Ex Gladiator Pitcher Returns for 2013 NHPLL All Star Game

The New Hyde Park Little League invited one of their own to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of the boys majors’ portion of the all star game Saturday afternoon at Nuzzi Field.

Ryan O’Kelly, a New Hyde Park Memorial High School 2009 graduate who completed his senior year as a pitcher for the CW Post Pioneers, sported his dark blue and white Gladiators shirt and ball cap, saying that “I didn’t have to dig too far” in his closet to find the uniform.

One of the instructors currently teaching in the New Hyde Park Little League pitch/catcher clinic, O’Kelly says he realizes he was a natural choice since his mom was the third grade teacher of Julian Gregory, one of the All-Stars, and the son of New Hyde Park Little League President Nancy Gregory.

“So there’s a connection there, they looked into me, they looked at my stats through Post and through high school and that’s how they approached me,” he said.

As a Gladiator, O’Kelly posed a 6-1 record with 64 strikeouts his senior year and holds the school record for career wins, strikeouts and innings pitched. He also played for the 17U Long Island Tigers, helping them win the NABF National Championship and split a no hitter in the championship game.

In high school O’Kelly was a three year varsity player but he had been called up as a freshman for the playoffs and pitched in the game that New Hyde Park ended up losing to rival Valley Stream North.

“That was like the biggest crowd I ever pitched in front of, it was a big playoff game, it was a big rivalry game, huge crowd was there so it was actually a great experience. One I got through that game I said ‘if I can pitch through that, I can pitch through anything’.”

Though he professes to be a Met fan, he counts pitcher Pedro Martinez as his favorite player.

“What I liked about Pedro is that he’s kind of a shorter pitcher which I’m not the tallest guy and he obviously was a standout,” he said. “I just liked the fact that he proved that you don’t have to be a 7-ft. giant to be a pitcher in the big leagues.”

With his collegiate athletic career complete, O’Kelly will spend the fall semester as a student teacher after pursuing a degree in childhood education and going for special education masters at night wants to teach in elementary education

“Through my college experience a lot of teachers – because you have to take courses for special education, at least have a little background on it – and they were actually really inspirational for me, some of my college professors so they kind of pushed me in that direction.”

A coach that also impacted O’Kelly was the one he played under at New Hyde Park, head varsity baseball coach Doug Robbins, who also played professionally as a minor league pitcher.

“I think that’s why I lean more towards pitching because I had such a great source with Robbins being there,” O’Kelly said. “Even when I went into college, I felt mentally I was a lot more developed than a lot of the kids I was playing against because coach Robbins took me to the next level.”

O’Kelly also gives private lessons to players and will be working with Robbins to coach the Gladiator’s  fall team which plays one game a week to prepare them for the spring season.

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