Take a Break? NOT!

Christmas break brings a welcoming and much needed break to all students.  However, for most athletes, break doesn’t mean “time off.”  Over the break many teams participated in outreaches, practice, and games. Take a look and see what they did…

The baseball team volunteered and participated in a 2-day camp for baseball players 5-15 years of age. The camp offered hitting, pitching, and fielding drills for all rising players, as they were able to improve their skills and stay active during Christmas time. Some older Varsity players helped the participants; as they organized pick up games, drills, and a home run derby. A second grade student that took place in the camp exclaimed, “It was a fun to stay away from home and play baseball all day with my friends.”

Not only did athletes take part in camps and outreaches, but also they were also involved within their teams. The players woke up early for practice and played in many games and tournaments. Every team played, from girls and boys soccer, to girls and boys basketball. The Varsity Boys Basketball team played in a three-day tournament, from December 21 – 23, at Palmer Trinity.

All in all, CCA athletes enjoyed their Christmas break doing what they enjoy the most. Play ball!

“Never Dread Adversity…”

For many CCA students, staff, players, and parents, football season is a highlight of the year. Gathering as a Calvary community, we support our Varsity guys with face paint, group chants, and even a loving pat on the back when a game doesn’t go our way.

 

When the five senior players from the graduating class of 2009 stepped off the field for the last time this past season, they left a legacy that strengthened the program and the community.

 

Varsity Football Coach Jason Kaiser remembers these seniors, Patrick Rogers, Preston Gainey, Wyky Jean, Fenton Ameerally, and JT LaSure, as being “impact players and [they] led by example and word. We have the vision of discipleship in our program and they were continually being challenged both physically and spiritually. They made the season very memorable for all of us.”

 

Junior Brandon Ceballo reminisces on the leadership of this extraordinary class and says goodbye to a senior especially close to his heart. “Wyky brought the excitement, the leadership. He was definitely a unique leader that brought the team together. I’m definitely going to miss him.”

 

With final adieus in the past, the team is again rallying for spring football, a time “to evaluate present talent at all levels and see how we match up with another program,” says Kaiser. Senior Fenton Ameerally advises the team to “work out during the summer and just listen to your coaches even when you don’t want to.”

With his heart still in the midst of CCA Football, and a remaining desire for his team to excel, Wyky leaves his brothers with words of wisdom and experience: “never dread adversity, and push through so you can really see what you’re made of.”

Team Staying Together and “Mashing”

“To win twenty games and make it to the second round of regionals says a lot,” states Varsity Baseball Coach Bill Schott. Coming together as a fairly new team of individuals, Calvary Baseball is going above and beyond, given the brevity of the program’s history and experience. The team’s goal at the beginning of the season was to win the State Championship. Given their devastating loss against Highlands Christian to knock them out of regionals, senior second baseman Vince Alvarez says, “Things just didn’t go our way. We did our best, we did all we could do. It obviously wasn’t in God’s plan for us to win.”

 

For the graduating seniors who walked off of the field for the last time, a legacy has been established, as well as a foundation for next year. Coach Schott admits that, “it always hurts to say goodbye to the senior class,” and he commends each senior player: “Vince Alvarez has played seven straight years at CCA. I’ve never coached for CCA without him, and his leadership has always stood out. Mark Gregory showed unbelievable leadership as well, and Preston Gainey fit in as a leader of the team. It’s a hard thing for a new kid to fit in as a leader but he did it. Cliff Prem had a very busy schedule with the fine arts but he added enthusiasm, hustle, and a great work ethic.”

 

These four seniors were key to the team’s twenty victories, but interestingly, the majority of the players were neither juniors, nor seniors. Standing out specifically was freshman catcher Taylor Gushue, who led the county for home runs and RBI’s, and sophomore first baseman Emilio DeSilva, who “showed the team what is was to be a good teammate. We did pretty remarkably for having seven underclassmen on the field at all times. It was like a JV team,” says Schott. “We were real close,” says freshman Ryan Reilly, we were “always joking around,” and Schott agrees that he “saw God make us a team early in the year. Others-centeredness grew in the kids as they learned to look out for one another.” He comments on the depth of the team in that “after our last loss, the team was visibly hurt, which tells me they learned how to put their hearts into something.”

 

Alvarez leaves his team with a reminder to “stay together and ‘mash,’” as the goal of winning State’s remains in the back of each player’s mind for the 2010 baseball season.

Midle School Cheerleading Tryouts

Progression is crucial in the sport of cheerleading. For example, beginning the sport when you are young will be an advantage to you as you grow older. Here at CCA, we have many opportunities for girls to fulfill their dreams of being a cheerleader. Eventually, students are eligible to try-out for the middle school cheerleading team.

When starting out in school, young girls need an outlet to express their creativity and joy. This is why cheerleading is such a great sport for girls. For the youngest girls, 4 – 7 years old, Calvary Christian Academy holds Pee-Wee Cheerleading Camp during the summer. Girls learn the basics of cheerleading, and most of all, the spiritual aspect of the sport. Later on, they progress to Intramural Cheerleading, for grades 3rd-5th. This is when the girls learn more advanced parts of the sport, and even get to cheer at a basketball or football game. Then, students advance to middle school. The pressure arises, and 6th-8^th graders must try-out to earn their spot on the team.

Recently, middle schoolers attended a two-day after school clinic where they learned all the material they would perform for the judges the next day. The girls then gave the judges all they had at a try-out, aiming to gain a spot on the team. Judges evaluated the girls to see if they had what it takes to call themselves an Eagle cheerleader. Not only would they take into account skill level, but also spiritual and academic maturity.

The team for the 2009-2010 school year cheerleading team has recently been picked. Congratulations girls! Enjoy the team.

 

CCA’s Golf Tournament Airmails the Green

The “clink” of golf clubs and the “whizz” of golf balls taking flight lightly echoed throughout the course and into the ears of focused CCA students, parents, teachers, and administrators as the Calvary community gathered last Friday at the Palm Aire Country Club and Cypress Golf Course “to advance the ministry of CCA.”

Superintendent David Salvatelli explains, “We do that with relationships among CCA families and through financial resources generated by the tournament. Despite the current economic season, we sold out golfers, and the sponsors have been very generous. We’ve done what we can do and the Lord in his Sovereignty has certainly blessed it. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

 

 

 

This blessing, Salvatelli explains, goes beyond the expectations set beforehand. The financial goal of the tournament was to raise $50,000 and the numbers have already exceeded the amount hoped for. It is clear that God can do all things, and Mr. Salvatelli epitomizes the tournament with this comment: “It’s a good time for a good cause.”

 

Not only was there sacrifice on the parts of numerous sponsors, volunteers, and staff, but a unique sacrifice caught the eyes of the golfers during the auction. CCA fifth grader Zack Mendez donated his prized possession: an autographed, cased, Dwayne Wade jersey. His sacrifice was a personal decision to give up something incredibly valuable in order to further the Kingdom of God through CCA, and God certainly blessed Zack’s gift when the jersey sold for $1,500. Martin Fanning, CCA Varsity Golf coach and Bible teacher makes a Biblical parallel: “This jersey was like his ‘Isaac’ and he gave it up for God.”

 

This amazing story of a child’s sacrifice is only a taste of the wonderful things that came out of the golf tournament. David Salvatelli says, “The result was very fruitful. The golfers had a great experience and that was reflected in the generosity that poured forth during the follow-up luncheon and auction.”

 

The following is a list of all the people that, in one way or another, made it possible for this golf tournament to… airmail the green! (a golf term used to describe a shot that goes farther than planned).

 

Crowned Eagle Sponsor

Bennett Auto Supply

 

Golden Eagle Sponsor

Psalm 1 Group

 

Crested Eagle Sponsors

Bass Underwriting

K. Hovanian American Mortgage

Leiter’s Landing

Shelton Property Group, LLC

The Good News

 

Luncheon                                                       

Robert & Mary Matthews

 

Printing

Dutton Press

 

Refreshment Carts

Intense Wear

Cypress Insurance Group

           

Golf Shirts                                                        

M&P Reynolds Enterprises                              

                                                                       

Golf Hats        

Webster’s Team Sports                                  

                                                                       

Hole In One                                                   

Gunther Volkswagon of Ft Lauderdale            

                                                                       

Putting Contest                                              

State Farm Insurance—TerryMcCall Insurance Agency             

                                                                                   

Driving Range                                                

Publix

 

Goodie Bags   

Doctors Hospital

Gold Star Supplies

Offerdahl’s Café Grill

Goldcoastwebdesign.com

Calvary Chapel—Active Word

Premier Jewelry

Women With Dreams

Xtreme Indoor Carting

 

 

Tee Sponsors

CCA Mrs Agarth 2nd Grade Class

CCA Mrs Contento 2nd Grade Class

CCA Elementary Classes

CCA Mrs Herrmann 1st Grade Class

CCA Mrs Mayell 5th Grade Class

CCA PreK Classes

CCA Mrs Webb 3rd Grade Class

Dynamic Transmission Center

Michael & Kori Ellis

FloCoat, Inc

Friends of 4KIDS

Great HealthWorks, Inc

The Hinson Family

Integrity Structural Development

Kirk Colford Insurance Agency

Causey Lee. D.D.S.

Luminary Effects

REACH FM

David & Liliana Salvatelli

Guy & Kathy Shashaty

Shepherd’s Guide Christian Yellow Pages

T.Y. Lin International

Total Travel & Tickets

Triton Insurance Group—Steve Day

 

Other Sponsors

Cantax USA

Cavaliere Elecric & Sons, Inc

Crown Trophies

Keith & Sara Parnas

Jayno’s Pizza

Rejean LaPierre, Inc

Brian Ruger

Specialty Brands, Inc

Starbucks Coffee

 

 

Auction & Prize Sponsors

Bennett Auto Supply

Brio Tuscan Grill

Calvary Christian Academy

Sonny Caruana

Champps American Restaurant

Coral Ridge Country Club

Tim Culbertson

Dallas Cowboys, Inc.

Darrel and Oliver’s Café Maxx

Dolphins LTD

Doral Golf Resort

Florida Marlins

Florida Panthers

Grande Oaks Resort

Bill Hinson

S. Greenwald Design, Inc.

Jacaranda Golf Club

John Jones

King of Kings Skate Ministry

Tim Knox

Chris Lane

Longhorn Steak House

David McKennen and Partners

Lincoln & Meky Mendez

Miami Dolphins Alumni

Miami Seaquarium

Ed and Barbara Middlebrooks

Palm Aire Country Club

Pizza Fusion

Puls Family – Mirasol Club

Mario Pradrino

Original House of Pancakes

Physicians Weight Loss Center

Publix

R & N Jewelers

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Scruby’s BBQ – Rob & Mary

Starbucks

Sweet Tomatoes, Ft Lauderdale

The Capital Grill

The Daily Grill

The Heat Group

The Lighthouse of Peace

Toshiba Business Solutions

Ward Usmar-TUUI

Woodmont Country Club

Xtreme Indoor Karting

 

Playing for a Cause

Girl’s Coach Jessica Lauk says, “The seniors brought a lot of leadership and life to the team and their enthusiasm encouraged the younger players on and off the court, whether about tennis or simply where to eat together after practice.” Parents and friends rallied in support of this final match as Calvary came out with its last victory before districts: a great way to end the season.

The district matches took place last Monday and Tuesday at the Weston Tennis Center. The Eagles were faced with difficult levels of competition and experience, but put their best efforts out on the court. Many players made it past the first round of matches to the second day of competition, but came out on the losing end of a hard-fought battle.

Though the season is over, the team is still united and working together to reach out to the community by hosting the 2^nd Annual CCA “Youth vs. Experienced” Tennis Tournament to benefit the Refuge Church, a homeless ministry of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale. This event takes place this Saturday morning, April 25^th, at Windmill Park in Coconut Creek and will begin promptly at 10:30am.

The youth will be competing against the coaches, parents, and adults in a rotating doubles tournament in order to unite as a CCA community. Players are requested to bring either a suggested $10 donation, gift card to Wal-Mart or Publix, or new socks for the homeless.

Everyone is encouraged to come out and participate in the event. If you are interested in playing, please contact Martin Fanning at 954-347-7276 or MartinF@ccaeagles.org. We hope to see you out on the courts!

Intramural Football: More than a Game

 

“It was tight… down to the wire. Rich’s team was down big in the intramural Super Bowl, with a minute and a half to go. Winslow gets the catch, it was a Hail Mary—and I’m not talking about Catholic stuff here, I’m talking about a pass. They tied the game and it went into overtime. Now, the first team to score wins. Rich’s team forms a stone wall on defense to stop them, they go on offense and Massimo catches the winning touchdown! It was beautiful!” recalls intramural football coach Andrew Robbins from the end of season Super Bowl for third through fifth grade football players at CCA. You wouldn’t expect that kind of passionate play-by-play from an intramural game, but there you have it.

 

This intense and competitive season lasted from the end of January to the end of March and was rewarding for both the elementary players and the high school coaches. Under the leadership of Trent Gamble, five seniors took the initiative to help out with coaching these intramural practices. Fenton Ameerally, Colin Nichols, Andrew Robbins, Richard Farinas, and Patrick Rogers gave up two hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to invest in the lives of these young boys who share the same passion for improving athletically.

 

Nichols says that “It’s always nice to have little kids look up to you and respect you.” It is crucial for an elementary boy to have a big high school role model to look up to, and that’s exactly the kind of influence and wisdom these high school coaches imparted upon them. Richard Farinas says, “We all had a good time and it was a chance for us to share some wisdom and pour some love into these little kids, and teach them about God and football at the same time, so we had a good time serving and giving back to them.”

 

Farinas held an awards party where he gave each player an award and a candy bar. The MVP’s of the season were fifth graders David Winslow and Trent Wysocki, and fourth grader Massimo Gamble, and the coaches award for Godly character went to fourth grader Joshua Lockhart. Farinas says that the boys, “Put a lot of effort into getting better every week,” and each coach was proud of each boy for their good attitude, respectfulness, and willingness to excel in the sport of football.

CCA’s Tennis Team is Coming Up Aces

CCA is midway through its third tennis season and as a relatively new program, Head Coach Martin Fanning, along with Assistant Coaches Jessica Lauk and Margie Dougherty, are leading the team to growth in skill as well as in closeness with Christ—the one who enables us to play.

Through wins and losses, the team is constantly learning how to improve.  “A lot of it is mental,” says Florencia Yalale, a sophomore at CCA who holds second position on the team.  “You don’t necessarily have to be the best player, but if you can control your mind, then you can control your opponent.”

 According to Florencia, the best strategy is to go in with a positive mindset because if not, your opponent will see that you’re weak and use it to their advantage. Coach Fanning agrees that “in the same way, our enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, so we need to have the mind of Christ to keep us focused on what is holy and pure.”

As a fairly new team, the Eagles are striving to establish a foundation for future CCA tennis players and rack up as many wins as possible while also learning from their losses. Their next match is March 6, at 3:30pm at University School.

Run Fast

“Run fast,” says Track and Field Coach Jonathon Schwab. He and Wayne Cole both coach this growing team that is in the process of training to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1.” The team practices here at Calvary ever weekday except for Wednesdays, when they are able to use the track at Westminster Academy’s West Field.

Last year’s victories at the state competition have inspired the team to improve. The remaining three students that placed, Caroline Pauls, Dominique Kelly, and Emily Groeneveld are continuing to progress in endurance, speed, and agility to surpass the bar that was set in last year’s competition. “My goal is to gain endurance this year and beat my personal record of 57 seconds in the 400 meter,” says Dominique Kelly. Both of Kelly’s parents were runners and after some encouragement from a friend on the team, Dominique decided to become one herself. This is Kelly’s third year running track.

The team’s first meet takes place today, Thursday, February 26, when athletes from all over Broward and Dade County will come together to participate in the Belen Relays.

Our Indescribable Win

The feeling of waking up Saturday morning sent a chill down my spine. Our Middle School Girls Basketball team faced a great challenge. We would have to win three back-to-back games in order to prevail as champions at the SACC tournament. Over the course of the season our team had gradually evolved into a family. We prayed, laughed, cried and even witnessed a few miracles together. Another was about to unfold, but none of us knew how.

 

The tension arose as I stepped into Fort Lauderdale Christian’s gym. Soon we were gathered around planning a strategy, and praying about the upcoming game. As the buzzer rang, the starting five stepped onto the court. We defeated Florida Bible 29-15 and the feeling of sweet victory arose in our hearts. Although the win was exhilarating, we couldn’t stay in a dreamy state of mind for long. We had another game in less than fifteen minutes. Soon again we found ourselves on that same court looking straight into the eyes of our rivals from FLCS. We played passionately and won 25-22, but the hardest part was yet to come. We were exhausted but adrenaline and perseverance pushed us forward.

 

When we stepped back on the court it was almost as if God had in that moment taught us how to play for Him. Even though the opponents from Zion were older and taller, we were not intimidated and believed that we could win. With seconds left in the game, we pulled ahead from the neck and neck score by eight points and won the game 31-23. There was nothing more glorious than the sound of that victorious buzzer ringing to announce our indescribable win! We were beyond ecstatic, beyond anything that a word could ever describe. We were hugging, screaming, laughing, and shouting, all in celebration, not only in our victory, but also for the family that we became throughout this unfathomable season.

         

With heartfelt gratitude, we thank our coaches and the Lord for what we were able to accomplish. Coach Mark Kreisel wrote us a wonderful letter following the tournament. In it he said, “As a team this year we never had issues with players not getting along, as a team we learned and grew together, as a team we accomplished great things. Please take what we have accomplished as a team to your everyday life, when you come across a difficult time in your life look back and remember our season.”  With our season in mind, I know it will inspire us to do greater things for the Lord.

 

About this Freelance Writer:

Jessie Gushue is in the seventh grade at CCA, and is thirteen years old. She began writing short stories when she was eight years old and loves the challenge of taking on new characters and telling their story. Jessie also enjoys sports, especially basketball and horseback riding. She loves the intensity and hard work involved with basketball and riding is her favorite way to escape the busyness of life.