Golf event benefits area soccer family

The fourth annual Friends of Matt Elfein Golf Tournament will take place at the East Lake County Club on Sunday afternoon.

By BRANDON WRIGHT
Published August 24, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - The fourth annual Friends of Matt Elfein Golf Tournament will take place at the East Lake County Club on Sunday afternoon. All proceeds will go to Elfein and the Joseph Kolb family and medical assistance fund.

The Times profiled Largo boys soccer coach Gary Kolb and his family in a January article. In the span of less than a year, Kolb's oldest son, Adam, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and youngest son, Joseph, was paralyzed from the chest down after an accident off a St. Petersburg pier. Elfein was paralyzed in a similar fashion, and he and Joseph became fast friends.

"Joe stayed in the same room that Matt did when Matt was in the hospital and when Matt came back (to the hospital) to visit, the nurses told him there was a young boy with the same type injuries," Gary Kolb said. "Matt actually took Joe for his first ride in a wheelchair."

Since the January article, Joseph has been in and out of the hospital while Adam has had three surgeries in the past 20 days due to an infection. The Kolbs story was picked up nationally, with the U.S. men's soccer team donating signed jerseys for an auction to benefit the family.

Registration for the charity event ends at noon Sunday with the tournament teeing off at 1 p.m. Entry fee is $80 per person and includes prizes, a T-shirt and dinner in the clubhouse. For more information, contact Jerry Peruzzi at (727) 418-5482 or e-mail www.eastlakewoodlandscc.com.

[Last modified August 23, 2007, 23:28:02]