Little Stevie Panarelli is driving home from a little league baseball game in the passenger side of his father’s car.

His baseball game didn’t go so well. He struggled on the mound. His wiry right arm made him a defensive liability, especially at pitcher.

But Stevie doesn’t take defeat well. He’s only 8, but he’s confident as hell, especially when it comes to athletics.

‘Dad,’ Steve says, ‘the coach didn’t give me a fair chance out there. He didn’t let me pitch enough.’

‘Well, son,’ Lenny replies softly, ‘that’s because you couldn’t reach the plate.’

Now, Steve Panarelli is 19, 11 years removed from the episode. And his family still remembers it. Because, as far as anyone can remember, it’s the only time the Syracuse men’s lacrosse defenseman has ever failed at anything athletically.

Since Panarelli quit his inglorious baseball career (just a few years after his pitching debut), he has dominated a trio of sports: wrestling, football and lacrosse. His combined losses in a given calendar year would be countable on one hand. And, as a starter on the 8-2 Orangemen, his dominance in the athletic field continues.

‘In baseball, I was pretty bad,’ Panarelli says. ‘I batted 18th and played left field. I picked dandelions and gave them to my mother in between innings. But besides baseball, I’ve really succeeded athletically.’

And though Panarelli is on a full athletic scholarship to Syracuse – rare, considering teams are given 12.6 scholarships in lacrosse – his ability ranged almost all sports. Five-year varsity wrestler (yes, it’s possible), three-year letterwinner in football, lacrosse prodigy. Although Lenny started Panarelli in sports to learn about life’s lessons, the Massapequa native hasn’t learned much about defeat.

There were times Panarelli played a pick-up basketball game with his childhood friend and current SU teammate Danny Brennan. And maybe Brennan makes a crucial mistake late in this two-on-two, no-stakes, let’s-have-fun basketball game, losing the game for his team. And then maybe Panarelli just starts mumbling under his breath about how that never should’ve taken place.

‘He’d do that a lot if we’d lose,’ said Brennan, also a freshman. ‘He’s a huge competitor.

‘The thing is, he’s really a laid-back guy. He’ll do the things he has to do, then just relax and chill, listen to some music, maybe. Nothing really worries him except when it comes to athletics.’

Which he’s hardly had to worry about. He wrestled varsity for his high school team when he was in eighth grade, and he won the county championship with a few more years experience. He earned All-County honors for football.

But lacrosse highlighted his athletic career.

That, too, began when he was about 8. He started at midfield, immediately becoming one of the best players on his team.

All his coach, Norm Engelke, could say was: ‘You’ll be a helluva defenseman one day.’

The coach took one of his best offensive players and converted him to a position where the only time he’ll touch the ball is when he hacks at it.

But, the coach justified, Panarelli’s foot speed, instincts and quickness were too good. Panarelli tentatively made the switch – tentatively, because everyone likes to score as a kid – and blossomed.

Ten years later, Panarelli is hoisting his Defensive Player of the Tournament award up at the U-19 World Championships, where Panarelli – one of only six high-schoolers on the squad – led the U.S. team to a gold medal.

The first person he calls is his biggest influence, his older brother Len Jr.

‘You’ll never believe what happened,’ Panarelli said to his brother.

‘You won?’ Len asked.

Did Len even have to ask? Panarelli was playing a sport. Of course he won.

Then Panarelli tacked one more victory onto his scoresheet. As a high school senior, Panarelli won a scholarship for achievement in both wrestling and lacrosse, the first of its kind at Farmingdale High School. Since Panarelli already earned a full scholarship to SU, he couldn’t receive the award per NCAA rules.

Instead, he divvied the scholarship up among his six wrestling teammates. Each received about $1,000.

‘I’m so proud of him for doing that,’ Lenny said. ‘That was his way of giving back.’

After all, Panarelli has already won so much.

Published on April 20, 2004 at 12:00 pm