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Holiday Edition ATHLETIC REWIND PHOTO BY SHANE WHITTEMORE, SHANE@RMDESIGNSERVICES.NET

North Port Athletic Rewind AN AUTHORIZED NORTH PORT HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PUBLICATION

Friday, December 17, 2010 Vol. 1, Issue 4 12 Pages

North Port High School senior, Dauntae Johnson, slam dunks during their recent home game against Port Charlotte this month.

North Port Athletic rewiNd2North Port Athletic Rewind

A Reflective Memories Publication1.888.323.3804

P.O. Box 7415 - North Port, Florida 34290 athleticrewind@rmdesignservices.net

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Contributors :Tamara Patzer

Business Consultant

Lindsay DeCarlo Correspondent

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Sponsors:North Port Smoothie King

North Port Post Net Sun Coast Press, Inc

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Contact Sun Coast Press today for a free quote on your next edition.

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“Sun Coast Press has been amazing. � ey were able to get us a great price and we were able to print in full color for the � rst time in our school’s history. We were nervous about a printing company that was out of town, but service has been wonderful with a very short turnaround time. Sun Coast Press has made printing � e Viper Vibe easier and more economical in these tough times.”

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Eddie Moore, senior, completes several bench presses during the winter pep rally held by Student Government. Right: Heather Moore. senior, competes in a soccer game tournament during the Winter pep rally. ATHLETIC REWIND PHOTOS BY SHANE WHITTEMORE, shane@rmdesignservices.net

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Inspiration for Athletes“My attitude is that if you push me towards some-thing that you think is a

weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness

into a strength”

~ Michael Jordan

“The only one who can tell you ‘you can’t ‘ is you. And you don’t have to listen.”

- Nike

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Written by Shane Whittemore

North Port Athletic Rewind

Some people would say skateboarding is a crime but to me it’s a passion and with time and patience you get better at. I picked up my first skateboard at 11 years old and have never thought about quitting, a big reason for that is the local skate park. The North Port Skate Park is located on North Port Boulevard off of 41 and was built in 2001, they offer ramps and rails made of concrete for beginners and consistent riders, and recently a Bike Park opened up on the same street but on the other side of 41 across from the boys and girls club. That park consists of metal ramps and a half pipe. Every Wednesday the bikers and skat-ers get to trade parks fo r the day to give the riders a little more variety. To ride in these parks is free, but you must have a helmet and a waiver signed by a parent or guardian if you’re under the age of 18. Both parks are open seven days a week Monday thru Thursday 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Friday 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saturday 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

ATHLETIC REWIND PHOTO BY SHANE WHITTEMORE, SHANE@RMDESIGNSERVICES.NET

The passion of skateboarding

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Written By Tyler GibsonNorth Port Athletic Rewind Publisher

It was a close game on the court when it came down to the final min-utes of the rival game against the Port Charlotte Pirates on Tuesday evening. The bobcats held up the first quarter of the game, by scoring six points before their opponent could make a basket.

Even though NPHS cheerleaders could not attend the game in uni-form, several still went and formed performed their own unofficial cheers with fellow supporters and alumni. Those in attendance included last year graduates, David DeJesus and Jeff Alphonse, who were known for their spriti and pride at basketball games. The Bobcats thus far, are off to a great start and plan to keep on winning.

Bobcats beat Pirates 46-38

ATHLETIC REWIND PHOTO BY SHANE WHITTEMORE, SHANE@RMDESIGNSERVICES.NET

North Port Athletic rewiNd8City of Palms TournamentAs if being undefeated isn’t enough, the North Port High School Boys varsity bas-ketball team will be competing in the 38th annual State Farm City of Palms Classic tournament today and tomorrow, Dec. 17 & 18, in Fort Myers. The Bobcats will be playing against some of the toughest teams across the nation, including Las Vegas Bishop Gorman from Nevada, Memphis Melrose from Tennessee, and Arden Christ School from North Caro-lina.

For senior Kasey Wilson, he feels posi-tive about the tournament taking place. “I’m looking forward to seeing how good we are as a team and show the people lo-cally we can compete against the best com-petition in the country. I also feel confident because we are a good team that works hard and to be invited to this tournament is a great honor on the behalf of all of us,” Wilson said. The location of this event will be at 5598 Sunrise Drive, Fort Myers where all games

will be played in the Bishop Verot High School. Floor seats are extremely limited and are for $250, a five day passes for reserved seat-ing is $100, a reserved parking is also lim-ited and are for $40.00, General admission is $70.00, and individual games are $15.00. The box office will be open one hour before the start of a daily session. Fore more information, visit www.cityof-palmsclassic.com.

Star player, Kasey Wilson, ready to play, ready to win

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Written By Lindsay DecarloNorth Port Athletic Rewind Correspondent

Many athletes at North Port High School fi nd common ground in their passion for sports, but also in their spiritual and religious beliefs. With two growing organizations on campus fostering fellowship, more students are vocalizing their beliefs and the infl uence it can have on their athletic performance. Matt Pryer, NPHS football head coach, has observed several of his players experience transformations both on and off the fi eld resulting from strong involvement in faith. “I coach football because I love coaching football, but I hope that by doing that I can personally glorify God,” said Pryer. “Kids de-cide on their own to open their hearts and its awesome because it gives them a foundation.” According to Pryer, athletes who play with a biblical purpose stop playing for themselves and gain a whole new perspective. “It plays out in their leadership and performance, and its really good to see that.” Pryer recalls a time when he fi rst walked through the locker room before a game and witnessed 15-20 players hand in hand praying together. “Th ey decided that on their own without any infl uence,” said Pryer. “It really gave me the chills to see.” Th e football team held optional bible study sessions before games, but they are not the only team at NPHS with faithful athletes. Junior Larry Taylor is a dominating force on the basketball court and a strong believer in Christianity. Taylor considers his devotion to God a privilege that helps his performance on the court as well as in his every day life. “It motivates me to do my best ever at everything I do because God has really blessed me,” said Taylor.

Casey Keefe, an NPHS alumni and 4 year volleyball player was very involved with her faith and on campus. She credits her strong faith with helping her overcome

several hard times and adversities throughout her high school and sports career. “Whether it was in sports, school or personal issues faith truly did lead the way,” said Keefe. “I knew my tal-ents were God-given, and I wanted to use them to serve him.” According to Keefe, the Varsity girls Volleyball team conducted a team prayer before each match, which she

oft en lead. “It was incredible to see the girls that were not raised in the church still believed that God was there,” said Keefe.

“My faith led some of my closest friends and teammates to intense conversations and to make discoveries that had amazing eff ects on their lives,” said Keefe of the reward of sharing her faith with others. Students on campus who are active Chris-tians attend meetings with the organization HNL (which stands for Hole Notha Level). Th e meetings which take place on Th ursdays are open to anyone and attract up to 150 stu-dents weekly who share stories and read the bible together. Football coach Tony Miller is reviving the campus Fellowship of Christian Athletes club. He found success in the football team’s bible study and decided to open up that opportu-nity to athletes from any sport who want to become involved. James Simpson, Cross Country coach, says that his athletes are a refl ection of him, and he tries to embody the best possible example for them. He is helping with FCA to implement this because he feels it will benefi t the athletes involved by being surrounded by positive infl uences.

Th e NPHS FCA is only it its beginning weeks as an organization, but Miller and

Simpson look forward to seeing membership increase as time goes on to provide a support system for the athletes who are driven by faith

How their success is measured by their personal beliefs

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Written By Shane WhittemoreNorth Port Athletic Rewind Basketball, soccer, cheerleading, wres-tling, and weightlifting are the five sports that are played in the winter season and to get everybody excited for our athletes’ spectacular season they have been hav-ing, the student government organized a winter pep rally for the students. Each of the activities that were held represented each of the winter sports. The whole idea was to have a clash of the classes type of

deal so for each activity a boy and a girl would represent their class year. There was a weightlifting competition where two class representatives would go head to head see-ing how many bench presses they can do in one minute, another activity was three point shots and a half point shot, the three point shots were how many shots you could do in a minute and the half point shot was a raffle, if your ticket got called you were able to go down to the half court line and take one shot at the hoop, making it in the

basket awarded you with a $100 Visa gift card. Unfortunately nobody made the shot although many came close, some hitting the backboard and others just did not have the strength to shoot the ball that far a distance. The messiest competition out of all was the cookie eating contest, Senior Michelle Ranzie said, “The cookies were good, but hard to eat because we weren’t given any liquid. I had fun but it would have been more fun if more people would have come, But that’s what happens when the school

doesn’t advertise.”, the last competition was a game of two person soc-cer where the class rep-resentative would be the kicker and try to make a goal and then after a few kicks the two players would trade spots. The step team and Varsity cheerleaders both put on a performance for the students to round up the end of the night. Kris-An Hinds Senior body class president summed up the night by saying, “It was a trial and error production that ended up being very success-ful. I am glad to see the school spirit is still high, even with winter break coming.”

Winter Pep Rally held

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