Hard Work Pays off for Mass Elite Youngsters
Mass Elite AAU Basketball, a local AAU basketball program comprised of mainly players from the Middlesex and Cape-Ann high school and travel leagues recently completed it’s first full Spring AAU schedule.
Club Director Eric Polli serves as the founder, chief administrator of the program, and head coach of the club’s 11u team. This past Spring Polli was most pleased with the development of three of the players who played on his Spring AAU team, Michael Demartinis (Burlington MA), Jonathan Mercado (Lynn MA) and Ryan Veguilla (Middleton MA).
“We had a great year, it was really satisfying to watch the development of these kids,” Polli said.
The team began their season 4-1 at the Middlesex Magic First Shot Tournament in March and since has had a 32-13 record, winning multiple tournament championships.
Michael Demartinis who joined the Mass Elite program last spring, played during the winter travel season on Burlington’s very successful fifth grade travel team. Polli said when he first saw Demartinis he knew that he had a lot of upside stating that “at tryouts I knew right away that he had the potential to be a very good player if he put in the hard work necessary”. Since the start of last spring season, Demartinis has greatly improved both his outside and inside game and is also becoming an overall stronger defensive player. “He has natural skill, but much more importantly he puts in a lot of work outside of the mandatory practice and game sessions.
In addition to Demartinis, Polli applauded two of his team’s top guards, Jonathan Mercado and Ryan Veguilla. Mercado, a local Lynn resident, first caught Polli’s eye when he attended a winter clinic which was run by Mass Elite. “The instructor who was running the clinic got my attention and said, Coach you need to take a look at this kid”. Although natural talent alone has not gotten Mercado to where he is right now. “The kid is addicted to playing basketball, whether it be attending a camp or just playing at his local park with buddies, he puts in the time and effort to get better”.
A strong work ethic also does not fall short on Ryan Veguilla, a local resident of Middleton who played last winter for the MASCO travel team. The top scorer for his winter travel team, Ryan is a very strong jump shooter who can also shoot well from behind the arc. Polli praised Veguilla’s strong leadership skills stating “Ryan really is the glue that keeps the team together. For such a young kid to have his strong leadership skills, it really is fun to watch”.
Nicknamed “The Cubs” at the end of last season, Polli is excited at watching these youngsters continue to develop over the next 3-4 years. “Looking ahead I know that if they continue to work hard then they will be good players. It’s all about how far though they are willing to reach for success”. There is no mystery recipe to becoming a good basketball player, it is all about the amount of time that you can put in.
THE CUBS will begin their fall season in early September. The team will play in at least 6 tournaments, most likely the first being in mid-September.
Ryan Veguilla