If Jon Mennella ever had to swim to shore from a sinking ship, or run from the cops after robbing a bank, his speed in the pool and on the bases would come in handy. So far, however, he has put those skills to use by compiling a .321 batting average and stealing 40 bases in three years on the Stuyvesant varsity baseball team, the Hitmen, and winning three of six individual races this season for the Pirates, Stuyvesant’s boys’ varsity swimming team.
Despite his success in both, he has very different backgrounds in each respective sport. “Baseball, I’ve been playing since I was five. Coming into Stuy, I knew I was going to play baseball,” said Mennella. As a freshman, he made the junior varsity team and has been the starting centerfielder on the varsity team since his sophomore year.
Mennella began his four-year swimming career a bit differently. “During the swim test at Camp Stuy,” Mennella said, “the swim coach said I should try out. He thought I was a natural talent.” Although he was a bit surprised, he decided to give it a shot. At the tryouts, he said that he was the only one “in surf trunks.” He said, “Everyone else had jammers, or speedos. I didn’t even have goggles.” Nevertheless, he made the team. Over the course of the next four years, he worked hard to excel in a sport in which he had never participated competitively.
“Working with the coaches and other swimmers has helped me to work on my technique, endurance, everything. I just developed myself into a swimmer,” Mennella said. “I’ve learned so much about swimming these four years.”
Peter Bologna, who has coache d Mennella on the swim team for the last three years, agreed. “The leaders on the team really helped him with his stroke,” he said. “He worked very hard at it, and it was tedious, but he did it, and it really helped him out. He really came to his own last year and this year as a sprinter.”
Although Mennella had a far more extensive background in baseball, he was still able to find ways to improve and change.
“I’ve definitely become more serious about it,” he said. Before high school, he played on little league teams, in which the focus was on having fun. At Stuy, he had to focus more on honing his technique. “He’s a very hard worker and he’s very dedicated,” said Bologna. “Anything Jon puts his mind to, he’s going to do well at. He’s one of those kids that won’t stop until he’s happy with his results. If Jon works hard in anything he does, he will accomplish something,” said Bologna, who coached Mennella on the varsity baseball team his sophomore and junior years. “When we brought him up his sophomore year and he started for us, he did very, very well.”
Assistant coach Matt Hahn said the team benefits greatly from his “speed and defense in centerfield and his speed on the base paths.” Senior and teammate on the Hitmen, Kieren James-Lubin said Mennella is a “solid hitter and pretty good outfielder.”
Above all it is his attitude towards the sports that has impacted his teammates. “He’s a cool guy, and that influences the team,” said freshman and fellow Pirate Igor Shtefanko. “He’s just a lot of fun.”
Menella’s desire to have fun is evident in his style of play. On why he plays centerfield, he said, “I had a space to cover. It was all my territory. I was fast, so I could go after big shots. Its exciting to go after fly balls, to get that diving catch.” Offensively, his most unique contribution to the team is stealing bases, which requires speed and spontaneity.
In swimming, these two aspects contribute to his preference for sprints, specifically, the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and medley relays. “It’s very bangbang, just get in there, get out. You swim your hardest, show what you’ve got, and leave everything in the pool.”
Accordingly, he said one of his most memorable experiences as an athlete at Stuyvesant was this year’s swimming finals against Brooklyn Tech. “It was collective as a team, the imprint of finals this year, but Jon was definitely a part of that,” Bologna said.
“It was maybe my most exciting sports experience,” Mennella said. The Pirates’ fight to maintain their winning streak came down to the last race, a 200-yard medley relay in which Mennella swam the second leg. “There was so much energy, everyone was cheering, and we didn’t want to lose,” he said. “I got out and watched the last leg, just wondering what was going to happen. We ended up pulling it out. It was just awesome.”
His laidback attitude is most prevalent in his personality and leadership style.
“He’s not a loud, screaming guy. He’s sort of a quiet leader,” said James-Lubin.
Mennella agreed that since becoming co-captain of the Hitmen, he has paid more attention to being a leader. “I help all the younger outfielders develop their skills. I’ve tried to increase doing that as I’ve gotten older and better,” he said.
Whether giving tips, playing the game or just having fun, Mennella is a good teammate and captain in every sense. “He is always quiet about his accomplishments, always putting the team first,” Hahn said. “He is always there for his teammates, giving out nicknames, carrying equipment, whatever else needs to be done. To me, that’s how a good captain should act. He is one of the most enjoyable players I’ve coached in my 24 years at Stuyvesant.”
The same may be said of swimming. “Jon wasn’t named captain of the swim team last year,” said Bologna. “But it didn’t deter him from being a leader on the team. He definitely led by example.”
Next year, Mennella will attend Boston College, a Division I school. Because its athletics are so prestigious, making the team will be no easy task.
“I want to keep in shape and everything. I want to keep athletics in my life. If I get that urge, I might work my ass off and try out, give it a shot, see what happens, but it’ll take a lot of work,” he said. “And if I can’t play, I want to be on the sidelines, cheering them on. Just be involved. I’m sure I’ll get that same energy I felt as an athlete.”
It is this approach towards sports that makes Mennella the athlete he is. He said he enjoyed being on both the swim and baseball teams for four years. “Fun is a big part for me,” he said. “If it becomes too serious, it’s not worth your time. I’m very laid back, just trying to enjoy myself, to have a good time, because that’s why I do it; that’s why I joined the team.”