This week in FlaSports - September 10-16
 

Welcome to This week in FlaSports.  This space on the Florida Sports Foundation web site will give a weekly smattering of information about what's going on in sports in the Sunshine State.

Whether it be professional, amateur or recreational sports, and it's happening in Florida, look for it at This week in FlaSports.

Information on this page will be updated on Monday of each week.  To have your organization's events or happenings on This week in FlaSports, send an email to ngandy@flasports.com. 

Volume 1, Issue 3
September 10, 2007

 ► Florida Junior Tour kicks off season
 ► Roger Dean Stadium GM stepping down
 ► Youth Hunting Day in Tallahassee
 ► Buccaneers on Base
 ► Basketball overseas
 ► This Week in FlaSports Calendar of Events

Florida Junior Tour now in its Fifth Season

The Florida State Golf Association proudly announces the 2007-2008 Florida Junior Tour schedule. The Florida Junior Tour (FJT) is a junior golf tour offering highly competitive and affordable competitions for the top junior golfers of Florida.

The 2007-2008 season consists of 21 events for juniors, male and female, ages 13-18. Beginning in September and running through May, the FJT schedule will play at some of the state’s top courses including Victoria Hills Golf Club and Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club. This year will also feature 54-hole events over the Thanksgiving and Easter weekends. The FJT’s focus is on quality, affordability and integrity. Tournaments consist of 36 holes conducted over 2 days, typically weekends, with an entry fee of $95. Scholarship entry is available to junior golfers unable to afford the entry fee.

Last season, more than 830 juniors signed up for FJT membership to compete in events. This year, membership is $30 and includes an FJT hat, bag tag, magnet and eligibility into FJT events.

Working closely with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), FJT top competitors will receive exemptions and performance points towards AJGA events. The FJT is the only Florida tour to participate in the AJGA’s Performance Based Process. In addition, FJT events will be ranked by the Junior Golf Scoreboard, which helps junior golfers market themselves without having to travel the country. The FJT will maintain a points list to assist in determining Junior Player-of-the-Year and invitations to other tournaments.

The FJT website, www.floridajuniortour.org, is a great source for juniors and parents. There, participants can register for membership and tournaments as well as view player profiles, scoring history, and other valuable information. The 2007-2008 Florida Junior Tour schedule is as follows:

The FJT is conducted by the Florida State Golf Association which conducts 25 State Championships and more than 40 qualifying tournaments for USGA National Championships. The FSGA also maintains the USGA Handicap System, performs course ratings throughout Florida and assists in junior programs and scholarships.

Roger Dean Stadium general manager stepping down
Reported by the Palm Beach Post, September 4

Rob Rabenecker has been a Palm Beach County baseball fixture since 1989. But the general manager of Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter is moving on to a new career.

Rabenecker will resign Sept. 14 to become an owner/operator of a Chick-Fil-A restaurant in The Mall at Wellington Green.

"There was one question I kept asking myself: 'Can you walk away from baseball?' It's what I've wanted to do since high school, work in baseball. But this is too good of an opportunity for me and my family to pass up,'' Rabenecker said Tuesday.

Rabenecker, 47, had worked for the Class AAA Louisville, Ky., Redbirds for six years before he was hired as general manager of the West Palm Beach Expos of the Florida State League in 1989.

In 1996 he started overseeing spring training operations of both the Expos and Atlanta Braves at old West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. When Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter opened in 1998, he took over as general manager, working for both the Marlins and Cardinals.

Rabenecker starts his new job Nov. 1. Because he'll no longer work in the sport, he said with a laugh, "Maybe I'll become more of a baseball fan.''


Youth Hunting Field Day set for Sept. 22

New hunters looking for help and experienced hunters who want to sharpen their skills are invited to attend the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) free Youth Hunting Field Day, Sept. 22 at Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, north of Tallahassee.

The FWC partners with Tall Timbers and the Big Bend Youth Outdoor Foundation for this half-day event, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, for interested persons ages 11 and older. Pre-registration is not necessary.

Expert instructors will teach the fundamentals on hunting deer, turkey, waterfowl and small game, and participants will learn about using dogs while hunting. Also, they will get to target-shoot with a bow, shotgun, rifle and muzzleloading gun.

For more information on Youth Hunting Field Day call Renee Hays at (850) 413-0084. For directions to Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, go to www.talltimbers.org.


Buccaneers on Base

Making a tradition out of a field trip they first put together a year ago, the Bucs chose to hold their first post-training camp walk-through on a field at MacDill Air Force Base in South Tampa. And Stefan wasn’t the only young fan on the field during the practice; the Bucs invited dozens of families that live on the base to come off the sidelines and actually mingle with the players and coaches during their 45 minutes on the field.

A mini-battalion of kids from the base – a good number of them wearing Buccaneer jerseys – took full advantage of the opportunity, mixing right in with the players and coaches just yards away from where the plays were being run at half-speed. Head Coach Jon Gruden signed autographs while the offense was toiling on without him. Wide receiver Joey Galloway escorted one shy-looking girl right up to the edge of the offensive huddle and handed her a football. Wide receiver Mark Jones got down on one knee as a gang of little boys and girls swarmed around him.

And Ike Hilliard found a kindred spirit in six-year old Stefan.

To be sure, Friday’s walk-through at MacDill was as much about these connections, about the chance to thank local military men and women for their invaluable service in a very personal manner, as it was about getting ready for the their final pre-season game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That mission was certainly accomplished, as the players spent at least as much time chatting with and signing autographs for the soldiers and their families that lined the track around the grass and spilled onto the field itself.

At the end of the walk-through, Colonel Tim Smith came onto the field to present Gruden with a beautiful framed picture of a jet and a commemorative coin. In turn, Gruden handed over his visor and a pair of signed footballs and humbly thanked Smith and all of the military men and women for their dedication to protecting the country.

“This is a great day for the Bucs and a great day for me to reunite with some friends and some guys that make it all happen,” said Gruden. “God bless these people. They give us all they have. This was a great deal here today.”

Gruden thought that the trip might hold a few other lessons for his players, as well.

“This is the second time we’ve been here, and to see the amount of people that basically give their lives to fighting for our country, it blows your mind,” he said. “It really is an awesome display of unity here, of discipline and overall teamwork that makes it all work. This is a great experience for all of us. Hopefully our players got something out of it.”

Which brings us back to little Stefan. Notice we didn’t call him a Buccaneer rooter. As Hilliard quickly found out, Stefan is a Titans fan. He claimed at first to have little interest in the Buccaneers, but Hilliard spent the next 45 minutes trying to sway his loyalties.

After a bit of persuasion, Stefan wavered a little bit, and eventually Hilliard discovered the secret of the boy’s rooting interest. As it turned out, Stefan isn’t terribly interested in Vince Young or Keith Bulluck or any of the specifics of being a Tennessee Titans fan. Rather, he plays for a youth team named the Titans. In the end, Stefan agreed that he would now root for the Buccaneers…against every team except Tennessee.

“I think at the end of the day, we got him converted,” said Hilliard as he stepped back on the team bus just before it was set to depart.


Basketball Overseas

FlaSports Calendar of Events this week, September 10-16

This week in FlaSports Archive
Volume 1, Issue 1, August 27
Volume 1, Issue 2, September 4

Office Information

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