HS notebook: SWR’s Shea balances two sports and diabetes

Though he makes a lot of things look easy, Shoreham-Wading River senior Patrick Shea must work just a little harder to accomplish what he has.

Because of SWR’s low student population, Shea can compete in both an individual sport and a team sport. He has taken advantage of that opportunity by playing on both the varsity boys soccer and varsity boys cross country teams this fall, and has made a big difference for both squads.

On the soccer pitch, he has scored four goals in nine matches, and in cross country, he is the captain of a team that captured the Suffolk VI championship.

However, Shea must win a battle every day just to help prepare for these athletic competitions. He has Type 1 Diabetes, forcing him to manage his insulin to keep his blood sugar under control.

“The main issues are that I get tired a lot from doing both sports,” Shea said.

“It’s difficult with cross country because if you get low blood sugar during the race or right before it, you’re in a really bad position and you feel really weak. Last year during states, I went low during it and I wasn’t able to run a good time.”

To help him better manage his insulin, he usually stops his insulin pump from delivering about an hour before a race. Then, he’ll eat roughly 15 grams of carbohydrates about 15 to 30 minutes beforehand.

Last week in Manhattan, Shea ran a season-best 14 minute, 0.6 second time in the 2,500-meter run at Van Cortlandt Park.

SWR boys cross country head coach Bob Szymanski — a Suffolk County Sports Hall of Famer — spoke highly of Shea.

“It’s extremely impressive because he’s trying to help out both teams,” Szymanski said. “He’s one of the finest athletes I’ve ever had, to be able to do both sports and manage his health like that.”

Shea’s other head coach — Rob Mancuso of SWR boys soccer — has built a strong bond with him off the field. Mancuso was his math teacher in both seventh and eighth grade and has since moved up to the high school level to teach computer science, where the two have reconnected.

“’Unbelievable’ doesn’t begin to describe him,” SWR boys soccer coach Rob Mancuso said. “He’s an exceptional soccer player. I have the pleasure of knowing him, not only as an athlete, but as a student. He is beyond brilliant, and he really is an incredible kid.”

Shea scored a 1510 on his SAT and is prioritizing academics over sports as he looks into his collegiate future. As for right now, Shea is hoping to qualify for the state championship meet and finish in the top 20 to secure an All-State nod.

— Michael Anderson

A healthy Luciana Bocelli leads Smithtown East defense

Smithtown East’s Luciana Bocelli spent most of the 2023 girls soccer season on the sideline, having broken her left ankle in July 2023 at a Stony Brook ID camp while spending the fall rehabbing damaged ligaments.

A year after watching her team make the Suffolk AAA championship game, Bocelli is back with an eye on helping the Bulls get back there.

“It was definitely very emotional for me and very hard, but I tried my hardest to stay positive and support the team,” Bocelli said.

Making it even more special for the senior is being alongside her sister, Rosa. While the duo doesn’t always see the field together they try to stand out, with Rosa donning No. 16 and Luciana donning No. 17 while wearing the identical white-blue Nike Phantom Luna cleats.

“When I was playing it looked really well, that it was sisters in the back with matching numbers and cleats,” Rosa said.

“It’s definitely been a lot more fun having my sister there,” Luciana said. “I feel like I’ve had my own personal supporter, and it’s nice that I got to play with her before I graduated.”

Smithtown East overcame a 1-4 start to the season by rallying to a 5-2-2 record over its last nine games, claiming the final spot in the Suffolk AAA playoffs with the No. 10 seed.

With talented players like Olivia Bozzo and Lindsay Delgado in front of a surging defense, the Bulls will get a chance to kick-start a playoff stampede against No. 7 Lindenhurst Monday afternoon in the first round of the playoffs.

— Michael Sicoli