By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

There is a saying that national politics begin after Labor Day. While we are still a year away from when the national media begins to dissect the potential presidency of Joe Biden or Donald Trump, etc. this is a great time to review American history and ask the question “How did we get here?”

Best of Enemies is an 87-minute documentary about an experiment that third place ABC New Broadcast attempted, circa 1968. It was the time when President Johnson’s administration went up in flames and he announced that he would not seek a second term. Robert F. Kennedy was supposed to be a shoe-in for the Democratic nomination, but he was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan earlier in the year. As home television transitioned from black-andwhite to color, the nuclear family unit witnessed the United States losing the Vietnam War on CBS News with Walter Cronkite and NBC News with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.

Both NBC and CBS provided gavel-to-gavel coverage with multiple camera angles at the Republican Convention in Miami and the Democratic Convention in Chicago during the summer of 1968.

Lacking the financial resources of NBC and CBS, the ABC National News bureau decided to use fewer cameras, cover the major speeches and provide political commentary from political experts representing Democratic and Republican perspectives. Given their public sophistication and that both men were writers, Gore Vidal was chosen to represent political left and William F. Buckley was chosen to represent the political right for a series of 10 debates at both conventions.

As we learn from this documentary, both Buckley and Vidal had a deep-seated hatred for each other that was masked by their media training, poise and education. Through the series of debates, we see two master debaters spar with each other with minor tweaks and taunts. When in the sunshine of the Miami convention, the first five debates seem as jovial as a checkers match on Collins Avenue.

Yet, as the location transfers to the notorious convention in Chicago, the oppressive atmosphere outside the convention hall permeates the political discourse between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley. Directors Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville wisely let Buckley and Vidal speak for themselves. The 10 debates grow in intensity and by the final debate, the sophisticated faÇades melt into raw anger.

Given the manufactured controversy of today’s news cycle with broadcast news, cable news, websites and personal blogs, Best of Enemies is an important historical documentary that explains the rise of modern journalism. With fewer resources and celebrity news readers, and working in a broken down studio, ABC News set into motion the way the news media today covers political conventions each leap year.

Best of Enemies features some intriguing behind the scenes outtakes. It is an entertaining documentary with much humor. Yet, it is the intellectual showdown between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley that you will remember long after viewing it.

For more information on the film, including theaters where it is playing, visit www.magpictures.com/bestofenemies.

When you’ve predominately operated two- and four-seat single engine training aircraft, the opportunity to get your teenaged hands on an eight-seater twin-prop plane boosts the feeling of being a “real” pilot. I say “real” because this particular flight I was about to fl y was not a training flight, but for actual passenger transport. (Nothing like pretending to be in the big leagues.) I was crushed when my father informed me that my long-awaited trip was most likely canceled —something about all flights being grounded. Impossible. The date was Sept. 11, 2001.

We turned on the television moments before the second tower was struck by a plane. Weeks would pass airing stories of incomprehensible loss contrasted by unimaginable courage. Never before had I seen America, or even our allies for that matter, become so unified. Why does it take an immense tragedy for this level of cooperation to exist?

The nation tabled their political views and rallied behind President George W. Bush as he and Mayor Rudy Giuliani led the country through a time of mourning and rebuilding. Because of their leadership and resolve, as a teenager, I gained a new perspective on what it meant to be one — one nation under God, that is.

Fourteen years later and the unity has seemingly dissolved. Our America has become my America where we define patriotism in the same way Burger King takes our order: have it your way. This is a far cry from where we were when a packed stadium of fans, in unison, began chanting over and over “U-S-A!” following a ceremonial first pitch by Bush during game three of the 2001 World Series.

So what happened? When did our nation begin to divide like cells? When we made sin a thing to be tolerated, not eradicated. That’s right. We took things like anger, hate, lust, idolatry, greed, jealousy, selfishness and drunkenness and hid them behind a cause, not realizing they are all tools in the devil’s arsenal of division — perfect if you’re trying to keep the body from becoming one.

It’s time for a revival. Now, I’m not talking about pitching a big tent, getting the local hipster musicians together and preaching with extra syllables when you say “Jesus.” I’m talking about a revival of the heart — your heart, my heart.

The change we pray for in our nation isn’t going to come solely through a worship music rock concert or some fancy social media hashtag campaign. True change and restoration will occur when each of us clears our heart like Jesus cleared the Temple area of merchants. In John 2:15-16, Jesus says, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” He knew the Temple area was a sacred spot reserved for God. Don’t believe me? Go check out the moment in Genesis when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son — one he had waited his whole life to see born. Though God was not actually going to have Abraham take his son’s life, He did want to test Abraham’s heart, see if he was willing to clear the “Temple” space.

So there it is. To take from the Tim Timmons song Starts with Me, the change we seek begins when we Christians hit our knees.

We must clear our hearts as Jesus cleared the Temple so that, when we stand, we are ready (and filled with courage) to be the light in a country plagued with brokenness dividing us from being what we’re called to be: one nation under God.

C.J. Wetzler is the Next-Gen pastor at First Baptist Church of Deerfield Beach. Before transitioning into full-time ministry, CJ was a commercial airline captain and high school leadership and science teacher. For questions or comments he can be reached at cj@deerfieldfirst.com.

By Gary Curreri

When Melvin Randall first began coaching high school basketball some 23 years ago, he never thought he would be where he is today.

The 52-year-old Randall, the head coach at Blanche Ely High School, is just 18 wins short of 500 career victories and recently became the first boys basketball coach from Broward to win six state championships.

In defeating Kissimmee Osceola 72-60 in the state final in early March, Randall also became the second coach in Broward County history to finish the season as an undefeated state champion, as the Tigers finished the 2014-15 campaign at 28-0.

His efforts earned his selection as the National High School Coaches Association Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.

“This is pretty awesome to be acknowledged by the coaches across the country for the job I have been doing at Blanche Ely over the years,” said Randall, who earlier this year also was named the All-USA Boys Basketball Coach of the Year by USA Today. “It is a great honor and I’m very humbled by this award.”

Randall is the third coach from Broward County to be honored as National Coach of the Year. George Smith of St. Thomas Aquinas won it for football in 2008 and Rich Bielski of Archbishop McCarthy for baseball in 2011.

“It lets me know that what I am doing here at Blanche Ely is very noticeable,” Randall said. “It is a passion for me and I enjoy what I am doing. I am just putting in what I got out of it as far as coaching on the other side. I was once an athlete and putting all of the passion and skills in becoming that athlete I am now doing that as a coach.”

Randall said he has taken bits and pieces from his previous mentors and coaching colleagues, such as the late Butch Ingram, John Keister, Greg Samuel and Wade Edmonds.

He said other influences are former Cardinal Gibbons High School volleyball coach and Athletic Director Louise Crocco, and the late Dillard football coach Otis Gray. Randall takes being a role model very seriously.

“It is a great honor to be a role model,” Randall said. “I know that some of my colleagues say they are not role models, but you are whether you want it or not. You have to be able to point these student athletes in the right direction and let them know it is not really about me, it is about them. It is a great feeling.”

Randall has coached 23 years in Broward and has compiled a 482-141 career record. A graduate of South Plantation High, he went on to play in the NCAA tournament at Mercer University. He is hopeful of winning another state title this season despite graduating seven players, including four starters.

“Winning a state title is my plan every year,” Randall said. “I am always going to play with the cards that I am dealt and every year it gets harder and harder because of the expectations. We are going to be young and a little inexperienced, so we will have to grow up quick.”

Randall added, “I am just in awe what these kids have accomplished every year and I am glad to have been a part of it.”

Pop Tennis Clinic

If you are looking for an alternative to tennis, paddleball and badminton, you can check out a free clinic on Sept. 19 at Pompano Community Park, 100 W. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach.

Pop Tennis is a combination of the three sports and is played on a court 1/4 the size of a tennis court with a paddle and a deflated tennis ball. The demonstration and clinic is free to the public and will be held from 8 to 10 a.m.

“The Pop tennis court is smaller than a tennis court, the racquet or paddle is shorter than a tennis racquet, and the ball is less lively,” said organizer Mitchell Ball. “Additionally, the net is lower, and the players serve underhand – not overhand, as in tennis. All of these things make Pop Tennis easy to play.”

For more information, call Ball at 754-201-9047.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Opening tomorrow, Walt Before Mickey is about the pursuit of happiness. It is not necessarily about avoiding hardship, poverty and betrayal, but it is about the life of the American Business legend, Walt Disney (Thomas Ian Nicholas). One can guess the (spoiler alert) happy ending when Walt Before Mickey concludes.

During his childhood, being raised on a Missouri farm, young Walt would compulsively draw characters on barn doors and walls. As a young adult, Walt and his friends Ub Iwerks (Armando Gutierrez) and Rudy Ising (David Henrie) form their own animation studio and produce Laugh- O-Grams for the Newman cinema chain. However, the high cost of producing the animation forces Walt Disney’s first business into bankruptcy. His future business dealings get even worse.

It is refreshing to see a modern day movie that celebrates entrepreneurship and moral values. Disney’s perseverance is directly proportional to both his creativity and his loyalty to friends and family. With nary a cuss word, Walt Before Mickey is a fine family movie to go see this Labor Day weekend.

It was made in South Florida by Floridans. For screening locations, visit www.waltbeforemickey.com

Despite cultural differences, Straight Outta Compton shares similar business values about loyalty and entrepreneurial success. We watch three young men Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr. – who is actually the son of the real Ice Cube) and Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) crawl out of a Los Angeles ghetto and form the pioneer rap group – NWA.

While enjoying the fruits of their success, the three young men are manipulated by the suspicious business dealings of Jerry Heller, portrayed by Paul Giamatti – who has added depth to similar roles that he played in Rock of Ages and Love & Mercy.

For peers my age who enjoyed the music of Bruce Springsteen, and Huey Lewis and the News, Straight Outta Compton provides a history lesson about the rise of rap music.

The film presents Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E as the next generation’s Rat Pack. Like Frank Sinatra’s connections to the mafia, Straight Outta Compton reveals these artists’ connections to some pretty vicious thugs with pit bulls.

The film has earned $130 million during the month of August, the only box office success of the month. Modestly produced with a great attention to detail, one sees the financial model for films like Straight Outta Compton setting a trend on the big screen in the future.

During the next couple of months, we can look forward to some fascinating motion pictures from Guillermo Del Toro, Johnny Depp, James Bond 007 and Disney’s first Star Wars feature at Christmas time. In the meantime, have a safe Labor Day.

“Truth is in the eyes, lies stay behind them.”

That is the adage that came to my mind this week as I chanted the trifold blessing of the Kohanim: “May the Eternal bless you and protect you. May the Eternal’s countenance shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the face of the Eternal lift up before you and grant you peace!” I will never forget Leonard Nimoy’s character, Mr. Spock, holding his hand out the same way that the Kohanim do and giving that wonderful Vulcan greeting, “Live long and prosper.” The Kohanim kept a space in between each set of fingers. You see, it wasn’t just that the Kohanim were looking eye-to-eye with those they were saying the blessing on, those who were being blessed were looking through that space, making another most intimate form of contact. They were looking beyond that space; they were looking into the face of G-d, to see G-d’s eyes, and, as they do so, G-d responded in kind by looking directly back into their eyes as well.

“Truth is in the eyes.”

Perhaps that is why some people who are having difficulty in their relationships have trouble looking into the eyes of the one they are (temporarily) on the outs with. And who among us hasn’t gotten so upset by someone else’s behavior that we say, “I can’t even stand to look at them” or, “I don’t want to see them anymore”?

Let me go back to Mr. Spock’s Vulcan greeting for a moment, to “Live long and prosper.” What is the first sentence of the Birkat Kohanim? “May the Lord bless you and protect you.” What are the goals of blessing and protection? According to Rabbi Stephen Kushner, this has to do with the bare necessities of life: a home, food, clothing, the material things we need, the things that we need in order to prosper.

In the second verse, we mention grace, or if you prefer another translation, beauty. We don’t need grace and beauty to survive. Grace and beauty in our lives are beyond mere survival. They are about the extras in life that enhance our life, that make us content and give us meaning. But, as Rabbi Kushner points out, grace and beauty come from the light of G-d. In other words, we are not only getting something from G-d, we are actually getting a piece of G-d, the light of His love.

In the final verse, we talk about that all elusive Shalom — peace. That peace comes from intimacy with God and with those we love, by seeing each other in all our goodness, in all our love, and with all our perfect imperfections.

That is why in the third verse we read, “May the face of the Eternal lift up before you…” because when G-d lifts up his face, He is allowing us to make eye contact with Him and He is making eye contact with us, the eye contact that brings intimacy, and that intimacy brings peace.

Eye contact, as Rabbi Kushner points out, requires vulnerability and it requires trust. That desire to look into another’s eyes gives us the strength to get over our own insecurities, and to open our eyes and our heart to another human being and to G-d as well.

It is that intimacy that brings us to wholeness.

Of course, we are taught that no one can see G-d, at least not physically, but, when we make eye contact, we do not need to see a body. Looking into each other’s eyes, we come upon an intimate moment when we see deep into each other’s souls, and, hopefully, we see each other through the eyes of love. For it is through the eyes of love that we truly connect at the most intimate of levels.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach, 201 S. Military Tr., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. Regular Shabbat services are open to everyone on Saturday mornings from 9 to 11:30 a.m. High Holiday tickets still available 954-421-7060.

By Gary Curreri

Meghan Robenhymer said swimming has taken her pretty far.

The 14-year-old Coconut Creek teenager took third in the Girls 13-14 50-yard breaststroke, second in the Girls 13-18 100-yard breaststroke, and was on two winning relays to help the Deerfield Beach Dolphins win its eighth consecutive South Florida Recreational Swim League Summer Championships recently at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex. The two-day meet was held in the Michael Lohberg Pool of Champions.

“This is my entire life,” said Robenhymer, a freshman at Monarch High School and nine-year veteran of sport. “I was average when I first started. The work I bring to it made myself better.”

Robenhymer started swimming at a preschool program and was told she had really good form.

“They said I should tryout for the recreation league,” Robenhymer added. “I was on that team for a couple of years and then I switched to Dolphins. It’s great to be winning races. It shows that all the hard work paid off.”

Parkland’s Emily Chen also turned in a strong performance for Deerfield Beach as she won three individual events and was on two winning relays at the event.

Chen, 14, who holds 12 individual league records dating back to when she was 7, added the Girls 13- 14 100-yard freestyle and the Girls 13-14 100-yard IM records to her credit. The Deerfield Beach High School freshman started swimming when she 7.

“It has just been fun,” Chen said. “It has been a really great venture. I’ve been with the same coaches the whole time and it is just a great atmosphere. The sport means almost everything to me. It is practically my life now.”

Chen hopes for a long swimming career, first high school and then college.

“It is definitely a dream to think of the Olympics,” Chen said. “It is always fun to watch. From afar, whatever is best for me in the long run. The sport definitely shaped my personality — from teamwork and how to support each other to learning how to lose. I learned not to be a sore loser.”

Chen said it has helped her stay determined.

“You just keep trying,” Chen said. “You just keep going. If you never try, you are never going to go anywhere.”

The Deerfield Beach Dolphins won the Large Division with 4,455 points, while the Tsunami Swim Team based in Coconut Creek won the Medium Division with 2,219 points. The Margate Motion Swim Team was fourth in the Medium Division with 1,346 points.

The victory marked the eighth consecutive summer championship victory for the Dolphins since 2007, and 20th overall during the same span when counting the fall and spring seasons.

Ninth year Deerfield Beach Dolphins coach Rafael DaSilva said the victory was huge for the program. The Dolphins have 90 swimmers on its roster and had 83 swimmers compete.

“This meet is the most important meet of the year,” DaSilva said. “It is the biggest championship of all three. This is where it started. The fall and the spring championships were added later.”

“There are always more people because, in the fall, you have high school swimming and, in the spring, you have water polo and some do middle school swimming,” DaSilva added. “There is a lot of competition per se to get the kids involved. The summer is where you prepare the kids for high school swimming and you have the bigger number and more quality swimmers returning. You have more teams and this is the only meet where you make the divisions based on sizes from team to team.”

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

After retiring from the NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneer Superbowl Champion Simeon Rice attended a New York film school to prepare to become a filmmaker.

After directing his first short subject, When I was King, Simeon poured his energies into writing Unsullied, a gritty thriller that follows Reagan Farrow (Murray Gray), a track star, who is kidnapped by a pair of sociopaths after her car breaks down on a deserted road.

Being a student of Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Quentin Tarantino, Rice’s latest film feels like a cross between The Most Dangerous Game, Apocalypto and Deliverance.

“Seeing Deliverance, I was on edge. Time is standing on its own high sense of tension and anxiety. With film, once you see an image, you cannot un-see it!” said Rice.

Deliverance shares the same rural landscape as Unsullied.

Rice and his crew spent more time scouting rural locations near Tampa Bay than the actual production of the film, which was shot in 23 days last autumn. Simeon has high praise for his production crew and he acknowledges the contributions of his leading actors.

“Murray Gray is a deep thinker and is wise beyond her years.

Rusty Joiner, who plays Noah Evans, is the consummate Southern gentleman, often holding the door for a lady. On screen, he entered another dimension and created Satan personified, the kind of church boy you do not trust,” he explained.

Given that he chose to film Unsullied in Florida and had a good experience with the community, perhaps he can become an advocate for the Florida film industry; he defiantly has a streak of independence about him.

But Rice did not come from Florida originally. He grew up in the South Side of Chicago in the worst part of town.

Of his youth, he said, “Being a kid on the street with gang violence, you have to think. You become a straight shooter. It prepared me to make quick decisions on the set.”

Rice has already completed another script titled Full Tilt, a tense drama about backroom poker.

Although he has delved now into film, he still thinks about his previous career.

When asked if he misses football, he said, “Yes! Maybe not a preseason game, but I miss the game itself. It is something that is hotwired in me.”

The film will be shown at selected locations on August 28. To find out more about the film and where film is shown, visit http://unsulliedthefilm.com.

The city of Newark, NJ has the distinction of being one of America’s oldest cities, behind Boston and New York.

During the early 19th Century, it thrived as an industrial giant; but, after WWII, it suffered a fate similar to other urban cities that saw a loss of manufacturing jobs. As residents left to find work in other places, urban decay and societal decline set in, culminating in the riots of the 1960s.

What was once a thriving city was reduced to an urban wasteland and a dilapidated relic of a bygone era.

Things slowly began to turn around, however, as city planners and officials sought to adapt to the changing times by refocusing and rebuilding the city.

Today, Newark boasts a reduced crime rate, a vibrant downtown area with hotels and entertainment venues, an arena home for an NHL hockey team, a major league baseball stadium and gleaming office skyscrapers.

Unlike some other cities across the country that have failed to emerge from a ghost-like existence, Newark has demonstrated that an environment once deemed to be dead can be reanimated and experience new life.

What is true for turnaround cities is true for people as well.

I recently heard the inspiring story of a young man who wandered into a church several years ago. He had been in and out of jail and was trying to turn his life around. No one would hire him because of his criminal record but he was determined not to end up a statistic.

The pastor encouraged him to give his life to God and to trust Him for his future, which the young man did.

“What skills do you have?” the pastor inquired.

“I’ll do anything,” he responded.

“Would you be willing to try your hand at a property cleaning business?”

The young man agreed to do it, and the pastor helped him to produce dozens of flyers advertising his services and placed them all over the town.

Within weeks, he had his first cleaning job, and soon other calls began to come in. The young man partnered with a friend in a similar situation, and they soon saw their business grow. They were now able to comfortably take care of their families and were making more money than when they were hustling in the streets.

There is always hope for a turnaround from the failures and setbacks in our lives.

Opportunities are always lurking behind the obstacles that confront us. We must be prepared to make adjustments and adapt to new realities or we may find ourselves mired in stagnation.

To His ancient people, who were suffering in captivity and oppression, God gave a powerful promise: “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19).

Those who trust in God today can count on Him to be of similar assistance in their lives.

He can show you a way through the wilderness, and He can sustain you in the desert.

What challenges are you facing that appear to be hopeless? What deteriorating situation are you desperate to break free from?

Invite God into your life and trust Him for direction. Examine all the options around you and prayerfully pursue the opportunities that emerge.

Remember that any difficulty that is lasting does not have to be everlasting. There is always hope for a turnaround.

Bishop Patrick L. Kelly is the pastor of Cathedral Church of God, 365 S. Dixie Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. 954-427-0302.

By Gary Curreri

With 20 senior players returning from last year’s squad, Blanche Ely football coach Nakia Jenkins believes that his team will fix last year’s late-game woes.

Jenkins, in his second season at the helm of the Tigers football team, said his team has a wealth of experience.

“Last year, we had a lot of talent, but we were young,” said Jenkins, whose team finished 6-4 with three losses in the closing moments of games. “We are returning about 20 seniors this year that played last year so we are really senior heavy this year with a lot of experience. That should be our plus this year. We should know how to finish ball games.”

The Tigers reached the first round of the FHSAA Class 7A state playoffs where it fell to visiting Atlantic, 21-13, in the closing moments, much like two other losses during the season to Miami Northwestern (23-20) and Plantation (31-23).

“Last year, we lost three games in the last minute and a half that we were winning,” Jenkins said. “We should have easily been 9-1 last year instead of 6-4.”

“It still stings,” Jenkins added. “It is going to sting probably until our first regular season game. We have about 15-20 players who contributed last year and helped us out.”

Jenkins will need to get some rapid growth from an inexperienced offensive line; however, they will have three strong running backs to run behind them, including Arthur Forest, Demeterice Bellamy and Robert Williams. Quarterback Zackery Purdue also returns and has talented wide out Thomas Geddis to throw to.

“The offense is going to be loaded,” Jenkins said. “A couple of other wide receivers who are going to help us are Jeremy Taylor and Leonard Williams.”

Defensively, look for senior David Francis to lead the way.

“He’s a leader, captain and three-year starter,” Jenkins said. “He knows where everybody should be.”

Purdue is looking forward to the season.

“This year, I am more confident,” he said. “Last year, I didn’t really read my coverages and go through my progressions. This year, we are loaded with seniors and we are going to be a better team.”

Bellamy, 17, a senior in his fourth year at the school, said he’s excited for the season.

“I have to prove a lot of people wrong,” said the 5-ft., 6-in., 165 lb. running back. “They underestimate me. They say I am too small and not fast enough, and not strong enough. I have been doing two-a-days, and sometimes three times on weekends.”

The 18-year-old Geddis agreed and said the seniors could make the difference.

“We have a lot of guys who are going to go out there and compete and go hard, and are very experienced,” Geddis said. “Being seniors, it makes you want to go harder. Our coach says you only got one game and you have to take every game like it is your last high school game.”

Geddis, who received 18 college offers during the spring, said last year’s tight losses were frustrating and they will look to change that this season.

“You don’t have the time to come back and redo the mistakes you made,” Geddis said. “You have to go 110 (percent) on every play and just know that you are putting everything on the line.”

Jenkins said the team would have to fight through adversity.

“What I am teaching my guys now is football in four quarters,” Jenkins said. “It is not three quarters and we have to finish until the last whistle blows. That is the one thing that we are teaching day in and day out. It is fighting to the last whistle. If we do that this year, we should be in the thick of things this year.”

Photos by David Volz

Laryssa Booth has a passion for Beach Tennis. She excels in this sport that is growing in popularity.

“I love to play Beach Tennis. It is a lot of fun and we are winning today,” said Booth.

She was among about 100 men and women who participated in the Pompano Beach Summer Series Beach Tennis Tournament on Pompano beach, on Sunday, August 16. The game is similar to tennis. It is played in a beach environment and on sand.

“Beach Tennis is a game I love to play,” said Rachel McGinnis. “It is a fun game and there is a great group of people here.”

Adrienne Cerra Simeon is a leader of the Beach Tennis sport and is president of IFBT-USA. The sport is very popular in Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach. There is a large permanent Beach Tennis training facility right on the beach in Pompano, with eight courts. People can play singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

“We have a tournament about once a month. A lot of the people who participate have played volleyball and tennis,” said Cerra Simeon.

And Beach Tennis offers a fun atmosphere. Steve Culver, a Beach Tennis player said he loves the atmosphere and the camaraderie of the tournaments.