Stars of Tomorrow Shine at the Sunshine State Games, presented by Amazon
The stars of tomorrow begin their sports journey at the Sunshine State Games.
Athletes as young and four and five years old were in competition at the Figure Skating and Track and Field Championships on Sunday. The Sunshine Summer Kickoff Lacrosse Championships had three teams in an 8 and under Division.
Athletes like Brian Olson, a judo player from Tallahassee, got his start in the Sunshine State Games in his youth and competed in four Olympic Games. Nancy Hogshead was a high school swimmer in Jacksonville, who competed in the first Sunshine State Games in 1980 and won three gold medals and a silver in the 1984 Olympic Games
Of the 25 teams, at the SSG/Miami Police Athletic League (PAL) Track and Field Meet, from Boward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County, athletes as young as four years old were able to compete in the 100 meter dash and long jump. What more do kids that age want to do than run and jump?
Coaching an athlete at that age is a tough job, but a rewarding one, according to Miami PAL Track and Field Coach, Michael Cotton.
“You’ve got fresh, raw talent you can mold into talented athletes and great young people,” Cotton said. “The challenge at that age is you have to create a workout to fit each child.”
Cotton likes to turn their workouts into a game. Like a game of tag.
“For the runners, if they’re ahead, the strategy is to not let them catch you,” he said. “If you’re behind them, you have to catch them.”
Athletes come to the Miami PAL program through a grandfather program from siblings who have been in the track and field program or other sports, football and cheerleading.
Cotton points to Jamari Howard, who started at an early age in the program and is now a senior at Miami Northwest High school, as one of the Miami PAL success stories. Howard also plays football and has made official recruiting visits to Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, Texas A&M and Syracuse University.
One of Cotton’s youngest athletes competing this weekend is Autumn Chavers, in the 5-6 year old age groups, in the 100 meter dash, 800 meter run and long jump. The long jump was her most successful of the three events, coming in fifth place with a leap of 1.67 meters (5 feet, 5 inches), a personal best.
“Our team is doing great this weekend,” Cotton said. “A lot of kids are reaching personal bests.”
Twin sisters, Brooke and Olivia Ketchum, now eight-years old, from the Skating Club of Florida, practicing at Palm Beach Ice Works, have been skating since they were five years old.
“We used to live in Las Vegas and there was a facility like this one (Florida Panthers IceDen) where the Golden Knights practiced near our house,” said their dad, Hank Ketchum. “They took and interest and we’ve been doing it ever since.”
Their mother, Angela, learned is a self-taught ice skater, who learned in an outdoor rink, growing up in Jefferson City, Missouri.
“I used to watch my brother and learned how to skate on my own,” said Angela, who never skated competitively, like her daughters.
Brooke and Olivia competed in the Basic 6 program with Brooke winning a silver medal and Olivia placing fifth. Both said they had a good time competing in the Games and Brooke enjoys learning to jump while Olivia likes learning the different spins.
The Basic program starts at level one and Brooke and Olivia have moved up to a program that includes one revolution jumps and spins. Their coach, Rosie Larson, hopes to see them move into the Pre-preliminary Free Skate events in the near future.
“Both of them are doing great and progressing quickly,” said Larson, whose 16-year old daughter Annabelle also competed this weekend at the Games. “They’re putting a lot of time into their skating.”
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The Sunshine Summer Kickoff Lacrosse Tournament had teams just breaking into the game, with three teams in the 8 and under division. The PV Jaws team, from Ponte Vedra, won their two pool play games for the gold medals. The PV Jaws 10 and under team also won a gold medal in the 10 and under division.
Bo Lamon, the director of the Sunshine Summer Kickoff Tournament, who has coached Lacrosse at all ages knows the good and the bad of coaching young athletes.
“You’re teaching fundamentals at the age,” “You’re working on picking up ground balls, catching and throwing and where to be on the field. At this tournament, they playing on travel teams, so they get it. They’re some of the better athletes for that age.”
In the 12-team Boys High School A Division, the Florida Select Carolina team was undefeated in six games, defeating the Miami Black team 6-2, in the championship game.
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The Sunshine State Games, presented by Amazon, are an annual presentation of the Florida Sports Foundation, the official sports promotion and development organization of the State of Florida. The Games are held in conjunction with local partners that include, Central Florida’s Polk County Sports Marketing, Clay County Tourism, the Gainesville Sports Commission and Visit Lauderdale. Now in its 43rd year, the Sunshine State Games are the longest continually-running State Games in the U.S.