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Davis Adding to Pittsford Winning Ways
December 13, 2019
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
PITTSFORD – Aaron Davis doesn’t have to worry about rebuilding Pittsford girls basketball.
While Davis is putting his own stamp on the program that has won two MHSAA Finals championships over the past five seasons, he knows the pieces already were in place when he was named the varsity head coach in June.
“There is a lot of ground work already in place at Pittsford,” said Davis. “It all starts with the youth level, and that’s already there. That is a blessing.”
Davis is in his first season at Pittsford and has the Wildcats off to a 3-0 start. He took over for Chris Hodos, who helped make Pittsford a household name in Class D girls basketball circles over the past decade.
“There are things that I do differently, but Chris and I shared a lot of the same philosophies about basketball,” said Davis, a 2007 graduate of North Adams-Jerome. “There are some things that we do that are from Chris. We still run some of the same presses.”
Davis was a three-sport athlete at North Adams-Jerome, playing basketball, football and baseball. He was a four-year varsity baseball player and spent a year on the Adrian College diamond, but an injury that dated back to his high school days cut his college career short.
“I tried it for a year, but it got to be too much stress on my body and arm,” he said.
Davis said that while growing up, his dad coached him in multiple sports. Davis also learned a lot from his high school coaches while playing at North Adams.
“My wife and I had always talked about me getting into coaching someday,” he said.
Davis got his start in coaching at his alma mater. He coached the junior varsity boys basketball team and had coached baseball with Hodos. In fact, when Hodos contacted him about coaching at Pittsford, Davis thought he was talking about baseball.
“After a few minutes, I was like, ‘Oh, you are talking about basketball,’” Davis said. “Chris was a great mentor. He helped me become a better coach.”
Davis spent three seasons as the Wildcats JV girls basketball coach. Hodos, he said, let him run the JV team as he wanted. That valuable experience has paid off in multiple ways early this winter.
Pittsford’s 3-0 start includes wins over Hudson (41-25), Tekonsha (50-12) and Waldron (68-15). Thus far, the Wildcats are giving up just 17.3 points a game. That’s by design.
“We’re real athletic, and we play good defense,” Davis said. “I have a lot of great defenders. Everything starts with our defense.”
Davis said the team presses, often full-court, and likes to create havoc for the other team as it works to just get the ball over the timeline.
“We are built to run, pressure and play fast,” he said. “We do a lot of trapping and try and force the other team into making bad passes. We like to try and create our offense with our defense.”
The Wildcats have 11 players: five seniors, four juniors and two sophomores. Jordyn Cole has been the team’s top scorer through three games. Another senior, Sara Cole, is right behind her. The other seniors are MaKayla McDaniel, Sam Leggett and Brooke Campbell.
“Jordyn and Sara, I’d say, take the majority of our shots,” Davis said, “but we really don’t have just one girl who can score for us. We don’t have that one player we rely on. We have girls up and down the line who are comfortable shooting. We like to spread it out.”
One thing that has helped in his transition is that every girl on the varsity roster played for Davis for at least a season. They all are familiar with him and his systems. He also brought on Greg Mallar to coach the Pittsford JV team. Mallar is also familiar to the girls because he has been coaching in the Wildcats youth program.
“He’s actually helped develop a lot of the girls,” Davis said.
Pittsford became a state power under Hodos. In his seven seasons as the head coach, the Wildcats went 156-14, including five consecutive 20-0 regular seasons and the Class D titles in 2016 and 2017. They fell just shy of Michigan’s record of 78 consecutive wins during that time frame.
Pittsford athletic director Mike Burger said the program is in good hands.
"I think that the way that he approaches coaching girls basketball fits quite nicely with the overall small-school athletics philosophy we have here at Pittsford,” Burger said.
The Wildcats play in the Southern Central Athletic Association with North Adams-Jerome, Jackson Christian, Hillsdale Academy and Camden-Frontier. Camden-Frontier and Hillsdale Academy both return several players from quality teams and also will play in the same District as Pittsford.
“It’s still early,” Davis said. “We’ve struggled at times offensively, but I’m not worried about that at this point. If we play up to our potential, we can make a run. But, like I said, it’s early. We’ll see what happens.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) First-year Pittsford varsity girls basketball coach Aaron Davis talks things over with his team during a practice this season. (Middle) Davis and his team are off to a 3-0 start. (Top photo courtesy of James Gensterblum; middle photo provided by Pittsford girls basketball program.)
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Wilkinson Capping Record-Blazing Career
May 17, 2018
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
KALKASKA – Rik Ponstein cuts to the chase when he talks about senior pitcher-centerfielder Makenzie Wilkinson.
“She’s probably the best player I’ve ever coached,” he said.
It’s a telling statement considering Ponstein is in his 34th season coaching softball and – prior to Thursday’s doubleheader with Boyne City – is 11 wins shy of 700 in his career.
He’s coached several good teams, several good players.
Wilkinson pauses, searching for the right words, to respond to her coach’s assessment.
“That’s an honor,” the soon-to-be 18-year-old said. “It amazes me, really.”
Wilkinson is on the verge of becoming the school’s Female Athlete of the Year for the fourth time – the first time that’s happened here.
In basketball, the 5-foot-8 Wilkinson is a two-time all-state player and holds the school record in rebounds (696) and blocks (153). She tied the school mark for 3-pointers in a game (eight) and is fourth all-time in scoring (1,417 points).
In softball, she owns most of the school records, or will by the time the season ends.
“She’s a great competitor,” Dave Dalton, the longtime girls basketball coach, said. “She’s extremely skilled in both sports.”
The Blazers are currently 24-1 in softball, earning an honorable mention in this week’s Division 2 coaches poll.
It’s a veteran team; only two starters graduated off last year’s 37-5 squad that lost to Muskegon Oakridge in the Regionals.
Wilkinson, pitcher-shortstop MaKenzie Leach and rightfielder Taylor Kooistra are the leaders – four-year starters who have paced Kalkaska to a 125-23 record during that span. Wilkinson (60-15) and Leach (58-8) have been the winning pitchers in 118 of those triumphs.
“All three are outstanding,” Ponstein said. “They have melded together to help make this a very good team.”
On the mound, Wilkinson (12-1) and Leach (11-0) provide a formidable combination.
“They’re different type of pitchers,” Ponstein said. “Makenzie Wilkinson is a power pitcher (441 career strikeouts) with a curve. MaKenzie Leach is more of a control pitcher with a good changeup. She’s only walked 70 batters in her career, just four this season. What’s made Makenzie Wilkinson tougher this year is that she’s only walked nine. I tell the girls if you don’t walk them, your teammates will make the plays behind you. The one time we didn’t make the plays, we lost. For the most part, though, we make the plays.”
At the plate, Wilkinson is hitting .545, Kooistra .529 and Leach .475. Wilkinson’s belted six home runs, Kooistra five. They rank one-two on the school’s career list for home runs with 29 and 17, respectively.
The trio are joined in the lineup by Angela Iott at first, Kayla Cavanaugh at second, Jaime Potter at third, Kayleigh Bunker in left and Ayla Gustafson behind the plate. Loren Schwab rotates between shortstop and centerfield, depending on who’s pitching. All are juniors, except Bunker, a senior.
“We’re experienced,” Wilkinson said. “We’ve been around each other a long time. We play well together.”
As for Wilkinson, she comes from an athletic family. Her father, Jeremy, was a football standout at Northern Michigan University and later inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. He also served as Kalkaska’s football coach until stepping down last November. Makenzie’s mother, Cheri, was a four-sport standout (volleyball, basketball, softball and track) at Kalkaska, She played softball for Ponstein and JV basketball for Dalton. She ran track only her sophomore year, but set the school record in the 400 meters.
“Growing up they always taught me to go all out, give your best every second,” Makenzie said. “Mom always says that the sky’s the limit, to always put forth the effort and put in the extra time.”
“We had lots of conversations about that when she was in middle school,” Cheri said, laughing. “We knew she had gifts (athletically). We knew if she put in the time that later in life it would help her. Now, looking back, she realizes that and has thanked us for pushing her to work hard because it’s paid off.”
Wilkinson has signed to attend school and play basketball at Davenport University, which just transitioned to NCAA Division II. She’s also hoping to play softball.
Softball might be her best sport – and the one she thought she would play in college – but she did not receive many recruiting looks.
“It was a rough road,” Makenzie said. “Nothing really happened.
“It just didn’t pan out,” Cheri added. “Then, Rick Albro (Davenport’s women’s basketball coach) showed interest, and she connected with him. It fell into place. She’s still going to play travel softball this summer. She’s still trying to get her foot in the door at Davenport for softball. She’s been in contact with the coach. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. She’s ready to play basketball. That’s her No. 1 priority.”
There’s a twist to the story. Jeremy Wilkinson is originally from Marlette, and that was one of the first stops on Albro’s coaching journey. Albro coached boys basketball at Marlette from 1974-78.
It promises to be a busy summer for Makenzie. In addition to playing travel softball with the Alpena Mystics, Wilkinson will be taking online classes through Davenport and working on her basketball skills, and lifting, almost daily. She’s currently working with coaches Chuck and Travis Schuba, who both played collegiately.
“I’m trying to get ready for the college level,” she said, “coming off screens quicker, shooting quicker, getting up to the speed of the game.”
Oh, by the way, she’s also working on a construction crew.
If she needs advice about playing at the next level, she can turn to her father.
“(Jeremy) knows what it takes to be a college athlete, and he’s already told her that you have to be ready or it’s going to be a tough road,” Cheri said. “He trained all the time when he was in school and during the summers. He was a kid who didn’t get a lot of attention, but he put the time in and succeeded.”
This past winter, Wilkinson led a small, inexperienced Blazers basketball team to a 17-6 record. She averaged 20.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.4 steals a game.
“I was surprised,” she admitted. “We did pretty well. I was proud of our team.”
The Blazers were ousted in the District by Kingsley, which reached the Class B Semifinals.
Wilkinson was Kalkaska’s go-to player.
“She has an incredible motor and knowledge (of the game),” Dalton said. “She’s strong, she’s fast, she’s super coordinated.”
The Blazers went 78-15 in her four years on varsity, winning three Districts and two Lake Michigan Conference crowns.
As a junior, she was selected to the Detroit Free Press Dream Team.
But those accolades do not define her.
“It’s not all about the recognition,” she said. “I’m not really a person who’s out there about my accomplishments. To me, it’s about giving it your all and having the heart to play.”
Cheri agrees.
“She’s a humble kid, very even-keeled,” she said. “She doesn’t let (awards) go to her head. She’s just a calm kid, who doesn’t talk much.”
Makenzie lets her determined play on the court and field do the talking.
Away from the action, she’s a member of the National Honor Society and in the fall was selected Homecoming queen.
“The students like her and respect her,” Dalton said.
“She’s not a cocky kid,” Cheri said. “She mingles with all the different cliques. She’s a very open kid. I really admire her for that. We’ve always told our kids to stand up for others.”
Right now, she’s having a little problem standing and moving around. She dropped a 25-pound weight on her foot during lifting class Tuesday. X-rays revealed that no bones were broken or fractured, but the foot is swollen and bruised.
“I was putting weight on the squat bar,” she said. “I put a 45 on – I was lucky I didn’t drop that one on my foot – and I went to grab the 25-pound weight off the rack to put on the barbell when I dropped it. I’m just glad it’s not broken or fractured. I’ll be ready to play later this week.”
Ponstein, meanwhile, has always set similar goals for his teams every season – win at least 20 games, and capture conference and District titles. This season, with a veteran cast returning, he added a Regional crown to the mix. The Blazers have never won a Regional under Ponstein.
If the rankings hold, that Regional in Gaylord could include No. 2 Escanaba and No. 8 Oakridge.
What would it mean to break the drought and win a Regional?
“It would be beyond exciting,” Wilkinson said. “It’s a new level when you get into Regionals. To be able to win at that level would be amazing.”
Time will soon tell.
Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kalkaska’s Makenzie Wilkinson stands in during an at bat this season. (Middle) Wilkinson pulls up for a jumpshot this past winter. (Softball photo by Capture Me Photography; head shot by Patricia Golden; basketball photo by RD Sports Photo.)