianco. Bianco’s 17u team has had tremendous success this year, but lost in the championship game on Sunday in the Dowd Tournament. The Edge program will travel to Albany next weekend to compete at Siena College.
