Thursday, October 5, 2017

Winter Athletics Registration/Fall Update

Fall Athletics:

We are in the last weeks of the fall season!
  • Charter Stars Soccer plays their last game on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1pm at Arlington & Arkwright. They play Maranatha, which promises to be an exciting and competitive game. Come cheer on our Stars!
  • Charter Stars Cross Country has their conference race on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 4pm at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.
    • A few of our athletes will be running in Sections this year. The race is Thursday, Oct. 26 at 4pm at Battle Creek Regional Park.
  • Charter Stars Volleyball is currently in 1st place in their division! Their next home game is Monday, Oct. 9 at 5 and 6:30pm vs. AFSA. Entry into the game is $2 for students and $5 for adults.
    • The Volleyball conference tournament is on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Bethel University (in the Sports Recreation Center) beginning at 9am. There will be 4 courts of outstanding Volleyball. Entry for the day is $5 per person.
Winter Athletics:

This year High School/Charter Stars sports are:
  • Cheerleading (grades 9-12) - Coach Emily Gustafson
  • Girls' Basketball (grades 7-12) - Coach Paul Rhodes, Coach Corey Frazier, Coach Dennie Williams
  • Boys' Basketball (grades 7-12) - New Head Coach Kaylord Saunders will be joined by returning coach Donovan O'Dowd - see their bios below
  • Coed Nordic Ski (grades 7-12) - Coach McElrath, program hosted by Great River School. Players must arrange their own transportation to and from practices and races and manage their own practice/game schedule. If you have a skier interested in this opportunity, please email Athletic Director Ilse Larsen at ilarsen@twincitiesacademy.org

  • Boys' Hockey (grades 8-12) - Program is hosted by St. Paul Academy. Players must arrange their own transportation to and from practices and games and manage their own practice/game schedule. If you have a player interested in this opportunity, please email Athletic Director Ilse Larsen at ilarsen@twincitiesacademy.org
Register for High School/Charter Stars winter athletics! All registration paperwork is due by Friday, Oct. 27. Activity Fees and Uniform Deposits must be paid by the first day of tryouts/practices. Late registrations cannot be accepted because we need to plan the sports season and require accurate numbers to be successful.
Need to look at a team's practice and/or game schedule? Link to our online Athletics Calendar:
  • Click on View Schedules (in the middle of the screen to the right)
  • Select the team(s) and practices you want to view
  • Press the View button
Welcome to our new Boys' Basketball Head Coach Kaylord Saunders - Great River School Associate Dean:
Having spent the last 20 years in the educational/human service field, while coaching athletics as well, Kaylord Saunders, Jr. has served as a Dean of Students (at St. Paul Public Schools), an Associate Director of Athletics/Adjunct Faculty (Sports Management)/Coach of Men's Basketball and Track and Field (at North Central University), and an Assistant Director (Dugsi Academy).  He has been coaching Track & Field at the youth level for the Inner City Athletic Association (ICCA) Breeze , a USA Track & Field Association club in St. Paul. Saunders has also recently coached football and basketball at the high school and NCAA Division II & III levels. 
Coach Saunders graduated from Burnsville (Minn.) High School ('91) where he played football, basketball, and ran track. From there he attended the University of Minnesota where he played two years of football before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and finishing up his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology ('97) and wrapping up his football career as member of the Eagles NCAA Division III National Championship team in 1995.
In 2006 Saunders finished his Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Bethel University (Arden Hills, Minn.). He also has certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association (NESTA) as a personal trainer with specialization in speed and agility.
As a coach, Saunders worked as a Running Backs & Defensive Backs coach for Concordia University (St. Paul, Minn.) in 2010, after working at Mound-Westonka High School and Zimmerman High School where he was an Assistant Varsity and Head JV football coach in 2007-2009. In the Track & Field world, Saunders served as a sprints and mid-distance coach for St. Paul (Minn.) Central High School in 2011-12. He has also worked with several Twin Cities USA Track & Field youth programs including Minnesota Elite (2010) and currently works with the ICCA Breeze. 
On the Basketball court Saunders has worked in several Twin Cities Metro area high school and middle school programs, including a stint as the Head Ninth Grade and Assistant Varsity coach for Minneapolis Edison High School in 2010-11, North Central University-Assistant Men's Coach 2011-2013, and Chanhassen High School Assistant Girl's Coach 2014-15. 
Saunders works as a personal trainer, focusing on high school, college, and professional athletes looking to improve their physical abilities and take their skills to the next level.
Bio for our Boys' Basketball Assistant Coach Donovan O'Dowd:
Coach Donovan is a recent graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, and a former graduate of Great River School. While at Great River he played for the Stars basketball team. He was a four year starter on Varsity, won All-Conference for three consecutive seasons, and captained the Conference Championship winning team. The team also won the Conference Sportsmanship Award during his tenure. He captained both the Stars and the Gustavus Ultimate Frisbee teams as a student-athlete. Coach Donovan spent the past year working at Great River and coached the Stars Boys' Basketball C-team last winter. He also coached the Varsity Boys' Ultimate team in the spring. Coach Donovan is excited to be back with the Stars program for another season!