The Orchard Park Quakers are known for their numerous sectional and regional appearances. The Quakers play NYSPHSAA Section VI D1. They are three time Section VI Champions and they are one time regional champions. They are known for their unique style of play, their discipline and maturity, their coaching, and winning. Coach Ferrentino has led their team to multiple championships as well as coached their team to victory. Quaker Hockey is the talk of high school hockey and will continue to be known for their high level of play, commitment, and dedication.
Diving into the season, the team starts practicing on November 1 every year. There are usually around two to three varsity teams per year. Each team usually consists of fifteen players. This year, the varsity level consists of Varsity Fed, Varsity (b), and Varsity (c). With games starting around mid November, the teams play around twenty-five to thirty games a season.
“It’s definitely been tough and a large commitment but in the end it helped me become a better player,” Brege, a forward on Varsity B.
They usually practice around 3 times a week, and have games consistently throughout the season. Their season ends in February every year, but Orchard Park is usually destined for playoffs.
The engine behind it all is their leader, Coach Ferrentino. He coaches his players into a system that is very efficient, effective, successful, and unique. The players are put through a lot of work and Coach Ferrentino puts them into a system to score and win.
“It’s competitive, demanding, stressful, but rewarding,” said Vanderwerf, a forward on Varsity B.
Coach Ferrentino teaches them real hockey, discipline, fundamentals, technique, skill, and creativity. He also provides his players with support, confidence, love, opportunities, outlooks, advice, knowledge, and so much more. The team feels that it can be stressful at times but overall it is very rewarding. His team is ambitious, committed, and dedicated to the program, and they listen to what their coaches tell them. They stay disciplined and all they want to do is win.
“Well it’s been a long ride since the start of modified with Coach Ferrentino. He has always been the coach at the head of everything and it allows close relationships to be established with the coaches and players as your class grows with the others,” said Pietrantoni, a defenseman on Fed.
Pietrantoni continued, “I’ve been pushed a lot and skated, but the results and coaching help make our team great and win. Our coaching staff are experienced and knowledgeable in hockey and make the game easier to play with roles. It’s been fun through tournaments and growing with the teammates around me since the beginning at OP and we have always been close with the coaches. Its been great and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”
The players are coached into the same system from seventh grade to twelfth grade. The players progressively get better and get more used to the system, helping them win games consistently throughout a season. The system makes the game easier for the players, once they are able to learn it and accomplish what they need to.
“My first year of playing Fed hockey for Orchard Park was great. I made the team as a sophomore and I knew the whole team already because we had played varsity B and JV the years before it. This gave us a lot of chemistry together and it was a funny locker room. The games were a lot faster paced for varsity fed and it took me a little bit to get used to,” said Relosky, a forward on Fed.
The teams throughout Orchard Park Hockey are different in depth, the top team is very fast paced and the lower teams are a little slower paced. The Orchard Park Fed team is very hard to make, and it takes a lot of commitment, dedication, motivation, ambition, and attention to detail to meet the standard. Orchard Park Hockey is very competitive and only continues to grow and get better.