On Saturday, April 16th, Positive Coaching Alliance held their annual Youth Sports Awards Banquet that honors all of the Double-Goal Coach Award winners. The banquet was held in beautiful Palo Alto, California, only minutes away from the Stanford University campus. Our very own high school Cross Country Coach, Scott Mastro, was one of fifty national winners of this year’s Double-Goal Coach Award. This was an incredible achievement for Coach Mastro, and is a testament to the job and impact he had on the athletes in his program both on and off the field. This event was extra special for Coach Mastro, as he was accompanied by his eldest daughter, Gabi, who stood by his side to celebrate her father’s achievement.

Before the banquet started, Coach Mastro was able to attend a PCA workshop along with the other national winners. This was an opportunity to gather among your fellow coaches and learn from the PCA staff, share ideas, and engage in fun team-building activities. Later that evening, the Youth Sports Awards Banquet started with a social gathering on the patio of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It was a great experience to be surrounded by coaches from all over the country who have all dedicated their lives to their craft and the development of our athletes. These coaches not only excel at teaching their sport, but have made a lasting impact on their athlete’s lives by developing their character, and fostering an environment for their programs that instills proper values, all made possible by building strong relationships.

The banquet was hosted by Fox Sports anchors, Molly McGrath and Joel Klatt. It was a beautiful venue, with big screens that live streamed the speeches on stage. The food was a plated steak dinner, with salad and dessert. It was delicious. The evening including testimonials from PCA advocates, sponsors, and professional coaches. Jim Thompson, founder and CEO of the Positive Coaching Alliance, was also on hand to share his passion and appreciation for everyone who supports PCA. He also gave thanks to all coaches who give their time and passion to youth athletes across America, including all of the national winners. The banquet then conducted an on-stage interview of four of this year’s national winners. It was great to hear their philosophy as coaches and what practices they have implemented into their program that has made them successful.

The banquet concluded with an incredible interview that was given by former Gold Medal women’s soccer player, and World Cup champion, Julie Foudy. Julie had the privilege of chatting with the legendary tennis player, and women’s rights advocate, Billie Jean King. Billie Jean also started the Women’s Tennis Assocation (WTA) and was instrumental in her advocacy for Title IX, and continues to lead the fight for women’s equality throughout the world. As a witness to this interview, it was truly amazing how much energy, charisma, intelligence, and class Billie Jean King exudes into a room. She was captivating. She was one of those special people that you remember meeting. She was the honorary recipient of the annual PCA Award and praised the philosophy of the Positive Coaching Alliance. It was a perfect ending to a thoughtful ceremony that celebrated the positive influence coaches have on our youth athletes.

Congratulations to Coach Mastro for being recognized as a national Double-Goal Coach Award Winner. He not only developed and prepared the athletes he coached to be successful, but he was able to reach beyond the sport itself to make a lasting impact on their lives. Great job, Coach Mastro. We are proud of all you have accomplished and thank you for your effort to better our athletes both on and off the field.

The Village Athletic Golf Tournament has been rescheduled to May 9th

The National Weather Service have issued advisory warnings for tomorrow afternoon. While we would love to play, we do not want to put our participants safety in jeopardy. After discussions with Pine Forest County Club, we decided to postpone our outing to Monday, May 9th. We apologize for any inconvenience, and anxiously await the newly scheduled date.

Thank you.

Due to their performance at the district tournament a couple weeks ago, four of our boys qualified to travel to Waco and play in the state tournament this past Monday and Tuesday. Our players were Amit, Shaunak, Inigo, and Justus.

The first morning started with a 3 hour rain delay. But eventually the Waco skies cleared and the day turned quite warm. After a short warm-up the boys’ singles were able to get underway. Shaunak and Amit both went on-court at about the same time. Amit unfortunately had to face and lost to the #2 seed in the first round, but we will gladly take the experience for our talented freshman. Shaunak had more of a battle in his match but also fell in straight sets. Inigo and Justus took the court for their 1st round match about an hour later and promptly won in straight sets. In their 2nd round match Monday evening Justus and Inigo faced an a tough Tyler team. We lost the first set and fought to a 4-4 draw in the second before dropping the last two games.

While we look forward to new talent next year, we acknowledge and honor our departing seniors and the years they have dedicated to Village Tennis:

Aanchal J. (4 years, 1 district appearance)
Parin T. (4 years, 1 district appearance)
Sandhya S. (4 years)
Yash A. (4 years, 2 district appearances)
Inigo A-O. (3 years, 2 district appearances, 2 state appearances)
Justus V. (3 years,2 district appearances, 2 state appearances)
Devan S. (3 years)
Vishal P. (3 years)
Alvaro I. (3 years, 1 district appearance)
Nick D. (1 year)

We have one last scrimmage this Thursday at home vs. BISH, and this will bring to an end perhaps the best season ever for VHS Tennis. In addition for the above student-athletes, this also brings to an end some very fine, high school tennis careers.

The Middle School Track & Field team has been busy the last few weeks while they prepare for next week’s HJPC Track & Field Championship Meet. With a number of meets under their belt, this is how the Viking shake up heading into next week’s meet:

Rankings in Houston Junior Preparatory Track and Field

8th grade boys Kamsiyonna E
100M- Ranked #2 12.10
200M- Ranked #3 25.41
Shot Put- Ranked #6 32’.5
Long Jump- Ranked #11 15’.4

8th grade boys Reuben W
400M- Ranked #6 59.91
Triple Jump Ranked #8 30’.5

8th grade girls Jordan D
100Mh- Ranked #3 17.38
Long Jump- Ranked #5 14’.5
Triple Jump- Ranked #3 30’.5

8th grade girls Aniek V
800M- Ranked #6 2:44.21
400M- Ranked #10 1:13.91

7th grade girls Jalen S
100M- Ranked #3 13.93
200M- Ranked #2 29.00
400M- Ranked #1 1:05

6th grade girls Miray E
80Mh- Ranked #9 17.06
100M- Ranked #4 14.41
Long Jump- Ranked #1 14’.0

On Saturday, April 9th, 2016, the Village Track Team competed at the Fort Bend Relays. “It was a great day for the tack team,” said Coach Harvey. “Our kids ran very well and they are all improving.”

Alexandre A-E gave the Vikings a great start to the day when he finished 3rd in the 3200m with a time of 10:55. Gabrielle B finished 6th in the 200m, running a 28.44. Ben A ran a personal best in the 400m, with a time of 51.75.Alice O was 7th in the shot put with a throw of 25’11.

A host of others ran very well at the Fort Bend Relays, but this was an afternoon that would be remembered for a longtime to come. There were three school records broken on this day.

Charlotte S broke the school record and finished 3rd in the 800m, with a time of 2:30.88, beating the old school mark of 2:37.39, set in 2011 by Elise Renard.

Gabrielle B got 3rd in the 300m hurdles and broke the school record with a time of 50.59, beating the old mark of 52.51 set by Emily F in 2011.
Ben A got 1st place in the 800m. He broke the school record with a time of 2:03.89, breaking his own record time of 2:04.78 set last year.

“This was our best meet thus far. Our athletes are continuing to better their times and are starting to place high in several events,” said Coach Tryon.

Our next meet will be on Thursday, April 14th at Cypress Christian, followed by the Allen Academy meet on Saturday, April 16th.