The Laker/Lutz News

West Virginia University

Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus ready for play

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The spacious, bio-cushioned hardwood floors sparkle under the lights.

The multisport electronic scoreboards operate without a hitch.

Area youth and adults will have access to the field house during weekdays, with the opportunity to participate in recreation leagues, camps and clinics. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

The myriad ceiling-hung basketball goals and volleyball nets are mechanically lowered and raised in minutes.

The centralized cheerleading/dance springboard floor is square for stunts and tumbling. Adjacent outdoor multi-use grass fields are manicured and marked up for soccer, lacrosse and other events.

Put another way, the highly-anticipated Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County is finally open and ready for play, at 3211 Lajuana Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

With 98,000 square feet of indoor space, the complex is hyped as a destination for local youth, school teams and adult athletes, while also playing host to a diverse set of regional, national and international level sports tournaments year-round.

The $29 million field house is the centerpiece of a $44 million public-private project. Ultimately, it will be phased to include seven outdoor multi-use fields and a 128-room hotel situated 80 acres of land donated by the Porter family, one of the area’s leading cattle ranchers who established Wiregrass Ranch in 1942. The sports campus is funded with county tourist tax development dollars, while the adjacent hotel will be funded and constructed via private capital from Mainsail Development Group.

An Aug. 27 ribbon cutting ceremony signaled the opening of the first phase of the much-anticipated Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County.

An Aug. 27 grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony offered an in-depth look of the state-of-the-art facility that the county hopes will be a game-changing tourism draw for years to come.

The multi-use sports complex, which features 37-foot-high ceilings, is large enough to hold either 16 volleyball games or eight full-court basketball games at any given time.

It’s two 35,500-square-foot gyms are separated by a cheer/dance studio, athletic training center and second-level mezzanine. Spacious floors can be converted to accommodate other sports, such as pickleball (up to 16 courts), futsal (up to eight courts), as well as large-scale wrestling, mixed martial arts (MMA) or karate tournaments.

Versatility and flexibility are key aspects of the complex’s design. For instance, one side of the gym could be used for a volleyball tournament, while the other side could be used for another sport or even a convention.

Other notable amenities include an educational lab, full-service kitchen, a concessions area aptly titled “Fast Break,” and snack bar, “Power Alley,” both situated in the lobby.

Designed to attract athletes, from near and far
The birth of the campus dates back to 2001, when a feasibility study identified the county as a possible sports tourism hotspot.

Concrete plans for the multi-purpose athletic center didn’t come together until 2015.

The facility officially broke ground in June 2018.

Pasco County Commissioner and Pasco County Tourist Development Council Chairman Mike Moore labeled the project “a huge milestone” for the area.

“This isn’t a dream on paper anymore — it’s actually happening right in front of us, ” Moore said at the grand opening ceremony.

In addition to a combined 70,000 square feet of floor space, the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County features a competition cheer/dance studio and springboard.

“It’s a beautiful facility. It’s no longer a construction site, it’s now the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County.

“It was a long road to get here, and it took a shared vision and commitment from this County Commission that we have here, the Tourist Development Council, and a very, very generous family,” Moore said.

The athletics campus is a public-private partnership between the county, who owns the land and facility, and RADD Sports, a private sports management company tasked with handling day-to-day programming, maintenance and operations.

Moore noted the importance of such a partnership: “A county government, let’s be honest, isn’t set up to effectively run a facility like this. That’s probably the last thing you want ever to happen, is a county government to run a facility like this.”

The complex will be open for public use and local leagues Monday through Thursday, while Friday through Sunday will generally be reserved for attracting out-of-area tournaments.

The youth and amateur sports industry has quickly taken notice of all the frills.

The venue has booked 53 events or tournaments across the next 42 weekends, according to RADD Sports CEO Richard Blalock. That so far encompasses basketball, cheerleading, futsal, gymnastics, karate, volleyball, and wrestling; upwards of 17 different sports could be effectively at the complex, officials say.

It’s very first hosted event was a South Florida-based boys travel basketball tournament, which generated 500 room nights booked for the county.

“During a pandemic, that’s really strong,” Moore said, adding the number of bookings already scheduled is “really, really incredible.”

Said Moore: “The people that come here are going to stay in our hotels, which they already have. They’re going to eat at our restaurants. They’re going to shop at our Pasco County stores. And, it’s not just the athletes that are competing that’ll be doing that, it’s their families, it’s their friends, and it’s the spectators.”

Meanwhile, a team of RADD athletic directors/coaches with extensive professional backgrounds will help run local programming in the arenas of cheer, gymnastics, soccer, basketball and volleyball — the primary sports focus of the complex. That includes afterschool programs, camps, recreation leagues and so on.

With talents and skills that’s taken them to sports’ highest levels nationally and internationally, even they were awestruck by the complex’s diverse amenities.

The 98,000-square-foot indoor field house is the cornerstone of the 80-acre Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County. It is now open and ready for play.

“There’s no other facility like it, not in the Southeast, and maybe not even the country,” said basketball director Ronnie Outen, a former Division I hooper at West Virginia University who spent 15 years playing professionally overseas in Austria, Italy and Lebanon, among other countries.

Outen specifically observed the benefits of the facility’s second-floor mezzanine, which offers “a bird’s eye view” of every game in action — a plus for college recruiters, scouts, family members and so on.

“A lot of places have a lot of courts, but they’re not centrally, strategically placed where you can just get a view of the whole facility in one specific location,” he said.

Former Tampa Bay Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell is heading up the campus’ indoor futsal and outdoor soccer programming. With seven full-sized outdoor fields and hotel coming online within walking distance, he believes the space is worthy enough to host year-round residencies for professional soccer teams overseas.

“I know where I’m from, I certainly didn’t have anything like this,” said Campbell, a former English Premier soccer player from the United Kingdom.  “I think we’ve opened ourselves and Pasco County up to the opportunity of bringing in  professional soccer teams.”

Some of the complex’s finer details, such as heavy-duty commercial rollup doors to conveniently load and offload equipment, makes it ever more appealing to lure some headline tournaments and become the flagship for others.

“They spared no expense,” Matt McDonough, the facility’s senior director of cheer and event development, said. “There’s really so much you can do with this. You can rock and roll with a giant wrestling tournament here, judo, fencing. I think they even planned for archery.”

For more information, visit Wiregrass-sports.com.

Published September 02, 2020

Youth league blends football, life lessons

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In this youth football program, life lessons are just as important as fundamentals of tackling, blocking or catching.

Winning is nice and all, but the Keystone Bills youth football and cheerleading organization is more about developing tomorrow’s leaders, officials say.

Coach Jermaine Clemons shares pointers on blocking techniques with several of his offensive players during a recent practice at Keystone Park in Odessa. In addition to coaching, Clemons also serves as the current athletic director for the Keystone Bills Youth Organization. (Christine Holtzman)

“We’re really trying to build young men and young women,” said Bills president/athletic director Jermaine Clemons, who’s in his fourth year with the group.

“It’s bigger than just football,” said Bills U14 varsity coach Juan Long, who’s been with the organization for 13 years.

That theme is emphasized in the organization’s three pillars — respect, community development and education.

The Bills offer flag football, tackle football, and cheerleading for ages 5 through 14. The organization was established in 1976, serving northwest Hillsborough County and Odessa.

It currently has about 160 players across five youth divisions, plus dozens of cheerleaders.

The organization has enjoyed its share of success in recent years, especially at the higher levels.

Under Long’s watch, the Bills won Tampa Bay Youth Football League (TBYFL) varsity titles in 2013 and 2017.

The team of 13- and 14-year-olds is enjoying another solid season, with a 6-2 mark.

While holding onto a roster, Coach Dave Saunders observes his offense players run individual drills, as they perfect their deep routes. Saunders was an all-conference receiver at West Virginia University in the late 1990s who went on to play nine years of arena ball. He is currently the varsity wider receiver coach for Gaither High School in Tampa.

“Juan really coaches it,” Clemons said. “He coaches his players up, and he’s very detail-oriented. He runs a defense almost like a college team. They run an offense almost like a college team. It’s not, ‘Line up and run right, run left.’ There are small details.”

But Long, also an assistant at Steinbrenner High, isn’t out there simply to win ballgames.

“I really don’t care about a trophy,” he said. “I care about if (kids) want to come back because they had a great experience, a great time with us.

“Every year I tell the parents, ‘My job is to make them better brothers, better sons, better husbands for the future.’ That’s the main goal, to establish more of the characteristics of these kids, as opposed to just being a football player. I know if we’ve done the other things correctly, we’ve done our job.”

Parent volunteer Jennifer Green witnesses it first-hand with her three sons, who each play for the Bills.

Green explained Bills coaches stay on players about their schoolwork and even offer tutoring sessions before regular Tuesday and Thursday night practices at Keystone Park in Odessa. Coaches also require players to face their teammates if they miss a practice or game due to a behavior or off-the-field issue.

“They’re 100% not just here to make your child a better football player,” she said, “They’re here to build men.”

It’s something 14-year-old Tre Wilson has grown to appreciate.

On the field, Wilson about has it covered, as a versatile athlete who can play running back, receiver, quarterback and returner. The Gaither High freshman also has the bloodlines, as father Eugene Wilson II is a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots who also played for the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers during an eight-year NFL career between 2003-2010.

But, it’s the mentorship from coaches that sticks out most to the younger Wilson.

Cheerleaders with the Midget Cheer Squad practice an extension pyramid, under the direction of Midget Head Coach Melissa Lindstrom. The squad is made up of girls, ages 11 and 12.

“They’ve shown me experiences about life, as I’m growing up,” he said. “Over the years, they’ve taught me not only about football, but being the best on and off (the field).”

Aside from life lessons of course, Bills coaches impart their fair share of football advice.

They’ve got the pedigree to do so.

Clemons was a running back at the University of South Florida in the late 1990s under head coach Jim Leavitt.

Long was a linebacker at Mississippi State University in the early 1990s, and had a brief stint in the NFL and played several years in the Arena Football League.

Another coach, Dave Saunders, was an all-conference receiver at West Virginia University in the late 1990s who has the third-most receiving yards in school history. He went on to play nine years of arena ball, including four season with the Tampa Bay Storm (2002-2005).

The experience resonates with players and parents alike, said Green, whose boys spent time in other youth football leagues in the Tampa Bay area.

“We’ve been drawn here by the level of coaching that is available,” she said. “The level of coaching here is a lot more intense. To have that level of experience out there, not every person can bring that out.”

The diverse and decorated football backgrounds help get kids to heed coaches’ principles, Long explained.

“You don’t need to be a former player in order to get credibility,” Long said, “but, at the same point in time, especially with today’s generation, you do at least get their attention.”

“We have that experience, so we can relate to the kids from that standpoint. They know, ‘Hey, these guys have been there and done it, they’ve seen things at the highest level, then maybe we should listen to them, because they’re trying to steer us in the right direction.’”

Published October 23, 2019

Academy weightlifters advance to regionals

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Just two years after forming a girls weightlifting team, Academy at the Lakes is sending some of its team to regionals.

Seniors Maggie Hull and Natalie Davis will compete on Jan. 22 in the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 1A Regionals at River Ridge High School in New Port Richey.

Academy at the Lakes girls weightlifting coach Maria Oliver provides some encouragement and tips to senior Grace Faith during the district meet. (Photos courtesy of Jim Faith)
Academy at the Lakes girls weightlifting coach Maria Oliver provides some encouragement and tips to senior Grace Faith during the district meet.
(Photos courtesy of Jim Faith)

At districts last week, Hull, in the 129-pound weight class, recorded a 110-pound bench press and a 130-pound clean-and-jerk for a combined total of 240 pounds.

Davis, competing in the 154-pound weight class, benched 80 pounds and clean-and-jerked 110 pounds for a total of 190.

This year’s team has seven members, which is quite impressive considering there was just one weightlifter in the program’s first year, when former the academy’s former football coach John Castelamare was overseeing the program.

After Castelamare’s retirement, Marla Oliver took over as the girls weightlifting coach this season.

Oliver, who also doubles as the girls basketball coach, used her knowledge as a certified personal trainer to develop a specialized weightlifting program.

The program is geared toward strengthening the muscles used in the bench press and the clean-and-jerk.

“I did a lot of research to find different (activities) they could do if things weren’t working or building up their lifts,” Coach Oliver said. “We just started using resistance bands with the bench press. I did a lot of research on that and I have probably two or three girls that increased their bench by 10 pounds in two weeks.”

Coach Oliver, an avid weightlifter herself, implemented exercises that centered on using a barbell to perform the military press, bent-over rows and squats. She also emphasized the use of free weights and body weight exercises like pushups.

“All of (the girls) have seen tremendous gains,” she said. “Every girl in the program.”

Her program also stresses a proper diet — ensuring girls get the proper ratio of proteins and carbohydrates so their bodies can recover, and also see improvement in their results.

“When they start working out and they start seeing results, they want to eat better and healthier,” Oliver said.

Oliver has been influence on Davis, who’s also a captain on the cheerleading team, to take the next step in her development as a competitive lifter.

“I like having a coach that wants you to do better and not really be easy. I love our coach,” Davis explained. “She’s the best because she pushes us, but she’s not mean about it and I really like that. She knows what we can do and pushes us for that.

“She’s so motivating, especially at meets,” Davis said.

Senior Natalie Davis clean-and-jerks 110 pounds at the district meet.
Senior Natalie Davis clean-and-jerks 110 pounds at the district meet.

Grace Faith, a fellow senior, regards Coach Oliver as her “biggest motivator.”

“Coach definitely cracks us into shape,” Faith said. “I don’t think I can do certain things and she will tell me: ‘You are 100 percent capable of doing it.’ I wouldn’t be lifting half of what I’m lifting now if I didn’t have somebody telling me I could do it.”

This year, the interest in the academy’s girls weightlifting team flourished with the help of Hull, as she encouraged some of her friends to give weightlifting a shot.

“I just kind of went like, ‘You should try it,’ for those that were on the fence about it,” Hull said. “I was like, ‘Just come for a practice and see how you feel.’”

Hull’s support helped fellow classmates like Faith to stick with the sport once they tried it out for he first time.

“I couldn’t even lift the bar at the beginning of the season when I started and Maggie told me: ‘It’s going to be okay. You’ll gain,’” Faith said. “She’s been giving me advice all season.

“The first meet was definitely intimidating. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I saw all of these girls who have been doing it for years and I was intimidated, but then I realized I wanted to just do my best,” she added.

With regionals looming for both Hull and Davis, the key for them is to get into the proper mindset during the event.

“Weightlifting is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical,” Hull explained. “At a meet a couple weeks ago, I went to bench 100 or 105, which I’ve done thousands of times before and for some reason I scratched out. …That got in my head and I did terrible the rest of the meet. It’s just about trying to get your mental game strong.

“Its like a mental block. It’s not a physical one,” Davis added. “I know I can do stuff. You just have to push through it.”

To advance to the state championships on Feb. 4, both Hull and Davis will likely have to add at least 5 pounds or 10 pounds to their current lifts, which is much easier said than done.

“It’s a lot more than you think,” Hulls said about the challenge of adding just a few more pounds to current lifts. “You think, ‘Oh, 5 pounds is not a big deal and then you actually lift it, its like: ‘Oh, my gosh.’ It’s crazy how much of a difference it makes.”

While academy’s program is still in its infancy, Oliver is confident it can continue to grow — even though the team is losing three seniors from its roster.

Senior Maggie Hull gets ready for a bench press rep at the district meet in River Ridge on Jan. 13.
Senior Maggie Hull gets ready for a bench press rep at the district meet in River Ridge on Jan. 13.

“I just think it’s a great sport,” the coach said.  “Some girls never even thought they would do weightlifting, but once they get started, it’s addictive.

“It just shows the girls that they can do more than one sport or do something that may not be in their comfort zone,” she said.

Seeing more peers get involved in the sport could also lead to more interest in the future.

“Growing up, I never really saw a lot girl weightlifters and never really had anybody to look up to,” said Faith, who plans to attend West Virginia University next year. “But, seeing people from this school who have succeeded so much in the sport of weightlifting is really cool. It’s growing a lot.”

Davis, who plans on attending the University of Florida next year, believes the recent shift in adolescents’ attitudes toward fitness will also lead to more girls getting involved in weightlifting.

“It’s becoming a lot cooler to work out and that sounds kind of weird, but there was a big phase in teenagers where it was a lot cooler to be like: ‘I don’t work out. I just like to stay at home and watch Netflix,’” Davis said. “But now, people like to work out and like to have a gym buddy. That’s really cool because it’s a lot of fun.”

Published January 20, 2016 

Pasco-Hernando State College chooses new president

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Timothy Beard has been selected to become Pasco-Hernando State College’s fourth president.

The PHSC District Board of Trustees announced its choice at the conclusion of its presidential search, on March 18.

Timothy Beard has been selected to become the fourth president of Pasco-Hernando State College. In choosing Beard, the college’s board went with someone who already knows the college and is ready to build on its strengths (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)
Timothy Beard has been selected to become the fourth president of Pasco-Hernando State College. In choosing Beard, the college’s board went with someone who already knows the college and is ready to build on its strengths
(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

Beard, vice president of student development and enrollment management at PHSC in New Port Richey, was among a field of four finalists. The other finalists worked at Klamath Community College in Klamath Falls, Oregon; West Virginia University at Parkersburg, Parkersburg, West Virginia; and, St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg.

They decided to promote Beard to replace Katherine Johnson, who is retiring on June 30.

Beard’s appointment becomes effective July 1, pending the successful outcome of contract negotiations.

“We are pleased to extend an offer for the presidential position to Dr. Beard,” Ed Blommel, PHSC District Board of Trustees and presidential search committee chair, said in a release. “As a senior administrator at PHSC for the past eight years, he is already familiar with the college and has an understanding of its strategic goals and mission.”

Beard is delighted to be stepping into the college’s leadership role.

“This is a surreal opportunity,” said Beard, who has worked for the college since 2007 and expects to build on the good work that has been accomplished there.

Before joining PHSC, Beard was vice president and dean of student affairs at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, and director of student affairs and enrollment management at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.

He earned his doctoral degree in rehabilitation counseling, with a special emphasis in higher education administration, from Florida State University in Tallahassee. He also has a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from FSU.

Pasco-Hernando State College has more than 15,000 students and about 700 employees, including adjunct faculty.

Pasco-Hernando State College awards certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and baccalaureate degrees.

The college has campuses in Dade City, Wesley Chapel, New Port Richey, Spring Hill and Brooksville.

Beard said he plans to pursue an initiative that would enlist the help of faith communities and other organizations to help support students, through scholarships and in other ways.

He is looking forward to strengthening the ties between PHSC and the communities it serves.

“I really want to bring the community into the college and the college into the community,” Beard said.

Published March 25, 2015