Continuity A Big Key For The Freedom High Girls Soccer Team

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Midfielder Rachel Diioia works the ball around at a recent Freedom girls soccer practice. Diioia is expected to have a big impact on the Patriots fortunes this season.

There are always question marks when a new coach takes over. What system will he or she implement? How quickly will they find the best positions for their players? That’s not the case at Freedom, as coach Jennifer DeMik takes over the girls team that finished 5-7 last year.

DeMik knows the players and the system very well. She’s a math teacher at Liberty Middle School and she’s had nearly the entirety of the current varsity team on her Liberty school soccer team.

“Our chemistry is really good and we have strong, veteran leadership to go with a promising future,” DeMik said. “It’s a good balance and I like (what I) know is coming (up from middle school).”

DeMik coached girls soccer at Liberty for eight years and her teams made the District meet six of the eight years, including a trip to the District finals in 2012. The eighth graders from that season have now become DeMik’s senior leaders as she takes over Freedom’s varsity program from Jenna Lamour, who is now in administration.

“She (Lamour) built this program to what it is today,” DeMik said.

Starting up top in DeMik’s 4-4-2 scheme are senior captains Emily Dabrowski and Emma Eldridge. Dabrowski is typically the team’s top goal scorer. She’s played club soccer, lacrosse, has run on the cross country team and DeMik says she is a phenomenal student. The coach also credits Dabrowski with helping get the team started.

Next to Dabrowski up top is Eldridge. DeMik likes her co-captain’s versatility.

“She’s a great athlete and can play all over the field,” DeMik said. “We’re stronger at other positions this year, so it frees her to play up top.”

The tandem, having played together going back to middle school, could develop into a potent scoring threat.

“Emily and I have a friendly competition going between us,” Eldridge said. “It’s so great that we started playing soccer together (at Liberty) and we’ll finish playing together (at Freedom).”

A pair of senior midfielders also are the other two team captains at Freedom. Rachel Diioia and Carly McCoy form a dexterous and rangy midfield tandem. DeMik is particularly excited about the “beautiful triangle” formed by Dabrowski and Eldridge along with Diioia.

Diioia played for the West Florida Flames club team before deciding to commit more to the school’s team. DeMik likes her vision of the field, as well as her footwork and ball control.

“She just slides in front of you and the ball’s gone,” DeMik said.

Even beyond the seniors, DeMik has a core of young players developing, including a few that will step in and contribute right away. Sophomores Kelsey Skendzel and Bethany Green help form a defensive back line for the Patriots. Both defenders came up with DeMik through Liberty.

DeMik jokes that the pair communicates telepathically.

The continuity is just what the Patriots need this season as they are in a very tough Class 4A, District 8, and their regular season started off with a 1-0 loss to Alonso, with games scheduled against State semifinalist Newsome, Regional semifinalist Wharton and Regional finalist Mitchell.

“The front end of our schedule is tough,” DeMik said. “We’re going to see what we’ve got early.”

Boys Looking For Goals

The Patriot boys struggled offensively last year on the way to a 3-12 record, scoring just 34 goals, although their top two scorers — Jon Hornecyck and Kwami Amankwah — were both underclassmen.

Hornecyck, a junior forward/midfielder, led the Patriots last season with eight goals and one assist. Amankwah, a junior forward, scored six goals with two assists. 

The Patriots, who have had only one winning season since losing the 2009 Class 5A State championship game to Palm Harbor University, are off to solid start, beating Tampa Prep 2-0 and Carrollwood Day 3-2. The Patriots will try for their first three-match winning streak since 2013 when it hosts rival Wharton on Thursday, November 10.

Freedom High Athletic Trainer Ian Graulich Named State’s Best

IanTrainer2WEBIf you’re a high school athlete, you want a team trainer who can work out that cramp, tape up that ankle and adjust that shoulder — anything to get you back in the game as soon as possible.

But, being a high school athletic trainer goes well beyond the obvious. There are concussions and heat-related issues that can lead to dire consequences for prep athletes, as well as the risk of major infections like MERSA and even cardiac symptoms that often have to be monitored.

The job, at times, can be harrowing.

At Freedom High in Tampa Palms, however, that job is done very well. In fact, it’s done as well, if not better than, at any other high school in the state, according to the Athletic Trainers’ Association of Florida.

On July 17, the ATAF recognized Freedom head certified athletic trainer (ATC) and Tampa Palms resident Ian Graulich as the state’s High School Athletic Trainer of the Year.

“I was very surprised,’’ says Graulich. “I was humbled by that. It was pretty cool.”

Graulich is truly deserving after the busy 2015-16 school year he had. The Washington, D.C., native said in the past year, he had five football players with torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) in their knees, four players with concussions and two others who suffered a spine injury and a broken leg. And, that’s just the football team.

“Unfortunately, that probably helped (me win the award),’’ Graulich joked.

One of Graulich’s key attributes which likely contributed to his winning the award is that he also has helped prepare other athletic trainers, many of whom have gone on to become successful themselves. Graulich has had a positive influence on many of those students, who are now “paying it forward,” he says.

“Anyone who has worked with Ian will tell you this is a well-deserved honor,’’ says Laurie, Ian’s wife of 17 years. “He is highly regarded in the New Tampa athletics community. On many occasions, we’ve been out in the neighborhood, and parents will approach us to say how much Ian helped their son or daughter after an injury.”

Ian and Laurie met at the University of Florida in Gainesville, when their college roommates started dating each other. The roommates broke up after only six months; Ian and Laurie have been together the 23 years since.

The love bug isn’t the only thing Graulich caught in Gainesville — he also caught the athletic training bug.

“I was just very interested in a profession that combined athletics, which I love, with healthcare,’’ he says. “And I find working with young athletes more enjoyable than working with older patients.”

IanTrainerWEBGraulich earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Exercise & Sports Science from Florida in 1996. In 1998, he earned a Master of Science degree in athletic training from California University of Pennsylvania.

The Graulichs have lived in Tampa Palms since 2007, with 11-year-old daughter Kaitlyn, who attends Liberty Middle School, and 5-year-old Kristen, a Tampa Palms Elementary student.

He has been Freedom’s head athletic trainer since 2011. He also has worked for 10 years for the SMART (Sports Medicine & Athletic Related Trauma) Institute on the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus, where he is one of 15 certified athletic trainers providing daily, on-site care and coverage to thousands of student athletes at 13 high schools in Hillsborough County.

A typical day for Graulich might involve a few hours in the morning at the USF SMART Institute. Once at Freedom,  Graulich will typically keep a close eye on football practice, because it has the most players (thus more chances for injuries), but he is responsible for every sport at the school. Many nights, he will work whatever Patriots games are being played.

Practices, he says, are where most of the injuries and, especially, heat-related illnesses here in Florida occur. He cited the recent death of Oklahoma State University basketball player Tyrek Coger, who died after a 40-minute workout on the football stadium stairs in hot weather.

“We face those fears on a daily basis,’’ Graulich said. “You always have that worry. Our most important job is to be there for emergency purposes and worst-case scenarios. We want to keep our athletes from being in the newspaper (for the wrong reasons).”

Graulich was the first full-time certified athletic trainer for Northwood University in West Palm Beach in 1998. And, while he enjoyed his work at the college, Graulich said he has found his niche at both the SMART Institute, which affords him an opportunity to teach and take part in research, and as a high school trainer at Freedom.

It doesn’t get any better, Graulich says, and the athletes he is keeping an eye on at Freedom can probably say the same thing about him.

For more info about the USF SMART Institute, visit health.usf.edu/medicine/orthopaedic/smart/index.htm.

Freedom, Wharton Make List Of ‘Most Challenging High Schools’

By Matt Wiley

New Tampa’s two high schools — Freedom High in Tampa Palms and Paul R. Wharton High on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. — are no strangers to accolades, each receiving top marks (“As” and “Bs”) from the State Dept. of Education for the past several years. So, it’s really no surprise that the two schools, along with all of the high schools in the Hillsborough County School District (HCSD), again appear on The Washington Post’s list of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools.”Continue reading