By Gary Curreri

In the beginning, Julia Vulpio wasn’t a big fan of tennis.

“At first, I didn’t like it,” said Vulpio, 18, of Pompano Beach. “I wanted to play with dolls and do normal kid’s stuff.”

She got her start when her father saw a poster of Argentinian tennis pro Guillermo Vilas on the floor for his academy and they went.

“It was closed for the year and my dad said since we are here, let’s play,” said Vulpio, who was age 4 at the time. She continued to play recreationally until age 9 when she had a breakthrough.

“I saw Rafa Nadal play at the French Open, and I said, ‘wow, I really want to play now,’” Vulpio recalled. “I love the competition. I like everything. I like the fighting. It is definitely mental, a lot of it.”

She cited her strengths as a backhand crosscourt, her slice serve and a topspin forehand.

Vulpio recently scored a 6-4, 7-5 win over Boca Raton’s Nina Gulbransen in the finals of the Women’s Open Division in the Delray Cup – Prize Money Open, Age Category and NTRP Championships at ProWorld Tennis Academy in Delray Beach. Not bad considering she hadn’t played in a tournament in a couple of months and had just been training.

“I just decided to go back and play a few tournaments,” said Vulpio, a Quinnipiac University commit. She is currently homeschooling to prepare. She has also been training at ProWorld for almost two years. She was a former No. 1 in France for girls 16s and was ranked No. 900 at WTA at age 17.

“It was a good match to start back,” she said. “Winning the tournament gives you confidence for sure, especially since it is my first tournament in a while.”

The tournament also featured Men’s Open singles, Men’s Open doubles, Women’s 3.5 NTRP singles and Men’s 4.0 and 4.5 singles play. There were 81 players in the event and in addition to players from Florida, there were also competitors from CA, TX, NJ , NY, MI, and PR.

“The tournament had about 80 players – 70 in the Open and 11 in the NTRP,” Tournament Director Lew Wolfe said.

Bucks win third straight game

After opening the season with two straight losses on the road, the Deerfield Beach High School football team have regained their winning ways with a third consecutive shutout following a 42-0 win over Oak Ridge (Orlando) at home on Friday night.

Senior quarterback Michael Pratt tossed three touchdown passes, while senior running back Jaylan Knighton topped the century mark rushing and added two touchdowns for the Bucks, who have defeated Blanche Ely (42-0), Zachary (La.) 52-0 and Oakridge in the team’s home opener.

Pratt, a Tulane University commit who transferred to Deerfield Beach from nearby Boca Raton in early August, will face his former team on Friday when the Bucks take on the Bobcats at home.

Pratt connected with Aydin Henningham, Xavier Restrepo and Jaziun Patterson for TD passes and Knighton, a Florida State commit, totaled 101 yards on the ground and scored twice.

By Gary Curreri

For two solid weeks, the Highlands Christian Academy basketball camp attracted 40 campers to take part in not only learning how to play the sport but also learn life lessons.

“I am always grateful and excited that we are able to offer basketball camp here at HCA,” said HCA Boys basketball coach and school athletic director Jim Good, who has worked the camp personally for 21 years. “It is by far our most successful athletic camp we do in the summer.”

Reg Cook, the school’s former AD and Boys Varsity basketball coach, started the camp in 1986 with 19 campers in attendance. The first week of the camp consisted of children in the 7th-12th grades, while the second week consisted of 2nd-6th graders. Both sessions attracted approximately 40 campers each.

“I am extremely thankful for our coaches who do a tremendous job leading, working stations, sharing devotions and officiating games,” Good said.

This year’s staff included several of the HCA Basketball coaches: Luke Still (Boys JV), Josh Good (Boys JH), Jeff Sullivan (Boys 6th grade), John Wilson (Former Girls Varsity who is at Charlotte Christian now) and Kayla Lassen (HCA alumnus who is attending Liberty University).

Special guests, including Andrew Smith and Tomasz Gielo, would lead some drills in the morning. Smith graduated from HCA in 2011 and helped lead the Knights to back-to-back District Championships in his junior and senior years. The former first-team All-County selection played four years in the Big South at Liberty University and just finished up his third season playing overseas, including professional stints in Latvia, Netherlands, and just recently in Germany.

Tomasz was a teammate of Smith’s while at Liberty but transferred his senior year and finished playing his college ball at Mississippi. He has been playing professionally in Spain the last two years. Tomasz is originally from Poland and is representing his country this summer by playing for the Polish National team.

“It was great having these two young men give back to these kids,” Good said. “They were given a 45-minute time slot of leading some offensively minded drills they have incorporated while playing in college or overseas. The campers had a tremendous amount of respect and ‘awe’ in having them part of our camp this summer.”

The typical morning included a devotion from one of the coaches as they shared a spiritual truth for the day. They then focused the entire group on warm-up runs, dribbling, ball-handling and stretching.

Each morning, the campers performed several speed and agility drills led by the coaches in a station format. The group was then divided up to work on individual skill and development with lay-ups, cone drills, and shooting.

Each day, a specific skill was broken down for the campers to focus on and, every day, the campers competed in a different trophy competition which included: one on one, two on two, free throws, and hot shots.

“Lunch was off campus at Chick-Fil-A, Wendy’s, and CiCi’s Pizza and we are extremely grateful for our relationship with these organizations and the support they have for HCA Athletics,” Good said.

The afternoon consisted of full court five on five games. Hours for the camp were 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and will be offered again next June.

Other camps coming up at HCA are softball, track and field, indoor soccer, golf and volleyball. For more information, visit the website at www.highlandsknights.org.

By Gary Curreri

After opening the season with wins over Sheridan Hills and Boca Raton Christian, the Highlands Christian Academy boys’ basketball team found the going rough in its own holiday tournament.

The Knights began the regular season as it topped Sheridan Hills, 83-67, and then downed District 7-3A rival Boca Raton Christian, 53-40, in the opener of the 40th annual event that was started by former AD and basketball coach Reg Cook.

Sophomore guard Alex Villas led the team in scoring with 16 points, including going 6 for 6 from the field with 2, three-pointers in the win over the Blazers.

The Knights (2-2) dropped its final two games in the tournament, falling to the eventual tournament champion, Pine Crest, 57-44, and to King’s Academy, 57-56, in the third place game. Highlands trailed Pine Crest by 14 points and were able to draw within four before the Panthers pulled away for the win.

“Playing these three games really sets the tone for our season and gives me a good indication of what our strengths and weaknesses are,” said Knights coach and Athletic Director Jim Good. “Although we ended up losing two out of the three games, I was very encouraged and pleased with our effort. Unfortunately, we found ourselves too deep in a hole versus Pine Crest and King’s trying to overcome double digits.”

Highlands and King’s are quite familiar with each other as they faced off the previous two tournaments. Highlands defeated King’s for third place last year and in double overtime the previous year for the championship game. The Knights were down 12 in the third quarter before senior point guard Sawyer Lawhon hit 3, threes to draw them close. Lawhon was named to the All-Tournament team.

“We, unfortunately, did not shoot the ball well from the free throw line that night,” Good said. “I guess King’s was finally due to pick up a win against us. It’s always a great week as we host the Classic right after Thanksgiving.”

Pine Crest, the defending champion, won the title with a 72-55 victory over North Broward Prep as Brian Anderson was named tournament MVP. The Knights had won its own tournament nine times – 1978, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2009, 2010 and in 2015.

Santos Sweep helps Piranhas finish 15th in Winter Champs

Pompano Beach’s Mattheus Santos, 16, and his 15-year-old brother Raphael went 1-2 in the 15-16 boys high point standings to help the Pompano Beach Piranhas swim team to a 15th place overall finish at the 27th annual Speedo Winter Championships at Plantation Aquatic Complex recently.

Mattheus had 64 points, while Raphael added 60.50 as the pair combined to score 124.50 of the swim club’s points for the four-day meet and led the boys’ team to an 11th place finish with 219.50 points. The girls’ team finished 28th with 26 points as the program ended up with 245.50 total points.

The meet featured nearly 1,100 swimmers and more than 50 teams from the Florida Gold Coast (South Florida teams) organization, in addition to teams from out of state and international squads. Swimmers ages 9-16 were involved in the competition.

Hosted by the Plantation Swim Team, the Winter Championships is the state’s largest age group meet and one of the nation’s largest LSC (Local Swimming Committees) meets.

Other top finishes for Pompano included Emilio Barrantes, 14, who was sixth with 46 points; Summer Schulte, 14, who finished 18th in the Girls 13-14 high points with 17 points; Alex Marquez, 15, (7 points) and Shane Schulte, 16, (5 points) placed 30th and 35th, respectively, in the meet.

Highlands holds successful hoops camps

By Gary Curreri

For more than two decades, Highlands Christian Academy (HCA) has hosted an annual summer basketball camp at the school.

Jim Good, who serves as the school athletic director and boys’ varsity basketball coach, has been there for most of those camps as he just completed his 20th year. Good’s predecessor, Reg Cook, the former AD and boys varsity basketball coach, started the camp in 1986 with 19 campers in attendance.

“I am always grateful and excited that we are able to offer basketball camp here at HCA,” said Good, who has worked the camps since 1998. “It is by far our most successful athletic camp we do in the summer. I am extremely thankful for our coaches who do a tremendous job leading, working stations, sharing devotions and officiating games.”

 This year’s staff included several of the HCA Basketball coaches: Luke Still (Boys JV), Josh Good (Boys JH), Jeff Sullivan (Boys 6th grade), John Wilson (Girls Varsity) and Caris Everette (Girls Elementary).

“Also, Max Spinner, head coach at Boca High and former Bobcats player, came every morning in our older group to lead our “Defensive Session,” Jim Good added. “Coach Spinner created and provided quality instruction and drills on defense. 

“I have always been impressed with his teaching and coaching style and have watched his teams really buy into defense,” Good continued. “It was great to have an outside voice who provided energy and enthusiasm in implementing some new defensive drills.”

“Also, Max Spinner, head coach at Boca High and former Bobcats player, came every morning in our older group to lead our “Defensive Session,” Jim Good added. “Coach Spinner created and provided quality instruction and drills on defense. 

Good said the camp theme was from Philippians 2:13 which reads, “In humility, consider others better than yourselves.”

“Our typical morning included a devotion from one of our coaches as they shared a spiritual truth for the day,” he said. “We then focused the entire group on warm-up runs, dribbling, ball-handling and stretching.”

Every morning, the campers performed several speed and agility drills led by the coaches in a station format. The group was then divided up to work on individual skill and development with lay-ups, cone drills and shooting. The first week consisted of 35 elementary school students, while the second week consisted of 50 children in the junior high and high school age groups. 

Each day a specific skill was broken down for the campers to focus on. Every day, the campers competed in a different trophy competition, which included one on one, two on two, free throws and hot shots. Lunch was off campus at Chick-fil-A and CiCi’s Pizza, while the afternoon consisted of full court five on five games.

The school also held camps for softball, track and field, and indoor soccer. The remaining camps offered at the school next week (July 31-Aug. 4) include golf and girls volleyball. Please visit the website at www.highlandsknights.org for more information.

Simply Soccer camps offered

The Simply Soccer camp is winding up its 29th year of summer camps in nearby Coral Springs. 

The camp is for boys and girls, ages 5-15, and of all skill levels, which are taught a variety of soccer skills from dribbling to shooting.

There are three sessions each day ranging from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; extended hours camp from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a Tiny Tot program for kids ages 5 and 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. 

Full day campers must bring a soccer ball, swimsuit, shin guards, water bottle and lunch. You do not have to be a city resident to attend.

The camp has just three sessions left this summer including July 31 to Aug. 4; Aug. 7 to 11, and Aug. 14 to 18.

You can register daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Coral Springs Gymnasium, 2501 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs. For information on the Coral Springs camp, call 954-345-2200.

By Gary Curreri

Lighthouse Point’s Taylor Anderson is showing Michigan State University that they made a good choice in offering her a full gymnastics scholarship.

The problem is that the Spartans still have to wait two years for her services. Anderson, a Level 10 gymnast at American Twisters in Coconut Creek, had a good showing in three of her four events at the Region 8 Level 10 championships where she finished first in the All-Around (37.275).

The 16-year-old was first in the bars (9.600), tied for first in the beam (9.400) and tied for third in the floor (9.350) at the Regional competition at the Kidsport Gymnastics Academy in Burlington, North Carolina that featured 495 gymnasts in both Level 9 and Level 10.

Anderson also tied for 18th in the vault (8.925). Her efforts on bars and beam tied her personal bests for the events.

“Gymnastics means a lot to me because I do it so much and I have done it my whole life,” said Anderson, a sophomore at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale.

“I love doing all of the flips and having fun…just being able to do what gymnastics is,” Anderson added. “It is just a crazy feeling knowing what to do and how do it.”

Anderson, who gave her verbal commitment to Michigan State University, earlier in the school year, also had a strong showing at the prestigious Tim Rand Invitational competition at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. The meet attracted 1,300 competitors.

In placing second in the all-around (37.525), Anderson won the bars (9.675); placed second in the beam (9.400); tied for fifth on the floor (9.300) and was seventh in the vault (9.150).

Admittedly, it is like a job with a 6-day, 30+ hours a week commitment.

“It is really tough, but it pays off,” Anderson said. “You have to think about the outcome of it and what is going to happen in the future.”

“Taylor comes in the gym everyday and works really hard for her goals and their aspirations,” said American Twisters coach Christina Ramirez.

Highlands advances 11 to state track meet

Highlands Christian Academy Sydney Blackburn won the shot put (35-08) and placed second in the discus with a throw of 120-08.00 at the Region 4-1A competition at Westminster Academy last week.

Freshman Ciara Huntley was second in the triple jump (30-07.50) and junior Sasha Graham placed third in the 400-meter dash (1:02.25) to qualify for the girls state championships. Highlands Academy was sixth in the meet with 48.25 points.

After placing fourth in the 1,600-meter run (4:44.16), junior Ryan Szklany battled back to win the boys 3,200-meter run (10:09.64).

Highlands Christian senior Josiah Ritzer was second in the boys discus (121-11), and third in the shot put (42-10.25) and senior Jake Peterson was third in the boys 110-meter hurdles (16.47). Senior Herman Robinson was fourth in the shot put (41-07.75) and freshman Alex Villas was fourth in the triple jump (38-10.50).

The Knights qualified three athletes in the pole vault taking second, third and fourth: Sophomores Chanz Miller (12-00), Kyle Coulson (11-06.25) and junior Scott Bush (10-11.75). The boys were fourth in the meet with 67 points.

The state championships are this weekend at IMG Academy Stadium in Bradenton.

By Rachel Galvin

The Class of 2016 was the last class to graduate from Zion Lutheran. The school that began in 1964 is in the process of being transformed into a charter school called Somerset Academy Key. During the transition, many students and teachers went elsewhere, but others remained and an influx of new students is coming in. They currently have enrolled 420 students, but expect to have 600 in total by the time school starts.

There no longer will be a Christian curriculum and, since it is turning from a private to public school, students will be subject to testing and requirements they have never experienced before, but new principal Dennis Mulrooney said the changes are a good thing.

“[The students] haven’t had those rigors before. I believe it is a step above. We are pushing higher education and setting them up for secondary success, putting them in a position to get into college. We are there to help them along the way.”

Mulrooney began his work in education in schools in Miami-Dade County. He has worked in administration and as a curriculum coach. He worked as an Assistant Principal at Somerset Academy in Miramar at an elementary level for two years. Looking to gain high school experience, he transferred to another charter school, Mater Academy, where he became Assistant Principal for two more years. When the call came asking him if he wanted to come to Deerfield and open Somerset Academy Key, he jumped at the chance.

“Getting the call was a blessing. It is everything I have ever wanted,” he said.

The school is being freshened up to have a more Somerset feel. They will be retaining the colors and the lion mascot from Zion, but the lion may change a little.

They are updating the computers, installing new software. They have about 200 computer stations and plan to increase it up to 400-450 stations once they reach their intended enrollment.

In addition to already instituted extracurricular activities, including sports, students will be able to create their own clubs.

“Students will create and drive the activity [programming]. If there is enough interest, they can get a sponsor and fundraise,” said Mulrooney, adding, “I want students to feel this is a second home for them.

The school, which will now only serve grades 6 to 12, currently has open enrollment. But the process to get in is not as easy as a regular school.

“There is only a certain amount of seats at each level. Once we hit that, students go on a wait list. It is not a simple process. The later students register, the less likelihood they will get in,” he said.

Meanwhile Zion’s pre-school, now called Zion Early Learning Center, and the church is still operational.

The preschool serves ages six weeks to Pre-K. Kids here tackle STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) from day one. They follow the WEE curriculum, which is Christian-based. The staff is all CDA certified (with the Childcare Development Association). Over the summer, students learn a different fairy tale every week and incorporate it into their studies.

They also have a Vacation Bible School and a Summer Camp. The camp, which runs through August, includes traveling to fun adventures like the park, movies and elsewhere.

Both Somerset and the preschool are seeking students. For more information on Somerset Academy Key, call 954-481-0602 or visit www.somersetkey.com. For more information on the preschool and their programs, call 954-421-3146.

By Gary Curreri

When it comes to the expansion of the South Florida Baseball School, Bruce Charlebois said his prayers have been answered – literally.

“We have wanted to run a home school division, which is something that we have been praying for a long time and God has answered that prayer with Marc (Carpiniello) and his family,” said Charlebois, owner of the school and head baseball coach at Highlands Christian Academy, where the school is located. “We have also started a softball division this year and that has been another desire of ours for years.

“That is ridiculously great!” Charlebois added. “People believe in our system and we have been able to help in the area of character and baseball training throughout the years and people are investing in us. Again, it is a miracle that we get to do this and people love us enough to invest in what we are doing.”

Charlebois, 49, of Deerfield Beach, said the school is celebrating its 20th anniversary and adding a home school division was just a natural progression.

Carpiniello, 45, also of Deerfield Beach, said the home school division for children ages 6 to 13 began a few months ago with a Tuesday camp and just three players. It has since grown to 14.

“I think it is more of a want, than a need,” said Carpiniello, who home schools his children, Vince, 7, and Jami and Justin, twin 6-year-olds. He coaches his children in several leagues and about 30 games each, however, there are not many practices.

“Even though my kids adapt quickly and make friends fast they are still not in the same circles as most of the other boys since they are home schooled,” Carpiniello said. “With our program, we do a little skill training with them and then break into a wiffle ball or tennis ball game. We will then do some speed and agility, and then some baseball. We will also focus on the pitchers and catchers a little bit. I think it is huge for the kids to be able to play with their friends. They like that they have a league of their own.”

The South Florida Baseball School recently broke ground on a brand new state-of-the-art, 6,000-sq. ft. indoor hitting and pitching facility, currently being built with completion expected by June. They have also added “Rookie Ball” for kids ages 2-5, a softball division, clinics for little league players and coaches.

“The hitting and pitching facility is a game-changer for us as far as the academy goes,” Charlebois said. “It will be built where the exiting hitting area and bullpen area is. It is down the left field line.”

Charlebois said the schedule varies depending on the time of the season.

“We have home school stuff available at any time during the day – from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and our prime time schedule is available from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. during the week,” said Charlebois, who also offers private lessons, small groups and team workouts. “We have Saturdays all day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. We also have winter and summer camps. We had a three-day power camp during winter break.”

Looking back over the 20 years, is there one thing that stands out?

“For the baseball academy, the best memory would, honestly. be God bringing Marc and his family into our lives,” Charlebois said. “His excellent wife Janis has built our website and is doing administrative work for us.

“We have done a lot over the years,” he added. “We have guys in the big leagues with Mike Fiers (Houston Astros) and Michael Taylor (Washington Nationals), both guys who trained in our academy. We also have a number of guys who are in pro ball or Division 1 in college.”

For more information, visit southfloridabaseballschool.com, or call 954-326-2373.

By Gary Curreri

Highlands Christian Academy’s (HCA) sports programs are proving that the future is now as three of its lower school sports team won South Atlantic Coast Conference (SACC) championships recently.

The girls elementary and junior high girls basketball teams were joined by the junior high boys soccer teams as titlists this year.

The girls’ elementary basketball team had an outstanding season finishing 5-1. The Knights squad is composed of 4th and 5th graders, and its lone loss of the season was to Abundant Life, who plays 6th graders on its team.

Brooke Vaccarro led the Knights in scoring and received the Outstanding Contribution Award as she scored 6 of the team’s 8 points in an 8-6 victory over Sheridan Hills in the SACC championship game. It was almost a repeat of the regular season where Highlands, with just four returning players from last season, defeated the Sharks, 7-6.

“I am so proud of my Lady Knights,” said Leslie Shein, who is an alumnus of the school and in her second year as coach. “These girls worked hard, encouraged one another, had great sportsmanship, and finished strong. They practiced hard throughout the season and it paid off!”

The school’s junior high girls basketball program needed to work overtime; however, it also brought home a title.

After dispatching Zion Lutheran, 28-19, in its opening game of the SACC tournament, the Knights were pushed to overtime; however, it prevailed with a 26-23 victory over Sheridan Hills.

“It was a very successful year for our team as we were able to achieve our goal of winning the SACC tournament,” said 5th year coach Scott Lassen, also an HCA graduate. “We had five returning 8th graders who were determined to win it all their final season.”

Seventh grader Raphael Menezes scored the lone goal of the game and fellow 7th grader Jason Thomfhorde recorded his fifth shutout of the season as Highlands Christian Academy blanked Coral Springs Christian, 1-0, for the boys’ junior high SACC title.

It was Menezes’ fourth goal of the season for the Knights, which went from third place in the league to first this year. The team finished the year 10-2.

“I’ve seen a good amount of improvement in the quality of soccer,” said second year coach Daniel Mauro, whose father Darryl is the boys’ varsity coach. “I am very proud of my squad and the boys should be very proud of their achievements, but not satisfied; there is more to come from these guys.”

Kyle Coulson was named the team’s MVP and led the Knights with 10 goals and 6 assists. The Knights were the top seed going into the SACC Tournament and defeated Westminster Academy 4-2 to advance to the championship game.

By Gary Curreri

Highlands Christian Academy (HCA) showed there is reason to be optimistic as two elementary school and two junior high programs finished on top in their respective leagues.

Daniel Copeland Del Toro and David Jesus each scored a goal as the Knights Elementary School soccer team defeated defending league champion St. Paul Lutheran, 2-0, in the Elementary Soccer League (ESL) championship game to finish the season at 7-1-1. Cameron Brooks earned the shutout.

The 2014 Elementary Soccer League consisted of Abundant Life, Highlands Christian, Sagemont, St. Paul and Trinity.

The Knights of Highlands Christian defeated all the schools during the season except their long-time rival, the Falcons of St. Paul. The first meeting between the two teams ended in an exciting 4-4 tie. The second meeting was for the League Shield and for home field advantage in the playoffs. The two teams battled throughout the regular time with a score of 1-1. After the overtime play, the result was the same, and St. Paul eventually prevailed in penalty kicks.

The Knights defeated the Falcons with a score of 2-0 earning the Champions for the second time of the Elementary Soccer League.

The Junior High School volleyball team ended the year at 11-5 and swept Westminster Academy (WA), 25-20; 25-20 in the finals to take the South Atlantic Coast Conference (SACC) title.

“The Junior High volleyball team of Highlands Christian Academy had a great season,” said Coach Shannon Ratzlaff. “With some big wins over Boca Christian and The King’s Academy, the girls improved significantly throughout the course of the season. It was nice to play WA in the championship game this year as they defeated us for last year’s SACC Championship.”

Knights’ eighth-grader Aiyana Garcia had 12 service points in the second game of the championship to seal the win.

The Junior High School football team completed a perfect season by winning all six of its games, while the HCA Elementary School volleyball team downed Sheridan Hills to win the SACC Championship. The team finished 6-2.