“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25 NRSV

The college football championship is behind us. We are in the midst of NFL playoffs and in a few weeks the Super Bowl will be watched by millions. Even people who do not regularly watch football will be watching the Super Bowl.

Fanfare is a multi-billion dollar business. People spend a lot of time and money following their team. And, I must admit, I am a fan as well. There is something that does get under my skin. I know it is small and seemingly insignificant. When a fan uses the word “we” when she or he is talking about their favorite team.

Let me give you an example. I will use my favorite team as an example. I see a person wearing a Minnesota Vikings jersey on a Sunday afternoon. I ask: “Who are the Vikings playing?” She answered: “We are playing the Packers.”

Clearly, I knew what she meant and I am certain that she wouldn’t appreciate a reaction like this: “I didn’t know you played for the Vikings. I just thought you were a fan.”

I say this because there is a big difference between someone who puts on a jersey to watch a football game and someone who puts on a jersey to play the game. I can say that fanfare is painless and football is painful but fans would be inclined to say: “That interception was painful.” I can assure you, the one who threw the interception was in much more pain.

Sports can serve as a great metaphor. Jesus calls us to discipleship and discipleship is much more than fanfare. A fan stays in the comfortable stadium seats or an armchair in the living room in front of a big screen TV. The player is on the field enduring a lot of abuse. We are not called to the bleachers; we are called to the field. Discipleship is not a “spectator sport.”

Churches have a tendency of measuring their success based upon fanfare. How successful is your ministry? “I will take a head count and let you know.”

I challenged a congregation I once served: “Do you want to ride the bandwagon or build it?” Fans come and fans go. Loyalties wax and wane. Fans jump from bandwagon to bandwagon.

Discipleship is hard work. But when I consider the love that God has for his people and when I consider the price God was willing to pay for me, discipleship is the most appropriate response.

Enjoy the end of the season, the playoffs and the Super Bowl. Before you comment on the person on the field, consider his commitment and consider the pain he endures. We are called to something greater than fanfare and, here is the good news. When we endure the battle we will emerge as champions.

Pastor Gross is a pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, located at 959 SE 6 Ave., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, call 954-421-3146 or visit www.zion-lutheran.org.

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach’s Jevon Williams was in familiar territory recently as he successfully defended his 100-meter boys hurdles championship at the Broward County Middle School track and field championships at Coral Springs High School.

“I didn’t expect it,” said Williams, who recently graduated from Pompano Beach Middle School. “It is kind of like winning a super bowl, but it is better because it was for my school.”

The 14-year-old Williams would know about winning Super Bowls as he won a youth football championship with the Pompano Eagles 13-Under team.

In addition to defending his hurdles title in 14.24, he also won the high jump with a personal best leap of 5-10. His previous best was 5-8. He barely clipped the bar as he attempted to top 6-0.

Williams put in a dominating performance in the boys hurdles as he won by nearly a second over Seminole Middle School’s Cody Brown (15.22). The Bengals finished second in the meet with 62 points, just nine points behind four-time defending county champion Lauderdale Lakes Middle School.

“I did good,” said Williams, who has been running track for three years. “It was pretty hard to repeat in the hurdles, but I had the experience.”

Other top local finishes with Pompano Beach Middle School athletes in the championships included Robert Floyd, who finished eighth in high jump (5-4); Darnell Deas, who placed third in the boys 100-meter dash (11.84), and Jeremiah Mathieu, who placed third in the boys 800 (2:12.18).

Pompano Beach kept the meet interesting as it went 2-3 in the 200-meter dash as Shamari Lawrence was second (23.25), while Williams was third (23.74). Pompano Beach also had two standout relay performances as their 4×100 relay took first (44.44), while the 4×400 relay was fourth.

Not to be outdone, the girls also turned in some solid efforts as they tied for ninth in the county with Sawgrass Middle School with 18 points. Lauderdale Lakes’ girls won the championship with 94 points.

Jaleah Williams was one of three girls to break the 1-minute barrier as she was third in the girls 400-meter dash (59.73). K’Nyah Isaac of Pembroke Pines Charter won the girls 400 (56.43). Williams also took third in the 200-meter dash (26.41).

The Bengals girls relays teams also earned points as the 4×400 relay team was fourth in 4:42.17, while the 4×100 relay clocked 55.37 to place eighth.

Simply Soccer Camp offered

Area residents are headed to the Simply Soccer camp that is in its 28th year in nearby Coral Springs. The soccer camp is for boys and girls, ages 5-15, of all skill levels, who will be 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 remaining dates are June 27-July 1, July 11-15, July 18-22, July 25-29, Aug. 1-5, Aug. 8-12 and Aug. 15-19.

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

By Gary Curreri

With 13 athletes competing at the recent Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A state track and field championships at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Highlands Christian Academy coach Jared Ebenhack couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome.

Junior Sara Carroll, who is also a standout soccer player for the school and has already committed to play soccer at FIT, won the Class 1A girls high jump, clearing 5.40 ft. She captured six total medals at the state meet this year as she placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.74); 7th in the 300-meter hurdles; and third in the triple jump (35-7.50). She scored 32 of her team’s 40 points in the meet.

Other top 10 finishes for Highlands included 8th grader Sydney Blackburn, who took ninth in the shot put (32-04), senior Christopher Julien placed 7th in the 100-meter dash, while sophomore Ryan Szklany was 8th in the 1,600 meters (4:41.11) and fourth in the 3,200 (9:47.04).

It was also a bittersweet moment for Ebenhack, who will be relocating his family to Lancaster, CA, on June 3. [He just was honored at Rotary Club, See Pg. 12 of the printed Observer newspaper].

“I loved it at Highlands, and parting is bittersweet,” Ebenhack said. “It is very difficult. I know that it is the best thing to do for my family; but I’m definitely torn.”

“Considering what an awesome team our girls will have for years to come,” added Ebenhack, who coached most of the middle school runners as elementary students for the past three years, “and considering all the great times I’ve with Ryan Szklany, especially these past four years – especially our Saturday morning long runs down A1A – it is very difficult.”

Ebenhack credited coaches Marc Veynovich and Brenda Montgomery-King for their efforts in the team’s success, especially given the fact the team doesn’t have a permanent track at the school.

“Marc was the head coach for the past three years, and I was his assistant, and was in charge of the designing and executing of the distance and sprint programs. This year, he had a lot on his plate and could only come to practice once a week, but he focused a lot on the pole vaulters and high jumpers during that time. Brenda was our throws coach, and two of her athletes qualified for state in the shot and discus, one girl and one boy,” said Ebenhack.

Ely High School senior Thomas Geddis, of Pompano Beach, placed fourth in the Class 3A state finals in the 200-meter dash (22.13) and was a member of the fourth place 4×100 relay with Pierre Dupuy, Arthur Forrest and Rodger Wright (41.95) and the sixth place 4×400 relay (3:21.85) with Tremaine Brown, Roderic Wilson, and Devonte Findlay.

Geddis, 19, is headed to the University of Cincinnati on a football scholarship. Geddis, along with some other standout athletes, helped the Tigers to district and regional titles this season and a fourth place in the state competition. He said he can’t wait to start his new chapter at Cincinnati.

“The pressure was tough this year with my being a senior,” Geddis said. “I had a lot of freshmen and underclassmen looking up to me that I had to carry as a team. I was the leader of the 4×100 and the 4×400 and just a captain period, so I had to push them to be comfortable and go out there, have fun, give everything and leave it all on the track.

“These four years have been wonderful and meant everything to me,” Geddis added. “It was one of the best track programs I could have come to. We have outstanding coaches and it is a brotherhood and a sisterhood. We come together as one big family.”

Findlay, 18, also a Pompano Beach senior, said he is still searching for a school and hopes his track performance will help earn him a scholarship to college.

“I love the sport a lot and I am just keeping busy now,” said Findlay, who overcame an injury this season to reach state. “It was frustrating to sit out, but I did all of my therapy and it was great to make it to states.”

The Tigers’ Roderic Wilson was fifth in the 800 meters (1:58.25), while junior Donnell Grant was eighth in the 110-meter hurdles. Findlay was fifth in the 300-meter hurdles (39.31). Senior Robert Williams was 10th in the discus with a 140-08 throw, while fellow Tigers’ senior Jamie Kennedy took 9th in both the long jump (21-10.50) and the triple jump (44-00.50). Blanche Ely finished fourth in the state competition.

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach Middle School eighth-grader Shariff Rodriguez couldn’t have picked a better time to perform his best.

Rodriguez, 14, bettered his previous best throw by nearly 11-ft. in winning the discus event (109-02.50) to take first place in the recent Broward County Middle School Track and Field championships at Coral Springs High School.

His performance helped the boys’ team place third with 30 points.

“It was my greatest throw I made in track ever,” said Rodriguez, of Pompano Beach, whose previous best was 98-ft., 6-in. “When I heard the total, my heart was just pounding. I was happy they had to get another measuring tape because the first one had run out.”

“My nerves struck, threw me, and my right arm just felt like Superman,” Rodriguez said. “I just got in the circle and all my nerves filled me up while I was throwing and all of a sudden I just let the disc go and it did its job. That surprised me a lot. This is really big. It is a blessing to be here.”

It was redemption for Rodriguez, who thought he had won the regional competition last year; however, his throw of 87- ft., 9-in. didn’t count because he was disqualified.

“I threw the game-winning throw and stepped out the front (of the ring) and got disqualified so I couldn’t get to county’s last year,” Rodriguez said. “So, this year, I kept reminding myself to go through the back.”

Rodriguez, who hopes to throw in college, said he is unsure why he was able to better his mark so substantially this year.

“I don’t really know,” Rodriguez said. “Every sport I do, the nerves fill in my stomach before I compete. I was about to fall apart because it was county meet and the nerves just went through me, and I just threw and went as far as I could.”

Other top performers for the Bengals included: Pompano Beach Middle’s Joshua Scott, who was fourth in the high jump (5-04); Jovan Williams, who took fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.92); Tosheum Meade, who was fifth in the boys 200-meter dash (24.48), and Brian McClain, who captured seventh in the boys 800-meter run (2:20.39).

The Pompano boys’ 4×100- meter relay took third with a time of 46.41, while the Bengals’ 4×400-meter boys’ relay was fourth with a time of 3:52.81.

The girls team took sixth with 20 points led by Jaleah Williams, who finished third in the girls’ 400-meter dash (59.81). The girls’ 4×100-meter relay was second with a time of 51.27, while the girls’ 4×400- meter relay was third with a time of 4:23.88.

MIDDLE SCHOLAR ATHLETES

For the first time ever, the Broward County Middle School Athletic Association (MSAA) handed out Scholar/Athlete Awards. Every MSAA middle school was eligible to select students to receive this award.

The awards ceremony was held at the Plantation High School Auditorium on May 28. Each student named by a middle school was recognized and presented with a scholar athlete medallion.

Local middle school scholar athlete award winners included: Rodriguez from Pompano Beach Middle for the boys and Allegra Allen (girls). Deerfield Beach was represented by Claire Ries (girls) and Zacharie Saint Victor (boys).

“Each member school was eligible to select a male and female from their school to receive this award,” said Michael Roland, student activities liaison for Broward County Public Schools.

“To be eligible, a student must have an unweighted 3.0 GPA, have no ‘U’s for the entire year and have participated in two sports.”