A local coach wins a national award, a Murieta girl inspires her dad's cancer fundraising effort, the Rotary Club becomes official and old-time baseball players look for sponsors and fans. Read about your neighbors here.
Local coach wins national award
Paul Frank is known in the community for what he has achieved for youth sports as the founder of the Rancho Murieta Soccer League and the Pleasant Grove Lacrosse Club, and co-founder of the Pleasant Grove Junior Eagles Football and Cheer program. He has also coached basketball and baseball.
Now he will receive a national award that recognizes his skills as a coach and his positive impact on youth athletes. Frank will receive the Positive Coaching Alliance Double-Goal Coach Award at the Seventh Annual National Youth Sports Awards Ceremony at Stanford University April 12.
"This is a huge honor for Paul and a testament to the teams/leagues in which he takes part. ... Many of our local families know Paul and appreciate the positive impact he has had on their kids," Murietan Liz Abess wrote in an e-mail about the award.
Paul and Cindy Frank (2006 file photo)
Double-Goal Coach Award recipients have shown that winning and, more importantly, teaching life lessons through sports are their guiding goals, according to the alliance.
Frank was named one of 19 finalists in January, and then selected as one of seven national winners.
"Becoming one of our 19 finalists is a great tribute to Paul's work with youth athletes, considering there are 4 million youth sports coaches nationwide," said Jim Thompson, founder and executive director of the alliance and author of "The Double-Goal Coach." "That alone makes Paul a winner. More importantly, Paul's work with youth athletes makes them winners."
Frank's attention to his athletes includes mentoring. He frequently supervised the football players' academics in an after school/before practice homework club last fall for the Pleasant Grove Junior Eagles program, according to the award announcement.
Last year, Frank was head coach of the lacrosse junior Falcons. The team won the championship in their division for Northern California in their inaugural season. "That was one of my greatest experiences," said Frank. "Most of these kids had never played lacrosse before. They far surpassed my wildest expectations, that they could come together, work that hard, and achieve that level of success."
Award-winning sportswriter Robert Lipsyte will serve as master of ceremonies at the awards ceremony and 49er Hall of Fame champion quarterback Steve Young will make an appearance at the event.
The Positive Coaching Alliance was founded in 1998 as a non-profit within the Stanford University Athletic Department. Its stated mission is "transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth." The alliance has conducted workshops nationwide for more than 200,000 youth sports leaders, coaches, parents and athletes with the goal of creating a positive, character-building youth sports environment.
Murieta girl inspires cancer fundraising effort
Aubrielle Anderson is "still a tiny little thing," says her father, Steve Anderson, but, at the tender age of 3, "she is a cancer survivor and my hero."
Aubrielle's struggle with leukemia has inspired her father to lead a team for the St. Baldrick's fundraiser for childhood cancer research. On March 14, Angels and Warriors team members will shave their heads to raise money for the cause and to show support for the victims of the disease. The event takes place at UC Davis Medical Center.
Steve has raised thousands of dollars since he formed the team in 2006, a few months after his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Aubrielle successfully completed more than two years of aggressive treatment for the disease shortly before Thanksgiving last year.
Right now, there are 37 head-shaving volunteers helping Aubrielle's cause.
"Although Aubrielle has won the war against cancer, her life will forever be changed due to the impact the treatment has caused on her body," Steve wrote in an e-mail about this year's fundraiser. "Please help me with continuing to raise awareness and money so one day we may find a cure for childhood cancer. It is my hope no child has to endure the treatment Aubrielle experienced."
Aubrielle's treatment regimen of chemotherapy, radiation and steroids began after she was diagnosed with leukemia in September 2005. It started out as twice-a-week trips to UC Davis, and then became weekly. She now undergoes monthly check-ups.
"We are taking one day at a time and loving every minute she is healthy," her father said.
Aubrielle lives with her father, her mother, Jennifer, and her brother, Zachary, in Murieta North. For a time during her illness, the family turned the living room into a playground complete with a slide so Aubrielle could play like other toddlers.
St. Baldrick's Foundation is a non-profit organization that has coordinated hundreds of head-shaving events to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for childhood cancer. Since its inception in 2000, St. Baldrick's has raised more than $12 million.
Last year Team Angels and Warriors had 55 shavees and raised over $63,000. Currently, the team has 37 volunteers for head-shaving. To volunteer or to donate online to Steve Anderson's team, click here [1].
Local Rotary Club granted charter
It's official -- Rancho Murieta has its own chapter of the Rotary Club.
Rotary International formally recognized the recently formed chapter and granted its club charter effective last week. That makes it the 40th Rotary Club in the organization's Sacramento district.
The club began meeting last September, and there are more than 20 members.
The 20 members of the Rancho Murieta Rotary Club and guests at the first meeting of the Rancho Murieta Rotary Club after they were officially recognized by Rotary International. Photo: Andrew Hughan
In December, the club sold more than 1,000 luminaries and donated $500 from the sales to children's cancer research. Other donations include $1,000 to an elementary school in northern Mexico as part of Rotary International's overseas project.
"It's a real pleasure to see a Rotary presence here in Rancho Murieta," said District Governor Clarence Parkins. "I don't know what the record is for establishing a new club. I think it's safe to say that the Rancho Murieta has set the standard."
The club will hold its Charter Night dinner and ceremony March 12. Representatives from the other chapters in the Sacramento region will welcome the newest club to the Rotary world at that time.
For information, contact Andrew Hughan, Rotary communications director, at 799-8100 or ahughan@gmail.com [2].
Vintage baseball returns to Stonehouse Park
It's the third season for Gold Country Vintage Base Ball, and there are now a dozen Murietans playing old-time baseball on the Bandits team. This year the team hopes to make its three home dates at Stonehouse Park a community event as well as a trip back in time to 1886. The Sunday games are scheduled for April 13, June 29 and July 20.
The league and the Bandits are looking for sponsors to help promote the game in the area and defray insurance, equipment and other costs. Most of the vintage gear is only supplied by a few companies on the East Coast. In addition, the league's winning team has the opportunity to travel to Massachusetts for the Vintage Base Ball World Series this year.
More information about the league and the Bandits is available here [3]. The Murieta contact is Blake Carmichael at drblake4@yahoo.com. [4]
A look at what it was like when the game came to Stonehouse Park last year is available here [4].