Henry Adds Coaching to K-Zoo Connection
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 7, 2020
KALAMAZOO — When he was 5 years old, Daniel Henry lost his father to brain cancer.
At age 14, he lost his mother to breast cancer.
Grieving his losses and living with his 23-year-old sister, Henry found solace in friends and high school tennis.
After skipping fourth grade, Henry was a young sophomore at Kalamazoo Central when his mother died.
“It was very difficult,” said Henry, now 21. “She’s the one who structured my day. It was my mom that planned out my activities because on the Northside (area of Kalamazoo), it’s very easy to get very distracted and do the wrong things.
“She definitely made sure that I followed the right type of people, people who were doing the right kinds of things for me. After that, it was, ‘Now what do I do?’”
Tennis indeed played a prominent role, engaging him at Central, pointing him toward the next step after graduation and bringing him back after college to share what he's learned.
Continuing a legacy
Tennis continues to give Henry a connection with his mother, Gina Rickman, who was a tennis pro at the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo.
Continuing her legacy, he is a first-year coach of Kalamazoo Loy Norrix’s boys tennis team – quite a leap for a guy who played high school tennis at crosstown rival Kalamazoo Central.
“I hope no one from Central sees this,” Henry said, laughing. “I actually really do like it.
“Whatever I thought of Norrix my whole time being at the rival school, it’s kind of nice now that I don’t have to have any ill will toward my rival school. My mom went (to Norrix) as well. It’s just kind of poetic.”
Graduating from Kalamazoo College this year with a degree in computer science, Henry is taking a break from his job as a legal intern at Ven Johnson Law to coach.
Portage Central tennis coach Peter Militzer worked with Rickman and has known Henry most of his life.
“Gina had a heart of gold. She did more for the game of tennis with underprivileged youth than anyone I know,” Militzer said. “She instilled that same sense of giving back to your community in both Daniel and (sister) Brittany.”
Brittany Johnson took charge of Henry when their mother died, since his uncle lived in Chicago and his beloved grandmother, June Cotton, was in a nursing home.
“Looking back, I expected her to take on the role of my mother and was disappointed at times when I feel like she didn’t quite live up to that,” Henry said of his sister.
“But now that I’m nearing 22, I couldn’t imagine having the responsibility of taking care of anyone.”
Without his mother’s guidance, “It was very hard for me to find something to do constructively other than tennis.
”I’m just really happy I didn’t fall into some bad habits. It could have made it much harder to get here, if not impossible.”
Henry started playing tennis at age 7, but when a coach tried to change his grip by taping his hand to the racket, he said he gave it up.
“When I got to high school, I was like, ‘OK. I played this before. I’m not really good at it right now, but I can meet some friends and play a sport in high school,’” Henry said, “because I wasn’t sure if I was going to make the basketball team.”
Militzer said that at K-Central, Daniel was almost a coach to his teammates.
“He had few players on his team who could even rally with him, but it never seemed to get him down,” he said.
“In watching his team interact, you could see how important he was to the group.”
Keeping a Kalamazoo Promise
The Kalamazoo Promise was instrumental in Henry’s college choice.
The Promise is a fund provided by anonymous donors that will pay tuition to any Michigan college for students who graduate from Kalamazoo Public Schools.
“In kindergarten, they pound (the Promise) into our heads,” Henry said. “I didn’t really know what it meant at the time.”
By his sophomore year at Central, he understood and realized he had to keep his grades up if he wanted to attend college.
“I had a 4.0 before my mom passed away,” he said. “For me to just try to hold on and keep my grades, up I didn’t really need to study very much. But it started to show my senior year when I took AP classes.
“Part of it was I’m going to college because my grandma said so, and (I need to) keep my grades up so I can go to the best college I can go to.”
Henry said then-KPS superintendent Michael Rice – who became Michigan state superintendent of public instruction in 2019 – talked to Kalamazoo College men’s tennis coach Mark Riley about him.
“I’d been ignoring (Riley’s) emails because it was a Division III school,” Henry said. “Then I learned (Hornets tennis) was top 20 in the nation. I didn’t know much about college athletics.”
He chose Kalamazoo College, but said he was feeling burned out on school.
“Then Coach Riley said ‘No, you’re here to become a student. You’re here to learn.
“‘You’re here to get your degree and move on because tennis will only last four years, but the connections you make and things you learn will last the rest of your life.”
Norrix athletic director Andrew Laboe noted how the tennis team got a boost after football was postponed due to COVID-19 precautions earlier this year. At many schools, football players picked up other fall sports including tennis. “The telling part of that is three out of the four football players have stayed for the remainder of the season,” he said.
“Daniel is a big reason why they stayed. He has made tennis a fun experience for everyone.”
Laboe said Henry’s youth is a plus.
“He relates to the athletes well as he understands them at their level as he is young himself,” Laboe said. “They respect that he has played well at Kalamazoo College and that he is a product of Kalamazoo Public Schools and has been in our community his entire life.”
Riley said Henry is a “good listener, empathetic, caring, respectful and wants his (players) to love the sport like he does.
“He’s a proactive leader and has the ability to lead by example on the court. Daniel will thrive in life and any endeavor that he chooses.”
While Henry has his eye on attending law school in the near future, he is committed to teaching his Norrix players those same values.
“This is so fun, especially being in a team environment,” he said. “Looking at the relationship that I have with Coach Riley, he’s just hilarious and knows exactly what he’s talking about.
“If the player listens, he’s going to start winning. That’s just how it works. That’s how it worked throughout my career. The times I lost was because I wasn’t listening.”
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) Kalamazoo Loy Norrix boys tennis coach Daniel Henry sends back a volley during a practice this fall. (2) Daniel Henry. (3) Daniel Henry and his mother Gina Rickman. (4) From left: Loy Norrix athletic director Andrew Laboe, Portage Central coach Peter Militzer, Kalamazoo College coach Mark Riley. (Action and top Henry photos by Pam Shebest. Henry and Rickman photo courtesy of Daniel Henry. Riley photo courtesy of Kalamazoo College.)
Greenhills Takes Back Top Spot in D4
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 20, 2018
KALAMAZOO — Winning six of eight flights, Ann Arbor Greenhills took home the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 team trophy Saturday at Kalamazoo College, the Gryphons’ first championship in three years but ninth over the last 11.
Greenhills clinched the title during the semifinals, but the real dogfight was for second place between Traverse City St. Francis and Allegan.
St. Francis won out with 26 points to Allegan’s 23, both behind Greenhills’ 38.
Ludington was fourth with 15 points, and fifth was a three-way tie between Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Grosse Ile with 13 points each.
“We were pretty deep and added a couple singles players to the top of the lineup,” Greenhills coach Eric Gajar said of his team’s success. “A guy who transferred and sat out last year at No. 1 (junior Sahil Deenadayalu) and a freshman (Mert Oral) who came in and played No. 3.
“We got to sort of bulk up the singles lineup, which meant we had some guys in the doubles lineup who were pretty good players as well.”
All six Greenhills winners were top seeds at their flights.
St. Francis coach Paul Bandrowski was thrilled with second place, the highest the team has ever placed.
“We’ve worked hard, and it took every single player to get there to make it work,” he said. “Every single player contributed at least one point from No. 4 doubles winning one match to the No. 3 doubles winning two points.
“We had a huge, huge two three-setters at No. 1 singles (in the quarters and semis) and won both of them. It took a battle at every position at every flight to fight through and win this.”
Gajar knew what to expect in the fight with Allegan, which switched divisions this fall.
“They were always a great Division 3 team, and they’re a great Division 4 team,” he said. “It took everything to beat them. We were fighting them all the way.
“We were head-to-head right to the end. Literally down to the last matches on the court at the state finals. The last hour on a rainy day inside at multiple locations.”
Allegan coach Gary Ellis was surprised to find his Tigers in D-4 for the first time ever.
“It was a shock, but a lot of good coaches and a lot of good teams,” he said. “We know Greenhills and St. Francis are as tough as anybody in D-3, and most of the teams in D-2.
“I knew it was going to be tough. I was very pleased with the way our guys played, too. We knocked off some seeds. We won some tough matches. We had five in the semis and three in the finals.”
Third is the highest Allegan’s boys team has ever finished.
At No. 1 singles, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett sophomore Will Cooksey breezed to a 6-0 first-set lead in the final before squeaking out the second set 7-6 with a 7-2 tiebreak over Deenadayalu to win the flight for the second straight season.
The only Liggett player still competing Saturday, Cooksey thanked the large contingent of players and parents for staying to cheer him on.
As reigning flight champ, “I felt a little pressure just knowing I had to repeat what I did, but it was a new opponent and I just want to congratulate Sahil on a great tournament,” Cooksey said. “He put up a great fight there at the end, and he worked really hard to get there.”
Deenadayalu knew he would have a tough match against his friend.
“Will’s just a great competitor, and he came out firing,” he said. “I didn’t really know what to do. I kind of eased into it in the second set.
“I started to step up more, hit bigger shots, and I started to go for a lot more on my serve. Then it started to work.”
A pair of Greenhills brothers, junior Kaan Oral and freshman Mert Oral, won at Nos. 2 and 3 singles.
Kaan Oral, who defeated St. Francis senior Elliott Bandrowski, 6-4, 6-1, went on court after his brother finished playing.
“I have to keep up the winning way,” he said. “I’ve played Elliott four times in two years and every time he comes out hitting those big shots. It was a great match. Kudos to him.”
Bandrowski, whose father coaches St. Francis, said he thought he played well in the first set.
“Actually I played pretty well throughout the entire thing,” he said. “(Oral) was able to figure out what I was doing a little bit and he was able to put some more balls in, and I started missing a bit more.
“I would say the biggest difference was him being able to put one more ball in than me.”
Mert Oral defeated St. Francis sophomore Charlie Schmude, 6-1, 6-0.
“I think that I’m really consistent and I’ve also been working on my serve, so I got a fair amount of free points,” Oral said. “Also, I think I was mentally strong on key points.”
Schmude credited his team with helping him get to the finals.
“I think my forehand is pretty big, but I wouldn’t have gotten here without my team playing good,” he said. “Last year I got third in 3 doubles. I’ve been playing singles all my life through USTA, so I like singles.”
Greenhills senior Taha Zirapury defeated St. Francis freshman Cody Richards, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 4 singles.
“We’ve worked really hard this season, and to end it on a high note like this is amazing, especially senior year,” Zirapury said. “To really end your tennis career with a state title is really special.”
Zirapury figured playing a freshman would not be an easy task.
“I’ve seen some really good freshmen,” he said. “Our No. 3 singles is an amazing freshman. Going into it, I knew he was going to be a great tennis player, and I was up for the challenge.”
Richards won five games from Zirapury, who lost only four games total in the previous three matches.
“I learned that in every match you have a chance to win no matter who you go against,” he said.
While Greenhills’ No. 2 doubles semifinal match was the tournament clincher, the duo lost in the final to St. Francis top seeds Sean Navin and Brandon Chouinard in a nail-biter, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5).
Second seeds Drake Rosenberg and Joey Formicola did not know their semis win was the clincher.
The doubles semis were moved indoors to Minges Creek Athletic Club in Battle Creek before the finals were played at K-College’s Markin Raquet Center.
Moving inside was a plus for Rosenberg and Formicola, who were surprised at winning the crucial point.
“I’m not a fan favorite of the wind,” Formicola said. “My forehand’s very good indoors, and my serve is pretty big, and it’s a huge plus to our game to be inside.”
Navin and Chouinard were the only St. Francis individual title winners.
They were tucked back on Court 4 at the Markin Center, the farthest from the bleachers.
“The crowd was crazy,” Navin said. “I could hear two or three people after every single point. It was great to know they were behind us.”
Chouinard said one of the team’s goals was to finish first or second at the Finals “but we knew first was going to be hard because Greenhills is such a great team.”
At No. 1 doubles, Greenhills’ Trey Feldeisen and Henry Branch defeated third seeds Zach Sisson and Zach Lang of Allegan, 6-4, 6-1.
No. 3 doubles winners were Greenhills’ Nathan Rosenberg and Finn Feldeisen over Allegan second seeds Owen Clearwater and Walker Michaels, 6-2, 6-2.
At No. 4 doubles, Greenhills’ Harrison Li and Alex Schwendeman defeated Allegan second seeds Vance Muenzer and Ben Groth, 6-4, 6-0.
PHOTOS: (Top) Greenhills' Mert Oral sends a backhand during No. 3 singles action action at the Division 4 Final at Kalamazoo College. (Middle) University Liggett's Will Cooksey makes his way to a repeat title at No. 1 singles Saturday. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)