Sidelines

‘It’s fun being a Pirate’

Haley Olson loves to bowl; now she’s part of the team

HIGH SCHOOL BOWLING OUTLOOK

BRENT WORONOFF

STAFF WRITER

Haley Olson has been watching Matanzas High’s bowling team practice and compete for two years.

Now she’s on the team herself. Haley, who is autistic, is also a member of the Matanzas cheerleading squad. Both activities have helped her social skills and self-confidence, her mother, Jackie Olson, said.

Her new teammates and competitors have benefited as well.

“She’s always giving happy vibes,” said Flagler Palm Coast bowler Emma Pezullo, who bowled next to Haley on the first day of practice as the two teams practice next to each other at Palm Coast Lanes.

Now they seek each other out.

“She’s a really good person, a good person to be around,” Emma said. “When we’re done bowling, I ask her to come over and bowl with me.”

Haley, a sophomore, has been bowling for five or six years, her mom said.

“She would tell us when she was younger, ‘I want to go bowling.’ We take her bowling everyday now,” Jackie said. “It allows her to be with others, without judgment.”

Jens Oliva, the Matanzas boys bowling coach, remembers watching Haley bowl when the high school teams were practicing.

When he found out she was going to attend Matanzas this year, she and Pirates girls coach Tony Benvenuto encouraged her to join the team.

“Haley and her mom were there every day for the past two years,” Oliva said. “When she bowls that strike, she has that nice little whoo and claps twice. It’s just neat to see.”

Haley doesn’t use the ball’s finger or thumb holes. She tosses the ball underhanded down the alley and usually hits or is close to the pocket. Her average is about 120.

“She’s really good at bowling,” Emma said. “I’ve tried doing that myself without my fingers in the holes, and it’s very hard.”

Emma is Haley’s first best friend, Jackie said.

“Kids with autism don’t always have friends,” Jackie said. “She doesn’t get invited to birthday parties. She loves this because she’s part of the team and it doesn’t matter that she has a disability. The best thing about it is she’s accepted by her peers and she belongs here.”

What does Haley think?

“It’s fun being a Pirate,” she said.

Photo by Brent Woronoff Matanzas bowler Haley Olson and FPC bowler Emma Pezzullo.

FPC Girls: Madelynn Oliva, niece of coach Laura Oliva, returns for her senior season after finishing 11th in state individual qualifying last year. Madelynn rolled a perfect 300 game in practice last week. She ended her junior year with a 190 average. With the addition of sophomore Emma Pezzullo, who also averages about 190, the Bulldogs hope to qualify for state as a team this season. Senior Akasha Sneed also returns.

FPC Boys: Seniors Scott DeCicco, who averages about 165, and Phillip Jackson (155) return. Improving junior Paul Frye has been averaging about 170 in practice, coach Steve Stripling said.

Matanzas Girls: Twins Lyana Crespo and Bryana Crespo return for their senior season. Lyana averaged about 145 last year, while Bryana averaged about 150.

Matanzas Boys: Senior Corbin Payne has been averaging 184 in preseason and Xavier Torres has averaged 178, said coach Jens Oliva, the husband of FPC girls coach Laura Oliva.

Save the Date: Matanzas and FPC meet on Sept. 8 at Palm Coast Lanes. Matches begin at 3:45 p.m.

Courtesy photo Haley Olson sits with Matanzas girls bowling coach Tony Benvenuto.

“When she bowls that strike, she has that nice little whoo and claps twice. It’s just neat to see.”

JENS OLIVA, the Matanzas boys bowling coach

TRIBUTES

In Loving Memory of Edward Lebre

I thought of you today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday and days before that too. I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and your picture in a frame. Your loving wife, Sally

Mary Jane Knopf 1933-2021

Mary Jane Knopf, 88, of Palm Coast passed away on August 9, 2021. She was a loving wife, sister, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and will be missed by her family.

Mrs. Knopf was a resident of Palm Coast since 1993, moving from Bayport New York. She was born in Niles Michigan on July 20, 1933 and spent her first six months in an orphanage before being adopted by Elizabeth and Clarence Oswald. She grew up in Niles and graduated from Niles High School in 1950. She enjoyed gardening and was well-know for her green thumb. Jane raised award winning roses on Long Island, and then transitioned to orchids once in Florida. She loved being outside and spending time with her family. Her husband, Theodore Knopf, preceded her in death in 2020. They were married in 1955. She is survived by her brother Dale Oswald and wife Phyllis; her children Susan Knopf, David Knopf and wife Deborah, and Timothy Knopf. As well, she had five grandchildren and four great granddaughters. In lieu of flowers, Jane’s family requests memorial donations be made to the Second Harvest food bank. Arrangements are by Craig-Palm Coast Funeral Home. She enjoyed gardening and was well-know for her green thumb. Jane raised award winning roses on Long Island, and then transitioned to orchids once in Florida. She loved being outside and spending time with her family.

DONATIONS: In lieu of flowers, Jane’s family requests memorial donations be made to the Second Harvest food bank.

FPC girls’ basketball coach Bevacqua steps down

After 12 seasons, 239 victories and nine playoff appearances, Javier Bevacqua is stepping down as Flagler Palm Coast’s girls’ basketball coach.

Bevacqua said he accepted a new position with the school as an Individualized Education Plan writer in the Exceptional Student Education department and no longer has enough time to devote to the basketball program.

“It was like making a choice between doing something well or doing two things not to their full potential,” he said.

Bevacqua, who will continue to coach FPC’s girls’ tennis team, said he also wants to spend more time with his family. He has two children, ages 16 and 11.

“I was coaching before they were born,” said Bevacqua, who coached girls’ basketball for nearly 13 years in New York before moving to Florida. “As a family we don’t know what a Thanksgiving break is, what a Christmas break is, what a summer break is because you have camps throughout the summer.

“Everyone sees basketball season, but they don’t realize the other eight months that go into preparation.”

Bevacqua’s teams won 239 games with 119 losses. His Bulldogs won four district titles, four regional championships and advanced to the Final Four in 2015. That season he was named Class 8A Coach of the Year by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches.

FPC athletics director Steve DeAugustino said, “He ran the program the way it should be run.”

During the Final Four season, the Bulldogs reached a No. 25 national ranking by USA Today.

“That was big-time for a little school in Palm Coast,” he said.

Many of his former players went on to play college basketball including Tamara Henshaw (University of South Florida), who helped lead the Bulldogs to the Final Four as a junior; Armani Walker (Bethune-Cookman University); Ivana Boyd (Lamar/Flagler College); Skye Green (UNC Asheville/ Texas Southern) and Brianna Ellis (University of New Orleans).

Pirate Cross Country Relays

Local results from the Aug. 21 preseason exhibition:

MATANZAS

Two-person boys: Second place: Hunter Smith and Zach Spooner, 16:52.

Three-person mixed: Third place: Hunter Smith, Zach Spooner, Karley Eggers, 18:03.

Three-person boys: Third place: Ethan Drost, Nick Hyatt, Josh Sepe, 17:48.

Two-person girls: Sixth place: Lauran Marshall, Mariah Mills, 21:16.

Two-person mixed: Fifth place: Sierra Howard, Gavin Winfree, 22:48.

Three-person girls: Seventh place: Maria Phillips, Alfina Abdhrakhmanova, Karajah McCoy, 24:07.

FIRST BAPTIST CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

Two-person boys: Ninth place: Peter Hopfe, Chris Murdock, 18:27.

Three-person girls: Tenth place: Emilia DiMillo, Rylin Goff, Gracie Guisbert, 24:45.