On Saturday, September 28th, 7th grader Landon Stilwell and 8th grader Brady Smith played in the Middle School State Golf Championship which was held at Quail Chase in Louisville. Both Landon and Brady shot one-under par for a score of 71, which put them in a two-way tie for first place. A sudden death playoff would determine the winner. It took a par on the 6th playoff hole by Landon to come away with the win. 

NET GAINS: CAL girls soccer coach keeps emphasis on Christ during undefeated season

Christian Academy of Louisville’s girls soccer team is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state, but for head coach John Zutt, soccer is about more than just wins and losses. 

In fact, he doesn’t even know his team’s record.

“I get asked this often, and I should know,” said Zutt, 61. “Honestly, I don’t keep up with it.”

“He doesn’t focus all his attention on soccer,” said player Olivia Lawson. “Something special he does is he’ll take five to 10 minutes to talk about the sunset. It’s just like the little things he brings to practices and games. He always tries to help each of us grow in our faith and at soccer. He has a perfect balance between a coach and a role model.”

A four-year starter, Lawson has played for Zutt through great victories and heart-breaking losses.

“One thing I’ll never forget is after every email he will always leave it with a quote from (Clemson football coach) Dabo Swinney: ‘Let the light that shines in you be brighter than the light that shines on you,’” Lawson said.

Zutt emails his players a devotional each Wednesday and Sunday night.

The Centurions are 12-0-2, and three players have committed to play for Division I schools. As expectations of remaining unbeaten and winning a championship rise, Zutt’s goal is that his players, opposing coaches and players, fans and referees experience Christ.

“I have been incredibly blessed over the past 16 years coaching to help our teams come together each season to train and compete at the highest level possible and to use the platform of athletics and our talents to impact others for Christ with every opportunity,” said Zutt, a Southeast Christian Church member since 1997.

Sweet 16

As his daughters grew up, Zutt helped coach their club and youth soccer teams.

When his two oldest played at CAL, Zutt cheered for his girls from the stands, but then the chance to coach came knocking.

“Our youngest daughter, Kara, was a sophomore and the coach at that time was from England and relocated back home,” Zutt said. “They needed someone to take over and coach. The school reached out to me. The intention was to try to step in and coach for a year or two. It’s been 16 years.”

Zutt also coaches his granddaughter’s soccer team at Southeast, and the CAL team puts on a one-day youth clinic for players and coaches at Southeast to kick off the season every year.

Emotions can run high on and off the field during games, but Zutt said his players share their Christian witness by staying composed, yet playing competitively.

“I have a huge amount of respect for them to play in a very physical and competitive environment and to always stay composed,” Zutt said. “To know they are carrying a bigger responsibility. You can have a warrior mentality, but have a Christian witness about you throughout the game.”

Before games, CAL’s 20 soccer players each write “BHS” on their wrists, which means “By His Spirit,” taken from Zechariah 4:6, which says, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.”

After every home game, they invite the other team to pray with them.

Zutt said it’s no different during road games.

“When we go on the road, I’m often reminding the girls that we are representing not only our school, program and families, but our faith,” Zutt added. “To be a beacon of that every time they go into a game situation. They have an opportunity to impact someone or many with how they handle themselves throughout the course of a season.”

Taking down Goliath

That sentiment is easy when games are going well, but harder when adversity strikes.

“There’s going to be adversity through the course of a season through injuries and things that don’t go as planned, but to come together and persevere is something individually and collectively as a team we talk about,” Zutt said.

That adversity came early on.

On Aug. 19, CAL was playing No. 1 team and defending state champs, Sacred Heart Academy. It was a tight game and during a physical play, CAL’s goalkeeper hit her head and had to sit out to go through concussion protocol.

The team with seven seniors, six of whom have been four-year starters, united together.

“I challenged the girls to rally around, and we had a field player step up and move in as goalkeeper,” Zutt added. “She did something she didn’t really want to do … and we played through that as a team.”

CAL won the game 1-0 and gave Sacred Heart its first loss to a Louisville opponent in nearly four years.

It’s been a sweet 16th year for Zutt and his team, but the reward isn’t in their record.

“Regardless of our record, our next game up is our next opportunity,” Zutt said. “I challenge the team to be the very best version of themselves for a full 80-minute game. If they do that, more times than not, the result will go in their favor.”

The Centurions have one regular season game left before tournament play starts.

While CAL sits at No. 1 in the state, Zutt says his No. 1 fan is his wife, Susan, who stands by him in complete support.

“I’m grateful for my greatest blessing, my wife, and the sacrifice she makes during every season,” Zutt said. “Susan is the first person I look for after a big victory, and she’s also the first person there in those tough losses.”

Article Posted 10/3/19 BY TONY NOCHIM | [email protected]
http://www.southeastoutlook.org/news/article_7ee9be12-e541-11e9-b38a-67e5a43035d0.html

This past weekend, the CAL high school Cross Country team sent their top 7 boys and girls to the Franklin County Invitational, held at the Kentucky Horse Park. Under a clear sky, 287 ladies lined up to take on the open, hilly 5k course. The gradual, uphill start separated the pack as the runners entered the first of several tight turns. As has been the norm this season, Kaylee Wilson and Addi Dewey led the lady Centurions throughout the race, charging to the finish in a lighting fast 19:46 and 19:48, respectively, to finish in second and third places overall. They were followed by teammates Emma Willkins (21:24, 40^th), Janna Leef (22:12, 61^st), Caroline Bobnar (season best 22:44, 82^nd), Macy Stitzinger (23:26, 110^th) and Kaitlyn Bader (23:59, 135^th), running to an overall 5^th place team finish out of 36.

Grace Walker and Chrissy Popovich traveled to Bowling Green for the Bowling Green High School Invitational played at Bowling Green Country Club. Chrissy Popovich holed out her 2^ndshot from 108 yards on a par 4 to record an EAGLE! She also had a birdie to finish with a very solid 82. Grace had one of her best rounds of the season which included 4 birdies! Her 1 over par 73 was good enough for 2^ndplace in the field of 86 girls from across the state.

On the gorgeous Saturday morning this past weekend, the CAL HS Cross Country team started the season with a strong showing in the 5k Tiger Run. The meet featured over 500 total varsity high school runners from across Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee with the top 5 runners of each team scoring.

The Varsity girls’ team had a fantastic day placing 5^th out of 25 teams with two top 5 runners: sophomore, Addi Dewey, 4^th with a time of 19:07 and junior, Kaylee Wilson, 5^th with a time of 19:39. These two runners also were recognized by MileSplit as achieving Silver Elite Performances. Way to go Ladies!

Rounding out the CAL top 5 finishers were freshman, Emma Wilkins (21:21), junior, Janna Leef (21:36) and senior, Allie Melhorn (21:52).

The Varsity boys race consisted of 302 runners with sophomore, Tommy Ott leading the way for the Centurions with a time of 17:55 (placing 89^th overall). In the top 5 for CAL, he was joined by senior, Josh Starmer (18:10), senior, Chris Williams-Harris (18:39), junior, Drew Bryan (19:18) and freshman, Carson Guilford (19:43).

The performance was a great way to kick off the season, one in which the team is focused on improving to peak at the state meet in November.

These boys and girls will have a busy week again this week with the Fern Creek Relays on Tuesday and the Run for the Gold in Elizabethtown on Saturday.

The CAL varsity football team was forced to dig deep on Friday night, standing strong on defense and giving everything it had on offense to leave the field with a 6-0 overtime victory against the Dragons of South Oldham. Moving its winning streak to 16 games was truly a team effort, with every player on the field giving everything they had and more to ensure the win. Not one player stopped until the battle was won, leaving Coach Hunter Cantwell with one word to describe the team’s win: PERSEVERANCE.

On a beautiful Friday night, the CAL faithful filled the stands and welcomed an excited group of South Oldham fans for the first official game of the season. Both teams brought their running game, but soon it was clear that defense would be the theme of this week’s battle, as both teams struggled to put any points on the board.

CAL relied on the two headed monster of Brandt Babin and Harrison Zimmerer to control the time of possession. Babin rushed for a game high 131 yards on just 21 carries. The veteran offensive line showed why they rank among the best in the state, continually opening up big holes for the running game. Junior quarterback Connor Masters orchestrated the offense that tested the Dragons defense all night. Each team had its share of chances to score but the CAL defense was too much for South Oldham. Andrew Dupps and Issac Saterfield played outstanding against the run and the pass, and the strong running game of South had met their match with linebackers Jake Taylor and Braeden Babin. The total team effort on defense shut out the 5A powerhouse of South Oldham and their trio of top skill players.

At the end of regulation the score was tied at 0-0. The second coin toss of the night went to South Oldham and they deferred, giving CAL the first chance to score from the ten. Brandt Babin gained 4 yards on first down and Harrison Zimmer packed the rock through the right side of the big CAL offensive line for the first score of the game. The point after attempt failed and CAL led 6-0.

South Oldham now had their shot from the ten. The first down run gained only one yard, followed by a three yard rush. After a timeout, the third down pass was blown up by Jacob Sutherland. It all came down to fourth and six with a pass play to the corner that was too tall for the South receiver. CAL wins in OT 6-0.

It was certainly a team victory, and a great start to the Cantwell era at Christian Academy. CAL takes its 16 game winning streak to Christian County this week and continues the run to Kroger Field and another State Title. Go CAL!

The Kentucky men's basketball team will take the John Calipari Satellite Camp Tour back on the road in June.
 
This season's tour includes nine stops throughout the Bluegrass State. The Wildcats will branch out away from Lexington (within a 100-mile radius of campus, per NCAA rules) to bring hands-on skill instruction to the state's youth.
 
The camps offer the unique opportunity for Kentucky basketball fans to learn from and interact with Calipari, the UK coaching staff and available Kentucky players. The camps allow participants to learn the game of basketball through a fundamental, intensive learning environment. They will also give individuals the chance to learn more about the game, including introducing drills that can be used at home.
 
All camps are open to both boys and girls ages 7 to 17. A limited number of spots are available for all camps and are based on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
The cost for each camp is $99 per camper and includes a camp T-shirt, three hours of instruction with Coach Calipari and the Kentucky basketball staff and available players, competitions, autograph sessions, along with question and answer sessions with Coach Cal.

Register Online at UKathletics.com/camps

June 21 

Christian Academy of Louisville
2:30-5:30 p.m.

CAL’s very own Claudia Thomas just returned from Cologne, Germany where she played field hockey for the U17 National Women’s Field Hockey Team in the Three Nations Tour at the Rot-Weiss Koln Tennis and Hockey Club. As one of the 18 top players selected from across the US, she spent a week in Cologne with Team USA at practices, team events, and eventually games against Germany and Belgium.

After two days of practices, Team USA scrimmaged Germany, giving our girls a chance to get used to the European style of play. While their first exposure to international hockey ended in an exhibition loss, they learned a lot about what it takes to be competitive on the world stage. In an excerpt from the USA Field Hockey website, Claudia was one of the players named by head coach Katie Bam (Maryland) for executing the adjustments and upping the on-field energy.

To kick off the official games of the Three Nations Tour, Team USA once again faced the German National Team. Our girls took the lessons they learned from the practice game and executed beautifully. Although the team fell one goal short and lost 3-4, they made solid on-field adjustments and turned in a very competitive performance. Claudia once again received a shout-out on the website for an assist on one of Team USA’s goals.

On Saturday, Team USA faced their second international opponent, the Belgian National Team. Team USA played their best game with repeated attacks and dominant time of possession. The Red, White & Blue scored first in the hard fought game, and Team Belgium came back to tie the game in the second period. Two additional goals by Team USA were called off by a reversal and a penalty. Ultimately, the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Although a long way to travel for just two official games, it will be forever a memorable experience for Claudia representing CAL, Louisville, KY, and Team USA. Claudia is now looking forward to playing for the CAL Centurions this upcoming fall, and hopefully earning another Kentucky State Championship!”

CAL Athletics is pleased to welcome Cameron Pridemore as our new head girls’ basketball coach.

Pridemore has coached basketball for 8 years and has been the head girls’ basketball coach at Tipton Rosemark Academy in Millington, TN for the last three years, where he also taught high school history. Pridemore was 67-20 in his 3 years at Tipton Rosemark and posted a 25-5 season record last year, advancing to the final 12 in TN (Division 2).

When the job at CAL opened up, I saw a special opportunity to help girls grow not only as basketball players, but as Christians, students and people,” said Coach Pridemore. “CAL has that same desire throughout the entire school and its athletic programs. The environment and culture around CAL make it a special place to work and coach.”

“We are excited about Coach Pridemore joining our coaching staff. He brings a great passion for developing players and understands the strengths of our program," said CAL Director of Athletics, Brad Morgan. "Cameron’s experience working at a school with youth programs, along with being able to have him be full time in the building, makes for a great fit for our school and our girls’ basketball program."

“The goal for this year’s team will be to continue to build on the success that the Lady Centurion basketball program has had in the past,” said Pridemore. “My vision is to consistently be a program made of high character players who love the Lord, love their teammates, and love playing the game of basketball. I want all of our teams to consistently be known as tough, fundamental teams that play hard, smart, and entertaining basketball.”

Cameron and his wife, Sydney, will be relocating to Louisville this summer and both will be joining the CAL middle school teaching staff for the 2019-2020 school year.

“I look forward to not only coaching and building the CAL girls’ basketball program, but also becoming part of the Louisville and CAL community!” said Pridemore.

The 2019 CAL Golf Classic will be held on Monday, May 13th at Persimmon Ridge Golf Club. Our annual golf classic has played a major fundraising role in the ongoing support of Christian Academy. Our golf classic proceeds benefit the CAL athletic department and all teams (KY campuses) towards equipment, facility improvements, uniforms, coaching development, and training needs. Previous golf classics have provided funds to build a concession stand for the soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey fields, as well as new scores table and chairs for the CAL basketball programs.

Your participation enables the fine tradition of Christian Academy Athletics to continue. It is through the generosity of sponsors and participants that will make this event a success!

CLICK HERE to register!