Spring Hill Christian Academy Students Take Up Pickleball
– Advertisement – Pickleball fever has taken over Hernando. Earlier this year, the Spring Hill Christian Academy Wildcats became the first academic institution, public or private, in the county to begin a pickleball program. The fledgling program is in the middle of its inaugural season and is a member of the Suncoast Christian Conference. The […]
Pickleball fever has taken over Hernando. Earlier this year, the Spring Hill Christian Academy Wildcats became the first academic institution, public or private, in the county to begin a pickleball program.
The fledgling program is in the middle of its inaugural season and is a member of the Suncoast Christian Conference. The ideation for the sport’s implementation began when the conference started looking to add a spring sport.
Following discussions held among athletic directors, it was noted that many churches around the state already participate in pickleball leagues. Thus, a vote was held in January, and Spring Hill Christian Academy officially started its pickleball team in March.
During these discussions, Wildcats’ Co-Athletic Director Kristin Hahn consulted Pickleball Coaches Brian and Kiera Little. Coach Kiera had coached the previous three to four years in a homeschool pickleball cooperative at the Christian Church in the Wildwood (CCW). Her efforts, among others, helped to build a base of young children interested in the growing pastime.
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The demand was certainly there. Upon the creation of her first pickleball class at CCW, a waitlist had to be implemented due to the sheer number of applicants. So, Coach Kiera and company created a second class, and that one was wait-listed, too. “It just exploded,” she said.
Coach Brian and Coach Kiera are ardent about instructing children. Upon seeing the intense demand for the sport among the county’s youth, the pair felt “led to continue our passion and teach other kids about the sport as well,” Coach Kiera added. Coach Brian is grateful to Athletic Director Hahn for allowing them to share their love for the sport with the community.
Due to their knowledge of the sport, they were naturally named co-coaches of the Wildcats’ new pickleball team. Now, they needed players. A clinic was first held to see who might be interested in the sport and how many kids would come out. 18 showed up to both the clinic and the eventual tryouts before a total of 14 student athletes made the team.
As early as the conference vote to confirm the program, there were already “whisperings and excitement,” Coach Brian Little stated. Parents would even reach out to check if it was actually happening and where.
Despite the burgeoning demand for the sport, there are still not many pickleball programs to help grow youth numbers like football, basketball, or golf. With long established organizations that teach and develop children’s aptitude for such activities, these sports have large pre-established player bases to pull from at several levels.
Pickleball does not yet have this luxury, That is why coaches like Brian and Kiera are pushing the unique appeal of the sport: the accessibility. “Anybody can play it,” Coach Brian said. “You can be five years old and play it. You can be 85 years old and play it.” Due to this, entire families can play together, as evidenced by the Littles and their children. The sport is a fun way to get parents to come out and participate, and most of the kids on the team have parents who play competitively in tournaments as a result.
“It is just a great way for the families to get together as well and play together and spend quality time together,” Coach Kiera said.
Athletic Director Hahn added that pickleball also provides a fantastic opportunity for kids to get involved who are not comfortable competing in other sports. The result: a largely new swath of children coming out and getting to participate in athletics.
Coach Brian noted that they have six students who had never touched a pickleball paddle before the school held its pre-season clinic. The coaches have been amazed by the growth that the athletes have shown in the short time since. Some of those players have even won matches en route to the team’s undefeated (3-0) start to the season (as of the writing of this article). Moving forward, the team will be playing three matches this week with the third set to take place at Elfers Christian on Friday.
The Wildcats have three newly finished courts for their players to compete on. Instead of having to travel anywhere else, they are able to play their home games directly on campus. Spring Hill Christian’s athletic department was also blessed to receive help from a sponsor – R.A.W. (Reign and Win) Pickleball. This company allowed the school to buy custom paddles for the kids at a lower cost. This was huge for a program just getting off the ground.
The new sport has provided local children with the opportunity to hone their skills and see how they match up with others competitively. The school takes sports seriously but still has the ultimate goal of providing children with a middle to high school experience that is Christ-centered. Athletic Director Hahn thanked the conference and her coaches for helping to get the entire endeavor off the ground. “I think it has been great for our kids just giving them a different option for some kind of sport to do,” she said.
(L-R) Spring Hill Christian Academy Athletic Director Kristin Hahn, Pickleball Coach Brian Little, and Pickleball Coach Kiera Little helped to get the school’s pickleball team off the ground. [Photo by Austyn Szempruch]
4Ever5 Sports training softball players for the next level – The Troy Messenger
4Ever5 Sports training softball players for the next level Published 11:43 am Thursday, May 1, 2025 Luverne native Ro Harris leads the 4Ever5 Sports travel ball organization based in Goshen. (Josh Boutwell) 4Ever5 Sports’ travel softball organization started with one team and now has multiple teams with more than 100 athletes, in an effort to […]
4Ever5 Sports training softball players for the next level
Published 11:43 am Thursday, May 1, 2025
Luverne native Ro Harris leads the 4Ever5 Sports travel ball organization based in Goshen. (Josh Boutwell)
4Ever5 Sports’ travel softball organization started with one team and now has multiple teams with more than 100 athletes, in an effort to develop area softball players who can one do play at the college level.
4Ever5 Sports was launched by brothers Donta Hall and Ro Harris of Luverne as an athletic training organization, specializing in multi-sport training. Hall was an All-State basketball player at Luverne High School and went on to become a star player at Alabama. Hall then went on to play in the NBA and currently plays overseas in Spain.
Pike Lib player Lexie Sullins catches a ball during practice. (Josh Boutwell)
Harris was a basketball, baseball and football player at Luverne that went on to play college football at Faulkner University. Harris and Hall’s father, Donald Hall, was a longtime youth sports coach in the Luverne area, who unfortunately passed away. In 2016, the brothers started 4Ever5 Sports in honor of their father, who was called “5” by friends and former teammates for the number he wore in sports. He also had five sons.
“We built this organization to help student-athletes because at one time we were in a place where no one gave us a chance either,” Harris said. “So, we know that feeling.”
Harris has spent time as a high school assistant football, basketball, softball and baseball coach since 2009. He coached for former Alabama head coach Mike DuBose at Luverne High School and this past season he was an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Pike Liberal Arts School.
In 2016, he began coaching youth fast pitch softball for the first time when the Luverne Parks and Rec Director asked him to take on the coaching duties of the “Doodle Bugs.”
“I will never forget that team,” Harris said with a smile. “Some of those kids went on to play college softball. They still reach out to me to this day. So, that was special for me.”
From there, 4Ever5 Sports began an 18U travel ball team and has grown over the years to now include an 8U, 10U, two 12U, 16U and 18U teams. High school players from all over the state take part in 4Ever5 Sports with numerous athletes from Pike County, Coffee County, Covington County and Baldwin County and athletes from as far away as Birmingham, as well. Several high school players from Pike Liberal Arts, Charles Henderson, Zion Chapel, Pike County and Goshen are on the team.
Pike County’s Emmya Moultry played on the varsity team this season. (Josh Boutwell)
The travel ball program has previously practiced at the Troy SportsPlex but was given access to the old Goshen High School softball field, which was sitting vacant. 4Ever5 Sports now calls that field home.
“It was a blessing because it’s in the middle for everyone,” Harris said of calling Goshen home.
Harris said 4Ever5 Sports is all about developing athletes so that they can have a shot at playing in college one day.
“I talked to a college coach who told me that they start looking at girls when they’re eight years old,” he remembered. “We thought we need to be developing our players from eight up, so that they can develop and move up inside the origination and aren’t starting to try and develop in high school.”
Harris called his fiancé, Shelby Spaziani the “backbone” of the organization. Spaziani, a New Jersey native, played college softball at Coppin State in Maryland. She’s also been an assistant coach at both Pike County and Pike Lib.
“She gets the kids recruited and knows the ins and outs of recruitment,” Harris said of Spaziani. “She’s really what makes this thing go. She handles all the flyers, the recruitment, E-Mails, everything. She’s the backbone of this whole thing.”
Along with being a high school assistant coach and training with 4Ever5 Sports, Harris owns his own landscaping business and is a supervisor at Rex Lumber in Troy.
“I get up at four in the morning and get off at 2 (p.m.) and cut a couple of yards and then come out to a ball-field every night,” Harris said. “We don’t make money off this. We’re probably one of the cheapest (travel ball) organizations. They pay $300 for their uniforms and $20 at a tournament and that’s it. We’re out here for the kids, not to make a living off it. We love these kids and they love us and I think that’s why it’s growing so fast. It’s all about developing these athletes and getting them to where they want to be.”
The City of Daytona Beach Parks & Recreation Department is hosting a flag football league for girls ages 10 to 15 years old. Girls’ flag football continues to gain popularity throughout the world. Girls can now earn scholarships to college in flag football, and it will soon become an Olympic sport. This is the third […]
The City of Daytona Beach Parks & Recreation Department is hosting a flag football league for girls ages 10 to 15 years old.
Girls’ flag football continues to gain popularity throughout the world. Girls can now earn scholarships to college in flag football, and it will soon become an Olympic sport. This is the third straight year the city will offer the sport.
Free clinics are taking place at Der-byshire Sports Complex at 849 Der-byshire Road on Monday and Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The clinics are in preparation for the upcoming girls flag football season, which runs from May through June 14. Those who decide to play in the league are required to pay a registration fee of $40.
Register online at https://www.DaytonaBeach.gov/Activities
Nashua North senior honored as Youth of the Year | News, Sports, Jobs
Tiana Brown, a senior at Nashua High School North, was chosen for this year’s Youth of the Year Award by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua. Courtesy photo
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Tiana Brown, a senior at Nashua High School North, was chosen for this year’s Youth of the Year Award by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua. Courtesy photo
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Republican lawmakers in Illinois want to ban transgender athletes from women sports through legislation and Trump administration
Republican state lawmakers have signaled they want to ban transgender girls from competing on girls school sports teams in Illinois. This comes after President Trump signed an executive order to narrow the definition of women protected by Title IX to include only cisgender women. The Illinois High School Association said it allowed three transgender girls […]
Republican state lawmakers have signaled they want to ban transgender girls from competing on girls school sports teams in Illinois.
This comes after President Trump signed an executive order to narrow the definition of women protected by Title IX to include only cisgender women.
The Illinois High School Association said it allowed three transgender girls to compete in girls sports last year.
Illinois Senate Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi asking for guidance on Illinois’ policy on transgender athletes’ ability to play girls sports under Title IX, the landmark federal law that bars gender discrimination in public education.
Republicans said they got a confusing statement from the IHSA. The association says it can’t follow the federal executive order since the Illinois Human Rights Act dictates transgender athletes cannot be restricted from playing in sports with their chosen gender.
Republican lawmakers consider that unfair.
State Sen. Sally Turner of Beason interprets women in Title IX to only include cisgender women, arguing that transgender people have a different biological makeup.
“And this isn’t anything political,” Turner said. “This is just the way people should recognize that women need to have their own area in sports, and I think that’s the right thing to do. It’s about protecting people and making sure that they’re getting the safety that they need in order to play sports fairly.”
Turner said she wants to protect the legacy of female athletes who paved the way for Title IX.
Courtesy
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Illinois Senate Republicans
Republican State Sen. Sally Turner represents southeast Bloomington and smaller communities such as Downs, LeRoy and Heyworth.
“I will say that we as women fought hard for Title IX to be recognized in this sports field, and we fought very hard for that, and I think that’s really important that we continue to look at that in that fashion, that women’s sports is something that women need to be participating in,” Turner said.
Turner said people in her mostly rural district support banning transgender girls from competing in girls sports. Turner’s district includes parts of Bloomington-Normal and stretches to near Peoria, Springfield and Decatur.
Opposition from Central Illinois Friends
A few miles from Turner’s district, an organization based in Bloomington-Normal and Peoria that provides a space and support for people in the LGTBQ+ community vehemently opposes the message Republican lawmakers are sending.
Selena Pappas, a spokesperson for Central Illinois Friends, said the letter is meant to bully the trans community and distract from real issues affecting women.
“We are focusing on this tiny subset of people, on isolating them, on removing them from public existence, on keeping them down when there are far more important issues,” Pappas said.
Pappas said trans teenagers are already marginalized on top of the anxieties that often come with growing up.
“When you isolate a person, that has a negative effect on their emotional development, right?” Pappas said. “There are numerous studies that you can go out there and find about how laws like this negatively affect the mental health of transgender youth, right? Again, transgender people, for the portion of the population that they make up, are targeted extremely disproportionately by some of the most powerful people in the nation.”
Forty-eight percent of transgender youth in Illinois seriously considered suicide and 15% attempted to last year, according to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit group.
Pappas says sports are not only a space to compete but also to develop as a person.
“The positive effect of a transgender person being able to participate in youth sports is the same reason that all youth participate in in sports,” Pappas said. “Kids go to sports for socialization, and that is the that is the same for kids, whether they are cisgender or whether they are transgender, right? It’s about being able to build community.”
A couple days after Republicans sent the letter to the attorney general with no response, Republican state Rep. Regan Deering called for a legislative fix.
Deering, who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal, pushed a bill to ban transgender girls from playing on girl sports teams.
“What we’re talking about today is protecting all athletes, and if we have gender confused athletes that are looking to compete, there are opportunities for them,” Deering said. “But our legislation talks about sanctioned sports, and we’re trying to create an opportunity to maintain these biological females’ right to compete in their sports, to win awards, to gain scholarships and continue to have a career and a camaraderie.”
Deering’s bill would create co-ed teams for transgender athletes. She filed the bill soon after she took office in January. It’s never been given a hearing.
I play golf most Tuesday mornings in the men’s club event at one of the local golf courses. Usually, I play just 9 holes, and if the truth be told, I look forward to the cheeseburger and fries on the scenic deck of the clubhouse much more than I do the actual process of spending […]
I play golf most Tuesday mornings in the men’s club event at one of the local golf courses. Usually, I play just 9 holes, and if the truth be told, I look forward to the cheeseburger and fries on the scenic deck of the clubhouse much more than I do the actual process of spending part of my morning swinging hopefully at that elusive yellow ball.
Each week though, I start out fresh and with very lofty goals, like I’m really going to do something special. But as the round progresses, my goals get evaluated down to basically where I am now — and I am faced with confronting the limits of my oftentimes suspect golf game.
Also, I look forward to the beautiful walk up and down the fairways of this old, tree-lined, public course. I know that with Father Time lurking around each pond and sand trap, that I will soon be relegated to riding in a cart, so I stay determined to walk from the first tee to the ninth green. On this course, that’s a feat in itself.
All of the people up at the old course are the reason I keep coming back each week, but mostly it’s the enjoyment I get from being with my regular golfing foursome.
One is my buddy since we were little kids growing up in this town and riding our bikes to the elementary school together. We played little league baseball and high school basketball on the same team and he has stuck with me even in times when I may not have always been the most reliable fellow around. He helped coach my basketball team this winter, and it’s the most time we have spent together in several years. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him and having his help.
Playing basketball in a Sunday night league at the middle school years ago is how I first came across one of my other playing partners. Whenever I faced his team, he stuck to me like glue and ran me into the ground. He happens to be one of the nicest young men I have ever met and a pretty fair golfer to boot. His wardrobe, as well as his company, provide me with mild amusement every Tuesday. I mean, you have to like a guy who shows up in mid-April adorned in a Christmas sweater, and then when the chill of the morning warms into early afternoon, he dons a collared shirt with a gorilla driving a golf cart.
Last, but by no means least, is the gentleman who strolled up from the course parking lot to the first tee box in early summer last year. None of us knew him, but he asked if we could squeeze him in with our group. Talk about hitting the lottery for me. I not only got to hang out with one of the best golfers I have ever played with, but also a retired golf coach and English literature teacher who will talk about books and authors from Pat Conroy and Kurt Vonnegut to Richard Brautigan and Mitch Albom as we stroll toward our next shot. He has read all the classics and possesses a picturesque golf swing. Little does he know that I regard him as a classic.
I look forward to seeing my group. We’ll be missing one for a bit while he gets some medical concerns cleared up, but he will be back before you know it, standing on that first tee as confident as ever, and whooping up on me once again.
I think it was Mark Twain who once said that golf is a good walk spoiled. Not for me, Mr. Twain. Other than being with school children, I don’t know where I could find such pleasant company.
Glenwood Springs native Mike Vidakovich is a freelance sports writer, teacher and youth sports coach. His column appears monthly in the Post Independent and at PostIndependent.com.
New opportunities for youth sports in Sioux Falls announced
May 1, 2025 Contact:David BrownSanford Health Media Relations605-366-2432 / david.brown@sanfordhealth.org SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Registration is now open for a series of free youth sports clinics taking place this summer at the Sanford Sports Complex. Free Summer Clinics – Brought to you by Sanford Sports begins June 3 and features multiple opportunities for local kids. […]
Contact: David Brown Sanford Health Media Relations 605-366-2432 / david.brown@sanfordhealth.org
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Registration is now open for a series of free youth sports clinics taking place this summer at the Sanford Sports Complex. Free Summer Clinics – Brought to you by Sanford Sports begins June 3 and features multiple opportunities for local kids.
These free clinics have been a staple of the Sioux Falls community for more than two decades as part of Hy-Vee/Sanford Legends for Kids. Although the Hy-Vee/Sanford Legends for Kids gala and golf tournament will come to an end after 25 years, new opportunities will be announced in 2025 in partnership with Hy-Vee. In the quarter-century partnership between Hy-Vee and Sanford Health, the Legends for Kids events contributed more than $3.4 million to the community through grants and scholarships. To date, more than 40,000 young athletes took part in the free camps and clinics where they were able to learn skills from local and professional athletes.
“We are incredibly grateful to Hy-Vee, our Sanford team members and our community for making Legends for Kids such a rewarding event in South Dakota,” said Steve Young, president of Sanford Sports. “The heart and soul of Legends for Kids has always been providing children with the opportunity to participate in wellness programs and strive to be a healthier generation than the last. Sanford Sports celebrates the legacy of the past 25 years while embracing that same spirit for the future.”
Sanford Sports is in discussions with Hy-Vee about how the regional grocer can continue to support youth in sports via new sponsorships and new opportunities to help local kids directly.
To kick off the summer season, the volleyball clinic will take place June 3 at the Sanford Pentagon. The baseball, basketball, golf, football, soccer and softball clinics are the week of June 9-13 at the Sanford Sports Complex with sign-up available here. Registration is also available for the annual high school football camp, which is June 23-25.
In addition to this year’s clinics, Sanford Sports and Hy-Vee will host a community cookout to wrap up the week at the Sanford Crossing, as well as a community event later this summer.
For more information on the free clinics and the transition of the Legends for Kids program, visit sanfordsports.com/sanford-legends.
About Sanford Sports Sanford Sports is the modern athletics arm of Sanford Health, the premier rural health system in the United States. Rooted in science and health care, Sanford Sports offers a combination of programs, services, events, facilities and partnerships intended to make active lifestyles accessible and rewarding for people of all ages and abilities. Based on the 500-acre Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sanford Sports has been changing the way athletes play for 25 years. With operations in three states, more than one million athletes use Sanford Sports facilities each year. Visit sanfordsports.com for more information.
| First Take
