Lawrence's Schuman Sets Example for Well-Rounded Success
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
December 14, 2022
LAWRENCE — If redshirting was a thing in high school, at least two coaches at Lawrence would stick that label on senior John Schuman.
“We don’t want to lose this kid ever,” said Derek Gribler, the Tigers’ first-year varsity football and baseball coach.
“If we could put a red shirt on this kid every year, we would.”
Athletic director John Guillean, who also coaches varsity basketball, agreed.
“He is what we strive to have all our student-athletes achieve: high GPAs, multi-sport athletes, good, overall well-rounded human beings,” Guillean said.
Schuman has participated in five of the seven boys sports Lawrence sponsors.
As a freshman and sophomore, Schuman played football, wrestled, ran track and played baseball.
He had wrestled since he was 4, and went from the 119-pound weight class as a freshman to 145 the following year. That sophomore season he qualified for his Individual Regional. But as a junior, he traded wrestling for basketball.
“My older brother wrestled at Lawrence, so I would come to practices,” he said. “I quit for a couple years (in middle school) because I liked basketball, too. It was hard to do both. Obviously, in high school, I still struggled with choosing,” he added, laughing.
Guillean is thrilled Schuman made the switch.
“He’s 6-(foot-)4, he’s super athletic, defensively he’s a hawk, offensively he can put the ball in the bucket. But really, aside from his skills, just that positive attitude and that positive outlook, not just in a game, but in life in general, is invaluable,” the coach said.
Last season, Schuman earned honorable mention all-league honors in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference, averaging 9.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Lawrence left the BCS for the Southwest 10 Conference this year, joining Bangor, Bloomingdale, Hartford, Decatur, Comstock, Marcellus, Mendon, Centreville, White Pigeon and Cassopolis. Schuman and senior Tim Coombs will co-captain the Tigers, with Guillean rotating in a third captain.
At a school of fewer than 200 students, Schuman will help lead a varsity team with just nine – joined by seniors Andy Bowen and Gabe Gonzalez, juniors Christian Smith, Noel Saldana, Ben McCaw and Zander Payment, and sophomore Jose Hernandez, who will see time with the junior varsity as well using the fifth-quarter rule.
“I attribute a lot of (last year’s successful transition) to my coach, helping me get ready because it wasn’t so pretty,” the senior said. “But we got into it, got going, and my teammates helped me out a lot.”
Great anticipation
Gribler is one coach already looking ahead to spring sports after seeing what Schuman did during football season.
In spite of missing 2½ games with an injury, the wide receiver caught 50 receptions for 870 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“I just like the ability to run free, get to hit people, let out some anger,” Schuman laughed.
Gribler said the senior is “an insane athlete.
“On top of his athletic ability, how smart he is in the classroom (3.88 GPA), he helped mold the culture we wanted this year for football. He got our underclassmen the way we wanted them. He was a big asset in many ways.”
Schuman earned all-conference honors for his on-field performance in football as well.
“I would say that my main sport is football,” the senior said. “That’s the one I like the most, spend the most time on.”
In the spring, Schuman competed in both track and baseball, earning all-conference honors in both.
“Doing both is tough,” he said. “I have to say my coaches make it a lot easier for me. They help me a lot and give me the ability to do both, so I really appreciate that.
“Throughout the week you’re traveling every day, it seems like. Baseball twice a week and track, but it’s worth it.”
Schuman’s commitment is so strong that he made a special effort not to let his teammates down last spring.
“He qualified for state in the long jump and did his jumps up in Grand Rapids, then he drove all the way to Kalamazoo to play in the District baseball game,” Guillean said. “That speaks volumes about who this kid is. He did his jumps at 9 a.m. (but did not advance) and made it back to Kalamazoo for a 12:15 game.”
Big shoes to fill
As the youngest of four children of Mark and Gretchen Schuman, the senior was following a family tradition in sports.
Oldest brother Matthew played football, basketball and baseball as well as competed in pole vault and wrestling.
Middle bother Christopher competed in football, wrestling and baseball.
Sister Stephanie played basketball, volleyball and softball.
“I like to say they blazed a pretty good trail for me at this high school,” Schuman said.
As for feeling pressure to live up to his siblings, “I used to when I was younger, but now I feel like I’ve made my own way and done enough things to be proud of that I’m happy with it.”
His own way led him to achieve something none of the others did.
He was named the Tigers’ Male Athlete of the Year, just the third junior to earn the boys honor over the last 25 years.
“I was very honored to win that as a junior,” Schuman said. “There were good athletes in the grade above me. I guess hard work pays off.”
Guillean said while Schuman is “darn good at every sport here,” an athlete does not have to be a “top dog” in every sport.
“Learn how to take a back seat,” he said. “Learn how to be a role player. That will make you a better teammate and a well-rounded human being.
“Johnny has that work ethic, in the classroom, on the field, on the court, on the track. It doesn’t go unnoticed and, obviously, he’s reaping the benefits now.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Lawrence’s John Schuman has participated in five varsity sports during his first 3½ years of high school. (Middle) Lawrence athletic director John Guillean. (Below) Lawrence football and baseball coach Derek Gribler. (Action photos courtesy of John Schuman; head shots by Pam Shebest.)
Flint Powers Catholic, Spring Lake End Long Waits to Reach Season Finale
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2024
EAST LANSING – After his eighth-inning, game-winning hit to finish Flint Powers Catholic’s Division 2 Semifinal win Friday, Chargers senior Gavin Darling gave away the secret to how 42-year head coach Tom Dutkowski stays so young and energetic.
“That dude works out more than probably half the team, honestly,” Darling said. “He’s a great guy, and we just want to do it for him as well.”
What top-ranked Flint Powers is aiming to do is capture a state baseball championship. Powers has that chance after Darling’s walk-off single to deep left field scored Eli Sturgess for a 4-3 victory over Trenton at Michigan State University’s McLane Stadium.
Powers (36-6) will face Spring Lake (32-9) in Saturday’s 5 p.m. Final. The Chargers are seeking their first Finals title since 1980, and first under Dutkowski’s tutelage.
“We want to win for him, man. It’s not only for us, but it’s for him,” Darling said. “He’s been working hard just like we have.”
Powers and pitcher Grant Garman cruised through the first four innings Friday, Garman carrying a perfect game as the Chargers built a 3-0 lead.
Trenton (30-11-1) began to make Powers work for it in the fifth. The Trojans collected five hits and scored three runs in the inning, keyed by Carson Boike’s two-run single, to knot the score at 3.
The tie remained until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Darling came to the plate with one out and the bases loaded. Powers’ cleanup hitter saw a pitch he could drive, and the rest is history.
“Just (looking for) a pitch to hit, man. They were playing in, so I just had to go for it. I don’t care if it’s a bloop single or a shot like that, I’ve just got to do what I’ve got to do,” Darling said. “(It felt) pretty good to know that I had a guy on third that either way, if it’s caught, he’s tagging and we win the game.
“It’s an unreal feeling, man. These guys are my family, and I can’t thank them enough. They have my back just like I have theirs, and I can’t thank them enough.”
Garman allowed three earned runs on six hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk in five innings. Isaac Sturgess picked up the win in relief, not allowing a hit or run with four strikeouts and one walk over three innings.
Garman led the Powers offense with three hits, while Darling had a pair of RBIs.
Caleb Kidd finished with two hits to pace Trenton. Kidd got the start and worked four innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in four innings. Joel Mator took the loss in relief for the Trojans, surrendering one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts and five walks in 3 1/3 innings.
“I can’t say enough about the fight that was in them,” Trenton coach Todd Szalka said. “He had a shutout (perfect game), we’re going into the top of the fifth, he’s throwing a no-hitter, and then, all of a sudden, we challenge them in the dugout and we come away with five hits in the fifth inning. I mean, that’s almost unheard of, especially against a good pitcher like (Grant) Garman.
“No. 1 team in the state, you’re down 3-0, stakes are on the line, you’re looking at your last nine outs and our kids just continued to fight and went into extra innings. They got the big play when they needed it, and we had gotten the big play the last three games with walk-offs. I’m really proud of the way we came out today.”
Dutkowski instructed Darling to be “short to the ball” on his game-winning hit. The coach was very happy for the player, who “works as hard as anybody.”
Dutkowski believes his team is plenty battle-tested, too, competing in the Saginaw Valley League.
“The Saginaw Valley League is a gauntlet, especially for a school like Powers (as) the smallest school,” he said. “Not that we feel bad about that because we’ve got great players this year, but it is tough.
“ … We beat Bay City Western two out of three this year, and we beat Northville in the Flint Champions Tournament. Neither team was pitching their best, but we beat them. Yeah, we’re battle-tested.”
Dutkowski said that in his younger years, he might have been jumping up and down in the third-base coach’s box during the walk-off play.
On Friday, he said he stayed planted and wanted to make sure Eli Sturgess was tagging at third in case Darling’s deep fly ball was caught.
“I used to be what you’d call an athlete. I used to do all the histrionics, but now my job is to kind of keep guys steady, you know – get them back to neutral as soon as possible,” Dutkowski said.
“I have an ankle-foot orthotic. I am drop foot. I had fusion surgery about 19 months ago on L-4/L-5. No, I’m a wreck. I have this carbon fiber thing,” he said as he pointed to his lower right leg, “that keeps me upright. I’m retired now, so I work out.”
Spring Lake 5, Richland Gull Lake 2
“Next pitch” has been a theme for the Spring Lake baseball team during its run to the Finals.
Of course, when you have Zane Stahl throwing the pitches, that always helps.
The 6-foot-6 Louisville commit scattered five hits and pitched to contact in powering Spring Lake to a 5-2 victory.
On Saturday, Spring Lake will be making its first Finals appearance since 1995 and third overall. The Lakers got there Friday in large part because of Stahl, the defense behind him, and timely hitting.
Stahl, a right-handed junior, struck out four, walked four, and allowed two earned runs in the complete-game effort.
“(The defense) has been incredible. I’ve been able to make my pitch,” Stahl said. “You know, it’s not always about strikeouts; it’s about making the pitch and getting a ground ball. I mean, they’ve been able to make the routine plays that they’re supposed to and even make them outside of that, so it’s been great.”
Stahl helped his own cause, too. He finished 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs. Oliver Smies doubled twice for Spring Lake, while Gabe Trask had two hits for the Lakers, who have won 19 of their last 20 games.
Spring Lake took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and created separation with four runs in the fifth inning on four hits.
“Somebody else always seemed to pick us up at the right time. We got a couple of nice ground-ball double plays, so some things have fallen into place for us but I’m also a believer, sometimes you make your own luck,” Spring Lake coach Bill Core said. “What we’ve been impressed with so much is somebody always seems to pick up their teammate or somebody’s been coming through with a big play at the right time.
“We’re not a bunch of superstars, but everybody has a role and we’ve got a different hero (each game).”
Gull Lake (26-12) showed life in the later innings, scoring a run on two hits in the sixth and another run on two more hits in the seventh.
Western Michigan University commit Julian Harris took the pitching loss for the Blue Devils. The right-hander allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in four innings.
“When you get to the final four, no one’s weak, especially against a good arm like (Stahl’s) – you’re scratching and clawing for every run that you get,” Gull Lake coach Reggie Walters said. “If you tie that ballgame up, it just changes the feel of things instead of chasing.
“We wanted to wear (Stahl) down and he started to show that in the sixth and the seventh, but he threw a great game. … It was like, ‘Man, if we would have started it one inning earlier, you don’t know where you’re going to end up.’”
PHOTOS (Top) Flint Powers Catholic's Eli Sturgess (3) crosses the plate for the winning run during his team's Semifinal victory Friday at McLane Stadium. (Middle) Spring Lake’s Gabe Trask drives a pitch.