Miracle League Seeks Participants

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Chris Adamczyk.

Cary, NC- Parents of children with disabilities have through mid-August to register their child to play baseball in a specialized Triangle-area league this fall. Read more

Paddle Over to This Film Festival

 

Story from staff reports. Photo by Nicholas Ng.

Cary,NC, June 24th and 25th, 2011 – RallyPoint Sport Grill will host and  present the 6th Annual Reel Paddling Film Festival, on Friday and Saturday, June 24th and 25th, 2011 at 7:00 pm on both nights. Read more

Cary Invasion Makes CBL Playoffs

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photo by Suzie Wolf.

Cary, NC – Playoff basketball is coming to Cary on Friday June 24, 2011. The Cary Invasion, 9-0 in their inaugural season, will face a to-be-determined opponent in the first round of the CBL Playoffs at Herb Young Community Center. Read more

Cary Schools Win AHA “Brains & Bodies” Award

 

Photo from AHA

Cary, NC – Wake County Public Schools Superintendent Tony Tata joined Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) June 7 to announce the 2011 Brains and Bodies Award recipients for Wake County elementary and middle schools striving to improve the health of students and staff.

“We congratulate our winning schools and applaud their outstanding efforts to emphasize the connection for our students and staff between maintaining a healthy lifestyle and its positive impact on achieving a high-quality education,” said Superintendent Tony Tata.

Winning Schools

Davis Drive Elementary, Mills Park Elementary and Northwoods Elementary each won a Bronze Award and Farmington Woods Elementary earned an Honorable Mention for their efforts to increase physical activity and nutrition opportunities.

Four schools won the Gold Award designation:  A.B. Combs Elementary, Fuller Elementary and Underwood Elementary in Raleigh and St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School in Apex. West Lake Elementary in Apex won the Silver Award, and seven area schools earned the Bronze Award, including the three Cary schools, Hunter Elementary, Swift Creek Elementary, Wildwood Forest Elementary in Raleigh; and Olive Chapel Elementary in Apex.

Each of the award winners received a framed  “AHA Brains and Bodies Award: Healthy Students Grow Here” certificate to display in their school as well as a gift card to be used towards wellness initiatives. Gold award winners also received a banner to hang in the school and resources for a school celebration.

“We are so impressed with the innovations and programs of all these winning schools,” said Laura Aiken, director of AHA and WakeMed Community Outreach. “What really set the Gold Award winners apart, though, is that they each have a Wellness Committee involving staff and parents and they are working hard to enforce their school wellness policy. That is really key in maintaining and sustaining a comprehensive approach to health and wellness in the schools.”

About Advocates for Health in Action (AHA)

AHA created the Brains and Bodies Award to recognize schools that are meeting and exceeding local wellness policies, including the WCPSS Wellness Policy.

AHA’s team of nutrition and physical activity experts scored and evaluated applications and conducted site visits at a number of schools that applied. All school applicants will receive feedback on the good work they are doing and the team’s recommendations for ongoing improvement at each school.

At Home with the Hawks: Barbarous Barbara

Story by Mike Baranski. Photos by Karl Fisher.

Cary, NC – Saturday was another wonderful night to be at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.  The weather was great and the Carolina RailHawks earned another 3 points against the Puerto Rico Islanders, staying at the top of the league in the NASL. Read more

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Beats Japan 2-0 in Cary

Story by Matt Young. Photos by Suzie Wolf.

Cary, NC – It was a record crowd (5323) for women’s soccer at WakeMed Soccer Park tonight.  The 2011 U.S. Women’s National Team, ranked number 1 in the world, faced off against number 4 Japan.

UNC Tarheel and National Team legend Mia Hamm was present. Indeed the crowd had more than the average smattering of Tarheel blue in it perhaps because of the preponderance of Carolina alums (7) playing for the team, including star of the game and 3-time NCAA Champion Heather O’Reilly.

Family Atmosphere, Great Venue, Respect For Our Guests

The crowd was filled with smiling faces – largely families and kids from local soccer clubs wearing their Rec, Challenge and Classic team jerseys.

U.S. Team coach and North Carolina native Pia Sundhage said a few words to the crowd from the field.

The crowd was asked to bow their heads in honor of the victims of the recent tsunami tragedy in Japan. Announcements were made explaining ways donations can be given to the suffering population of Japan through the Red Cross.

The venue is a nice one. WakeMed Soccer Park is clean, and the field is terrific.

The two teams’ starters lined up and faced the crowd, as is customary in soccer matches. The Japanese team bowed to the fans as their names were called, the Americans waved.

U.S.A. – 2, Japan – 0

Women’s soccer is great, folks.

The skill level of play is high, the game is fast.

The Japanese Team was quick and relied on fast breaks. The U.S.A. team had an obvious size advantage and better ball movement and play set-up. The average player for Japan was 5’3″ tall. The two starting forwards, Shinobu Ohno and Mana Iwabuchi are listed at 5’1″. High balls were consistently won by the Americans. The Japanese team was up to the task though, and made up for the lack of size with hustle (and lots of sliding tackles) to make for an exciting game.

The beginning of the first half was dominated by the U.S.A. with several good chances to score. The Japanese team got more than its fair share of offsides calls, a product of their strategy to make long passes toward the goal mouth and attempt to chase them down.

In the 28th minute forward Abby Wambach set up a textbook play – passing to forward Heather O’Reilly who brought the ball along the end line to the right of the goal and crossed the ball to forward Amy Rodriguez. Rodriguez shot the ball, scoring off the hands of Japan’s goalie, Ayumi Kaihori. Rodriguez also scored in the U.S.A. defeat (2-0) of Japan in Columbus, Ohio 4 days earlier. But is was clear that Wambach is key as this team’s playmaker.

The second half of the game began with lots of  “near misses” by the Americans. In the 69th minute, U.S.A. put the game away with an O’Reilly goal fed by midfielder Carly Lloyd.

The Fans

Said O’Reilly : “I am so happy to be back here in Cary. This crowd was awesome. I absolutely love this place. There is such a supportive fan base.”

After the game the sideline fences were swarming with tweens, mostly girls, calling players’ names for autographs, which they obliged. These players are their heroes, it was obvious. I handed my notepad to one desperate little girl looking for something to get autographed. She thanked me and handed the sheets of paper to her friends.

Cary saw a great team play tonight. The world will see them as a force to be reckoned with at the World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany in July.

Weekend Events: Mozart, Giant Yard Sale and Newcomer Theater

The events calendar is edited by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – After last week’s epic 61 weekend events, things have settled own a little in Cary. Slightly.

The Calendar this weekend features the Concert Singers of Cary performing Mozart and Salieri, a Giant Yard Sale at Davis Drive Middle and what promises to be some hilarious theater from the Cary Newcomers. Read more

Downtown: The Invasion Has Landed

Story by Lindsey Chester, photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – With a green alien for a mascot, the Cary Invasion basketball team is preparing for its official tip-off on May 13 at Herb Young Community Center. Read more

Sports: Cary Invasion Beats Wilmington in Inaugural Game

Story and photos by Hal Goodtree

Cary, NC – It was a lively scene at the Herb Young Community Center in downtown Cary on Friday night as the Cary Invasion won their first ever game against CBL defending champs the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, 101-95. Read more

Yoga in the Park

Cary, N.C. – Here’s something different: Yoga in the Park. Bond Park, that is. Read more