PHILADELPHIA -- Throwing the shot put was just something Michael Seminario did in between football and baseball season. In just a few months it will be come all he does.
The Fordham Prep senior was a star running back and planning on playing football in college before breaking his collarbone in a win over Holy Cross. He ended up playing just four games and the interest in him dried up leaving just Division III option. So he decided to go a different route.
“My mindset was on football,” Seminario said. “I had some schools calling me and then once I got injured I guess the schools didn’t really think I was a good candidate. A lot of them let me go. But if I can do D-I track, I’d rather do that.”
track athlete at Rhode Island next fall. " title="Fordham Prep's Michael Seminario, who plays football and baseball, will be a track athlete at Rhode Island next fall. " width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2011/04/30/sports/photos_stories/msss--300x300.JPG" />
Joseph Staszewski
Fordham Prep's Michael Seminario, who plays football and baseball, will be a track athlete at Rhode Island next fall.
He will head to Rhode Island on a partial scholarship to throw, but will find himself behind where he potentially could be had he dedicated himself to the event more through high school. He was never pressured into doing track exclusively.
Even with his limited training, Seminario is one of the state’s best. He placed second at the indoor state championship with a toss of 53 feet 3.5 inches in March. Outdoors he was also second at the Mayor’s Cup and finished ninth at the Penn Relays Friday at Franklin Field with a mark of 52-10.75. He missed playing right field for the Rams in a win over St. Raymond to compete at the prestigious meet.
“If he did this all year long he would be throwing 60 feet right now,” Fordham Prep throwing coach Kevin Phipps. “He would have a different technique. He would be spinning instead of gliding. He would spend a lot more time during the weight room. Everyone else here has 20 pounds on him."
Throwing runs in the family for Seminario, who said he will pick up the discus, hammer and weight throw in college. His brother Brian was a shot putter for the Bronx school and was influential in getting Michael to come out of the team. Seminario said he was fully recovered from the collar bone break on his left side by January. It doesn’t hinder him at all now, but did effect how much he could life while he healed.
“Michael is the best shot putter we have had at Fordham Prep in over 45 years,” Phipps said.
He was also one of the Rams top players on the gridiron. The All-Bronx first team selection by The Post was dominant when he played, rushing for 586 yards and five touchdowns, but had to watch from the sidelines most of the time as Fordham Prep went on to have the best season in school history. It went undefeated during the regular season, reaching the 10-win plateau for the first time and lost to eventual champion St. Anthony’s in its first ever CHSFL 'AAA' semifinals.
“The team knew that without me it was going to be hard, but they could pull through themselves,” Seminario said. “Every day I didn’t play was hard. I just felt down. I couldn’t let that affect my team. I had to be supportive. I went to all the practices.”
The missed time left he even more motivated for the track season. Seminario, who Phipps called the most coachable kid he has ever had, felt an extra need to help the team’s other throwers. After the injury he feels he is starting to work himself back up to peak physical condition leaving plenty of potential for his collegiate future.
“On the football field, he is a running back,” Phipps said. “There are not a lot of guys out here [throwing] who would play a skill position on the football field. He is barely 200 pounds and he is doing a lot of things guys 250 pounds can’t do.”
jstaszewski@nypost.com
penn relays, partial scholarship, track athlete, fordham prep, brother brian, coach kevin, franklin field, baseball season, shot putter, runs in the family, bronx school, collarbone, four games, division iii, phipps, holy cross, mindset, rams, hammer, rhode island
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