Coach Profile: Hannah Davis Katrina Tvedt 

 

 

In continuing our seasonal photo galleries, we ask that you submit your "Fall Into Fun" Photos.  Pumpkins, Fall Festivals, Halloween, Fall foliage, all provide the perfect backdrop for this seasonal photo assigment.  

 

Simply submit your photo(s) by October 20 for possible inclusion in our November newsletter. 

"Tega Cay Senior Games" a Success 

 

The First Annual Senior Games took place on Friday, September 25.  The Senior Games had over 80 participants and hosted seven sports. 

While Event Organizer George Fiegel was the driving force behind the games, numerous volunteers worked together to make the event possible.  

Special thanks goes to the following organizations for volunteering time, equipment, and manpower.

  About a year ago, a survey conducted by TCPR revealed that many seniors in the community wanted the ability to participate in more age considerate recreational and sporting activities.  With this feedback, Committee Member Tom Anderson and Operations Director Charlie Funderburk came up with the idea of hosting a series of games - much like the Senior Olympics.  Hence the idea of the Tega Cay Senior Games was born.  In order to make this idea become a reality, the Senior Games needed a devoted and detailed "project manager."  As luck would have it, enters George Fiegel. 
 
Although George is quick to credit numerous volunteers in his efforts to organize and plan the Senior Games, there is no doubt that the games happened and prospered due to the hard work and diligence of George Fiegel.  Pre-event surveys, event diagrams, time-lines, registration forms, volunteer recruitment, follow-up and more follow-up was the manner in which George organized the First Annual Tega Cay Senior Games. 
 
"George took the committee's plans for this event and completely elevated the entire event to a level we couldn't have possibly pulled off by ourselves.  Whenever the committee dreams up a new event for the city, we never know how it will be embraced, and thanks to George's dedication this year, we absolutely know it'll be an ongoing event for years," says Kim Bogert, TCPR Chairperson.
 
Charlie Funderburk added "George took a small idea that came from the Parks & Recreation committee and has turned it into something that will not only be spectacular for this year, but will be an event the seniors of Tega Cay can look forward to for many years to come.  It has been a great pleasure getting to know and working with George over the past several months.  Tega Cay is truly fortunate to have a resident like him giving so freely of his personal time for the betterment of his peers and neighbors."
 
George's interest in organizing the Senior Games has a lot to do with his desire and self recognition of the importance of staying active. "Seniors in Tega Cay must stay alert.  I think the P&R organization needs to serve their health and exercise needs as much as 12 year olds need the benefits of the Little League Baseball.  Being a 68 year old person, I know the need to aggressively address staying healthy and serving the community, says George.
 
As with many of the volunteers that we profile and extend thanks to, we know that the support they receive from family and friends is vital.  In this case, a huge thanks also goes to George's wife Judie who not only volunteered her time, she volunteered her husband, and her computer. 
 
George and Judie have lived in Tega Cay since October, 2005.  Judie is a retired teacher and George is a retired technical project manager.  "We decided to retire and move south.  It is one of the best decisions we could have made.  We are a days' drive to Maryland and Pennsylvania where our mothers live (the grand's).  We have a niece in the area and her kids are like grandkids to us.  She owns a coffee shop in Rock Hill (Augello's) where we can all congregate.  Our own kids are in Virginia, California, and Michigan.  We visit them when we can.  It is activities like the Vintage Club, Women's Club, Senior Games, tennis, croquet, and running that keep us healthy and busy in Tega Cay."

Despite the rained-out last concert of the season, the Summer Concert Series was a big success!  Charity Case opened the season in May, headlining another major fundraiser for the group's Grin Kids Foundation.  Ocean Drive Party Band took us into June, and the season's most popular band, Van Waylon, rocked August!  Concert goers loved this band, and we'll definitely have them back next year.  Thanks to our local vendors for providing such good food at great prices - be sure to visit them during the off season: Town Tavern, Jersey Mike's, Fratelli's, Donato's, Bruster's and Maggie Moo's. 
 
Next season, we'll be implementing some new and interesting ways to enjoy the concerts, and debuting some eco-friendly (and fund-raising, discount-getting) things.   Additionally, concerts will no longer be a part of the city's budget, so we'll be running them on sponsorships alone.  Have a company that would like to sponsor, or know of a company that would?  Contact Emily Jaeckli at jaeckli@comporium.net , or Charlie Funderburk at charlie@tegacaysc.org.

 
Want to give feedback on bands, vendors or porta-johns?  Loved or loathed something about this season?  Feel free to come to our October meeting, on Tuesday, October 6th at 6:30 in the lower level at the Glennon Center, or e-contact Emily Jaeckli at jaeckli@comporium.net. 

 

We'll start planning the 2010 season at our February meeting.  Watch the Parks & Rec website, www.tegacayrec.com for the meeting date.

 

On Tuesday, September 29th, the Tega Cay Warriors football team played their game against the Mustangs at the Nation Ford High School, in honor of their teammate, Noah Mayberry.  Noah #54 is sitting out this season while battling cancer.  Tega Cay youth football players are wearing the #54 on their helmets this season in his honor.

 

Noah attended the game and was an inspiration to the team and cheerleaders.  

Boys will be boys . . . 

Noah's teammates and friends gather on a Sunday afternoon to have some fun and show support for #54.

 
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart." ~Elizabeth Andrew
 
The preceding quote strikes a chord when it comes to the numerous volunteer coaches that make Parks and Recreation programs even possible.  This point is well illustrated in the joint coaching efforts of Katrina Tvedt and Hannah Davis.
 
This fall Katrina and Hannah took on the challenging task of starting a youth cheerleading program.  At the end of last year's football season, Hannah's husband, Ed, was coaching the All-Star team.  Hannah and Katrina put a cheerleading squad together in order to support the team, while simultaneously fulfilling the wishes that several young girls in the community had expressed.  They put the squad together in a matter of two weeks and carried the idea forward to this fall.
 
Developing any program for the first time is challenging.  Doing so in the shadows of career, pregnancy, back-to-school, and regular youth sports commitments places the accomplishment as "outstanding."
 
The cheerleading program involves two squads - Pee-Wee (ages 5 and 6) and Small-Fry (ages 7-11). Combined there are 28 cheerleaders in total.  Each cheerleader's skill-set ranges from some girls having many years of cheer/gym experience to no experience at all.  There are captains and co-captains for each squad. 

While both Katrina and Hannah have daughters on the squad, they both realized that girls in the community needed additional opportunities to play sports. "I saw the need for more sports geared toward girls.  I also love being able to share the experience with my daughter and being actively involved in something she loves to do.  I like giving girls in our community the opportunity to start cheerleading early and teaching them that you have to work hard to be successful at this sport.  It's not all yelling and clapping.   Cheerleading is a highly competitive sport that requires a diverse set of skills to be able to make it through to high school and even college if they choose. My goal is to give the girls that want to pursue this sport, the basic tools it takes to succeed," says Hannah.
 
Katrina, who was a youth and high school cheerleader, finds that being Lead Coach is a bit difficult this year considering she has been pregnant throughout the whole process.  "[Being pregnant] has hindered me a lot from not being able to perform the cheers and assisting like I want to.  I had to first find a cheerleading uniform that was within budget but was still tasteful and versatile (for warm/cold weather).  Finding a vendor took time but well worth it," says Katrina.
 
In contrast, Hannah found herself in unfamiliar territory. "Ironically, I was involved in just about every sport EXCEPT cheerleading.  I played field hockey, softball, basketball, tennis and some recreational ice hockey as a youth.  I also ran one year of winter track, however growing up in Maine, I wasn't a fan of running outside in the winter, so that was short-lived.  I was the one unplugging the cheerleader's curling irons as I ran out of the locker room door for field hockey practice just to terrorize them." 
 
Adding to the challenge of developing a first year program, Hannah and Katrina were not able to solidify many details of the program until a week or two into it - including exact practice and game schedules and recruiting additional assistance with coaching. "We were lucky to find two more coaches - Nancy Robertson and Jill Klosterman.  In addition, two cheer moms, Jennifer Jones and Tara Ragni have volunteered.  Of course, Joey Blethen has been of great assistance," says Katrina.
 
Both Katrina and Hannah agree that one of the most rewarding aspects of coaching a newly developed program is watching the girls as they learn and master moves and cheers that they may have been struggling to learn in the beginning. "The cheerleading squads are getting better and better at every game - so every game seems like a rewarding experience because it is cool to see the cheerleaders apply the new cheers we teach them every week," says Katrina.
 
Hannah adds, "The most rewarding thing about this experience is that I see moments at every single practice and game that stand out in my mind.  Like when a 5 year old has the courage to stand up and lead a cheer in front of 27 other, much older, teammates or when all of a sudden one of the girls gets a move she's been struggling with or when the entire team gets so excited to do one particular cheer."
 
Of course the purpose of cheerleading is to show support for the team and get the crowd to cheer their team on.  With this in mind, it's evident at all the games that Coaches Hannah and Katrina are accomplishing their goal.  Game time is full of cheers, balloons, program flyers, and smiling faces - from the players, from the cheerleaders, from the crowd, and when they can catch their breath - from the coaches.
 
Katrina's daughter Kasey Barrett (8) is a cheerleader.  Hannah's daughter, Kaitlyn (7) is a cheerleader and youth soccer participant; her son Matthew (9) plays football for the TC Warriors and is on the Storm traveling baseball team.

By Billie Taylor

 

I would like to introduce our new Personal Trainer/Class Instructor.  Linden Veillette graduated with a degree in Exercise Physiology from UNC-Wilmington in 2000.  She has a Personal Training certification with the International Sport Sciences Association and a Sports Specific Training certification through AFPA.  She has been working in the fitness field for over ten years.  In her spare time, she competes in running races and triathlons, hikes in the mountains and enjoys yoga. 
 
Linden has been employed with the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville NC, since 2004 as an Aerobics/Fitness Director.  She just recently moved to Tega Cay and is joining the beach club staff as our Personal Trainer/Fitness Instructor.  She comes to us with many great ideas on how to get the Tega Cay residents in Shape!  To begin with, she is starting a powerful month of classes to help keep you in shape through the holiday months.  For one low price each month you will be able to choose either of the following or participate in both:
 
Bootcamp/Streching: Challenge yourself with a 1.5 hour class that combines strength and cardiovascular exercises.  Classes will vary weekly.  Modifications will be given so that various levels can participate.  Each class will end with twenty minutes of stretching to help prevent injuries. 
 
Power Walking/Yoga: We will mix in various exercises such as lunges, squats and resistance band exercises during a sixty minute power walk, and end with a thirty minute gentle/intermediate yoga that will focus on alignment, posture and balance.
 
Linden's Certifications: