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CITIZEN’S NEWS

SportsFriday, August 27, 2010 19

NNaauuggaattuucckk VVoolllleeyybbaallllCCooaacchh:: Fred Scheithe (22nd season, 12th varsity)2009 Review: 15-7 overall, 13-5 regular season (2nd in NVL Copper), lost to Kennedy in NVL semi-finals, lost to Bunnell in Class L second roundKKeeyy RReettuurrnneerrss:: Tri-Captains—Renee Augustine (Sr., OH/S/D, tri-captain), Daniella Stoehrer (Sr.,D/S/OH, tri-captain), Mikki D’Angelo (Sr., S, tri-captain), Darcey Case (Sr., D), Kaitlyn Fiorenzi (Sr.),Stephanie Chandler (Sr., D)KKeeyy LLoosssseess:: Lindsay Witkoski (All-NVL S), Julia Longo (D/S/OH), Alexis Granahan (All-NVLOH/D), Skye Stella (D), Catie Garrett (OH), Melissa Miller (OH/MB), Andrea Granahan (D), JessicaWebber (OH/MB)NNeewwccoommeerrss ttoo WWaattcchh:: Jessica Buckley (Jr., S), Lauren Andreoli (Jr., D), Lauren Rau (Jr., OH),Courtney Quarles (Jr. OH), Sarah Chandler (So., D)CCooaacchh’’ss TThhoouugghhttss:: With the loss of eight seniors from the starting rotation, the first part of ourseason will be a learning process. But with strong senior leadership and work ethic, I have a goodfeeling about this group. We will be a good defensive team as always. How we grow from thatinto a good all-around team will be my job. It’s going to be a fun season!

AAtttteennttiioonn ccooaacchheess: please forward your preview information to Kyle Brennanat kylebrennan1@yahoo.com or Brendan Cox at editor@mycitizensnews.com.Let us know if you need another form to fill out. Thank you.

I’ve been looking for a role model for along time. Yeah, of course my parents fitthe bill in one way. I’ve got some old teach-ers I really admire. And there are some guys

not sure any of those have sufficientlyquenched my thirst for a top-notch rolemodel.

I think I found who I was looking for,though. Ladies and gentlemen, let meintroduce you to Ryan Zsiga.

If you’re from Beacon Falls, there’s agood chance you know Ryan. He’s beeninvolved with town sports since he startedplaying when he was five. He was the all-decade catcher on Woodland’s baseballteam. Now, fresh out of the University ofTampa, he’s a teller at the Naugatuck ValleySavings and Loan branch in town.

Perhaps most importantly, though, andthe reason I’ve decided I want to be justlike Ryan is this: He’s an über-competi-tive—and possibly clinically insane—slow-pitch softball player.

This spring and summer, Zsiga hasbeen a part of five different teams, includ-ing the squad sponsored by St. Michael’sChurch, has traveled down to Virginia for atournament, and has played in 72 games,over which his teams have compiled a 54-18 record.

The volume of Zsiga’s softball pales incomparison to its quality. He keeps his ownstats—accurately and extensively—andthey’re outstanding. Here’s his bottom line:126-for-242 for a .521 average with 24 dou-bles, six triples, 24 homers, and 122 RBIs.

“This is definitely my best home runand RBI year for sure,” Zsiga says. “A-Rodand I don’t get along, though. I’ve done thisall without human growth hormone.”

But stats only tell part of Zsiga’s story.Softball sort of snuck up on Zsiga, he

says. Believe it or not, he didn’t grow upaspiring to be a local slow-pitch softballstud.

“I never even expected to play softballlike this,” Zsiga says. “I expected to playbaseball for the rest of my life. I went toschool at Tampa, and when you have guysgetting drafted in the second round, it justwasn’t working out for me.”

there would be an extra man on the bench.From there, he says, his career only grew.

“It progressed in college,” Zsiga says.“My roommate and I were intramuralheroes. My sophomore and senior year, wedrove to Wake Forest for a tournament.After that, I wanted to find as much play aspossible.”

He’s done just that. He has stayed withthe St. Michael’s team, which he has led tothree straight Naugatuck church leaguechampionships. This year, he batted .605with that club, smashing 18 homers anddriving in 62 runs in 23 games.

“My first year I was the shortstop,”

field, 90 percent of the time hitting in thethree-hole, sending balls into outer space.”

He also plays in leagues in Seymourand Waterbury as well as a Sunday morningleague for a total of six to eight games aweek. Zsiga has fought through nagginginjuries to remain a feared force in localsoftball circles.

“Surprisingly, my arm has held up verywell,” Zsiga says. “I’m known more for myrocket arm, actually. I’ve battled leg injuriesfor two months, but I completely restedthem in Tampa for a week and I felt likenew. I’ve been like Joe Montana with a batout there.”

But it’s not solely that he’s so darn

See ZSIGA page 24

By Kyle BrennanCitizen’s News

Slow-pitch softballer’s take-no-prisonersattitude yields big stats, tournament wins

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in sports media to whom I look up. But I’m

2005, his senior year of high school, just soHe joined the St. Michael’s squad in

Zsiga says, “and since then I’ve been in left

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barring further legislation, in future years,” hesaid. “It’s kind of called the ‘cliff scenario,’ wherethe government has provided us assistance on thelocal level to get through these difficult times.What we don’t know is when the economy willrebound to a point where we start to achieveincreases in local revenue. I think the plan for thefederal government is, ‘we’re going to tide youover for a few years until the economy recovers.’”

Mezzo said he hadn’t discussed the fundingin any detail with fellow school board membersand pointed out the borough is “always apprecia-tive” of federal or state aid, regardless of the chal-lenges that might be faced in its distribution.

News of Connecticut’s $110 million piece ofthe federal money came on the heels of lastmonth’s news that the state had been eliminatedfrom the running for federal cash in the secondround of Race to the Top, President Obama’s sig-nature school reform initiative.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department ofEducation announced awards through that pro-gram to nine states and the District of Columbia.Among those states were Connecticut neighborsNew York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Tennessee and Delaware won awards in an

earlier round of the competition, in whichConnecticut also failed to make the cut.

Dan Malloy, Democratic nominee for gover-nor, called the announcement “a reminder thatConnecticut has shown a complete inability tocompete against other states—including itsimmediate regional competitors—for federalfunding” in a press release.

Unable to compete, perhaps; but it wasn’t forlack of effort. Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed into statelaw a sweeping education reform bill in late May.The obligations contained in that bill—includingstringent new high school graduation require-ments, the potential effects of which Citizen’sNews reported in its July 30 and Aug. 13 edi-tions—will take effect in 2014.

Connecticut’s application for the secondround of Race to the Top money scored 379 pointsof a possible 500—34 points better than its first-round application in March—but retained the25th-place ranking it held before the new bill wassigned into law.

We’ll have to wait until the next round of theRace to the Top competition to see if Connecticutwill find success in its next bid for educationreform cash. In the meantime, we will keep an eyeon how local administrators decide to peg out the$1.71 million and $548,000 awards they are slatedto receive to save or create jobs in education.

EDUCATIONFrom page 2

Connecticut loses out on Race to the Top fundingbut secures extra $110 million to save or create jobs

Corp. has been in discussions for more than threeyears with Waterbury-based Seven Angels Theatregroup to reconstruct part of Building 25 into ablack box theater capable of seating 200 people.Plans for that building also call for the relocation ofthe NEDC office and the Naugatuck HistoricalSociety's headquarters, both of which are locatedin the former train station at 195 Water St. Plans fortransformation of Building 25, which would costmore than $2 million, also include the installationof office space for town meetings.

Mezzo said officials are working with NEDC to

obtain economic development funds to revitalizethe building.

The immediate future of the recycling centeris even more unclear than that of Building 25.

The borough wants to relocate its Departmentof Public Works facility as well as the recycling cen-ter, both of which sit on heavily traveled RubberAvenue and mar the image of the community.Ideally, officials want both facilities in the samelocation.

"There is no denying that we'd like to have therecycling center off of Rubber Avenue," Mezzosaid. "We're still looking at all options, but at thispoint we don't have a suitable location or fundingfor that very costly endeavor."

BLIGHTFrom page 3

Moving recycling center would be a ‘costly endeavor’

good at mashing that Ryan has become my rolemodel. It’s the fact that he goes against the grain ofsociety and does things with vigor and recklessabandon, without regret or remorse. He goes forthe throat, and I love it.

“I kind of like people knowing my name,”

run on me or I will throw the ball at your temple.”And no, he doesn’t take it easy on lesser—or

more elderly—competition.“I like playing with old dudes,” Zsiga says. “In

my baseball days, I was a catcher and not knownas being fast. Now I’m like freaking MauriceGreene out there. When you play against 50-year-olds, you look like a track star.”

He carries his equipment with him at alltimes, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.Perhaps the key to his softball prowess is the secretof his pants, which he doesn’t like washing.

“It’s a combination of laziness and supersti-tion,” Zsiga says. “If I’m absolutely ------- the ball,then something’s going right and I’m not washingthem. If I go 0-for-10, I’m burning this pair andgetting new ones.”

Zsiga, already a force to be reckoned with dueto his pure athletic ability and fierce competitiveedge, takes no prisoners—including spectators.

“I can confidently say the longest home run Iever hit was back on my 20th birthday,” Zsigarecalls with a glowing grin. “I got a hold of one toleft field and it smashed into a windshield of a carwhen the guy was sitting in it. If the windshieldwasn’t there, it would have hit him right in theface. He just sat there for a few minutes and droveaway.”

Guaranteed, some of you out there are think-

but I’ll let Ryan speak for himself.“You’re a loser,” he says to would-be critics.

“You don’t take it seriously enough. Why playsomething if you’re not going to take it seriously?I’m not saying I play Monopoly and snap a guy’sarm if I don’t get Boardwalk, but it’s all competi-tive.”

It all boils down to the thrill of competition—and rarely the agony of defeat—for Zsiga.

“It’s a substitute for baseball for me,” he says.“I was crazily in love with baseball when I wasyounger and this is pretty close to the sport Iplayed for 15 years. And I love winning champi-onships at a rapid pace.”

He’s not stopping any time soon, either. Buthe does know when he’s going to ride off into thesunset.

“As long as my body holds up and I don’t per-form like a schlubb, I’ll play,” Zsiga says. “If I getarthritis, I quit.”

ZSIGAFrom page 19

‘Don’t run on me or I will throw the ball at your temple’

Have you read the

CITIZEN’S NEWSCITIZEN’S NEWS today?

Or signed onto our website?www.mycitizensnews.com

Zsiga says, “and seeing that if I’m in left field, don’t ing, Wow, this guy is a loser. Well, you’re wrong,