Xavier High - the impact of Hurricane Sandy

Bryan came across this moving article from ESPN about Xavier HS in Uniondale, NY and the impact Hurricane Sandy had on their football season.  It really is more than just a game....

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- In football, the importance of the number 11 is obvious. Exactly 11 players are on the field from each team at all times.

For Manhattan’s Xavier High School, that number has taken on a new significance in the days and weeks since the displacement and devastation of Hurricane Sandy. Of the Knights’ 43 varsity players, 11 had to vacate their Queens homes because of the storm.

The night Sandy struck Belle Harbor, senior Ryan McDade, 17, was at home with his family.

“I was really scared,” McDade said Saturday. “Once I saw that fire, I knew we shouldn’t panic, we just needed to get everybody out of the house, so I got the surfboards out of the garage, I got the kayak, I put my grandma in the kayak, threw my (two younger) sisters on the surfboard and just got out of there -- five feet of freezing cold water, it was just a bad night.”

McDade, who plays primarily on special teams, has worn uniform No. 2 since the storm, although he’s listed on the roster as No. 22. The uniform he used to wear was destroyed with the rest of his family’s possessions when Sandy struck.

McDade’s father, Steve, a retired firefighter, said their evacuation lasted about 20 minutes and that 20 minutes later, fire had wiped out their home. “We had to bail, we lost everything. But we still have this [football], we have our neighborhood, our community, it’s all good.”

Holding back tears in describing the fears of that night and the heroic efforts of his son, Steve McDade said, “Ryan grew up fast.”

Despite the post-Sandy upheaval for one-quarter of the team, Xavier didn’t just continue to play, it embarked on an improbable postseason run. The Knights won two playoff games to reach Saturday night’s metropolitan area Catholic High School Football League AA championship in Uniondale against St. John the Baptist, whose coach, Keith Schweers, said six Cougars were also displaced by Sandy.

The two teams met during the regular season, with St. John the Baptist winning 14-0. The Cougars again scored 14 points in the championship game, but this time the Knights dominated behind three rushing touchdowns from senior Ryan Kilgallen and two from junior Trey Solomon. Kilgallen, like McDade, is the son of a retired firefighter and one of the 11 Xavier players who were displaced by the storm.

After the 35-14 title game triumph, Xavier coach Chris Stevens told his team, “Hey boys, you did it, you’re New York’s team, the feel-good story of Sandy.”

ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap and Tory Zawacki contributed to this story.

Five Arizona High School Student-Athletes Changing the World off the Field

Athletes step up their game of giving, serving others by Scott Bordow, azcentral sports

This is a story about five high school athletes. There's a wrestler, a golfer, a volleyball player and a couple of kids who play several sports.

But you won't read a word about their accomplishments on the field. In fact, the first two sentences of this story are it as far as sports are concerned.
 
See, these five student-athletes -- Chase Frank, Kenia Garcia, Trey Gass, Tamara Skinner and Ashleigh Smith -- are doing far greater things in their community than they are on their respective fields of play.
 
They work with the disabled and help the homeless and make hats for kids who suffer from cancer and raise money to fund efforts against human trafficking and child sex slavery.
They're Kids Who Care, and we thought you'd like to meet a few athletes who aren't defined by the uniforms they wear.
 
Chase Frank
Phoenix Brophy Prep senior Chase Frank will admit he wasn't initially enthusiastic about doing the community service projects required by his school. It wasn't that he was selfish of his time or uninterested in helping. He just wasn't sure how he could contribute.

"I had a little bit of hesitation because I had never really done anything like this before," said 
Frank, a wrestler at Brophy.
 
Once he started serving the community, however, he was hooked.
 
During his sophomore year Frank worked at a homeless shelter called umom. In the afternoons he'd read books to children or help them with their homework or shoot a few hoops. As a junior he worked at the Brighton Gardens retirement center, doing everything from washing dishes to running the bingo games to leading exercise programs for the elderly.
 
His work brightened the days for those he helped - and changed how he viewed the world.
"Mostly it was an appreciation," Frank said. "Working at the homeless shelter, you just appreciate all the stuff you have and how much fun you can have without anything. Just playing basketball with some of the kids, or even reading to them was a lot of fun.
 
"At the old folks home, well, these people raised our generation so we need to give back to them."
 
In retrospect, Frank should have known he was a natural for community service. His older brother, Louden, has Leukodystrophy, a neurodegenerative disorder, and Frank has helped take care of him as long as he can remember.
 
"When he was young he could do a bit of walking but these days he's in a wheelchair," Frank said. "We have a tube in his stomach where we feed him, and at home I help change him, give him baths and things like that."

Teenagers often can't see past their shadows. But when Frank is asked whether it's difficult to take on that responsibility, he shrugs his shoulders and says, simply, "He's my brother."
 
Tamara Skinner
There isn't enough space to chronicle all of the things Scottsdale Christian senior volleyball player Tamara Skinner does in the community.
 
There's the mission trips to Rocky Point and the journeys to downtown Phoenix to help the homeless and the food and clothing ministries and the Christmas outreach ... and ... and ... well, let's just say it's hard to figure out when she sleeps.
 
"It is difficult to balance everything with school and sports, but it's good to have a lot of responsibilities because it forces you to use your time wisely and really treasure the few moments you do have to do all the wonderful ministries," Skinner said.
 
What is Skinner doing now? Well, there's City Reach, a program that helps the homeless in downtown Phoenix. Skinner and other students from Scottsdale Christian will distribute care packages of food, water, soap, conditioner and other items to the homeless and, just as importantly, "listen to them. Just conversing with them makes them feel like somebody cares."
Skinner also volunteers at detention centers, sharing her testimony in Spanish with kids who have crossed the border illegally. She's also danced and performed skits at the centers.
At Christmas, Skinner is involved with The Father's House ministry. Items are donated during the holidays and Skinner, along with other volunteers, hand out food, clothing and blankets to the homeless.
 
"We try to brighten up their Christmas," Skinner said.
 
What does Skinner plan to do after high school? Exactly what she's been doing the last four years: Helping others.
 
"I've gone on so many mission trips and served different communities ... I really want to continue that," she said. "I'm thinking of going into public service as a way of serving the community."
That doesn't surprise Julie Southwick, her coach at Scottsdale Christian.

"I know she will make an impact in this world because of her strong conviction to give glory back to the Lord in all she does," Southwick said.
 
Trey Gass
Trey Gass' younger sister, Jordan, is 14. He's just a bit protective of her.
"You don't touch my sister," Gass said with a smile. "Boys don't go near her because they know I'll kill them."
 
Near the end of his sophomore year, Gass, a senior football and baseball player at Gilbert Christian High School, got a call from a friend asking him to check out a place called StreetLight, an organization that provides safe houses to children who are victims of human trafficking and sex slavery.
 
Gass took a tour of the Phoenix safe house. On the drive home, he knew his life would never be the same.
 
"The average age into human trafficking is 13," Gass said. "When I found out this was happening to girls the same age as my sister it really hit home. I knew I needed to do something about it."
 
Gass had $100 left over in Christmas money. He bought 100 wristbands inscribed with the words "Save A Life" and sold them for $3 apiece. Half the money went to buy more wristbands and half went to StreetLight to help build more facilities and get girls off the street.
 
Gass' involvement didn't end with the wristbands. He sells T-shirts to raise money - he's raised more than $2,000 from the merchandise - and StreetLight recently invited him to be part of their speaker's board. Gass has delivered StreetLight's message to students at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, as well as churches, schools and even a Diamondbacks' game.
 
Next fall, he plans to attend Colorado Christian University in Denver but his passion for StreetLight's cause won't change. He said the organization's CEO has told him that if a safe house opens in Denver, Gass can help run it.
 
"The way I see it," Gass said, "no girl ever woke up one day and said, 'I want to be a prostitute when I get older.' "
 
Ashleigh Smith
Ashleigh Smith didn't know her eighth-grade teacher's daughter very well. But when Smith, a Chandler Basha junior golfer, heard that the girl had lost her hair from cancer treatments, she thought about how difficult that must be for a 10-year-old to endure.
 
A creative sort, Smith always had enjoyed making flowers, bows and hair accessories and distributing them to kids at children's hospitals. For her teacher's daughter, she took her creativity one step further, making a hat with a built-in magnet that would attract the magnets in Smith's other creations.
 
"She could switch the accessories out to wear with her outfit so she would be super cute," Smith said.
 
The hat was a hit.
 
"She was so excited," Smith said. "You could just tell in the way her eyes lit up. It was a moment where I knew I needed to keep doing this for other kids. It was so addicting."
 
\Since then, Smith has made more than 100 hats and distributed them to cancer patients in hospitals. This past summer, she also volunteered at Arizona Camp Sunrise Sidekicks, a camp for the siblings of cancer patients.

I'd love do even more," Smith said. "I want to reach out to the community and make as many hats as I can so I can give them out to cancer patients."
 
Basha golf coach Meghan Dunigan is astounded by Smith's spirit.

"I find this just amazing ... to take time during her busy high school years, having a 4.0 plus GPA, being an athlete ... to go do this for sick children and just make their day is amazing," 
Dunigan wrote.
 
Before she started making the hats, Smith had thought about becoming a pediatrician. She's now convinced more than ever it's the life she should lead.
"I love working with kids," she said. "And I get so much out of it myself. I can't imagine doing anything else."
 
Kenia Garcia
The students at Phoenix Central High School hear announcements every day over the intercom. But it was one particular announcement two years ago that caught Kenia Garcia's attention.
The school was starting a chapter of Best Buddies, a 23-year-old organization that pairs students with individuals with disabilities.
 
Garcia, a senior volleyball and softball player at Central, was intrigued. She has family members with mental disabilities, including one whose son has autism.
Garcia joined the club and was named vice president. For the past two years she's been president of Central's chapter.
 
"Not a lot of people are educated about it (Best Buddies)," Garcia said. "What our chapter tries to do is spread the word. We try to get other people to come out to meetings and get them to hang out with the kids so they have a better understanding of what they're dealing with."
Garcia has been buddies with two kids: Olivia, who transferred schools before Garcia's junior year and Joey, a sophomore at Central who has Down syndrome.
 
Garcia and Joey hang out at school, do puzzles and change each other's life for the better.
"He's affected me in a way I wouldn't have thought," Garcia said. "I've learned a lot from him; just how to be patient with people who have disabilities. You have to try to figure them out step by step and not try to get everything out of them.
 
"He's just made my life a lot happier. He's motivated me to continue doing what I'm doing with Best Buddies."
 
Elizabeth Toledo, the assistant principal for student opportunities at Central, wrote this about Garcia: "I asked my coaches for a name of a student that might stand out with their leadership skills and athletics and one name came up twice: Her name is Kenia Garcia.
Garcia's affection for the disabled won't end at Central High. She said she's thinking about majoring in psychiatry so "I can learn more about disabilities and the way the brain works."
Her other possible career choice: A special education teacher.
"It's about equality," Garcia said. "That should be a huge theme in life."
 

Bryan found this great story about the kicker from Brick High School.

Autistic High School Football Player Has Moment For The Ages, Kicks Game-Winning Field Goal

Anthony Starego's Boot Lifted Brick Over Favored Toms River North On Friday

October 23, 2012 10:00 PM

BRICK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — A high school student with autism becomes a hero on the football field. Sounds like a good movie doesn’t it? Well, it’s a true story.

The score was tied with just 21 seconds left on the clock Friday night. Out trotted Brick High School’s Anthony Starego, an 18-year-old kicker who’s used to facing adversity.

Starego was orphaned at the age of 3 and then grew up with a long list of developmental issues. So when he jogged out on the field to attempt a game-winning field goal against favored Toms River North, one couldn’t blame him if he didn’t feel overwhelmed by the moment.

What happened next was something usually reserved for Hollywood. He split the uprights and the place went crazy. But there was nothing ordinary about that kick. It was a lifetime in the making, CBS 2′s Otis Livingston reported Tuesday.

“As soon as the officials went like this, I was a blubbering idiot,” father Ray Starego said, demonstrating the hand movement for a successful field goal.

“I was just crying, but I wasn’t going to stop watching him because he was just jumping for joy. It really was unbelievable,” added Reylene Starego, Anthony’s 

If being the hero Friday night put Starego at the top of the mountain, his entire life has been an uphill battle getting there.

“When he came to us, he had been through 11 foster homes and he had had some difficulties. He had about six words to his vocabulary,” Reylene Starego said.

“He had kidney reflux; he had an asthmatic condition. Basically, it was a special needs adoption that we had gone through,” Ray Starego added.

Symptoms of autism include children performing repeated body movements. They often experience unusual distress when routines are changed, but those are the same traits that make Anthony a successful kicker.

“Fifty times a day, that’s all he does. Just three steps back, one over and he hits the ball. That’s what he knows and that’s what he did,” coach Kurt Weiboldt said.

Anthony Starego agreed. As far as he’s concerned, practice makes perfect.

“I do the same thing over and over again. It helps me a lot, and I’m having the best day of my life,” he said.

Children with autism also have trouble with social interactions, so making friends isn’t easy, but the football field is different. It’s a haven.

“[Anthony is] just the man. He’s always happy, always puts a smile on your face,” Brick High quarterback Brendan Darcy said.

Anthony said he doesn’t think of himself as being different than his teammates. He said he just has a job to do.

“I feel like I’m happy and calm and enjoying myself when I kick. [It’s] the time of my life,” he said.

The Green Dragons’ only two wins of the season have come since Anthony became the kicker. He’s perfect on kicks, including that game winner. Their next game is this Friday against Lacey High School

Participation in HS Sports on the Increase

Thoughts on HS participation figures by Jackie

A few weeks ago the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) released the findings from their 2011-12 High School Athletics Participation survey. The results may surprise you. Overall participation increased for the 23^rd year in a row, in no small part due to the increase in girls’ participating in high school activities. Surprisingly there was a decrease in boy’s participation, for the first time in 19 years. The decrease in boys made me wonder why. My initial thought is that it’s due to pay to play fees, however that wouldn’t account for the increase in girl’s participation.  Or perhaps more boys are playing club sports rather than high school, believing it will offer them a different level of competition.  Regardless of the reason, let’s hope that number goes back up this year.

One figure from the survey was particularly encouraging: 55% of high school students participate in extracurricular activities. The research is out there. Students who participate in activity programs tend to have higher grade point averages, better attendance records, lower dropout rates and fewer discipline problems. We also know that activities foster success in later life. Participation in high school activities is often a predictor of later success, in college, a career, becoming a contributing member of society.   

As parents, corporate partners, coaches, athletic directors, etc, we need to do our part to make sure the participation numbers keep raising. If you are a corporate decision maker, suggest to your advertising director that your employer invest in high school activities. If you are a parent, encourage your child to participation in an activity, and support the businesses that support your school. If you are a coach or athletic director, continue to encourage participation. You are the front line when it comes to our high school student-athletes. You have a tough job out there, but you’re doing a great job, keep it up.   

The latest from our Deal Watcher Czar

Check out the latest find from our Deal Watcher Czar Dan Malone

Recognizing athletes on, off field

by Kenny Henderson/LHSAA Exec. Director

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) not only recognizes our student-athletes who excel on the court or the field, but we proudly acknowledge those who go ‘beyond the game’ in the classroom as well!

In fact, the LHSAA has renewed its partnership with ExxonMobil again this year to honor senior athletes at our member schools in our All-Academic program.

ISC, a leading supplier of instrumentation and electrical services to industry through the Gulf South, has also teamed up with us and Exxon Mobil to become our presenting sponsor for this year’s program.

The LHSAA ExxonMobil All-Academic Program recognizes senior student-athletes who have achieved the necessary grade point average (GPA) requirements, which is having kept a four-year, cumulative 3.5 GPA or higher.

These students are automatically noted as members of the Academic All-State team and are recognized on our website at www.lhsaa.org.

The highest academically-achieving student-athletes in their respective sports are named to the All-Academic Composite Scholar Team, and the next tier of qualifying student-athletes is named to the All-Academic Class/Division Team.

The LHSAA ExxonMobil All-Academic Composite Scholar Program recognizes student-athletes that are composite recipients in all 27 LHSAA sanctioned sports.

Specifically, these are seniors who are slated to graduate at the end of the school year who have maintained perfect 4.0 or above GPAs for their entire high school careers.

For a student-athlete to be eligible for the All-Academic Composite Scholar Team, member school principals must submit to the LHSAA an official six-semester transcript for each student qualifying. This is not required for Class/Division Team members. Principals may access the LHSAA website to create recognition certificates for all Class/Division Team student-athletes.

Because high school sports are an extension of our student-athletes’ total educational experience, we feel that honoring those girls and boys for their achievements in the classroom is essential to our mission of going ‘beyond the game.’

For their efforts, students who receive all-academic composite scholar honors receive framed certificates at their respective sports’ state championships as they truly exemplify the phrase student-athlete.

For more information about the LHSAA ExxonMobil All-Academic Program, presented by ISC, visit our website at www.lhsaa.org and choose Sports, then All-Academic. Congratulations to all of our student-athletes who continue to shine in their academic careers!

Read more: ZacharyToday.com - Recognizing athletes on off field

Tennis and high school sports

Jake came across this interesting story from today's New York Times regarding helping tennis by increasing the opportunities and accessibility at the high school level.  Several things jumped out at me as I read it, and I encourage you to read it as well. The main point that struck a chord with me was the following quote "Participation in sports enhances - and in many cases improves - academic performance and enhances what too often is a dreary school experience." Yes indeed!

Please read and let us know what you think!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/sports/tennis/to-excel-in-tennis-united-states-should-look-to-high-schools.html?pagewanted=all