Students donate 200 pairs of running shoes to other students

From the Catholic Times:

EFFINGHAM — Three years ago two young teachers at George Washington High School, on Chicago’s South side, volunteered to start a track and cross country program at the inner-city school.

No money was allotted for the program in the school’s budget, the school did not have a track, its neighborhood was considered too dangerous to run through, and door-to-door fund-raising was not feasible in the area.

Still teachers Kristen Kennedy and Jennifer Reed had 50 GWHS students show up for an informational meeting on starting a program. None had running shoes.

When Michael Mitchell, JV girls basketball coach at St. Anthony High School in Effingham heard about Kennedy and Reed’s efforts, he reached out to help, spear-heading efforts to get St. Anthony’s students involved.

Now three years later, St. Anthony’s, with support from the Effingham community, has donated more than 200 pairs of shoes and more than $1,000 for the George Washington track and cross country program.

A jeans day fund-raiser held last month at the Effingham school brought in 80 pairs of gently used running shoes and over $600 in cash for the GWHS athletes.

On Saturday, April 9, GWHS students were to be St. Anthony’s guests at a noon track meet in Effingham. Parent volunteers from St. Anthony’s were to provide a meal for athletes from both schools.

Well done!  Keep it up, STA!

Generous students

Mrs. Cross, at teaches English at St. Anthony High School in Effingham has had her sophomore English II class raising funds to benefit FISH/Catholic Charities.

All told, the students raised $1,115.26. Well done!

Of her students, she says:

I also want to say how proud I am of my students -- all of them. I have never known such generous and giving young people. Your actions do you great credit as young men and women. This is just another example of why I have the most amazing students!

A season ended

The Rochester Rockets defeated the St. Anthony Bulldogs 2-1 in last night's sectional match in Edwardsville. It was a game well-fought by both sides.

Bulldogs coach Scott Demers summarized the game thus, with my emphases and comments:

In 2006, St. Anthony faced Rochester in Sectional finals and the game went to penalty kicks. St. Anthony lost in 2006 and although the SAHS Bulldogs have played their share of overtime periods and won the Regional Title against Harrisburg in penalty kicks, they were hoping to win in regulation this time around.

In every competition, there is a winner, and there is a loser. Today, St. Anthony closed a great season that brought them to the 'Sweet Sixteen' for just the second time in program history and one of the best season records of 11-5-5.

St. Anthony did their best. They kept a good team out of the goal, but Rochester was able to beat St. Anthony on set plays, 2 goals, both corner kicks.

The first half began with Rochester hitting the ball into the corner of the spacious Metro-East Lutheran High School field (80 x 120 yards). St. Anthony defenders worked the ball forward but lost the ball on an intercepted pass and that began Rochester's offensive push. From the beginning of the game and through half-time, Rochester was able to control the ball and the game. But, not until the 20th minute, were they able to find a crack in St. Anthony's 'Iron Curtain' defense and put one in the goal. Rochester was awarded a corner kick when a St. Anthony defender cleared the ball across the goal line.

Rochester played the ball just outside the goal box area (a 6 x 20 yard box in front of the goal). St. Anthony defenders moved to play the ball out but a Rochester forward moved to the ball, struck it, and it hit SAHS keeper, Scott Deters in the face. The ball ricocheted and Rocket midfielder, Lucas Brubaker, hit the rebound into the back of the net. Tested by many tough matches, the SAHS Bulldogs were not ready to give up. Just six minutes later, in the 26th minute, Aaron Wall took a pass from Ryan Willenborg, who played in various positions throughout the match. A-Wall rocketed the ball past an out of position Rochester goal-keeper to equalize the game 1 - 1.

The St. Anthony Bulldogs made adjustments and seemed to gain momentum against a tough Rochester midfield and defense. "Rochester midfielders were able to keep us out of their half until we switched a couple of our guys in the middle and changed our strategy." Despite the changes and more scoring opportunities, the Bulldogs were shutout the second half and the Rochester Rockets scored again in the 23rd minute on yet another corner kick. The rest of the game saw St. Anthony moving the ball very well but when they got near scoring range, the Rochester defense closed in and cleared the ball.

"We never gave up. We played as hard as we could until the final whistle blew." [That's very true; I was quite pleased to watch the boys play to the end.]

St. Anthony was the 'underdog' and were playing against a more experienced, more physical squad, bias officiating [it always baffles me when I see officials not making even calls, especially at such a high level game; last night it was quite apparent], and the ever present winding down clock. But despite all that was against them, the SAHS Bulldogs never gave up and in the last 10 minutes saw at least 4 scoring opportunities that were within inches away from the back of the net.

"When you have competitors like Nate Gray, Doug Field, Aaron Wall, and Scott Deters, you have a chance to win any game."

SAHS Coaches would like to recognize the 2010 Regional Champions, the St. Anthony Bulldogs, all 34 of them. Thank you for a great season and a great run towards State Tournament.

The St. Anthony Soccer Team expect to have 26 returning players next year with some additions yet to be realized [about 1/4 of the boys in the school].

"With the core of players we have that are returning, we will be fighting to bring home the Regional and Sectional Titles to the SAHS Trophy Case next year."

Congratulations, Bulldogs, on a season very well played! Keep up the good work next season!

Regional Champions

Last evening, I witnessed one of the best soccer games I have ever seen played between the St. Anthony Bulldogs and the Harrisburg Bulldogs for the Regional Final.

St. Anthony Coach Scott Demers sent out the following summary of the well-fought match (with my emphases and comments:

I'm not quite sure how to report the final score for the match. To simply put it, WE WON!!

We finished our regular season with one of the best records ever (8-4-5) For post season, we were seeded #3 and we faced #6 Altamont and won 1 - 0. We then faced the #2 seed, Mt. Carmel and won in double overtime (1-0). Tonight, we faced the #1 seed, Harrisburg, and yes, we won.

What a game. After 2 hours of play, over 45 shots (Harrisburg) against our 21 shots, 27 saves (Scott Deters) to their 8 saves, it all came down to penalty kicks [talk about pressure and unbelievable excitement and anticipation]and one kicker making his shot and one goal keeper making a great stop. A kicker 12 yards away from the goal against a goal-keeper. Harrisburg had their keeper, but we have Scott Deters [Scott's had an amazing season, and is a first-time keeper]. St. Anthony players that stepped up under intense pressure were Doug Field, Hayden Esker, Aaron Walters, Michael Kabbes, Alissandro Di Girolamo, Rory Woods, and Aaron Wall. They all made their shot. As in every win, it took the whole team to pull out a win. In this case, a dramatic upset.

Regulation (2-40 minute halves): Harrisburg (0) - St. Anthony (0)
Over time Periods 1, 2, 3, 4 (each 10 minutes) Golden Goal or Suden Death: Harrisburg (0) - St. Anthony (0)
Penalty Kicks: Round 1 (5 kicks each team) Harrisburg (5) - St. Anthony (5)
Penalty Kicks: Golden Goal (1st team that misses loses) Harrisburg (1) - St. Anthony (2)

St. Anthony wins by Penalty Kicks - Harrisburg (6) - St. Anthony (7)
St. Anthony is now 11 - 4 - 5
Sectional Semi-finals are Thursday 5:00 PM at Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran
St. Anthony will face their toughest competition of the season against Rochester (seeded #1)

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Game Commentary:

The first half began with both teams finding their way to getting shots on goal. But after 25 minutes of both teams testing each others defense, Harrisburg began to control more of the pace and conrtol the ball more effectively. Rahul Patel, Harrisburg central defender, was able to keep St. Anthony forwards out of scoring opportunities with great speed and positioning. But similarly, Nate Gray and St. Anthony goal-keeper, Scott Deters, were able to stop every Harrisburg attempt on goal. The first half ended with the score tied.

The second half also ended in a tie and was similar to the first half with the exception that Harrisburg took command of play and dominated possession of the ball and effectively putting the ball on goal. But, as in many games, St. Anthony's stellar goal-keeping and solid defense kept Harrisburg from getting uncontested opportunities to score.

There was a coin toss and both teams set up for 'Golden Goal' over time. Basically, the first team that scores, wins. Each Golden Goal period is 10 minutes long with teams switching sides of the field at the end of each period. At the end of four 'Golden Goal' periods, the score was still deadlocked at 0 - 0.

The next step to determine a winner is penalty kicks. Each team chooses 5 players that alternately take shots against the opposing team's goal keeper from 12 yards away. The first round ended with the score tied agains, 5 - 5. That leads to "Golden Goal' Penalty Kicks. The winner is decided when one team makes the goal and the opposing team misses. In the final round that was played, St. Anthony shot first and Harrisburg shot second.

During this stage of play, the players have played non-stop for 2 hours and now must face the opposition's goal-keeper in tight quarters. With pressure mounting, St. Anthony's Rory Woods, a junior, stepped up and found the net on his kick. Harrisburg's kicker likewise found the net on his shot. The score was tied 6 - 6 in penalty kicks. That's St. Anthony's leading scorer stepped up and blasted a shot past Harrisburg's keeper and that put great pressure on Harrisburg's next kicker. Before the referee set the play, Harrisburg shot and the missed wide. St. Anthony players rushed the field thinking they had won the match. But because the play had not been started by the referee, a 're-kick' was awarded. The Harrisburg player shot and Scott Deters, St. Anthony's Goal Keeper, guessed right and found the ball. He stopped the shot. St. Anthony won, 7 - 6 in Penalty Kicks.

With all of the drama, with all of the excitement, it all came down to nerves and composure. As in the 120 minutes of play, Scott Deters came up big, real big. If there was a most valuable player award, Scott Deters would get it. With 27 saves during regulation and overtime play, he made the difference and completed his 9th regulation shut-out.

"Harrisburg was a good team and they play a physical style of soccer that we haven't faced and the boys held up.

Our team's true character showed when we were able to shut them (Harrisburg) out and pull off a dramatic win.

St. Anthony coaches would like to recognize the great play of Michael Nosbisch, Ryan Willenborg, Nate Gray, and keeper, Scott Deters. We also should recognize those that stepped up and finished with a bang. Parents, let your sons know how great they are, they shoed it tonight.

Thank you all for your support. Our next big challenge is Thursday against Rochester. We play at 5:00 PM at Metro-East Lutheran in Edwardsville. See you there.

Congratulations!

The students at the St. Anthony High Blog pass on this happy news:

First off, congrats to everyone on the WYSE team! We took first at regionals, and we totally dominated with a perfect score of 500 :) Quite a few of our members placed:

Myles Baker - 1st in physics, 2nd in math

Andrew Grunloh - 1st in physics

Marty Jansen - 2nd in physics

Kathleen Kay - 2nd in chemistry

Caroline Robb - 1st in biology

Drew Willenborg - 1st in chemistry, 1st in math

Well done, everyone! Keep up the excellent work!

The end of a season

Regular readers of these pages will be familiar with my involvement with the soccer team at St. Anthony high school, which began a few years ago.

At the time, I used Tuesdays as my "day off". One Tuesday afternoon I happened into the high school office to drop something off as the soccer team was about to leave for a game about an hour away. One of the boys saw me and asked, "Are you coming to the game with us, Father?" Since he knew I had nothing else to do that day, how could I refuse?

From that question one thing led to another and before I knew it the boys told me I was their "assistant coach," even though they knew I knew very little about the game and nothing about coaching. Since then I've learned a little bit about soccer.

This year's soccer season started off with a great boost of morale to the team with the addition of a new coach, Coach K, who brought with him a new confidence and enthusiasm to the team. Yet after coaching the team for only a week and a half he collapsed on the field at practice and died of heat exhaustion.

His coaching method revolved around a focus of the basics of the game, as I noted in the homily I preached at his funeral liturgy.

The experience of Coach K's death brought the team together in a most profound way, as only the experience of death can do. I was privileged to be there with them that night and to pray with them and journey with them through the season, and for a short time I became, by default, their coach, with the capable and necessary assistance of a few alumni.

We soon found a new coach for the team, Scott Demers, who has proved an excellent fit with the boys. I cannot thank him enough for all that he has done for them. Once he became the coach, I happily reverted to the "assistant."

Scott coached the team to the second round of regionals and submitted the following report on yesterday's game at Olney:

The St.Anthony High School Soccer Team made it to the second round of Regional play against Mt. Carmel after defeating Olney this past week. And as the Olney, East Richland match ended in the third suden-death overtime, today's match ended in similar fashion.

St. Anthony started the scoring with an early goal by John Kay on a feed from Riley Wesendorf at the 4:50 minute mark. St. Anthony scored again when Riley Westendorf passed to Michael Kabbes who drilled a shot past the Mt. Carmel goalie at the 25:24 minute mark.

The scoring favored St. Anthony for five minutes when Mt. Carmel was awarded a penalty kick on a questionable call. Mt. Carmel forward, Pete Condol, converted the penalty kick and that made the score 2 -1 in favor of SAHS. Then in the 39:40 minute mark, Gabriel Tennis of Mt Carmel scored on a misplayed ball by the Bulldog defense and tied things up.

Fans that attended the Regional match in Olney saw both teams not allow a goal for the entire second half and two over-time periods. The SAHS Bulldogs attempted 26 shots in which the Mt. Carmel goal-keeper made 14 saves. Mt. Carmel attempted 19 shots and the SAHS goalie made 14 saves.

It was in the third, sudden-death overtime period that Mt. Carmel ended the match on a shot by Armand Brisard which found the back of the net. Despite being dominated by the Bulldogs, Mt. Carmel players never gave up. St. Anthony had many scoring chances that weren't converted and continued to give the Golden Aces of Mt. Carmel a chance to stay in the match.

SAHS coach, Scott Demers, stated, "If we could have scored on effort, we won by a lot. But, it's goals that count." SAHS defender, Nate Grey, was a player that "left it all on the field." Grey played with a bruised knee that made it difficult to walk but somehow was able to perform exceptionally during game-play. Other players that went above and beyond the call of duty were Michael Nosbisch, Josh Wall, Charles McGuire, Cody Sandschafer, and all of the substitutes that kept pressure on Mt. Carmel throughout the entire match.

"The Mt. Carmel Golden Aces were in the right place at the right time too many times and they took advantage of their opportunities, our hats go off to them," said SAHS Coach, Scott Demers. SAHS would also like to thank all those that made the long trek to Olney to support the Bulldogs, especially the players from Teutopolis.

Overall, the boys played notably better than they ever played last year and have greatly improved. I am certain this is due, in no small part to two things. For much of the season the boys played their games for the team but for Coach K. And after my transfer to Virden and Girard they played their games for me.

I am immensely proud of all they have accomplished this season, and am certain Coach K would be equally proud.

Well done, boys, well done!

A day of labor, indeed

As the chaos of the past week and a half comes - thankfully - to an end, the chaos of the next few days begins.

I am glad to report that I have been able to rest the past couple of days and have happily slept through the last two nights, something I hadn't done in about a week.

After celebrating a funeral Mass late this morning, I set to work for an afternoon of packing my belongings in preparation for my move to Virden this Saturday. About fifteen of the high school students came to help.

I was a bit surprised by the number of them, and very grateful, especially considering most of them stayed for the four hours I had planned to use for packing.

We started off really well and kept basically organized, but there were only about six of them at first. Some of them I put to work in my office and packed it they did. They packed more of it than I intended, but all is well and will save me more work later. The others I set to work in my library and we now have that nearly finished.

As the afternoon moved along and more students came to help the more disorganized we became. I really did not expect so many helpers all at the same time; I expected them to be coming and going throughout the day. I felt rather overwhelmed as several of them would ask me at the same time what else they could pack or sort. Their willingness to help either shows their affection for me, or their readiness to be rid of me ;)

I still have to pack my electronic equipment (television, stereo, computer, etc.) and clothes, and a few other odds and ends that I'm not quite sure how to pack. I also have a "junk drawer" or two to sort through (don't we all?) and a closet to go through that has things in it I'm not sure I've set eyes on since I arrived here four years ago.

All of the packed boxes have been moved to the garage and are ready to be loaded onto the trucks and trailers Friday afternoon.

I'm amazed at the generosity of the students. Of all things they could have been doing on a beautiful afternoon free of school, they chose to spend it helping me pack. I'm also amazed at the speed with which they can work, when they put their mind to it.

Tomorrow morning I will drive to Springfield to concelebrate the funeral Mass for my Pastor's father. Afterwards I will return to Effingham for a bit of packing and a soccer game.

I'm not sure how much blogging will be done during the remainder of the week. If I don't post much, know that it is because I'm packing and saying farewell and not because I'm abandonging the blog.

Your prayers, as always, are humbly requested.

Victory!

Last night we had our first non-tournament soccer match of the season. I'm delighted to say that Vandalia Vandals fell to the St. Anthony Bulldogs on Bulldog Field. Well done, boys!

Our coach wrote up the following for the local newspaper:

The St. Anthony High School Soccer Team hosted the Vandalia High School Vandals in Varsity and Junior Varsity soccer matches.

In the Varsity game the Bulldogs opened scoring when Riley Westenforf passed to Doug Field who then passed it back to Westendorf who placed an outside shot into the corner of the goal. St. Anthony led 1 - 0 until about the 15:00 minute mark when Doug Field placed a "direct, free kick" past the waiting Vandalia goal keeper. The free kick was awarded after a Vandalia player pushed off a St. Anthony player. The foul resulted in a 2 - 0 lead for St. Anthony.

Riley Westendorf scored again on a cross from Michael Kabbes when the ball deflected off of a Vandalia player. Vandalia then posted their first goal when a St.. Anthony player accidentally stopped the ball with his hand inside their penalty box. When a team commits a foul or hand-ball inside their own penalty box, a penalty kick is awarded to the opposing team. The ball was placed 12 yards from the goal and it was one vs one, Codey Norris (Vandalia) vs Gary Hanner(St. Anthony). Codey Norris shot a driving shot to Gary Hanner's right side which was too much for the senior goal keeper.

St. Anthony later added three more goals from John Kay, Michael Kabbes, and Aaron Wall to end the match St. Anthony 6, Vandalia 1.

The Junior Varsity Match was an evenly matched bout between the same schools. St. Anthony was able to squeak out another victory for the JV squad led by sophomore Ryan Willenborg and Junior, Hayden Esker.

St. Anthony's next match is this Thursday at 4:30 Varsity and 6:00 Junior Varsity against East Richland. Come out and support the 2009 St. Anthony Soccer Team.

A weekend tournament

This weekend St. Anthony High School hosts a soccer tournament, beginning this afternoon and lasting through tomorrow evening.


The schedule is as follows:

Friday

:

4:30 p.m.: Greenville vs. Salem

6:00 p.m.: St. Anthony vs. Lincoln

Saturday:

10:00 a.m.: St. Anthony vs. Mt. Carmel

11:20 a.m.: Altamont vs. Salem

12:40 p.m.: Lincoln vs. Greenville

2:00 p.m.: Mt. Carmel vs. Altamont

3:30 p.m.: Third Place Game

5:00 p.m.: Championship Game

I fully expect our boys to do well in this tournament. They have worked hard this summer and are in much better shape to play - both physically and mentally - than I've seen them before.


Facebook statuses clearly show the boys are playing this weekend for Coach K and they'll be wearing wristbands in his memory.


I'm very proud of them and wish them well.


If you're in the area and are free, please come out and cheer us on!

Homily for the Funeral Liturgy for Coach K

My brothers and sisters,

May the Lord give you peace.

The death of our brother Karol has stunned us all. His death came too soon, we say; too young, he was, to die. Today we can make the words of the Psalmist our own, “I believed, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted” (Psalm 116:10). We are afflicted this night with grief, yet we have gathered here in faith, for “whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).

The reality of his death reminds us of the fragility of human life and calls to mind the things that truly last: faith, which comes from and leads us to God; hope, which leads us to trust in the Lord’s mercy; and love, which binds us together in friendship with God and with one another (cf. I Corinthians 13:13).

To die doing what a man loves is a rare privilege given only to a few. Karol’s love of soccer – and of those he coached – was no secret.

Though I only knew him a short time, I am certain that he learned much about life from the sport he loved.

When he returned this summer to coach the boys at St. Anthony’s, Karol brought with him a focus on the basics of the game. On several occasions, he reminded the boys that unless they had the fundamentals of controlling the ball down, they could never hope to pull off any tricks. A match is won not with fancy footwork, but with basic skills.

The mark of a successful coach – like any teacher - is not found simply in whether his team wins often, but on the lessons he gives and impresses upon the hearts of his players. As it is with soccer, so it is with life; Coach K taught us not only about soccer, but about life, as well.

We know that our only true and lasting happiness lies in God and that the way to him is found in faithfully and fervently following after Jesus Christ. If we do not have the basics of discipleship down, we cannot hope to achieve the ultimate goal of soaring to the heights of spiritual perfection.

The basics of the Christian life – the love of God and the love of neighbor – are simple, but they are not easy. Just as the basics of controlling the soccer ball must be practiced and rehearsed so, too, must the love of God and of neighbor be practiced with dedication if they are too take root, grow and flourish. They are expressed through daily prayer and the reading of the Scriptures; through the reception of the Sacraments and the frequent confession of sins; through the genuine concern for others over and above myself and the living of a just life. These fundamentals of the Christian life, of living a good life, are most important because “each of us shall give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

It was this focus on the basics, I think, that helped form Karol as the generous, gentle and patient man we knew and loved. It was this simplicity that drew others to him and that led to the only description I have heard of him: “He was a good man.”

We have come together today to pay our respects to this man who won our deep affection and to commend and entrust him into the hands of God. So it is with mixed emotions that we have come. We say with the sacred author,

Remembering it over and over leaves my soul downcast within me. But I will call this to mind, as my reason to have hope: the favors of the Lord are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent. They are renewed every morning, so great is faithfulness (Lamentations 3:21-21).

We have come both in sadness and in hope, and both of these are right and good.

Only five days before he died Karol asked me which version of the Bible he should purchase because he wanted to read from the Bible every day and wanted a good and readable translation. He wanted to know the Lord better, to encounter him in the Sacred Writings and to hear his voice. We are told, “Good is the Lord to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:25-26).

At the end of his life, Karol waited for the Lord; at the end of our lives, may each of us be found doing the same, that he who sits enthroned above all creation may say to us when we stand before the “judgment seat of God,” “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Romans 14:10; Matthew 25:34).

Let us now entrust our son, our father, our brother, coach and friend into the merciful hand of God. May the Lord receive his humble servant. May he forgive his sins and raise him up “to eternal life” to “walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living” (Matthew 25:46; Psalm 116:9).

May we, having learned from his example, likewise seek the Lord, striving always to live the authentic fundamentals of life, that we might live with our brother forever. Amen.

Days in hiding

Yesterday turned out to be a most restful and refreshing day. I didn’t see a single soul after 7:30 a.m. until I saw my Pastor this morning about 7:30. It was wonderful!

It isn’t that I don’t like people, but from time to time I need to get away from everything and hiding in my suite yesterday proved to be just what I needed. It’s the curse – or the blessing – of the introvert.

Though I was in Effingham yet today and will be so tomorrow – though I considering a quick trip to St. Louis – I will largely remain in hiding.

Today I was able to work on the homily I will preach tomorrow for Coach K’s funeral. I worked on it before I met with his family this afternoon to talk about the services. They asked what I had in mind and were very happy with the thoughts I’ve put together. That came as a great relief because this will not be easy.

I enjoy celebrating funerals and find them rather peaceful. Perhaps it’s because I’ve encountered death many times over the course of my years. Death does not frighten me; I rather look forward to my own death. Still, tragedy still affects me and the shock of his death will likely return tomorrow evening.

The soccer team played a scrimmage match this evening against Effingham High School. Our boys played well, though they wore out easily. A number of our older players were unable to make the game. In the end, Effingham won 2-1, scoring the winning goal with a sweet shot. Even so, I think our boys had a good time.

A well played tournament

The boys played extremely well in this weekend’s soccer tournament at Effingham High School.

In their first game Friday afternoon against Altamont, the Bulldogs won 2-0.

In their morning game Saturday against Teutopolis, the boys won 1-0.

They lost their third game of the tournament Saturday afternoon against Effingham 1-0. As they played this match, I could tell they were very tired; nevertheless, they played well.

Naturally, the boys were very excited about the two victories and a bit upset about their loss. Nevertheless, they remarked, “We’ve already tied our record for last season.” It’s sad, but true. I think Coach K would be proud of them; I know I am.

It apparently poured down enough rain Friday night to soak the soccer field on which we played. The ground squished enough to soak through to your socks, which made me glad I chose to wear sandals or, as they call them in Hawaii, slippas.

Not a few times a player would give the ball a high kick and when it hit the field the players kept looking around for it circles, wondering where it went. Some of the puddles in the field were deep enough for the ball to float on the field! One of our boys took a bit of a forward tumble and landing face down on the field; his jersey was thoroughly soaked.

When returned from lunch for the second game, much of the water was now sitting on top of the grace.

Three of our alumni soccer players are back in Effingham for the summer and took on the coaching duties for the tournament and they’ll continue to coach the scrimmage games held through the summer. They enjoy the coaching, the boys like having them back, and I like not having to do something that I have no real knowledge about.

I brought my camera along with me to the tournament and took quite a few pictures during the games (Friday and Saturday).

A great way to start

I have just returned from the first game of this weekend's Effingham Tournament. The clouds came in after the game began and cooled the temperatures a bit. It is amazing how different 91 degrees feels under the sun and under the clouds. We also had a good, strong breeze throughout much of the game.

Before the game against Altamont began, we took a brief moment of silence in honor of Coach K.

I'm beyond delighted to say the boys played very well, better than I've seen them play in quite some time. The St. Anthony Bulldogs scored the only two points of the game. Congratulations, boys!

We had a good number of fans come out to support the team who commented that it looked as though we had enough coaches to field a time. Several of our alumni players came out to help the boys, and for their help - and the support of the fans - I'm truly grateful.

In just over an hour I will celebrate Mass for the De Colores community in the Effingham area and then begin working on Sunday's homily.

Who's in the mood for a good game?

If you're in the Effingham area - and even if you're not - consider yourself invited to the Effingham Tournament this weekend. Come on out and support our soccer team!

We play at the field of Effingham High School Friday afternoon at 4:00, Saturday morning at 9:00, and Saturday afternoon at 12:30.

We'd be delighted to have a large fan base!

News updates on Coach K

WCIA TV has a brief story on the death of Coach K. The reporter and videographer came down this morning to interview me.

WAND TV has also a brief story.

You have to suffer through an advertisement prior to each.

WXEF radio has this story.

The Decree of Appointment

Since Wednesday's unexpected announcement of Pope Benedict XVI's appointment of the Most Reverend George J. Lucas as the Archbishop of Omaha, many of the high school students have asked me a rather clever question.

Realizing His Excellency was no longer the Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois but the Administrator, the students asked if I still had to leave the parish in September. Their affection for me and their desire to have me remain here is deeply humbling; I am continually baffled at the profound I seem to have had in their lives. I can only look back on these past four years with wonder and joy. Being here with them has truly been one of the greatest joys of my life and I am deeply grateful to God for the many blessings he has worked in my life through them and in their lives through me, as I am also grateful to the students themselves.

Even so, I accept this new assignment as the Lord's will for my life and am confident that it will be filled with many blessings and joys.

At any rate, the short answer to their question is yes.

In order for a transfer from one office to another to take effect - in this case from the office of Parochial Vicar to the office of Pastor - it "must be communicated in writing" (canon 190, 3). On the 26th of May, eight days before his appointment to the See of Omaha, then-Bishop Lucas signed the Decree of Appointment; I received it the next day. Because he was at that time the Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, the Decree stands.

The decree reads as follows:

Decree of Appointment

By this decree, I appoint

The Reverend Daren J. Zehnle

to be Pastor (c. 519) of Sacred Heart Parish, Virden, Illinois, and of Saint Patrick Parish, Girard, Illinois, from parochial vicar of Saint Anthony of Padua Parish, Effingham, Illinois, effective September 15, 2009.

I dispense him from any partiular ritual of taking canonical possession of these parishes, and ask that he communicate this to the parishes (c. 527, 2).

He is to return the completed oath of office (c. 833, 6) to me as soon as possible after the date of his appointment.

I think I will post the oath of office tomorrow.

Soccer returns

This summer, a former coach of our soccer team is hosting practices for our soccer players each Tuesday and Thursday evening through July and the team will also play in several pick up games. Our first practice was held just two days ago.

Prior to practice the weathered seemed threatening but we had practice nonetheless, with about a dozen players in attendance. Halfway through practice the rain began to fall, so we simply continued in the rain. I found it rather enjoyable.

Toward the end of practice, the coach had the boys practice their guarding skills and, since we had an odd number of players, had me guard one of the boys, an incoming freshman less than half my age.

As I ran about trying to keep up with him (many times I just gave up) I couldn't help but think the situation rather unfair. Then the coach had me switch to guard one of our visiting players who graduated two years ago. And who as a member of the team that made it to the sweet sixteen. That certainly was unfair, but much fun.

At one point as I ran toward the ball I received a good push from behind and missed the ball. I turned to the player who gave the push and said, "You're not supposed to shove the priest!" He answered something to the effect of, "Father, this is the soccer field; that doesn't matter here." Fair enough.

As the grass was very wet yesterday and I was in tennis shoes I was sliding about all over the place. I fully expect the coach to me to more such use as the summer progresses so a short while ago I went out and bought a pair of cleats. Now I'm ready for practice in two hours.

Third in State

This afternoon, St. Anthony High School senior Myles Baker took third in State in the Class 1A Triple Jump. Congratulations, Myles!

Good results!

This evening the boys' track team competed at sectionals. I'm happy to say that four of our boys will be going to State! Of the eight teams present, we took fourth place overall.

Individually, we took second place in the pole vault, second place in high jump, second place in triple jump and second in the 400-meter dash.

I'm especially excited about our pole vaulter. Only three weeks ago he was making just over ten feet. But after getting a longer pole and a bit more work he cleared 12' 9" tonight!

Congratulations, boys!

A little surprise

This afternoon I returned to Effingham after visiting with Father Sperl to find this picture from Saturday evening's high school graduation on the front page of today's issue of the Effingham Daily News:

PHOTO: Tony Huffman/Effingham Daily News