Hilton Head Sports

The 2018 RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing is a little less than six months away, but tickets are already on sale, and, if you buy now, you might be able to save a little money.

The only annual PGA Tour tournament held in the Palmetto State, next year’s RBC Heritage runs from April 9-15 at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island.

Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) has hired Isaac McBroom as director of development, after Brian Parkkonen was promoted to director of education. McBroom’s responsibilities will include scheduling and coordinating PTR certification workshops in in all 50 U.S. states each year.

Tennis Club of the Lowcountry’s Gavin Cox and Vicki Nagy teamed up to win the USTA National Mixed 60s Clay Court championship at Seabrook Island Club in early October. 

Cox and Nagy won four matches to claim the title, including a tight three-set victory in the quarterfinals. They defeated Junior Luffman and Janet Moseley 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 in the final to earn the coveted Golden Ball that accompanies winning a USTA national championship.

Bluffton native Bryson Nimmer was named the ACC Men’s Golfer of the Month for September.

The Clemson star and Hilton Head Christian Academy graduate had three top 10 finishes in national tournaments last month and has climbed to No. 9 in Golfweek’s national individual rankings.

The first of what are sure to be many individual honors has arrived for Bluffton High School receiver Jermaine Patterson, who last month was named to the South Carolina squad for the 2017 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.

Hilton Head Christian Academy’s girls finished second and boys finished fifth Oct. 14 at the SCISA Class 2A-1A State Swimming Championships in Augusta.

When Hilton Head Island resident John Arlotta was named the National Lacrosse League’s General Manager of the Year in June, he was quick to share the credit: Organizations, he said – not individuals – win championships and awards.

But Arlotta has shown quite a knack for attracting the right kind of individuals to his organizations, whether Evicore Healthcare — the Bluffton company he heads — or his Georgia Swarm lacrosse franchise, which won last season’s NLL Champions Cup.

JOIN A CO-ED PICKUP GAME IN BLUFFTON

A layout in Ultimate Frisbee is exactly what it sounds like. The disc is coming in close to a sprinting player, but not quite close enough for him or her to catch.  Laying out — getting air like Superman — might prevent an interception or turn over. For a brief shining moment, the player launches into the air, stretches out horizontally, and grasps the Frisbee. Then gravity intervenes and the green field rises up with a bone-jarring smack to reclaim the athlete and disc. The layout is over, except for the applause and admiring whistles from teammates.

PRIVATE TRAVEL TEAMS GAIN GROUND IN YOUTH SPORTS

Competitive youth sports programs can teach valuable life skills — how to win gracefully, how to accept defeat, how to be a good sport — and help boost self-esteem and self-confidence. Unfortunately, these programs also can offer lessons in how not to behave: shouting matches and shoving among grandstanding parents or aimed at umpires, judges, coaches and opposing players.