Hilton Head Sports

The first of what are sure to be many individual honors has arrived for Bluffton High School receiver Jermaine Patterson, who last month was named to the South Carolina squad for the 2017 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.

Hilton Head Christian Academy’s girls finished second and boys finished fifth Oct. 14 at the SCISA Class 2A-1A State Swimming Championships in Augusta.

When Hilton Head Island resident John Arlotta was named the National Lacrosse League’s General Manager of the Year in June, he was quick to share the credit: Organizations, he said – not individuals – win championships and awards.

But Arlotta has shown quite a knack for attracting the right kind of individuals to his organizations, whether Evicore Healthcare — the Bluffton company he heads — or his Georgia Swarm lacrosse franchise, which won last season’s NLL Champions Cup.

JOIN A CO-ED PICKUP GAME IN BLUFFTON

A layout in Ultimate Frisbee is exactly what it sounds like. The disc is coming in close to a sprinting player, but not quite close enough for him or her to catch.  Laying out — getting air like Superman — might prevent an interception or turn over. For a brief shining moment, the player launches into the air, stretches out horizontally, and grasps the Frisbee. Then gravity intervenes and the green field rises up with a bone-jarring smack to reclaim the athlete and disc. The layout is over, except for the applause and admiring whistles from teammates.

PRIVATE TRAVEL TEAMS GAIN GROUND IN YOUTH SPORTS

Competitive youth sports programs can teach valuable life skills — how to win gracefully, how to accept defeat, how to be a good sport — and help boost self-esteem and self-confidence. Unfortunately, these programs also can offer lessons in how not to behave: shouting matches and shoving among grandstanding parents or aimed at umpires, judges, coaches and opposing players.

Six former standout student-athletes were inducted into the Hilton Head Island High School Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 1 during halftime of the Seahawks’ football game against Battery Creek High School. The 2017 Hall of Fame class includes Angela Beyhan Thune, cross-country and track & field, class of 1986; Jennifer Dana, cross-country and track & field, 1989; Carlos Gadson, football, 1988; Sadie Jenkins Bush, volleyball, basketball, soccer, cross-country and track & field, 1984; Andrew Mitchell, football, basketball, baseball, and track & field, 1991; and Emily Natoli, volleyball, basketball and soccer, 2009.

There are few better ways to spend a fine October afternoon in the South then eating, drinking, socializing and watching an action-packed polo match.

And it doesn’t get much better than the annual Okatie Rotary Polo for Charity fundraiser, kicking off this year at noon Oct. 22 at the Rose Hill Equestrian Center. This year, local nonprofit organizations and area charities like Paws4Vets and Foundation for Eductional Excellence are the beneficiaries.

Runners of all ages and ability levels are invited to join the HHI Run Club for free group runs every Sunday at 7 a.m. The organized, structured runs are designed to help runners of all levels reach their goals. The group runs leave from Go Tri Sports at 31 New Orleans Road. For more information, email Alfred Olivetti atalfred@gotrisports.com. 

If you’re looking for a non-traditional way of exercising, hula hooping might be for you. Hula hoop expert Jody Evans is teaching a hula hoop fitness and dance class from 11 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays through Oct. 31 at Shelter Cove Pavilion. The class is sponsored by the Island Rec Center and costs $10 per session. Evans, who has been sharing her love of hula hooping for six years in Boulder, Colorado, and on the beaches of Hilton Head Island, provides the hoops and teaches hoop aerobics, strength-building, and hoop dance tricks.