December 25, 2008

SPORTS

Golf tourney fundraiser for autism

By Dena Noble
Special to the Times

Through their annual golf tournament, held this year at Cinnabar Hills Golf Course, Almaden’s Customer Service Realty partnered with the Autism Tree Project Foundation and San Jose State University to help provide brighter futures for children with autism.

Dr. Jean Novak and Dean of Education Susan Meyers pose with two Saber Kittens and Sharkie. Photos by Dena Noble

“This is our fifth anniversary for the golf tournament,” said CSR co-founder Dina Bonafede. “And for the fifth straight year, we’ve had non-stop rave reviews from the players. I would say at least 95 percent of the players are returning from previous years. Almost everybody I talked to after the tournament said it’s the best tournament they’ve ever played in. Cinnabar Hills is such a beautiful golf course; it’s like a one-day vacation away from real life. We have contests and sponsors at every hole and that keeps things running along nicely.

“This year alone the tournament raised $57,400,” she added. “We would like give special recognition to our title sponsor Roche Diagnostics. The reason we continue to do this event is because 100 percent of the money stays in the Bay area. A large portion of the proceeds goes to funding the preschool trainings at San Jose State. My husband Brian and brother-in-law Steve and our partner Dave Wendt join me in thanking everyone involved for helping us make this great event possible.”

The Autism Tree Project Foundation was co-founded in 2003 by Almaden native Dayna Hoff and her husband Todd after their son Garret was diagnosed with autism. With autism on the rise and affecting one in every 150 children, the goal of the foundation is to raise awareness and eventually find a cure for autism, with their core mission being that of early intervention. If caught early enough, autism treatment and therapy can literally re-wire the brain. But early detection is crucial and screenings of preschoolers by trained professionals is essential to a successful outcome.

The Autism Tree Project Foundation has teamed up with Dr. Susan Meyers, dean of the College of Education at San Jose State and Dr. Jean Novak, former department chair of the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, to launch a preschool screening project to train students to administer speech and language screenings to preschool children.

Dr. Jean Novak addresses the crowd on the importance of early intervention.

“The ATPF preschool screenings and training program directly aligns with the university’s goals of having our students do real projects that impact the community and the city, “ says Dr. Novak. “At San Jose State our goal is to train our students to become competent professionals. We screen 150 children every semester. That’s 300 children per year, screened by our students and supervised by our faculty. It’s the best training the students can have. And of course these screenings are made possible by funding from the nonprofits, like Autism Tree Project.”

“This is a group undertaking and it’s all about a shared goal,” says San Jose State’s Meyers. “And the shared goal is to provide research and services to families of children with autism. What we know is that when children have a special need, we have to be able to help the families. We need to have a network of wraparound services. Everyone in the family is affected when a child has special needs, including grandparents and extended family. Everybody in the family helps to make that child what he or she can be.”

“At San Jose State we are preparing the future professionals who are going to work with these families”, continues Dr. Meyers. “This really enriches the academic part of their training. They are getting what they need academically and they are also learning to bridge what they learn in theory in the classroom and by working with the families, they are learning to apply that theory.”

Dean Susan Meyer educates the crowd on the early identification of speech and language disorders.

This year’s tournament fell on a spectacularly sunny day amidst the green rolling hills of Almaden. The day started with Starbucks providing coffee and continental breakfast in the morning, followed by a raffle and putting contest. Lunch was provided by Old Republic Title Company.

San Jose‘s Sharkie paid a visit, as did the San Jose Sabercats. This year’s title sponsor for the tournament was Roche Diagnostics. Other sponsorships included Britannia Arms, The Right Stuff, Vice Mayor David Cortese and the city of San Jose, Larry Hopkins Honda, Longjump, Peninsula Infinity, Kiwanis International, Tres Gringos, Armadillo Willy’s, North American Title, the Almaden Community Center, Farenheit, Sino and Barbarella, as well as tournament sponsor Customer Service Realty. The day ended with a silent auction and dinner provided by Cinnabar Hills.

“The real winners of the tournament today are the children of our South Bay community,” adds Meyers. “And it takes everyone working together... it’s the golfers who are raising the money to support students, it’s the faculty who are supervising these students and it’s the parents who are bringing their children in to be screened by the students. It’s CSR and the Autism Tree Project who are funding all of this. There is not one of these things that could happen without the other. It’s a wraparound circle of support that everyone involved is a part of. That’s what it’s all about”.

To become involved in 2009, contact tournament chairperson Tim Johnson at (408) 268-0619 or Customer Service Realty at (408) 558-5000 or Golf@csrteam.com. For more information about autism, contact the Autism Tree Project Foundation at www.autismtree project.org or call Dayna Hoff at 619-980-8614.

Almaden sends three girls to Pacific Zone All-Star Polo game

The third annual Pacific Zone Senior All-Star water polo game was held in Moraga at the Soda Aquatic Center on Saturday, Dec. 13. This prestigious event features the best players from the Central Coast Section (CCS) against their counterparts in the Northern Section (NCS). It follows the CCS All-Star game held a week earlier. That game showcased the top players in CCS and included Almaden’s own Kimberley Atala from Pioneer High and Amy Georgiou and Kylie Sarpa, from Leland High. They were then honored to be included on the CCS Zone All-Star team. Kimberley held the distinction of being Pioneer’s first player to appear in this game. It was an impressive display of northern California’s best talent, some who have already committed to colleges such as Stanford, Michigan and Brown. Kylie was unable to play because of an injury, but was present to cheer on Kimberley and Amy during the fast-paced game. Kim played solid defense and had a nice assist for a score while goalie Amy blocked several difficult shots. Their contributions helped the CCS team to win 10-8.

Sports Briefs

Free Lacrosse Clinic

Attention 7 and 8 year-old boys:  Please come to our free clinic to learn the basics of lacrosse - the fastest growing sport in America!  Sticks will be provided. The South Valley Chiefs Lacrosse Club needs several players to fill their U-9 team for the Spring season: 

- Clinic Date:  Jan. 3, 2009  
- Location:  Lone Hill Park, 1749 Vintner Way, San Jose. 

RSVP to joy@joybender.com.  To find out more about our season go to www.svlax.com.

Girls’ U13 Soccer Tryouts

The South San Jose Hot Shots, a U13 Girls “comp” soccer team, is holding tryouts for the 2009 season. Experienced players born on or after 8/1/1996 are eligible to play. For tryout details, please send email to SSJ.HOTSHOTS@GMAIL.COM.

2009 Almaden Valley Girls Recreational Softball Registration is open

This year the AVGSL has implemented an online registration system. Please visit WWW.AVGSL.ORG to register or to find out more information regarding our league.  We are accepting registration for ages Under 6, Under 8, Under 10, Under 12 and Under 14. Everyone is welcome to join our league – from first-time player to all-star - because we have a spot for you.  AVGSL’s main goal is to ensure that all players are in a fun, positive environment while learning and expanding their softball skills. AVGSL promotes a sense of belonging for everyone. We emphasize teamwork and the sense of individual success that contributes to team sports. No player will sit out more than two innings during a game, which offers each girl the opportunity to make contributions to their team while participating in a large part of all activities.  If you have questions, please email president@avgsl.org and we will be happy to help.


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