LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION congratulating the Long Island Astros Baseball
Team and Coach Jeff Rusoff upon the occasion of winning the National
Amateur Baseball Federation Regional Championship

WHEREAS, Excellence and success in competitive sports can be achieved
only through strenuous practice, team play and team spirit, nurtured by
dedicated coaching and strategic planning; and
WHEREAS, Athletic competition enhances the moral and physical develop-
ment of the young people of this State, preparing them for the future by
instilling in them the value of teamwork, encouraging a standard of
healthy living, imparting a desire for success and developing a sense of
fair play and competition; and
WHEREAS, The Long Island Astros Baseball Team are the National Amateur
Baseball Federation Regional Champions; the Astros capped a hugely
successful summer by competing in the NABF College World Series in Tole-
do, Ohio; and
WHEREAS, The season began slow for the Astros, who lost two of their
first three games; what followed was a season-changing 13-game winning
streak en route to a 17-5 record and second-place finish in the FABL;
and
WHEREAS, In his first two years coaching the college team, Jeff
Rusoff, who is in his 11th year with the Astros organization, led his
team to back-to-back berths in the AAABA World Series in Johnstown,
Pennsylvania; they were the first team to make consecutive appearances
from New York in 25 years; and
WHEREAS, The athletic talent displayed by this team is due in great
part to the efforts of Coach Jeff Rusoff, a skilled and inspirational
tutor, respected for his ability to develop potential into excellence;
and
WHEREAS, The team's overall record is outstanding, and the team
members were loyally and enthusiastically supported by family, fans,
friends and the community at large; and
WHEREAS, The hallmarks of the Long Island Astros Baseball Team, from
the opening game of the season to participation in the Championship,
were a brotherhood of athletic ability, of good sportsmanship, of honor
and of scholarship, demonstrating that these team players are second to
none; and
WHEREAS, Athletically, the team members have proven themselves to be
an unbeatable combination of talents, reflecting favorably on their
community; and
WHEREAS, Coach Jeff Rusoff and his dedicated staff have done a superb
job in guiding, molding and inspiring the team members toward their
goals; and
WHEREAS, Sports competition instills the values of teamwork, pride and
accomplishment, and Coach Jeff Rusoff and these outstanding athletes
have clearly made a contribution to the spirit of excellence which is a
tradition of their schools; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
congratulate the Long Island Astros Baseball Team and Coach Jeff Rusoff
on their outstanding season and overall team record; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Long Island Astros Baseball Team and to Coach Jeff
Rusoff.