Italy Basketball Coaches Kyle Holley and Larry Mayberry along with Milford’s Head Basketball Coach Otis Carter, wrapped up a 4-day basketball camp held at the Italy Gladiator Coliseum.

Italy Lady Gladiator Head Basketball Coach Stacy McDonald will be coordinating a girl’s basketball camp at the Italy High School Domenasium. The camp will be Monday thru Thursday, June 15-18, between 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day.

This past week eight future Lady Gladiators attended the Waxahachie High School Volleyball camp for 6th and 7th graders. Cassidy Childers, Ashlyn Jacinto and Hannah Washington were the 6th graders that attended. Reagan Cockerham, Bailey Eubank, Jaclynn Lewis, Kelsey Nelson and Madison Washington were the 7th graders that attended.

GLADIATOR BASKETBALL CAMP
The camp will be for Boys currently in grades 3 through 8 inside the Gladiator Coliseum dome. Camp dates are June 8 thru June 11. Late registration will be accepted through the second day of camp!

The IYAA kept the hits coming all night long at the Upchurch Ballfields. At first, the surrounding neighbors thought a storm might be brewing since they were hearing, what seemed like lightning strikes, off in the distance.

There are no helmets or pads at this event but the summer league football team is having fun. This is not officially the varsity squad from Italy but most of these guys have previously played for the team. The team is made up of 9th-11th graders from IHS and coached by Pastor Todd Gray of Central Baptist of Italy.

Italy’s Varsity Boys competed in their first game of summer league play against the Ferris Yellowjackets on Monday at the Dallas Life campus. The contest was a good challenge for the Italy squad since Ferris is a larger 3A school.

The IHS baseball boys’ season came to a screeching halt on Monday night in Mineral Wells when they fought for the Class 1A Area title against Windthorst, who was ranked 2nd in Class A. They fought a hard battle but at the end of the 7th inning the team that came to the field 25-9 was on top 9-3 moving forward in the playoffs.

Four Italy Gladiators travelled to Palestine this past weekend to compete in the Region III Track and Field Meet. After several weeks of delay due to the Swine Flu outbreak, the Gladiators finally had their chance to take their prowess to the arena once again.

Hard rains have bogged down the beginning of the 2009 IYAA baseball/softball seasons. Scheduling has been somewhat sporadic, but now that the sun is getting it’s job done, the baseball and softball players can get their jobs done as well. For a fun evening, bring your family to Upchurch Field to catch a ballgame and grab a few memories.

The Lady Gladiators took on the Meridian Lady Yellow Jackets last night in a Class 1A, Region 2 Quarterfinal matchup. To say that it was a heart stopper is an understatement. This game defined the spirit, the heart and the grit that this team has exemplified all year long.

Italy High School Gladiators are proud as they can be with their win against Perrin-Whitt on Thursday night. This means they move to the next level of play offs and perform on the field in Mineral Wells against Windthorst.

What a year! Italy High School’s complex collaboration between students, teachers, coaches, general staff, the Booster Club, administration and School Board members have executed a successful and exciting 2008-2009 school year. And to celebrate their sports accomplishments, the athletic banquet will be held inside the Italy Coliseum (the dome) on May 21 at 7:00 p.m.

The Lady Gladiators defeated the Tolar Lady Rattlesnakes for the Area Championship this past Friday night. Next up is the Regional Quarterfinal against Meridian. This matchup is scheduled for Tuesday, March 19 at the Whitney High School softball field in Whitney, Texas. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

The Lady Gladiators made quick work in defeating the Lady Eagles of Goldthwaite on Monday night in round one of the playoffs. Winning the game 11-1 in six innings, the Lady Gladiators came away as Bi-District Champions.

Now that the U.I.L. is allowing all recognized events to continue, the Italy Gladiators have 4 remaining track stars that will be competing in Palestine starting Friday, May 15 and finishing Saturday, May 16.

The Italy Lady Gladiators Softball Team will be playing in the 1st round of the playoffs today, Monday, May 11 in McGregor at 7:00 p.m. against Goldthwaite.

Head Basketball Coach Kyle Holley and his Italy Gladiators Basketball Team were graciously honored by the Ellis County Commissioners Court on Monday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m., in recognition of their tremendous accomplishments during their 2009 Playoff run.

Strike 1, strike 2, strike 3! You’re out! That’s about what it sounded like for the Avalon Eagles during the last district game of the Italy Gladiators. The boys drove to Avalon to present their last defense of the district season and did a great job doing it. The final score was 10-0 with the Gladiators finishing with a district record of 10-2.

The Italy Tennis Team coached by Dana Hamby traveled to Corsicana for their District meet on April 6th and 7th where the Gladiators served up greatness to their district competition. Italy launched a barrage of tennis shots toward the competition ensuring they didn’t come away empty handed.

On Tuesday night, the Gladiators traveled to Frost for the last showdown between the two teams in district play. Taking care of business was the order of the day for both the Gladiators and the Bears.

The IYAA enjoyed opening day at Upchurch Field on Monday as the little leaguers played like pros fielding grounders, corralling pop-ups, turning singles into triples and swinging away at that full count pitch…no matter what!

It was a balmy night and the wind was blowing slightly. It was perfect weather on Monday evening for the IHS Gladiators to warm up the bats and put the Oak Clif Eagles in their place once and for all for this season. With the season almost over and only 2 district games left on the docket, Italy skunked the Eagles 13-0.

Kaitlyn Rossa, Jimesha Reed and Ryan Ashcraft all qualified for the Regional Track Meet to be held at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches in two weeks.

Regional Competition Schedule added 4/20/09 8:40am

Italy was challenged by fierce competition at the District track meet in Hubbard this year. A 2-day event, Italy competed against Dawson, Cayuga, Itasca, Dallas Gateway, Crossroads, Wortham, Waxahachie Advantage, Dallas Faith Family and Hubbard. But after the discus landed and the triple jump sand had settled, the Mighty Gladiators had left their marks.

Due to necessary changes to the schedule, the Lady Gladiators will be on the road for the rest of the season. With that said, Tuesday was Senior Night for the Lady Gladiators. Seniors Angelica Garza and Blanca Figueroa were escorted onto the field by their teammates and presented flowers. After a few snapshots were taken it was all business the rest of the night.

Italy Athletic Booster Club President, Becky Milligan, has been enthused about IHS Baseball for many years. After all, son, Josh who is a junior, has been playing Varsity since his 9th grade year. However, she has seen the need for financial support for the team by local residents and merchants for some time and last year implemented the sale of fence signs for the club.

Italy and Hubbard were two undefeated teams with one game to decide who stays undefeated. It was brutal and scary…but we’ll discuss Dana Hamby’s and Rita Garza’s concession stand abilities at a later time.

Never challenged by Grand Prairie AA, the Gladiators coasted most of the way. The guys were all smiles in the dugout and enjoying being back in the win column as the “run rule” went into effect after the 5th inning, giving Italy the 12-2 victory.

The Italy Junior High Track teams finished their season at the District track meet in Hubbard. Fighting the bitter cold and an undersized rosters, the 7th grade girls and boys along with the 8th grade girls and boys teams ran circles around the competition.

The Italy Tennis Team hosted a scrimmage at the newly refurbished Italy tennis courts on Wednesday. The teams were looking good as they played both doubles and singles matches as under the watchful eye of Coach Dana Hamby.

On Tuesday night Italy hosted Avalon in a district game at Davidson Field. Both teams were ready to play until the end. They never gave up. With the ending score of 13-3 at the top of the 5th, however, the Gladiators were able to put another mark in the win column.

Friday, April 3, the spectators at the next Gladiator ball game at Davidson Field are in for a treat! If you love prizes, hotdogs and baseball, you can get a wonderful snack for $1, along with a box of Crackerjacks. Why not?

Italy High School competed in the 2009 TESEI Relays at Ferris High School. Italy finished in 3rd place in the coed team totals with 146.5 points behind Ferris and Palmer but ahead of Dallas Spruce who totaled 91 points.

CiCi’s pizza boxes lined the front foyer of Italy’s old gym Saturday afternoon. Italy Youth Athletic Association hosted the end-of-the-year basketball bash for all the participants in this year’s season. With pizza, drinks, cookies and, of course, basketball time, the season just wouldn’t be over without the announcements, trophies and honors.

The Gladiators took on the Frost Polar Bears Friday night, both coming to the competition undefeated. After 8 frosty innings, the winner left standing was Frost 4, Italy 2.

The Lady Gladiators played the Itasca Wampus Cats on Friday evening. The game, scheduled to be played in Itasca, had to be played in Italy. Recent rains caused the Itasca softball field to be unplayable. Regardless of the location the Lady Gladiators took to the field ready to play.

Coach Jennifer Reeves is taking 2009 Softball T-shirt orders between now and Monday so don’t delay! Email Coach Reeves at [email protected] or contact Italy High School at 972-483-7411.

With three wins under their belt, the Gladiators performed something they have not done in previous seasons. Evidence was clear the boys were taking their fourth win against the Faith Family Oak Cliff Eagles early in the game.

The IYAA is having its end of the year “Basketball Bash” March 28th at 4:00 p.m. at the “Old Italy Gym.” And just like shooting a free throw, we hope you can make it!

One thing is for sure, the coaching staff at Italy High School is passionate about their sports. And Coach Robert Sollers as well as the other track coaches are no different. With Italy’s track season underway, Coach Sollers wanted to let all the fans know how well the teams have finished.

The IYAA is calling for enthusiastic Baseball/Softball Umpires (men and women) ages 18 and up who enjoy the spirit of youth sports. Umpires could be asked to work anywhere from a boys and girls T-ball games to a 15 and under girls softball game.

Last night the Lady Gladiator Softball team hosted the Covington Lady Owls in Italy’s first district softball game of the season. Our Ladies made short work of the game winning by run-rule in the 5th inning. The Lady Gladiators seemed to be “Focused on the Playoffs.”