August 25, 2006

Evergreen Sports

Bonfare Market Charitable Foundation golf tourney wins big

San Jose Sharks among sponsors

Bonfare Market Charitable Foundation’s 21st annual golf tournament was memorable for a number of reasons, not least of which was the $102,000 raised. Net proceeds from the event will be distributed to various charities promoting education within the local community.

San Jose Sharks’ CRO Charlie Faas poses along with Sharks’ star Kyle McKlaren and the Bonfare Foundation’s Jag Kapoor. Photos by Raj Lathigara

Those charities include the Sharks Foundation, the California Highway Patrol’s 11-99 Foundation and Silver Creek High School. The charity already had presented new computers and printers to the four Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest winners who are junior high students and donated computers to several middle schools.

This is the first year the San Jose Sharks acted as key sponsors. That sponsorship brought hockey star Kyle McLaren, whose famous Number 4 jersey, along with a team signed jersey, was auctioned for $2,400. Chris Webber’s jersey also was auctioned. Webber, an NBA star and power forward for the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers, raised quite a bit of money with his jersey.

Other major sponsors included Anheuser-Busch, Inc, JustLand.com, Legacy Resource Group, Expertquote.com, Pedros Restaurant, Mexicali Grill, Una Mas, X Protean and Coca Cola Bottling Company of California,

“It is a great moment for us as it is for the Bonfare Market Foundation, which has been in the business of charity for 21 years in giving back to the community,” said Charlie Faas, executive vice president and CFO of San Jose Sharks, whose foundation also provides help to students and education in general.

“We want to support The Sharks Foundation and our community schools,” said Jag Kapoor of Kapoor Enterprises, which acquired and expanded the Bonfare Markets with its 43 Bay Area franchises.

Auctioning off various items are Jag Kapoor, from the Bonfare Market Foundation, his wife Pammy Kapoor and Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez.

The tournament was sold out three weeks in advance and had a record participation with over 155 players hitting the greens “We even had a million dollar shoot out sponsored by Expertquote.com. Among other hole-in-one prizes were a Bentley Car, Hummer and four Harley Davidson bikes,” said Harpreet Chadha, tournament chair and president and CEO of Legacy Resource Groups. Several participants came close to winning, he added Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez and Superior Court Judge Dolores Carr were the guests of honor at the evening banquet. Chavez distributed the prizes.

Donald Kaplan, founder of Bonfare Markets also attended, bragging about the turnout as well as with the funds that were collected.

“I’m very proud for what has been done for charity,” he said when asked about the charity’s growth since its founding in 1969.

About Bonfare Markets
Founded by Donald Kaplan in 1969, Bonfare Markets, Inc., sells franchises to operate retail grocery stores. The markets were acquired by Kapoor Brothers (Jag and Sean Kapoor) in 1994. They increased the number of locations to 43, which are spread throughout the Bay Area. The corporate offices are located in Hayward, California. Kapoor Brothers also own Stop N Save, Inc.

SPORTS BRIEFS

Evergreen Friday Night Teen Basketball League signups
Volunteer coaches needed: Coaches are needed and greatly appreciated. Please fill in necessary information on back of form.

Who: Boys and girls in 6th thru 9th grade. Space is limited to 120 players (60 in each division) so sign up soon. Request to play on the same team as a friend will be noted but may not be honored. Students who are on their high school team may not participate. If registration allows, two divisions will be created. League officials up until the fourth game may move players to another team to balance the skill level of each team. League officials reserve the right to remove any player, coach or spectator from the game or league for misconduct.

When: Fridays from September 9th thru December 2nd. Game times will vary for each team each week. The first game begins at 3:30 p.m. and each game will begin every hour until 8:30 p.m. All players must attend the draft clinic on September 9th. Grades 6 and 7 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.; grades 8 and 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Chaboya Middle School. Players will not be assigned a team until a workout with a league official is observed.

Where: All games will be held at Chaboya Middle School, 3276 Cortona Dr. SJ, CA 95135

Cost: $110- which includes a game jersey, equipment use, medals for all participants, personal basketball, trophies for 1st and 2nd place teams for the end of season tournament and league officials.

How to sign up: Registration forms can be obtained at Chaboya, beginning August 21st. Contact either John Franza (408) 605-1513 or Allen Ventura (408) 410-3570 (Directors) for more information.

Fill out a registration on back and return to Chaboya Middle School before September 7th, 2006, c/o John Franza or Allen Ventura.

Make checks payable to: E.A.S.Y. HOOPS (cash is also accepted)

Officials needed for high school sports
FERMAR Corporation, which contracts with high schools in Santa Clara County, is recruiting officials for high school athletics. Officials are needed for fall season sports such as football, volleyball and field hockey.

Men and women are encouraged to apply. No experience is necessary, as FERMAR will provide training through classes, clinics and tests. All training materials are provided.

Officials are paid $32-$61 per game, depending on the sport and level of competition. Additional opportunities to officiate youth and adult sports are also available. Interested parties are encouraged to call FERMAR at (408) 567-1700.

Cheer coaches needed for South Valley Pop Warner
Cheer coaches are needed for South Valley Pop Warner. If you're interested in joining a team of outstanding coaches, please call Tiana Zarate at (408) 464-3285 or Teresa Smith at (408) 603-8280, or go to http://www.stpopwarner.org

Foundation to hold golf tourney for cancer research, education

The sixth annual Michael Gard Golf Classic is scheduled for Sept. 14 at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club.

The fund-raiser is a tribute Michael Gard, who suffered and died from colorectal cancer. The fourth most prevalent cancer and leading cause of cancer deaths, the Michael Gard Foundation’s goal is to significantly reduce colorectal cancer through education and early detection. Each year more than 130,000 people are diagnosed with the disease and more than 55,000 die annually.

Besides being a great day of fun on the links, the annual tournament is the Michael A. Gard Memorial foundation’s source of income for the past five years, with funding coming through hole sponsorships, auction items and personal donations. At the end of the one-day tourney participating golfers are invited to attend a banquet to enjoy good food, awards and a recap of the day’s events.

The foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to coordinate and support research aimed at finding a cure for cancer as well as non-intrusive techniques for detection. Early detection is crucial to treating cancer and this year, the Los Colinas Clinic in San Jose will receive tournament proceeds so people with no insurance can afford screening and other cancer tests that could save their lives.

Making a difference could have been Michael Gard’s life story. After a 20-year career coaching Little League baseball and Bobby Sox softball, Michael spent a number of years working with softball players at Almaden’s Leland High School. He also served as Leland’s Booster Club president and was always ready to help anyone who could “use a hand.”

The Foundation was instrumental in bringing the Colossal Colon to the San Jose area last spring to help teach people about the disease.

Four people attending the tournament will have the chance to win a $25,000 hole-in-one prize. Other prizes include a $5,000 putting contest, hole-on-one prizes and other contests and giveaways.

Cinnabar Hills offers golfers three distinct nine-hole courses. The tournament format will be a four-player scramble with contests and prizes. It is a soft-spoke club with appropriate dress codes in effect. For more information about the course visit www.cinnabarhills.com.

Following registration—from 9:30 to 11 a.m.—there will be a putting contest from 11 to 11:45 a.m. Lunch will be served from 11 to noon when the tournament begins. A no-host cocktail reception will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and an auction and raffle beginning at 8 p.m.

Registration will be accepted through Wednesday, Aug. 29. The cost is $185 per person and includes a golf cart and range balls as well as lunch, dinner and a polo shirt. Non-golfer guest dinners are $50 per person. Space is limited and registration is on a first-come basis.

For more information, contact Jason Gard at (408) 268-6589.

Second Evergreen Valley Church golf tournament draws out well wishers

300 gather to support missionary work

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Who pays for missionaries? At expanding Evergreen Valley Church, it’s the golfers.

Approaching 600 members strong, Evergreen Valley Church held its second annual Golf Scramble Tournament on August 20 at the Evergreen Country Club.

Approximately 300 players and friends turned out for the event, which donated registration fees and money generated to its missionaries overseas.

“I think our church is built on ministry work,” said Andrea Garrish, a volunteer who helped arrange the day of golf. “It’s great with community reaching out programs. We’re not that big of a church but we’re big on missionary work.”

Garrish said the event generated $14,000 last year, but the totals had not been compiled as of yet for the most recent event. This year the proceeds will benefit Shannon and Sammy Mueithi, a missionary team in Africa.

“In Kenya, $20 per year feeds a child,” said Garrish. “Everything we made was donated for food.”

Locals Ken Carter, David Carter, Dean Bays and Scott Grimes shot best out of 116 golfers who entered tournament play. The foursome captured the tournament crown before retiring to the church site for a barbecue.

“It’s the second year, so we’re still learning—that’s always a challenge,” said Garrish. “I think that it’s the fellowship, getting people together to have fun that makes golf a good way to get people out. We have a lot of golfers at the church, but it brings friends, and it’s noticed by a lot of people from the south valley.”

Garrish added that the tournament is simply a good time.

“You play golf all day and get a chance to win raffle prizes and spend time with each other,” she said. “We all have a little competitive spirit and it’s a good cause.”

Spartan challenge for four Warrior footballers

Valley football standout Bryan North and friends
aim for immediate impact in SJSU camp

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Valley Christian’s all state cornerback Bryan North knew he would have to prove himself all over again when fall football camp opened Aug. 7 at San Jose State.

Valley Christian graduate Brian North (carrying ball, and inset right) returns a kickoff during the 2006 Charlie Wedemeyer classic. Action photo by Jeff Frazee

North is among four Spartan recruits from Valley, who enjoyed mythical high school careers, including four consecutive CCS Championships and swarming attention from college scouts, but will begin again as State teammates, now lowly freshman.

North, running back Dominique Hunsucker, tight end Mark Piethe and quarterback Dante Perez all decided that the flailing Spartan program may be on the brink of something beautiful, especially with Warrior roster injections—seven Valley athletes play there—and with celebrated University of Arizona ‘Desert Swarm’ mastermind Dick Tomey’s program beginning to take hold, hopes are rising.

“State jumped in the game kind of late,” said North. “But we had a lot of interest from guys there, who used to play at Valley. That helped us out on our decision.” North said that former Valley standouts such as Kevin Jurovich made mention of the burgeoning program and the value of extending their high school tradition. “We decided to go to San Jose State because we would all be together, all be close and we wanted to help make a better program.”

College boys
The recruiting process was a whirlwind. North began receiving attention following a promise-filled sophomore campaign.

North snagged eight interceptions that year, and soon learned that people were watching. “Coach Machado came up to me and Dominique Hunsucker and said we had a letter in the office,” said North. The first letter was from USC, a month after the Trojans captured their first NCAA Championship in 30-some years. “It was just a letter to get out there and say they know of us, but it was big. We were sophomores and they just won the national championship.”

The next year, more correspondence rolled in that invited the foursome to attend exclusive player/scout camps. “We got an invitation to go to the Stanford Nike camp,” said North. “Coaches started coming to school during lunchtime to see us. We started getting phone calls senior year.”

North said Utah, UNLV, UCLA and several additional PAC-10 schools courted the foursome.

Foot in the door
Since the day he enrolled at Valley from August Boeger Junior High in Evergreen, North was a high flying star. He started two years on Northern California’s top squad, earning the section’sDefensive Player of the Year nod from Cal-Hi Sports last season, as well a post on the Mercury News’ All CCS First Team.

It almost never happened. “I didn’t plan on going to Valley; I never thought it would be possible,” said North. His brother, John North, was star in his own right and a top prospect before breaking his leg in three places. John had attended Archbishop Mitty in the late nineties, but Mom Felicia Davis did not foresee shelling out additional private school tuition, working as a single mom to support the family.

But word around the Oak Grove Youth Football League, where North learned the game and of his particular talent, was that Valley had a place for promising athletes, who are willing to work. “My best friend’s dad Jose Castillo was telling my Mom to think about sending me to Valley, that they had financial aid,” said North.

The family decided they would try; however, they did not qualify initially for financial aid, and North was to attend Evergreen Valley. At the last minute though, in a turn of events that mom called ‘divine intervention,’ Davis lost her job and the application went through. “They gave us almost a complete athletic scholarship, and [Valley Coach] Machado took Brian under his wing. Now we can say it was great blessing.”

Redshirt?
Despite national attention from scouts, it is questionable whether North will suit up this season or rest as a red-shirt. At 6-feet, 180-pounds, he is considered small by Division I standards, and his time in the industry’s most reliable measuring tool, the 40-yard dash, is a respectable 4.5; good enough to get a rep, but no sure thing in the defensive backfield.

“A lot of guys out there might be physically stronger because they have been there before,” said North. “But I feel like I have a chance to play this year because of my desire. I am not a guy who likes to sit back and enjoy the ride.”
While college coaches may question North’s measurable skills, there is no doubt he has a knack for making big plays.

North’s most memorable contributions at Valley came with the game on the line. High School Sports Focus honored a ridiculously acrobatic touchdown snatch he made in the fourth quarter versus Saint Francis in 2005, sealing the win for the Warriors who had been haunted by the Lancers spoiling a perfect league campaign the year prior. The show called it the play of the week, and nominated it for the year’s best.

Cal-Hi Sports called the catch, the “Monster Play of the Month.”

“I think it’s the mindset that I bring to the table,” said North. “I feel that I am a good cover cornerback and pretty much if you line me up with an opponent across the field, I will not let him catch a pass all game.”

North proved that in the recent Charlie Weidemeyer All Star Game. In the week preceeding most of the event’s publicity targeted Westmont Wide Receiver Chantz Staden, North’s friend, whom he was slated to cover. “They were starting to go at me, throwing the ball at my side, and not one receiver came up with a catch,” said North.

Staden actually caught the game winner in the fourth quarter, but away from North. “That was on the other side,” he said. “Chantz is a good athlete, and he is very competitive. He just wasn’t as good as all of the hype was. We are pretty good friends, so he knows about everything. I can say that.”

North’s prediction is that he will indeed earn playing time as a freshman; it’s just a matter of suiting up at camp. “I am not the underdog always in every aspect, but an underdog in the fact that they are usually bigger than me,” he said.

San Jose Evergreen National Junior Basketball Registration

Basketball season is here again! Come and join the fun. San Jose Evergreen basketball is ready for you. Sign up is
as easy as 1, 2, and 3!
1. Go online to http://www.sanjosenjb.org.
2. Complete the registration form, sign it and print a copy.
3. Bring the completed registration form, proof of residency, check, cash or pay pal receipt to one of the following registration and skills evaluation dates and locations below.

Registration and Skills Evaluation:
September 9, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Chaboya Middle School, 3276 Cortona Dr.
September 16, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Chaboya Middle School, 3276 Cortona Dr.
September 18, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., Most Holy Trinity, 2040 Nassau Dr.
September 21, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., Most Holy Trinity, 2040 Nassau Dr.
September 23, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Chaboya Middle School, 3276 Cortona Dr.
Please note: All players must go through a skills evaluation.

Who can play?
All 3rd to 8th grade children living in the San Jose Evergreen Area boundary: the boundary includes the area south of Alum Rock to Capitol Express Way / Yerba Buena Road, and east of the 87.
For the boundary map, please see the following link http://www.sanjosenjb.org/boundary.php.

What the league provides:
• Separate Boys/Girls Teams: Div3: 3rd/4th; Div2: 5th/6th; Div1: 7th/8th; HS; All Net teams for 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades
• 8 Regular Season Games, Post Season Tournaments, pictures and Trophies for everyone.
• The league teaches sportsmanship, fundamental skills development, and great family fun.
• Basketball Skills clinics to be held throughout October

Fees:
$215 – Registration fee
$40 – Volunteer fee – refunded upon completion of 4 hrs worked
$35 – All-Net fee if player makes All-Net team
$60 – If you need a uniform. $30 for reversible jersey, $30 for reversible pants.
$20 – $10 each blue & gold game shirt worn under jersey (optional)
$15 – official green, blue & white regulation basketball
Note: Fees (minus $35) are only refundable before 12/1/06. After 12/1/06, zero refunds.