It took a special challenge to entice Jackie Kelly out of retirement from coaching. But when her friend and assistant principal Debra Owens called and told her of Miramar High School’s wish to revive its swim team after eight years, it was a challenge Kelly could not resist.

The decision to revive swimming, the first time under Miramar High’s Athletic Director Ken Walton’s tenure, came directly from a mandate by the students.

“We have a new magnet program here at Miramar High School and there was a growing interest in having a swim team from the student body,” Walton said. “The kids are boss here. We aim to give them what they want.”

Kelly, who last coached swimming at American Heritage in Plantation for eight years, realized that she was undertaking a huge challenge, considering she was starting from scratch with no established program, and worst of all, no home pool.

“My first year at Heritage, we had very few kids. By the time I left, our swim team had 62 members,” Kelly said.

As a coach, Kelly’s resume came packed with experience. Originally from New Jersey, Kelly won a junior national swimming championship there, then went on to coach an All-Army team and age group teams while serving in the military.

Her prowess as a swimming coach didn’t go unnoticed on the international scene, either. While still in the Army, the State Department sent Kelly to Damascus, Syria, to work with the Syrian Olympic swimming coaches. Also on the international front, Kelly took All-America swim teams abroad to compete in France, Italy and Switzerland.

Kelly is sure of her short- and long-term goals.

“Short term, my most immediate concern is to get more people involved in the Miramar High School swim team. Right now, I’ve got a good core of eight or nine kids, with another three or four expressing interest,” Kelly said.

Having no on-campus pool at Miramar High requires team members to ride a bus to the Miramar Aquatic Complex, just adjacent to Perry Middle School, for 90-minute practice sessions. For the long term, once a solid team of swimmers is established, Kelly said she would like to attend invitational swimming events and tournaments to keep the kids’ interest in the sport more of a year-round attachment. The formation of a swim club at the school could also help to produce offseason interest, Kelly said.

The squad this year is comprised of two seniors, a junior, a sophomore and several freshmen.

“That’s a good start, to have so many freshmen on the team whom we can groom and help to establish this team,” Kelly said.

“I’ve told the kids that all they can expect right now, as a new team, is to drop their times each week as they compete,” Kelly said. “Nevermind win or lose, but for each swimmer to focus on improving their own personal best times.”

There is one drawback to the Miramar Aquatic Complex, as far as the Patriots are concerned: FHSAA rules dictate that a pool must have a minimum depth of 5 feet to be eligible for high school swim meets. Miramar’s pool is 4 feet deep.

That relegates the Miramar Aquatic Complex as a practice facility for the team, but not their home pool. As a consequence, all Patriot swim meets will be away this year.

Despite the fact that few Patriots walking the halls realize there is a swim team competing for their school for the first time in nearly a decade, there is a solid commitment to the future of the swim program at Miramar High School.

“We are 100 percent behind making this a mainstream sport from here on in. Swimming is here to stay for the Patriots,” Walton said.

With Perry Middle School, Pines Middle, Walter C. Young, St. Stephens and St. Bartholomew in the vicinity, Kelly said that having a swim team at Miramar High School will entice those students to consider attending Miramar High School and be a part of their new swim team.

“I’m looking forward to having a good 16-18 kids on this team next year,” Kelly said.

The Miramar High swim team Dunia Diaz, Randy Stoddart, Nicole Wagner, Marcus Wilford, Samantha Bingham, Jamal Scott, Sara Iyanoye and Anthony Burdi.

Tennis

The City of Miramar’s In the Zone youth tennis tournament, scheduled for last weekend was postponed numerous times because of inclement weather, was finally cancelled by tennis director Eliseo Serrano.

Soccer

Miramar Optimist is readying for the fall/winter Greater Hollywood Soccer League season and is looking for coaching volunteers for their coed, recreational soccer teams for ages 6-16.

The season begins in December; registrations for the Miramar Optimist teams will begin later this month. For more information, call 954-403-1031 and leave a message or e-mail: .

Night tennis

Miramar’s Lakeshore Park Tennis Center is offering beginner/intermediate tennis lessons in its Night Tennis Program on Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:30-8:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9-10 a.m.

Advanced lessons in the night program are offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7-8.

Beginner/intermediate lessons focus on tennis basics including forehand, backhand, volley, serve, overhead and drills on various strokes. Advanced lessons work on motivation, confidence, desire and excellence through drills, strategy, tactics and playing games.

Cost for both levels is $30 per week or $15 per session. Lessons are under the direction of Eliseo Serrano.

Youth tennis

For the 5- to 18-year-old tennis players, Lakeshore Park Tennis Center is offering the Lakeshore Tennis Training for tournament, junior and advanced players; Miramar Junior Tennis Program for beginner and intermediate; and the Saturday Junior Tennis Program.

Lakeshore Tennis Training is available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5-6 p.m. for beginners and Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for advanced players from 6-7:30 p.m. Monthly fees range from $15 per session to $150 for three sessions per week.

Miramar Junior Tennis Program for beginners and intermediate players ages 5-16 meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 p.m. Monthly fees range from $15 per session to $80 for two sessions per week.

The Saturday Junior Tennis Program meets from 10 a.m. to noon for beginners and intermediate players in separate lessons. Monthly fees for both beginners and intermediate are $25 per session and $80 for the month.

For more information, call 954-436-1953.

Key player

Like most kids who get a job in high school, Lowery Ballew had to depend on his parents to drive him to work.

Unlike most 15-year-olds, however, Ballew’s job was a gig playing the organ for the Atlanta Braves’ home games at Fulton County Stadium.

“Not a bad job for a high school kid,” said Ballew, who has been playing the organ professionally since starting with the Braves in 1976.

He currently plays the stadium organ at the Florida Marlins home games. “I tell people I play for the Marlins,” quips Ballew, “then explain that it’s behind the organ and not on the field.”

Ballew, who lives in Hollywood, has been with the Marlins since the team’s inception in 1993. He has been through the good times and the bad with the team, including Opening Day and Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.

He also plays the organ at most of the Florida Panthers’ home games.

“Baseball is my favorite sport and playing during the World Series was almost like a dream,” Ballew said. “I’ve been fascinated with the sport since childhood.”

As a child, Ballew had a penchant for music. After starting with piano lessons at 5, he quickly switched to the organ after noticing one at church.

When he learned that the Braves were looking for an organist, he sent them a demo tape. A public relations employee got the approval to hire the teenage Ballew, and he stayed there for 12 years. After the 1987 season, he took a five-year hiatus to do freelance audio-visual. Ballew auditioned for the Marlins job in March 1993, and a few weeks later he was at the organ on Opening Day. Ballew’s task is to provide a festive backdrop to the game, motivating the crowd with chants or cheers, knowing exactly the right time to start playing to encourage fans to stay involved in the game.

“It’s become second nature to me now to know just when, and what, to play,” said Ballew. “It’s a sense that evolves with experience. I can sense when the crowd wants it.”

Davie soccer

The Davie United 11-under travel soccer team won its first invitational tournament, the eighth Kissimmee/St. Cloud Labor Day Classic.

In the final, the Davie Devils defeated the Space Coast United 2-1. Alex Wishneff opened the scoring for Davie. Kyle McEwan scored on an assistant from Manul Ortega. A sliding tackle inside the box by Michael Garcia in the last few minutes prevented Space Coast from scoring.

The Devils opened the tournament with an 8-0 win against the Southlake Lasers. Terrence Moore scored in his first travel soccer game.

Davie played to a 1-1 tie with the Space Coast United in its next game. Davie came out strong in the first half as Michael DeSantis saved a penalty kick. Michael Gross led an aggressive midfield, and Michael Hinden and Corey Perala, both of whom scored repeatedly earlier that day against the Lasers, were strong on the wings.

McEwan, Blake Finnegan, Brian Gusman and Wishneff worked hard up front trying to put the ball away. In a scramble in the box, Brian Gusman gave Davie the first goal of the game and the Devils were up 1-0. Team captain Richard Perkins and Steven Engel led a tight defense throughout the game, but with 10 minutes left, Space Coast United scored the tying goal.

Wishneff scored the winning goal in a 2-1 win over the Vero Beach Stealth. DeSantis again saved a penalty kick, and reserve goalie Kevin Galloway supported his teammates by putting pressure on the Stealth in the second half. The Sun-Sentinel strives to provide the most comprehensive community sports coverage for its readers in Miramar. O.J. Callahan is the correspondent assigned to your community. While Callahan will be covering many events, we also need help from league officials, coaches and parents to ensure we get as much information in the paper as possible.

Story ideas, game summaries, scores, standings, registration information and any other news should be directed to Callahan. He can be reached at 305-625-0998; through e-mail at ojsports@ hotmail.com; or fax at 305-628-9963.

You can also call community sports editor Steve Svekis at 954-356-4654 or e-mail him at .

Team pictures and action photos can be mailed to Bonnie DiPacio, Sun-Sentinel Sports, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 33301 or e-mailed to . Please identify each person in the photo and tell us what league and division the team is. We cannot guarantee return of the photo, so please send us a copy.