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14
Fall
Coral Reef Sr. High
2010
Golf teams shows promise on and off the green
New coach and players have real potential mixing work and play for better results
RHEA CASSIMIRE
Staff Writer
The start of the new school year
brings many makeovers. The first one
started with the school’s wardrobe, and
then with makeover of the front of the
school, and now we’re making our way
down to the sports teams.
This year Coral Reef girl’s golf
team received one big make over - they got
a new coach and some new players to the
team.
Returning players Rhea Cassimire,
Megan Whitney, Sarah Mann, and Kira
Kuhnert are now accompanied by VPA
freshman, Leia Schwartz, IB freshman
Gillian Sutherland, and IB junior Claudia
Carvajal, making the team a total of six this
year instead of four.
The boy’s team got a makeover
as well. They have strengthened their team
with newer players, making their team a
total of 8 players. Along with new players is
the new coach of the team, Wen Bray, who,
before teaching golf here at Coral Reef,
taught basketball to the girls of Palmetto.
But along with great coaching
techniques, Bray has also brought a fun
spirit to the teams, providing the right
balance of work and play.
“I think the team this year has
gotten way better than before, especially
since we have a new coach. I don’t think we
have such tough competition this year, so I
think that as a team we have the potential
to go to states,” said Mann.
Bray’s approach to the teams is to
make sure that everyone gets a fair chance
and to make sure that everyone knows that
they all have the potential to get better even
if they’re already great. This seems to be
having a great effect on the teams because
both the boys and girls interact with each
other on the course and in school, there is
no longer a sense of strangeness between
them, and the teams work together to bring
Coral Reef to the number one spot.
Both the boys and the girls work
together to try and better one another by
practicing together and having small
competitions to compare strengths and
weaknesses.
In each team, there are small
bonds that have been made between the
players. The strongest bonds are between
the returning players because they’ve been
together for three years.
“This season was a lot of fun; we
had many adventures and rides that were
a lot of fun and we learned a lot this year,
I also look forward to learning even more
next year,” said Whitney.
“The golf team has come to be
like a little family to me, especially this
year with the girls I’ve played with for the
past one and two years, as well as the few
new faces. We’ve grown to be a strong
team that works hard and has amazing
unity. We support each other to the fullest
because that’s what the fun is all about and
where the best memories come from,” said
Kuhnert.
The most important part of being on
the team is creating a family. And being
students of a school like Coral Reef, we
are no strangers to this. The girls and boys
of the Coral Reef golf team have come
together to create this family for three
months that will continue for the rest of the
school year and into the years to come for
those who are left.
Sports
PHOTO PERMISSION: FOX-MAR PHOTOGRAPHY
Students practice putting on the practice green
at Palmetto Bay Country Club during regular
after school practice.
Girl’s volleyball team working a win
Commitment and talent are plans for regional competitions
MATTHIAS KAMMERER
Staff Writer
Ice baths, three a day practices, and wind
sprints in the summer heat. This is just part of
the grueling summer workouts
that the girl’s Volleyball team
had to endure to prepare for the
season. This summer the girls
practiced at school from 8 am
to 6 pm, working harder than
ever before and their hard work
is being shown by their play on
the court.
The girls have recorded a
near perfect record at 8 wins
and 2 losses, with both losses
coming to their fierce rivals
Palmetto. Both matches against
Palmetto were nail biters to
the end with only a few points
separating the teams when the
match was over. With their
final two matches of the regular
season coming against Killian
and Varela, the Lady Cudas
look to head into districts in
second place and get a shot at
knocking off Palmetto. They
have high hopes off moving
on from the district tournament
on to regionals and eventually
states.
“Volleyball has been such a huge part
of my life and this is a team I will never
forget,” said IB Senior Kayla Malone, one
of four returning seniors all of which are
hitters.
Not only has all their offseason work
improved their performance on the court,
but it has also brought the team closer
together something that will be very
important as they make their run into
districts, regionals and beyond. When
asked about the chemistry of this year’s
team, IB Senior Megan Brockmeyer said
“Our chemistry this year is better than ever.
We have really come together as a team due
to all the time we spent over the summer
and different camps and tournaments.”
Along with their hard work ethic,
the girls have also been eating very healthy
something that their coach has been
preaching to them all during offseason
workouts. The girls have been focusing
on not eating junk food and soda is not
allowed. The efforts by their coach have
not gone unnoticed as she won the Got Milk
Grant given to a high school coach for their
efforts to promote healthy eating. At the
end of the month a professional athlete will
come to Coral Reef to present the check to
the team. The girls really appreciate their
coach as she was actually nominated by
PHOTO PERMISSION: FOXMAR PHOTOGRAPHY
Carly Misztal and Elizabeth Fiorentino run for the ball during a game. The team did so well this
year that they made it to GMAC.
her team.
“I am so glad she came to us three
years ago,” said IB Junior Kathleen
Brockmeyer.
With the type of chemistry this team has
with each other and the hard work that they
have put in, this girls volleyball team looks
to do some big things in the near future and
turn heads all around the county. But even
if they do not reach as far they would like,
they have made friends and memories that
will last them forever as one team member
put “Volleyball has become our life.”
Bowling
Little known sport
steals Coral Reef
spotlight
MATTHIAS KAMMERER
Staff Writer
Many students around Coral
Reef may not know that we even have a
Bowling team, but the bowling team is
rapidly getting the spotlight.
Our bowling team is off to a
terrific start this year, starting the year off
with a 6-2 record. Their two loses came
in close matches with district rivals South
Dade and Palmetto. Led by Coach Staples,
the bowling team has worked hard at all
their matches at Bird Bowl and their hard
work is starting to pay off.
“I believe we can make states this
year and make a run for the title,” says IB
Senior Jacob Leinberger when asked about
his expectations for the team.
With standouts such as Joey
Tucker and Brandon Wendel it’s hard not
to like the Barracudas chances. Wendel, a
senior in the Business academy, has helped
lead the team by bowling an outstanding
258 this season and has already received
scholarship offers.
“We have a very high-spirited
team that is really coming together and
it’s really something special” said Wendel,
who eventually looks to turn pro in the
sport he has played since age seven.
With all the talent and optimism
surrounding the bowling team, you
wonder how anyone could not be excited
about their potential to go far in the state
tournament.