Michael Murillo

It’s 1,000 and counting for Ke’Shawn Ingram

January 15, 2014 By Michael Murillo

On Dec. 19, senior point guard Ke’Shawn Ingram joined a pretty exclusive club: boys basketball players from Steinbrenner High School who have scored 1,000 points or more in their careers.

Steinbrenner High School has its first 1,000-point player in boys basketball, as Ke’Shawn Ingram earned those honors late last month. Despite being one of the top offensive teams in the region, it’s defense that’s hurting the Warriors, dropping them to a 6-11 record.

In fact, it’s so exclusive that he’s the only member.

Ingram reached that mark by scoring 25 points in a home game against Sickles. And while the end result was a 69-55 loss for the Warriors, who are going through a challenging season at 6-11 (3-4 in district play), that milestone is a definite bright spot for the program.

But the player who set a new standard for boys basketball excellence at Steinbrenner isn’t doing much celebrating. The team’s lack of wins weighs more on his mind than his personal accomplishment.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like it. I’m proud of myself, but it’s not my first concern,” Ingram said about setting the mark. “The main goal is for my team to go as far as we can.”

The Warriors are having no problem scoring points: With Ingram’s help, they lead their district in points favored by a comfortable margin. In fact, the next closest team is more than 150 points back.

Defense, however, has been a problem, as they also have the most points against — also more than 150 points ahead of the second-worst mark in Class 7A-District 8. Ingram acknowledges the defensive issues and says the team is working on techniques to improve for the rest of the season.

If it seems unusual that a high-scoring senior is more worried about team defense than his personal offensive records, it might be because Ke’Shawn Ingram is an unusual athlete. His 6-foot-1, 165-pound frame is well-suited to sports, but his 3.66 GPA shows that his focus is on more than racking up points on the court.

“School always comes first for me,” Ingram explained. If the team doesn’t have practice after school, homework is at the top of his agenda once he gets home, with extra basketball work coming later in the evening. His goal is to play college basketball (he hasn’t chosen a school yet, but would prefer to stay in the south) and study sports marketing, eventually working with a professional basketball team.

His coach, Reggie Anderson, believes Ingram has the ability to find employment with a basketball team, but not just in an office job. Maybe to actually hit the court.

“He does have that potential,” Anderson said. “He’s going to have to go to college and get bigger and stronger. But he has the natural tools, and definitely would have the opportunity to play at that level.”

Anderson isn’t just a proud local coach boasting about a star player. While this is his first year at Steinbrenner, he has 18 years of coaching experience. During that time, Anderson has coached a number of players who have advanced to the NBA, including current Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Jodie Meeks.

He said that Ingram shares many qualities that his best players have, even beyond sheer talent and ability to score points. They all have humility, a strong work ethic and a desire to always get better, and he believes those qualities are the ones that will help Ingram succeed.

“He’s a much better person off the court than he is a player on the court,” Anderson said. “He’s the total package.”

For now, Ingram will continue to focus more on team goals than personal accomplishments, even though he’s already extended his school-best record to beyond 1,100 points. He said that his best friends are on the team, and they didn’t even discuss getting 1,000 points before the game in which he set the mark.

And, just as Anderson indicated, Ingram will keep trying to get better both on and off the court. He said that achieving success in class has similarities to success in basketball.

“I would say you have to be focused and persistent,” Ingram said. “You have to keep at it. If you’re not understanding something, you can ask for help; just like on the court, you can ask for help from your teammates.”

Steinbrenner girls off to hot hoops start

January 15, 2014 By Michael Murillo

When a high school basketball team loses seven players — including three starters — to graduation, the following season will present some big challenges. One could probably call it a “rebuilding” year.

Just don’t use that word when talking to Steinbrenner girls coach J.R. Allen.

Olivia Unger, a senior point guard on the Warriors team, reaches for the ball, proving that a strong defense is necessary for success. Steinbrenner is 20-3, and currently leads Class 7A-District 8.

“That whole mindset, I don’t allow my kids to think like that,” Allen said. “To me, that’s kind of making an excuse to where you can have an average year.”

Allen’s team seems to have received the message because they aren’t having an average year: The Warriors are currently 20-3, and sit atop Class 7A-District 8 with a 6-1 record. The team began the season with a 12-game winning streak, and their three losses have been to teams with a combined record of 52-7.

Allen credits the team’s strong start to a suffocating defense: Just five teams have been able to reach the 40-point threshold against them. In fact, he said that the Warriors have kept almost every opponent to at least 20 points below their scoring average.

“That’s why we’ve had the success we’ve had, because this whole team has bought in, heart and soul, to what it really means to play team defense and shut people down,” Allen said.

Steinbrenner also is good at pulling out a victory in close contests: The team is 4-1 in games decided by six points or less. But that isn’t an accident, either. The team specifically practices late-game circumstances that put their players in pressure situations. Whether they’re down by one point with less than a minute left in the game, or they have a small lead to protect and no timeouts remaining — if they face that situation in a real game, odds are they’ve dealt with something similar in practice.

But when it comes to the one main factor in the team’s success, sophomore Courtney Hall agrees with her coach.

“I think definitely our strongest quality is our defense. We just can’t be stopped,” she said.

The team’s philosophy is to have everyone on the court provide pressure and make things difficult for the opposing offense.

Hall also played for Steinbrenner in her freshman year, though not as a starter. She acknowledges that the previous year’s team featured players who were on the court together for a long time and knew each other well, and the current team had to find their own chemistry. But they’ve done so with a stingy defense and a focus on not allowing the opponent to get second chances at scoring.

Hall is Steinbrenner’s leading rebounder, and said that a big team focus is on making sure there are no easy follow-ups when an opponent tries for points.

“If you’re going to take a shot, you’re only getting one shot, and all of us are crashing the boards,” she said.

While the team’s philosophy has earned them a strong record and the top spot in the district, it will be the district tournament and playoffs that will determine how far the Warriors go. And with more than a decade of coaching experience (including coaching boys earlier in his career), Allen has led teams with various skill levels and abilities.

But it’s this Steinbrenner team that has him confident in ways he hasn’t been in the past.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been able to say this in 12 years: This team could win a state championship,” Allen said. “Now will they? Obviously that depends on how we finish and me getting them to absolutely believe that unequivocally with no doubts, and we’re still working on it.

“But I truly believe this team could play for a state championship.”

Landmark theater turns to Internet for help

January 8, 2014 By Michael Murillo

A few years after moving to Lutz, Wayne and Cindy Valenti decided to start a business on North Dale Mabry Highway. The concept of a movie theater with nightclub-style seating serving a wide variety of food and alcohol sounded like one with potential, and offered a change of pace from traditional movie-going.

They named it Tampa Pitcher Show.

Wayne Valenti of Lutz, who opened the Tampa Pitcher Show in 1982, loads up the film projector that has served his North Dale Mabry Highway business since the beginning. He is now raising money to replace it with a digital projector — an upgrade that could cost $60,000.

That was back in 1982. More than three decades years later, some things haven’t changed much.

“We’ve lived in the same place and worked in the same place for over 30 years,” Wayne Valenti said with a laugh.

Unfortunately, the business climate for Tampa Pitcher Show is no laughing matter. Entertainment competition and technology have made success more difficult, and the venue is now in danger of closing. The 220-seat theater that used to have frequent sellouts looks empty many nights, and getting prints for their 35mm projector (the same one they opened with) is getting more and more difficult. Some movies, like last year’s “Gravity,” aren’t released on 35mm film at all. It was a digital-only release, and Tampa Pitcher Show isn’t equipped to show movies in that format.

To turn things around, the business has turned to the Internet for help. A Kickstarter program has been launched in order to raise $30,000 — roughly half the cost of the digital upgrade. Kickstarter is a crowdsourcing platform where someone can pitch an idea, and convince everyday people to pledge donations for that idea from their computer or cell phone. The amounts can be as little as $1 and go up to several thousand dollars.

Kickstarter launched in 2009, practically redefining how ideas can be financed. Those who contribute money, however, are considered donors and not investors. That’s because they don’t actually get any ownership or product in return for that pledge, except incentives offered by the group looking for pledges based on how much is contributed.

Valenti is offering incentives to those who contribute to the Tampa Picture Show Kickstarter. They range from a movie ticket and website recognition for a $10 contribution, up to a private movie screening for 75 people with a $2,000 donation — with food and soft drinks included.

“We need to let people know that they’re not just donating. They’re getting something for their money,” Valenti said.

One person has already taken them up on the private movie screening. Tom Mitchell, also a small business owner with a location not far from Tampa Pitcher Show, wanted to demonstrate his support of the Valentis, especially since he is a longtime patron and fan of the theater.

“It’s a great theater,” Mitchell said. “We’ve enjoyed going there for a long time.”

He finds the ticket prices to be cheaper than a traditional multiplex, with a wide variety of food and drink available, and the opportunity to support a local business. He plans to treat some of his employees at Actsoft to a movie with the perk he earned for the donation.

While Tampa Pitcher Show has raised more than $5,000 so far, the theater might not see a penny of it. If a project doesn’t meet its fundraising goal in the specified time — in this case, by Feb. 1 — all donations are returned and the company gets no money.

While they hope to meet that goal, Valenti said he can’t afford to wait for it, either. Tampa Picture Show already is beginning the digital upgrade process, with the understanding that the equipment will have to be returned if they don’t have the money to pay it off.

Installing the system will allow customers to enjoy better picture and sound, and have access to movies that aren’t distributed in the old format. But failing to make the digital conversion permanent would be devastating to a business that’s already struggling to keep up with the times, and make it harder for the Valentis to keep the small business they’ve had for more than three decades.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed,” Valenti said. “We need it to work.”

Tampa Pitcher Show is located at 14416 N. Dale Mabry Highway. For more information about the company’s Kickstarter project, visit SaveTampaPitcherShow.com.

Wiregrass Ranch girls hoopsters create buzz with fast start

January 8, 2014 By Michael Murillo

With nearly three decades of basketball coaching experience, John Gant usually knows what to expect from his players. And going into his third season coaching the Wiregrass Ranch High School girls, he expected to have a strong team.

But even he admits he didn’t see 19 wins in their first 20 games.

Wiregrass Ranch captain Logan Seoane goes for a jump ball back in her early days on the Bulls varsity team. Now Seoane and her teammates are charging through the regular season, picking up 19 wins in their first 20 games.

“I did expect a good year. I did not anticipate quite this good a record, but I did anticipate a good year for my kids,” he said.

But the Bulls have done just that, starting out hot with a six-game winning streak before losing on the road at district foe Steinbrenner. However, they bounced back from that defeat and have rattled off 13 straight wins (nine of those by double-digits), including an eight-point victory over Steinbrenner in the rematch.

Gant identifies a couple of important team traits that has led to the Bulls’ success. First, the team is unselfish, with scoring relatively evenly distributed and no one player dominating the stat sheet. And second, the Bulls play an up-tempo game with an eye for fast break opportunities and plenty of running up and down the court.

While Wiregrass Ranch’s record is a marked improvement over previous seasons, Gant said his coaching philosophy hasn’t changed. The difference is the team’s receptiveness to what the coaching staff teaches and their ability to come together and excel behind that philosophy.

“It is not difficult to teach” unselfish play, he said. “It is sometimes difficult for kids to buy into it. Really, it comes down to the kids and do they want to buy into it and really make themselves a team, a cohesive unit.”

Bulls captain Logan Seoane, a senior in her fourth year playing for her school, believes her teammates have done just that.

“A lot of us have played together for a long time, and we just clicked this year,” said Seoane, who plays center for Wiregrass Ranch. She also said that developing a fast-break philosophy has meant challenging practices with a lot of transition work, efforts to limit turnovers and a full-court mindset.

But the hard work has been worth it, and other teams have had trouble keeping up with the Bulls.

Still, with all the team’s success, Wiregrass Ranch sits tied with the Steinbrenner Seahawks for the lead in Class 7A-District 8. Both teams have lost just one district game — to each other. If both teams win out, Gant said that regular tiebreakers probably won’t settle the issue. A simple coin toss could determine the tournament seeding, in which the top two teams will advance into the playoffs.

The fact that a 19-1 record doesn’t assure them the top seed in the tournament for a playoff berth isn’t lost on Gant. But he said that tournament seeding isn’t that important, since there will be tough games no matter where they finish.

“We have one of the toughest districts in the state,” he said. That includes Sickles, currently 14-4 overall and 2-3 in the district, as well as Freedom, which is 13-3 overall, and 2-3 in the district.

Of course, no one can forget Steinbrenner, which is currently 19-2, and 5-1 in the district.

“And we’re all very good,” Gant said. “You’re going to have a tough opponent no matter where you are.”

Rather than worry about tournament seeding, part of the team’s philosophy is to just take things one game at a time and not look ahead or take anything for granted. In fact, the coach believes that there’s nothing to take for granted yet, since they haven’t guaranteed themselves anything.

“We’re 19-1, and we’re 5-1 in district,” Gant said. “What’s it mean? Absolutely nothing if you don’t take care of business.”

Their next piece of business is a home game against Freedom on Jan. 8.

His team has also bought into that message as well. When asked how far she thought the team could go this year, Seoane responded with an answer that would make her coach proud: “We just have to take it step by step.”

Sunlake’s cheerleaders named ‘Best of Pasco’

December 25, 2013 By Michael Murillo

The high school football season is over, and the Sunlake Seahawks had a good year.

They made the playoffs and defeated most of their competition. Now, the team’s cheerleaders have begun their own competitive season, and they’re on track for similar success.

The cheerleading squad from Sunlake High School helped earn coach Pennye Garcia yet another Best of Pasco cheerleading title, defeating 11 other squads during a recent competition. Garcia has won the title in the past with Land O’ Lakes and Hudson high schools. (Photo courtesy of Tammy Price)

After placing first at the Universal Cheerleading Association’s Central Regionals on Dec. 7, the squad moved on to the Best of Pasco Sunshine Athletic Conference Cheerleading Competition. There they defeated 11 other squads to take first place in the county, claim the competition’s highest score, and earn another title for the school.

According to Head Coach Pennye Garcia, there were tense moments before the winner was named.

“We dropped two stunts in our routine, so we were really down. We didn’t think that we were going to win,” she said. But because the rest of their two-and-a-half-minute performance was so strong and had earned such a high degree of difficulty, the team was able to overcome a couple of mistakes and still claim the county title.

Garcia is proud of her team’s ability to work hard throughout the competition and earn the top spot despite the challenges.

And praise from Garcia carries significant weight. When the team walked into Land O’ Lakes High School for the competition, they saw plenty of cheerleading titles indicating that school’s own success.

“I coached at Land O’ Lakes for a long time,” Garcia explained. “It was kind of funny being over there and seeing the banner in the gym. I said, ‘Those are my winnings.’ I won Best of Pasco for a lot of years when I was at Land O Lakes.”

Garcia left Land O’ Lakes to start Sunlake’s cheerleading program when the school opened back in 2007. But soon after, she left Sunlake for a short stint at Hudson, where she claimed a Best of Pasco title for that school. Now she’s returned to Sunlake and another first-place finish has followed.

Since the team has shown an ability to overcome adversity, Garcia said they’re proving they deserve a designation not always associated with cheerleaders. “They’re the athletes that they say they are,” Garcia said. “With cheerleading, a lot of people still don’t see it as a sport. So I put it in front of them that if they’re true athletes, then they need to act like athletes and be able to overcome whatever they do and move on and make it better the next time.”

Senior Joy Wennlund, a team captain who has spent her entire high school career on the cheerleading team, understands that many people don’t consider it a sport. But she says that’s because they usually see the team when they’re supporting the football program. While that’s important for school spirit, there’s more to cheerleading than what fans see on the sidelines.

“There’s another side to that; the competitive side,” Wennlund said. “When we’re at practice is the only time we’re showing all of those skills. So no one really gets to see that competitive edge that we have until we go to competition.”

Although football games are played every week, there are only a handful of cheerleading competitions each season.

“There’s a lot less opportunities to show all the hard work and dedication we’ve put in as a team,” she said.

Still, Wennlund finds the experience rewarding and likes seeing the team come together, experience success and execute their routines after working so hard on them.

Those routines are Garcia’s own creations, and the longtime coach understands that a good team can’t focus on previous victories. Just like any group of successful athletes, she wants her cheerleading team to remain on an even keel and prepare for the competitions ahead of them.

“They need to be level-headed, but they also need to be focused on what they need to do to keep their stamina up,” Garcia said. “Because when they come back in January they need to be ready to go, and they know that I’m going to be pushing them.”

Pee Wee Predators cheer way to nationals

December 11, 2013 By Michael Murillo

When you attend a Pop Warner football game, you might not realize that you’re seeing more than two teams on the field.

The first, of course, is the football team. But there’s another group of athletes performing, and they also practice, work hard and compete against opponents at the conference, regional and national levels. And they’re part of every game.

They’re the cheerleaders.

Kate Allmond, Shae-Lynn Gibbs and Kylee Brown lift Lila Zois as part of the award-winning routines of the South Pasco Predators in the Pop Warner Pee Wee division. The girls are heading to Orlando to compete at the national level. (Photo courtesy of Kayla Hensley)

Cheerleading isn’t simply a side activity that complements the football programs. It’s an organized sport in its own right that requires patience and skill to compete at a high level. And in the Pee Wee division, the South Pasco Predators have demonstrated their ability to not only compete, but stand out: The team took first place at the conference level, compiling the highest score and earning a trip to regionals.

But there were more reasons to cheer for the Predators. At the regional competition, the team again placed first and again had the highest score of any squad (including teams from the rest of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia). That accomplishment has earned them a spot in the national competition, which will be this week at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

For Coach Kayla Hensley, the team’s success validates not just the Pee Wee Predators, but the sport of cheerleading.

“If you don’t have any experience watching cheerleading, they make it look so easy that it doesn’t seem like it should be a sport,” she said. “That’s the real challenge of cheerleading. You’re supposed to make it look easy and effortless.”

People see cheerleaders from professional football teams — who mostly perform dance routines — and they think that’s all there is to it, Hensley said. But competitively, there’s a lot of skill necessary, a lot of dedication required and a lot of preparation and practice to perform the team’s complex routines correctly.

Hensley seems to have found the formula for cheerleading success: This is the second team she’s coached that reached nationals (she coached Junior Pee Wee for the Predators last year, and that team placed fourth at the national competition). She’s also a former Predator herself, cheerleading in her youth for the team before becoming a cheerleader for Land O’ Lakes High School.

Hensley said that she feels more stress as a coach than when she was doing the routines herself.

“It’s way more nerve-racking on the coaching side of things, because you have no control over their performance,” she said. “You’re not out there so you can’t do anything to help them.”

But her athletes think she’s done a lot to help them get where they are today.

“Kayla, she’s amazing. I really like her,” said Kylee Brown, one of the team’s cheerleaders. “She encourages us. Every time we go on the stage, she gives us a pep talk.”

Hensley also reminds the team that no matter how the national competition turns out, they should be proud of making it this far and enjoy the level of success the Predators have already attained, Brown said.

Another cheerleader, Elizabeth Harmon, said that Henley’s experience has helped them recognize what’s important to judges and how to maximize their points to have the best showing possible.

“She knows what’s expected, and she knows how many points you can get (for different parts of a routine) so she knows how to get us a really high score,” Harmon said.

She admits to be a little nervous about competing at nationals, but also is excited about the chance to perform at Disney World.

Hensley will be proud of the team regardless of how they finish. But that day will be a mix of pride and anxiety, and the coach might even be more nervous than the girls who will be competing.

“The nervous feeling that I used to get right before I went on the mat, I have the whole entire day of the competition,” she said. “Whenever I watch them, I just have a huge smile on my face and my eyes get watery. I feel like I’m watching my own kids out there.”

Land O’ Lakes girls soccer: Undefeated and focused

December 4, 2013 By Michael Murillo

When a high school team is undefeated after winning games by scores such as 8-0, 7-0, 9-1 and 6-1, you might think they have a very good baseball program with talented athletes on offense and defense.

And that assumption would be correct. Except for one thing: Those aren’t baseball scores. They’re soccer scores.

Land O’ Lakes coach Vicky King gives a pep talk last winter to a team that finished with its second straight district title. The Gators have a strong start to this season, off to an 11-0 start, and averaging just under six goals a game. (File photo)

The girls soccer team at Land O’ Lakes High School isn’t just beating their opponents on their way to an 11-0 record, they’re burying them with 65 goals in 11 games, versus just eight goals scored against them. Only two games have been close (each decided by one goal), and they rule Class 3A-District 8 with a 10-0 record.

Land O’ Lakes has a strong history — they’ve won their district the past two seasons — and a very bright future this year. But don’t tell that to Coach Vicky King. She doesn’t let her players rest on their laurels or look past opponents toward the end of the season. They focus only on the practice ahead of them, the next opponent and playing good soccer every time they step onto the pitch.

“We don’t even talk about our wins and losses. No one has talked about our record at all,” King said with a decisive tone. “We don’t take anything for granted. We have to earn every goal. Nothing will be given to us.”

In fact, King said she doesn’t even remember her team’s record last year, even though they won the district title. Her time isn’t spent on the past, but getting the Gators ready for their next opponent.

Now in her 27th year coaching soccer at Land O’ Lakes, King has guided dozens of different teams. She noted that this squad is very talented, and while they do have a standout scorer — sophomore Victoria Cannata leads the team with 12 goals — the Gators have 16 players who have scored at least one goal so far this season. That diversity in offense makes them difficult to defend, and gives the team a number of options they can use to attack their opponent.

“You can’t shut us down by shutting down one person,” King said. “We have a lot of depth. We’ve created a lot of scoring opportunities that we haven’t created the past two years.”

Senior Brooke Silvest has played soccer all throughout high school, and notices something special about this year’s team. Even though they’re very young and skilled, it’s been improved team chemistry that has made a difference.

“We all work really well together,” she said. “We all get along much better than we ever have in the past. That helps a lot.”

Players aren’t selfish with the ball, often choosing to earn an assist rather than take the shot themselves. Talented underclassmen have chemistry with the more experienced players, and as a result, Silvest believes this is the school’s best girls soccer team since she’s been a member.

Silvest and the team have also bought into King’s philosophy, making no assumptions before a game and maintaining focus throughout their matches, regardless of the score. She admits that some of the earlier games were closer than they should have been because they weren’t playing their best (and possibly looking ahead on the schedule), but their focus is now always on the task in front of them.

The team goes into each match with the simple goal of working hard, rather than considering opponents’ records or their own past performances, Silvest said.

And while she doesn’t want to deviate from that strategy, Silvest has a lot of optimism about the team’s potential, and believes they have a chance to eclipse last year’s accomplishments.

“Last year we got knocked out in regional semis, and I think we can go to state this year,” Silvest said. “We’re a much better team, and I think we can beat the team that knocked us out.”

The Gators still have a half-dozen district games remaining on the schedule, including a rematch against Sunlake, whose only loss was a 2-1 defeat to Land O’ Lakes last month. But whatever they accomplish this year, it will be with a commitment to growing as a team and getting better with each game.

“We should improve,” King said. “We don’t want to peak too early. We want to improve as the season goes on.”

Concept of putting fun back into youth sports turns 10

November 27, 2013 By Michael Murillo

When parents sign their children up with i9 Sports, they notice that it’s missing a lot of things one might expect in a youth sports league.

There’s no ultra-competitive atmosphere, no tryouts, and no fighting for playing time. There are no crazy practice schedules, either — it’s just one day a week, prior to the actual game.

There are changes for the adults as well, such as no mandatory volunteer hours and a lack of incessant fundraisers.

With short practices, reduced parental involvement, and sports for everyone, the i9 Sports franchise has grown from a small operation in Tampa to 600,000 players in more than half the country over the last decade. (Photo courtesy of i9 Sports)

In fact, a lot of the things that can take the fun out of youth sports has purposely been eliminated. What i9 offers (and what’s missing) is part of the reason the Tampa-based organization, now celebrating its 10th year, has grown to more than a half-million participants across 26 states — including through Pasco and Hillsborough counties.

“In most other youth sport programs, they’re really adult sports played by kids,” said Brian Sanders, president and chief operating officer of i9 Sports. “And research study after study has shown that kids want to have fun. That’s the reason they play sports.”

Many recreational leagues have become a lot of work, especially for parents. The idea behind i9 was to bring it back to the children themselves.

“So we’ve tried to reinvent youth sports and take it back to where people wanted the programs to be to begin with,” Sanders said. That means an emphasis on learning fundamentals and good sportsmanship instead of simply winning, and a focus on having fun instead of the stress associated with having their on-field performance critiqued and evaluated.

Teams are co-ed and the leagues try to accommodate children who already are friends so they can play on the same team. But every child, regardless of ability, gets equal playing time and participation recognition.

Special awards are given out, but they’re not based on athletic ability. Instead, teams focus on one aspect of leadership and good play each week, and the child who best demonstrates those traits earns a sportsmanship medal. The end result is what Sanders calls healthy and age-appropriate competition, and an atmosphere where kids truly enjoy playing.

That includes Lorraine Gallo’s son, Anthony, who she admits didn’t enter i9 sports as an enthusiastic athlete.

“He was an Xbox boy,” Gallo explained. But after starting out on a soccer team, he’s added flag football to his sports schedule and has learned the value of making new friends and being part of a team. Now he’s anxious to get back on the field during season breaks, and has even joined his middle school’s football team.

Gallo herself appreciates the fact that, as a parent, she isn’t spending time manning a concession booth or selling chocolate, which can be a normal part of the youth sports experience for adults. Instead, she sits in the stands and watches him play, along with other parents from both teams who are all there to lend support in a positive environment.

Since all parents sign a “parental pledge” affirming their commitment to a fun, nonstressful atmosphere for the children, Gallo doesn’t have to worry about over-competitive parents who yell at the players, badger referees about missed calls and diminish the experience for the rest of the team and the families. Instead, everyone can cheer on their children and enjoy the experience.

But the biggest change has come from Anthony, and Gallo said what he’s learned has made the experience very worthwhile for her family.

“He’s learned patience, he’s learned teamwork. He’s learned sportsmanship. He’s a totally different child,” she said.

Sanders will try to reach more children in that same way as the organization continues to grow. i9 operates by selling franchises in various areas, and all follow the basic concepts of minimal commitment needed to participate.

i9 plans to accelerate its expansion goals and highlight the differences between them and other youth sports offerings Sanders said.

“Our program format is working well. There’s no one else that is doing what we’re doing right now, and we believe there’s a huge need for what we provide,” he said. “You can sum up what we offer as fun, safety and convenience, and it’s something that both parents and the kids are really finding is different versus the other programs.”

For more information about i9Sports, visit www.i9sports.com.

Sunlake, Wharton football squads fall in playoffs

November 20, 2013 By Michael Murillo

High school football teams fight all year for a shot at the district title. If they fall short, the backup plan is to be district runner-up, because that spot (like the title winner) earns a trip to the playoffs.

Neither the Wharton Wildcats nor the Sunlake Seahawks were able to achieve their top goal of a district title, but both earned a hard-fought runner-up spot to earn a playoff berth. And both battled right to the end in the first round of the playoffs, before falling to their opponents.

Neither team had an easy road to earning second place in the district. For Wharton, two straight district losses put them in a must-win situation at the end of the year against Bloomingdale. The team had faced a big deficit heading into the final period, but scored 22 unanswered points and came away with a 30-23 win, a tie-breaker over the Bulls and that coveted runner-up spot in Class 8A-District 6.

Sunlake dropped its first district game, then rallied to win their next three to earn their second place finish. A tough 28-21 win over Land O’ Lakes in October proved to be the difference between the two teams, and the difference between second and third place. In the end, the Seahawks’ 3-1 record was good enough for runner-up status in Class 6A-District 6.

While those were satisfying finishes for each school, it was really just the end of the regular season: Both teams then entered a separate 32-team regional tournament to determine the state champion. But for both clubs, the beginning of their playoffs would also be the end. Wharton fell in their playoff opener to Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Panthers, 37-10, while Sunlake was a field goal short to the Gainesville Hurricanes, 17-14.

Sunlake Head Coach Bill Browning explained that, despite the loss, he was impressed with the way his team played.

“Gainesville’s a very talented team. They have a ton of speed,” he said. “We played exceptionally well. Physically, we beat them up. The effort was fantastic. Close ballgame.”

The Seahawks out-gained the Hurricanes and had a lead late in the game, but some untimely penalties and a late surge by Gainesville ended their season.

For Wharton, although the final score indicated the game wasn’t close, it really didn’t break open until the final period. The Wildcats were behind 14-3 at halftime and still within two scores in the fourth quarter. Head Coach David Mitchell said it was a few game-changing snaps and some self-inflicted wounds that turned the tide against them.

“They scored based on big plays,” he said. “We had problems with penalties. That’s what hurt us a lot.”

While he didn’t want Wharton to end their year with a loss, Mitchell believes they had a good season and already is looking toward next year. He has a number of returning players, and several of them will participate in other high school sports, which he said will help them on the gridiron.

In 2014, the key will be keeping them on top of their grades (and eligible to play sports), focused and ready for the new season.

Browning has his team looking forward to 2014 as well. He said the Seahawks have plenty of good talent returning — especially on offense — and they’ll be able to use some of the school’s junior varsity players, who enjoyed an 8-0 season this year.

Looking back, the coaches know that making the playoffs is an achievement in itself, both for themselves and the players who work so hard to get there. And for those graduating, many can look back on not just a good year, but a good career at their respective schools.

“For some of those players, it’s the third opportunity (to participate in the playoffs) in three years for them. That’s pretty good,” Mitchell said.

And Browning agrees. “For the kids coming back we’ll have to learn from it (the playoff loss), and for the seniors, we had a great senior bunch. They’re the winning-est senior class in the short history of the school.”

Better than ever: Steinbrenner Volleyball reaches state semis

November 20, 2013 By Michael Murillo

With their victory over Wiregrass Ranch on Oct. 25, the Steinbrenner Warriors can now say they’re Class 7A-District 8 volleyball champions.

Of course, they were able to say the same thing last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. In fact, in the five years the school has had a volleyball program, they’re a perfect 5-for-5 in district titles.

Junior Avery Bradshaw slams the ball over the net during Steinbrenner High School’s recent volleyball playoff run that named the Warriors regional champions.

But while the district results were always the same, so were the regional ones: The previous four years found the team 0-4 when it came to an elusive regional title.

Until this year.

The Warriors finally claimed their first Class 7A regional crown by besting the Lake Nona Lions on Nov. 9 in three sets. That win took them to the state semifinals for the first time in school history, where they fell to Gulf Coast in a tough five-set match.

But while their season ended with a loss, the team is proud of their accomplishments in claiming a regional title and advancing farther than any previous Steinbrenner volleyball team before them.

“They were the first group in school history to attain that goal, and I think that was most exciting for them,” said Head Coach Laura Stegenga, who has coached for several years, but just completed her second season with Steinbrenner. This squad stood out, she said, because the school’s team historically is a young team. Yet they benefited from having a number of juniors and seniors to provide experience this season.

And with 10 juniors helping lead the way, Stegenga can also look forward to coaching a large portion of this year’s successful team again in 2014.

One of those players, Avery Bradshaw, admits the state semifinal was a tough loss after coming so far this season. But the junior, now in her third year with the Steinbrenner volleyball team, soon recognized the importance of the school’s first regional title.

“We wanted to be the first year (the 2013 squad) on the banner in the gym that said we are regional champions,” Bradshaw said. “That was a great accomplishment for us.”

She was also consoled by the outpouring of support the team received from the school. Originally unsure of the reaction she’d receive and hoping nobody was disappointed in the team following the loss, Bradshaw said she was grateful to see students and faculty — including some she didn’t know were even following the team’s success — offering congratulations and letting her know how proud they were of her and her team.

“That made everything a lot better,” she said.

While the team can look back on 2013 as the best volleyball season in school history, Stegenga knows that there will be new challenges next season. Each year the team wants to live up to the school’s history of claiming the district title, but she admits that winning a regional title and coming so close to the state finals has raised the bar when it comes to team expectations.

The matchups, Stegenga said, will determine how challenging their draw is in the postseason, but she believes that this year’s experience and the desire to improve will provide a lot of motivation for her returning players.

However, the moment they claimed the first regional title in school history is one that will stick with her.

“I remember that game point of the third set against Lake Nona (in the regional final) and the girls’ celebration and the tears. It was very powerful,” Stegenga said. “That’s really the reason why I coach, is to have moments like that with the players.”