Palatine Park District Supports a Busy Week of Active Kids

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, www.cdc.gov, childhood obesity is a growing problem that is the result of eating too many calories and not getting enough physical activity.  We see information about childhood obesity on the news and can witness it in our neighborhoods.  The CDC also admits that it can be difficult for children to make healthy food choices and get enough physical activity based on their environments.

Thankfully, here in Palatine, there are many active choices for children.  This will be especially evident during the week of May 14.  During a span of seven short days, Palatine will host two travel baseball tournaments, a soccer tournament, a gymnastics show, and a dance recital.  Read on for the inspiring history of these programs and how they continue to serve the youth of our community as affiliates of the Palatine Park District.

Mari-Rae Sopper Gymnastics Show
May 19 and May 20, 2012 ~ 1pm and 3pm
The gymnastics program in Palatine began in 1977 with classes being taught at both Fremd and Palatine High Schools.  From its beginning, it has been a developmental program offering preschool programs through competitive team programs.  The annual Mari-Rae Sopper Show is the only time that the recreational and competitive gymnastics programs come together for one great performance.  The show is dedicated to Mari-Rae Sopper, a former gymnast at Fremd High School, and a former club gymnast and instructor at Palatine Gymnastics Club.  On September 11, 2001, Mari-Rae boarded American Airlines Flight 77 to embark on a new stage of her career, taking a break from her practice of law to coach college gymnastics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  Although Mari-Rae died on the plane when it crashed into the Pentagon, her spirit lives on through this gymnastics show.  The athletes in the show will display a level of fitness, grace and self-discipline that is not found in many sports.

9th Annual Casey Pohl Memorial Tournament
May 17 to May 20, 2012
For Casey Pohl, baseball was a way of life.  He started playing ball with the Palatine Youth Baseball organization at the age of six in the t-ball programs.  As an 11 year old, he posted a season pitching record of 23 wins and 2 losses with 176 strikeouts in 124 innings.  When Casey was 12, he was on the Palatine team that represented the State of Illinois in the Hap Dumont National Baseball Congress World Series.  Palatine finished in 2nd place out of a field of 20 teams.  Casey eventually went on to play for Coach Paul Belo at Fremd High School as part of the 2000 team that took fourth place in the IHSA state tournament.  During his senior year, Casey was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to continue playing baseball.  As a show of support, his Fremd teammates and coaches shaved their heads, in recognition of Casey and his treatment side effects.  On May 30, 2003, Casey lost his valiant two and a half year battle to cancer.  In his honor and in memory of his sportsmanship and love of the game, the Casey Pohl Tournament for 11 and 12 year old travel teams is held each year, sponsored by Palatine Youth Baseball/Softball.

3rd Annual Vince Lucchese Tournament
May 17 to May 20, 2012
Vince Lucchese was active in Palatine baseball for three years before illness cut his life short.  In that small period of time, he made a huge impact on baseball in Palatine.  Vince Lucchese was on the Palatine Boys Baseball Board in 1984 as the organization’s fundraising chair.  In 1985 he was an integral part of the formation of the Palatine Baseball Association.  In its first two years, Vince provided the cohesion that allowed the newly developed PBA board, Palatine Park District, Palatine North Baseball, Palatine South Baseball, and Palatine Boys Baseball to work together for the young players in our community.  Vince’s legal expertise assisted with negotiations between the groups and the formation of the affiliation with the Palatine Park District.  Vince’s contributions included chairing the first PBA fundraising committee, serving as director of the Booster Club, organizing installation of the flag pole at Community Park, and arranging placement, staffing and operations of the donated Kiwanis Weenie Wagon at Community Park. Vince organized the post season tournament committee; the tournament that now bears his name.  During the tournament’s first year, he personally wrote a check to provide baseball shoes for the visiting South Shore team from the south side of Chicago who arrived wearing gym shoes.  The second year, he provided funding for this same team to replace their t-shirts with uniforms.  His generosity also extended to providing legal advice for anyone who was a part of the program.  Vince’s wife, Carolyn, said that “Vince could often be heard saying ‘Pack it up, we’re going home.’ Translated by his family and friends, the home he was referring to was more often than not Community Park as opposed to his own home.” The Vince Lucchese Tournament is sponsored by Palatine Baseball Association for 13 and 14 year old travel teams.

Palatine Celtic House Soccer Tournamen
May 14 to May 20, 2012
The Palatine Celtic Soccer Club was founded in 1968 by Bill Hughes and Jimmy Kinsella, a transplanted Scotsman.  Together, they were the first people in Palatine to organize local children into teams to play the game of soccer.  Jimmy named the club after his home club, Glasgow Celtic. The club has two programs:  Celtic House Soccer and Celtic Travel Soccer. According to the latest Palatine Park District registration statistics, there are over 1100 children registered for the Celtic Soccer program this year.  Each year, the program sponsors the Celtic House Tournament which is the culmination of a season that includes eight weeks of soccer in the fall and five weeks of soccer in the spring. Celtic Soccer is one of the only house soccer programs in the area to offer an end of year event of this magnitude for its players.  Players in the program range from ages 6 to 14, and all of them will receive trophies.  The bulk of the tournament is played at Celtic Park near Palatine High School.  The park includes two synthetic turf fields built through an agreement between Palatine Park District and Celtic Soccer.  On Saturday, May 19, all players will also participate in a Shoot Out in addition to their tournament games.  Each year, Saturday is the favorite day for players and volunteers because all of the players are in the park that day.  Tournament finals are held on Sunday, May 20th and all players will return to the park that afternoon to receive their trophies. 

Palatine Park District Dance Recital Week
May 14 to May 18, 2012
And last, but certainly not least, let us not forget that dancers are athletes too! The Palatine Park District Dance Program provides training in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, pointe, and lyrical for ages 5 through high school. The dedicated and experienced staff members seek to give students a solid foundation in technique while cultivating a true love for the art of dance. The Palatine Park District Dance Program is also home to the Palatine Dance Company, which aims to provide dedicated dancers with the opportunity to gain serious technique, competition training, and performance experience.  Additional  goals of the dance company include advanced progression in the styles of dance, team building and camaraderie. Recital Week, held from May 14 to 18, is the culmination of the dancers' year. This year's 25th anniversary recital will once again be held at Harper College.

As you can clearly see, thousands of active and healthy kids will be doing what they love during this amazing week of athletics and activities. Palatine Park District is proud to support them, cheer for them and say ”Bravo” as they make healthy choices at a young age.

For more information on these active choices. . .

• Palatine Park District:  www.palatineparks.org
• Palatine Gymnastics Club:  www.palatinegymnasticsclub.com
• Palatine Youth Baseball/Softball:  www.pyb.com
• Palatine Baseball Association:  www.pbabaseballsoftball.com
• Palatine Celtic Soccer:  www.palatinecelticsc.com
• Palatine Dance Company:  www.palatinedance.webs.com

The Palatine Park District is a separate municipal governing agency established for the purpose of providing parks, facilities and recreational programs for the community.  The Park District is responsible for the maintenance, operation and administration of parks and parks facilities under its jurisdiction. Our mission is to provide a variety of safe, enjoyable and affordable parks and recreation facilities and activities that will enhance the quality of life by promoting good health and well-being for all residents and visitors of the Palatine Park District. 

Blog author, Joan Scovic, is the Marketing and Sponsorship Coordinator for Palatine Park District.  For sponsorship opportunities, call (847) 496-6287 or email jscovic@palatineparks.org.

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