The Laker/Lutz News

University of Minnesota

National champion returns home to teach aspiring players

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Mere weeks ago, Land O’ Lakes native Shannon Saile was busy celebrating an NCAA Division I national championship — as one of the top pitchers on the University of Oklahoma women’s softball team.

Her decorated softball career now has quite literally come full circle.

The 23-year-old returned to her tight-knit central Pasco County hometown, again setting foot on the same park ballfields that forged a pathway for myriad athletic accomplishments.

Shannon Saile, left, a national champion softball pitcher for the Oklahoma Sooners, explains the fundamentals of the fast pitch to 11-year-old Laila McClelland, center, of Odessa. Shannon worked with the intermediates and advanced pitchers on developing their form and delivering a fast pitch over home plate. (Fred Bellet)

Her goal is to organize a series of fastpitch softball clinics to train the next generation of youth standouts.

The upstart Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic was held July 25 at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, home to Land O’ Lakes Little League.

About 30 girls — ages 8 to 15 — took part on a steamy Sunday, eager to take in guidance from Saile and other well-known pitching instructors and volunteers.

Saile hopes to host similar clinics across the country — the next likely somewhere in Oklahoma — all in the name of growing the game that’s afforded her success and opportunity.

“It’s something I’m passionate about,” Saile told The Laker/Lutz News.

Naturally, it only made sense for Saile to launch her softball instruction venture back where it all began — a ballfield in Land O’ Lakes.

“I just thought it was like really important to me to start it in Land O’ Lakes, because that’s where I grew up,” she said of her softball clinic venture. “I really want to grow it across the country, and always come back to Land O’ Lakes.”

With Saile’s tutelage, young campers sharpened their fastballs and secondary offerings like changeups, through arm path mechanics and leg drive techniques, as well as various speed, agility and balance drills.

“I just hope that I can teach them the foundation of pitching, because it’s much more important than just getting out there and throwing pitches,” Saile explained. “The drills are super important, because they help me grow my strength and my confidence in my pitches.”

With her eyes on the ‘strike zone,’ 15-year-old Daijah Madry, of Tampa, prepares to pitch during the Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Parkway. Saile, host of the clinic, was among the national championship team at the University of Oklahoma.

Besides newfound softball skills, campers also had an opportunity to get signed autographs and take pictures with Saile, who’s become a household name in the sports world. She was invited to ESPN’s 2021 ESPY Awards for being part of one of the best moments from the year in sports. The annual sports awards event was televised last month on ABC.

Saile is arguably one of the most accomplished — if not most accomplished — fastpitch softball players to ever come out of Land O’ Lakes High School and the greater Tampa Bay area.

As a Gator, she amassed 517 strikeouts and a career 1.76 ERA in four varsity seasons from 2013 to 2016, also compiling a combined 41 wins, 31 complete games, 11 shutouts and five no-hitters.

The advancement to the college ranks likewise went swimmingly for the 5-foot-7 right-hander.

Saile began her Division I softball career at Florida International University, finding immediate success with a pair of sub 2 ERA seasons in the circle.

Saile then transferred to blue-chip Oklahoma following her sophomore season.

Oklahoma is a perennial powerhouse that’s won five national softball titles since 2000 —including the 2021 Women’s College World Series over Florida State University in June — under longtime head coach Patty Gasso.

The local athlete enjoyed similar statistical feats in the iconic cream-and-crimson Sooners uniform.

As a redshirt senior this past season, Saile posted an impressive 1.70 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while being second on the team in wins (17), innings pitched (100.1), complete games (six), and strikeouts (132).

Local resident Shayna Rentfro lines up a picture of her daughter, Jayda Lisant, 8, through the fence, during the recent Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Parkway.

Upon returning to the area recreation complex, Saile acknowledged  “flashbacks” of the many years, and countless hours and days, spent in travel ball and Land O’ Lakes Little League practices and games.

She put it like this: “Remembering where I started…it just wants me to remind the kids of, ‘You start small and you work your way up; it doesn’t happen overnight,’ and it’s just a humbling experience of remembering where I was and now where I am. It just means a lot to me to bleed that into these girls, that have the same dreams I did.”

Saile, meanwhile, continues to have vivid memories of guiding the Sooners to a national crown earlier this summer and a showy 56-4 record.

After navigating the Big 12 softball championship, NCAA regional and super regional, Oklahoma defeated James Madison, Georgia, UCLA and Florida State at the 2021 Women’s College World Series at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

“It kind of feels like it was yesterday still,” Saile said of the historic collegiate campaign. “I just continuously live that moment in my head of just that feeling of, ‘All the hard work has finally paid off.’ Like, all of the hard work when you’re a kid, on the Little League field, and then now, in the biggest stage, it feels like, ‘Wow, everything I worked for has finally paid off,’ and not a lot of people get to experience that, and I’m so grateful that I was able to.”

All arms on deck
A slew of Saile’s former teammates, coaches and acquaintances pitched in to help the youth softball clinic run smoothly.

Twelve-year old Paige Smith, of Land O’ Lakes, gets a hit in the batting cage, an extra feature at the pitching clinic. She and her 14-year-old sister, Lilly, picked up some pointers at the clinic.

This included fellow former Land O’ Lakes High pitching standout Callie Turner, who launched her college career at the University of Tennessee, but has since transferred to the University of Arkansas, another prominent Division I SEC (Southeastern Conference) program.

Turner and Saile crossed paths in high school, when Saile was a senior and Turner a freshman.

Turner has plenty of name recognition in her own right — a former top-ranked prep softball recruit, state champion and participant on USA Softball’s Junior Women’s National Training Team.

The 5-foot-10 left-hander expressed enthusiasm about sharing her softball knowledge and wisdom with budding campers.

“When I was a kid, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to do stuff like this,” Turner said, “(so) I think it’s really fun, and, I mean, it’s nice to think that they look up to us, so just being able to give back to the community that we grew up in, is great.”

Another notable softball figure serving up lessons — former University of Minnesota pitching standout Amber Fiser, now a softball graduate assistant at the University of Missouri.

Fiser plays alongside Saile for Team Florida in the Professional Fastpitch Softball league.

They also coached together in the Florida Gulf Coast League Pro Series, a summer collegiate softball league in the Sarasota area.

Wearing a protective fielder’s mask, 9-year-old Grace Peters, of Land O’ Lakes, was ready to take her turn on the mound. Peters was among those in the intermediate division at the Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic.

Land O’ Lakes High assistant softball coach Pascal Guarracino, another camp volunteer, took a beating while catching behind home plate.

Still, he was more than willing to don the mask and heavy glove to help current and former students.

The coach came away amazed by how Saile and Turner have transformed into top-flight Division I athletes, and their willingness to help the next wave of local softball youth.

“They really are about community, they’re about family, and it was really important for (them) to come back and do it here,” Guarracino said.

“You know, we still see them as young high school girls, as little kids, but the knowledge of the sport and the progress we’ve seen (from them) in the last four years, we learn more from them than we could learn in a (coach’s clinic) classroom.”

Turner’s father, Dave, chipped in, too.

An area softball coach himself, he emphasized the need for programs to develop more willing, confident pitchers throughout the sport.

Coach Charlie Aliano of the Cincinnati Reds lends some batting knowledge to 13-year old Olivia James, of New Port Richey. Aliano, of Land O’ Lakes, assisted during the Shannon Saile Pitching Clinic.

A lot of kids are afraid to pitch, he said.

“It’s a lot of pressure. I mean, you’re out there in the circle by yourself,” he explained.

In addition to fastpitch drills, hitting instruction was happening in batting cages next to the ballfield.

That was led by Charles Aliano, a baseball lifer who now works as a scout supervisor for the Cincinnati Reds.

His daughter, Addy, is a standout outfielder at Academy at the Lakes.

Aliano was quick to heap praise on Saile, Turner, Fiser and others for coordinating the daylong softball clinic.

He said, “It’s an amazing experience for all these girls to have those girls” working with them.

He added: “It’s special, and I think everybody should embrace it.”

Lessons learned
The next wave of local talent could include Land O’ Lakes High rising sophomore Avaree Hudson and incoming freshman Sammy Magee.

(Shannon Saile, right, a national champion softball pitcher at the University of , speaks to a group of advanced pitchers during a water and shade break at her pitching clinic at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex softball field.

Both assisted during the clinic’s morning intermediate session, then worked on honing their own softball craft in the afternoon advanced session.

They expressed gratitude for having the trio of Saile, Turner and Fiser available to help them and the younger players to develop their skills.

They acknowledged admiring the Division I players’ talent and respective softball feats.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity because all of them are taking the time to teach everyone, and all these girls are going to be girls playing in high schools around us,” said Hudson.

“They’re just taking time out of their day to teach (the campers) new things, like changeups, that they don’t know, and I think that’s really great and really special,” she said.

Added Magee, “I think it’s cool that the older girls get to come here and help with younger kids, because it all starts with the youth and learning things and getting them to look up to them, it’s like a big thing for them.”

The prep underclassman likewise left with some beneficial softball tidbits of their own, too, from the experienced college trio.

“The way they word things is so helpful to like, ‘Learning how to get into your legs and really drive,’ and get stronger as a pitcher, mentally and physically,” said Magee, who recently moved with her family to Land O’ Lakes from Pennsylvania, in search of facing greater softball competition and exposure.

Published August 04, 2021

Expressing gratitude to bees, for all that they do for us

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Gardeners are a grateful people, and part of our gratitude can be traced to bees.

This year, I enjoyed four butternut squashes from our garden.

I was only able to enjoy this harvest, though, because of bees.

The bees and I have a win-win partnership.

I plant flowers and vegetables. That gives bees a food source, and they, in turn, pollinate the plants.

Bees and pollinators are important to people for many reasons:

  • One-third of the food we eat comes from animal-pollinated plants.
  • They help pollinate our native plants and wildflowers.
  • They pollinate blueberries, an $82 million per year industry in Florida.
  • Forage plants, used by meat and dairy industries, depend on pollinators to produce seed.
  • More than 100 crops in the U.S., such as apples, squash, pumpkin, cranberries, onions, carrots and blueberries, benefit from pollination.

But, there are concerns about bee decline.

Several factors contribute to bee decline, including bee nutrition.

Bees gather nectar and pollen from flowers. The nectar provides bees carbohydrates and minerals to help them with flight, colony maintenance and general daily activities.

Butternut squash, like melons, pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers, rely on bees for pollination. If you lack bees, your vines may not produce vegetables and fruits.
(Courtesy of Nicole Pinson)

Pollen provides protein, fats, minerals and vitamins, and aids in the development of young bees.

But, did you know that all pollen is not created equal? The nutritive components of pollen differ among plants.

Bee nutrition is important to bee health and the development of young bees.

A yard or garden with only a few plants may provide less pollen variety for the bees. However, a diverse garden can provide bees more flower choices, different pollen components and, hopefully, better nutrition.

Eric Mader with the University of Minnesota explains, “As a general rule, gardeners who want to conserve bees should provide a minimum of three plant species that bloom at any given time during the growing season.”

Flower diversity includes not only color (red, pink, white, orange, purple and yellow flowers), but also bloom periods, texture and height. Diversity in height can be achieved by planting groundcovers, flowers, vines, shrubs, grasses and trees. Plants that bloom throughout the year, especially late fall, winter, and early spring, provide bees important nutrition during winter.

Simple, inexpensive bouquets from the garden are enjoyed indoors by people, and outdoors by bees and other pollinators.

Add flowers to your garden that have different shapes, such as daisies, clusters, tubular flowers and bell-shaped flowers.

Bees use fine and coarse textured plants (woody stems, leaves and grasses) for nesting materials. Plant in clumps, rather than as single plants, to attract more pollinators and provide nutritional benefits.

Examples of great bee plants include American beautyberry, partridge pea, dotted horsemint, blanket flower, Walter’s viburnum, native milkweeds, frogfruit, larraflower, sunflower, cosmos, mint, African blue basil, salvia, pentas, fennel, dill, black-eyed Susan, grasses, ironweed, blackberry lily, hollies, redbud, saw palmetto, and many more.

Plant a variety of flowers and create long-season food sources to provide bees better nutrition throughout the year.

Thank a bee for its pollinator services as you enjoy your holiday meals.

And, add a few more flowers to your yard or garden so a bee can have a nutritious, happy Thanksgiving.

By Nicole Pinson

References:

Ellis, A., J.D. Ellis, M.K. O’Malley, and C.M. Zettel Nalen.  (2017). The Benefits of Pollen to Honey Bees. IFAS Publication Number ENY152. Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/IN/IN86800.pdf.

Mader, E.  (2015). Conserving Pollinators: A Primer for Gardeners. University of Minnesota.  Retrieved from http://articles.extension.org/pages/19581/conserving-pollinators:-a-primer-for-gardeners.

For additional information, contact or (813) 744-5519, ext. 54145.

Nicole Pinson is the Urban Horticulture Agent in Hillsborough County.

Published November 22, 2017

Wiregrass Ranch football loses two playmakers

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The 2017 football season is two months away, but one of Pasco County’s top teams already has taken a hit.

In a week’s span, two varsity standouts from Wiregrass Ranch High School — cornerback Shamaur McDowell and quarterback/safety Raymond Woodie III — have exited the rising program, which last season finished Class 7A, District 8 runner-up, making its first playoff appearance since 2010.

Senior cornerback Shamaur McDowell has transferred to IMG Academy, a boarding school and sport-training destination in Bradenton. (File)

On June 16, Woodie III, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior, announced he was enrolling at Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon, a move that allows him to reconnect with his father, an assistant football coach at the University of Oregon.

“…I would like to thank everyone at Wiregrass for taking me in and giving me the opportunity to be successful on and off the football field,” Woodie III said, in a statement. “I will forever be grateful to the coaches and players, and wish them nothing but the best this season. With that being said, my family and I have decided it is best for me to move out to Oregon with them and attend Sheldon High School.”

Just four days later, McDowell, a 5-foot-11, 184-pound senior, announced his intention to transfer to IMG Academy, a boarding school and sport-training destination in Bradenton.

“My parents and I felt like it was the best decision,” McDowell said, in a statement. “It will allow me to focus on being the best student-athlete I can be. It will also prepare me for the next stage in my life.”

Both are widely regarded as elite prospects for their respective classes.

And, noteworthy losses for Wiregrass Ranch, which figures to be one of the better teams in Pasco in 2017.

Woodie III, who landed at Wiregrass Ranch after transferring from Carrollwood Day School in the offseason, is rated by 247Sports as a three-star prospect and the nation’s eighth-best dual-threat quarterback for the 2019 class, and boasts scholarship offers from over 20 Division I football programs.

McDowell, a three-year varsity player for the Bulls and verbal commit to the University of Minnesota, is rated by 247Sports as a three-star prospect and ranked among the state’s top 300 players for the 2018 class; he also holds scholarship offers from nearly 20 Division I schools.

Junior quarterback/safety Raymond Woodie III has transferred to Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon, a move that allows him to reconnect with his father, an assistant football coach at the University of Oregon. (File)

For McDowell, the transfer to IMG Academy offers an opportunity to further enhance his skills, and raise his national profile.

The academy, ranked as the top prep program in Florida, typically plays a national schedule.

This season, IMG Academy (11-0 in 2016) will play games in Arizona, California, Maryland, Washington D.C., Utah, Alabama and Virginia, facing some of the nation’s other top prep football schools.

Throughout the school year, McDowell will receive training inside state-of-the art facilities from a staff of full-time coaches, trainers and nutritionists.

He will also compete alongside other top talent — IMG’s entire roster is actively recruited by FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools.

Meanwhile, the Bulls remain stockpiled with impact players, even with the two departures.

It all starts with senior defensive back Jordan Miner.

The four-star prospect is ranked one of the state’s top 50 players for the 2018 recruiting class, and claims nearly 30 Division I scholarship offers, including Penn State University, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina and University of Tennessee, among others.

Last season for the Bulls, the 6-foot-1, 177-pound Miner tallied 38 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and 12 passes defensed.

He also racked up nearly 500 all-purpose yards on offense, defense and special teams.

Besides Miner, the Bulls have numerous players with standing college scholarships offers, including wide receiver/safety Daniel Biglow (Fort Lewis College), safety/running back Kwesi Littlejohn (Webber International University), tight end/defensive end Devaun Roberts (Warner University, Webber International) and wide receiver/slot back Adrian Thomas (Webber International).

The return of 1,000-yard rusher Da Da McGee and a potential breakout campaign from junior quarterback Grant Sessums should also help mask the exodus of Woodie III and McDowell.

Save for anymore unforeseen departures from the program, the Bulls look to build on last season’s success, under third-year coach Mark Kantor.

Kantor, who previously coached at Hudson High School, orchestrated an impressive turnaround from 2015 (2-8 record) to 2016 (7-3 record).

But, the upcoming season won’t be easy.

Besides facing tough district opponents like Plant, Gaither and Wharton high schools, the Bulls kick off the 2017 slate against nondistrict opponents Zephyrhills, Wesley Chapel and Sunlake high schools — which went a combined 22-7 last season.

The challenging schedule may come in handy near playoff time, however.

The Florida High School Athletic Association’s new playoff system for football stresses strength of schedule, along with overall record. After the four district champs in Class 7A, Region 2, the other four playoff teams will be determined by a points-based system.

In preparation for the rigors of a demanding 2017 schedule, Kantor arranged a May 19 spring game against Tampa Catholic (33-27 loss) and August 18 preseason classic against Clearwater Central Catholic (9-2 record in 2016).

—Stats were supplied by coaches on Maxpreps.com

Wiregrass Ranch High 2017 football schedule
Aug. 18 – at Clearwater Central Catholic
Aug. 25 – Zephyrhills High School
Sept. 1- at Wesley Chapel High School
Sept. 8 – Sunlake High School
Sept. 15 – at Sickles High School
Sept. 22 – Wharton High School
Oct. 6 – at Gaither High School
Oct. 13 — at Freedom High School
Oct. 20 — Leto High School
Oct. 27 — Plant High School
Nov. 3 – at Auburndale High School

Published July 5, 2017

Gaither High wind ensemble to perform at Carnegie Hall

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A group of Gaither High School band students are gearing up this week to perform in a major music festival at one of the world’s most historic venues.

The Gaither High Wind Ensemble, which consists of 50 students, is one of a select group of school band programs invited to the National Band and Orchestra Festival on April 15, at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The Gaither High Wind Ensemble will perform in the National Band and Orchestra Festival on April 15, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The adjudicated festival brings together high school bands and orchestras from across the country, giving them the rare invitation into one of the most prestigious music venues in the world.
(Courtesy of Penny Brickson)

The adjudicated, unranked festival brings together high school bands and orchestras from across the country, giving them the rare invitation into one of the most prestigious music venues in the world. About 70 other Gaither band students will also be making the trip, but won’t perform, according to third-year band director Luis Alvarez.

The students, along with the band director and several parent chaperones, leave for the four-day New York trip on April 13.

The wind ensemble, the school’s top performing band, was selected for the festival, thanks to an audition tape submitted in 2015.

The tape featured the ensemble performing a couple of selections, including two movements of Howard Hanson’s “Romantic Symphony.”

“The kids are incredibly gifted,” Alvarez said.

At Carnegie, the ensemble is scheduled to play three scores on-stage: “The Crosley March” by Henry Fillmore and Robert Foster; “Irish Tune from County Derry” by Percy Grainger; and, “Fanfare and Allegro” by Clifton Williams.

Following the performance, the ensemble will receive written and recorded comments from a group of renowned adjudicators.

They include: Frank Battisti, conductor emeritus at the New England Conservatory of Music; Craig Kirchoff, conductor and band director at the University of Minnesota; Charles Peltz, director of wind ensembles at the New England Conservatory of Music; and, Robert Reynolds, principal conductor of the Wind Ensemble at University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music.

The ensemble, along with Alvarez, also will meet with each adjudicator individually, providing a valuable learning experience.

“These are some of the largest—or most important—names in wind bands,” Alvarez explained. “It’s like if you’re going to a basketball camp and you have (Michael) Jordan and Magic (Johnson) working with you.

“The advice they give us will 100 percent be clinic to practice, and used for the future,” he said.

Members of Gaither’s wind ensemble, such as junior Raina Sparks, are also thrilled for the unique opportunity to perform at Carnegie, and “grow musically.”

“I’m really excited to share that experience with so many musical greats,” said Sparks, who plays the French horn. “It’s really cool that we have the opportunity to do that as a high school group.”

Since March, Alvarez said ensemble practices “ramped up quite a bit,” in advance of the festival, including two after-school rehearsals per week.

“The kids are wonderful—and that’s the fun part,” Alvarez said. “It would be tough to do if I had to pull teeth, but they’re so self-motivated. It’s been a very fun process.”

Besides Carnegie Hall, Gaither band students will also explore various parts of New York City throughout the trip.

The group is planning to visit a pair of museums — American Museum of Natural History, National September 11 Memorial & Museum — and see a Broadway show.

“We’re going to go to a few sightseeing things. We’ll get a chance to experience New York, in general,” Alvarez said.

Over the next several years, Alvarez said he’d like to take the high school band to other music festivals across the country, such as Bands of America in Indianapolis, or the Midwest Clinic in Chicago.

For the time being, his sole focus is the looming visit to Carnegie.

“There are goals that we have for the program,” Alvarez said, “and this is just one other building block towards it.”

Published April 12, 2017