Rockford Readying for Another Title Run

April 26, 2017

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half

ROCKFORD – Rockford girls lacrosse coach Mike Emery wants his team to obtain experiences they will never forget.

It’s the foundation of the program, and it has catapulted the Rams into a perennial state powerhouse over the past decade.

“We’ve tried to develop a culture of a family atmosphere,” Emery said. “We are all about making memories first, and then we move on from that.”

Rockford has made a plethora of lasting memories in the past 10 years, including nine consecutive MHSAA Division 1 Semifinal appearances and a spot in five Finals.

The Rams won their first Division 1 championship in 2010 and have added four more over the last four seasons.

Prior to that remarkable stretch, they had never won a playoff game.

A tight-knit relationship among players and coaches and dedication to the sport have factored into their decade of dominance.

“Over the years we’ve developed a culture that we have where people want to be part of the program and the kids want to play all season long,” Emery said. “Even when the Finals end, the most disappointing thing for us is that we’re not going to be together the next day.

“We have some skilled people who help with development, but a focus is having fun. We have 90 days together every (season) and we spend a lot of time in the offseason, whether it’s in the weight room, stick skills or open gyms. It’s developed over time into a year-around program.”

A standard of excellence also has been created following that string of championships.

“We all work really hard in practice and outside of practice,” said junior Brooklyn Neumen, a three-year starter who leads the Rams with 35 goals this season. “We have a really good youth program, and our coaches are really good. In the offseason we all play summer ball.”

The development of a strong youth program has paid dividends, especially this season as the Rams start three freshmen and eight of their 12 starters are freshmen and sophomores.

It’s a crucial element in the reloading process that is evident every spring.

“We have a great youth program, and our junior varsity coach spends a lot of time on skill development,” Emery said. “It’s not just the things we do, it’s why and how we do the things we do. That’s what we feel separates us from other programs.”

Rockford graduated eight seniors from last year’s team, but hasn’t missed a beat.

The Rams are 8-1, and their lone one-goal loss came against a team from of out of state, Ohio power Upper Arlington.

“They were a really fast team and had good skill work,” said junior MeKenzie Vander Molen, another three-year starter who has produced 18 goals.

“It’s good for us to play against defenses like that because it helps prepare us for other teams that we’re going to play.”

Emery said this year’s team possesses plenty of speed and the ability to not dwell on misfortunes.

“They never quit, and we’re pretty fast,” he said. “Even when they make mistakes, they are aggressive mistakes and no one hangs their head. They go after the ball again the next time. They’ve done a nice job.”

The graduation losses haven’t been noticeable in the win column as the younger girls have filled the voids admirably.

Freshmen Madelyn Yakes has been solid in the goal, while another freshman, Sydney Zimmerman, has been a staple in the offensive attack with 17 goals.

“Even though we are young we can still get the ball up the field in transition and not lose it,” Vander Molen said. “We have a good variety of girls.”

And of course, the Rams also have some significant star power back this spring. Vander Molen and sophomore sister Karrington both have committed already to continue their careers at Ohio State, and Neumen is committed to North Carolina. Senior Sisely Vongphasouk has signed with Kennesaw State (Ga.), and senior Samantha DeBoer will play next season at Alma College.

“We lost some big girls, but we have young freshmen that are really good players and we have a lot of sophomores and juniors that are stepping up,” Neumen said. “I think we have a really good team, just as we did last year.”

While the postseason is still a month away, the pursuit of a fifth straight Division 1 title is on the Rams’ minds.

They are driven to replicate past accomplishments, and refuse to see the streak end.

“We don’t have to talk about the state championships; it’s there,” Emery said. “The banners hang in our stadium and in the gym, and the girls have their championship rings. Each group feeds into that.”

Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Rockford’s MeKenzie Vander Molen (13) gathers the ball in traffic during last season’s Division 1 Final against Birmingham United. (Middle) Sisely Vongphasouk had a goal and an assist in the 12-9 championship game win.

Playing with Purpose

May 18, 2012

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
 

Lauren Hooker gets up for every lacrosse game. She and her teammates will dress the same for school, send each other pump-up messages throughout the day and carry that momentum into the locker room and onto the field.

But she admits she plays her best against her toughest opponents.

 “It’s playing to their level. Playing someone good forces you to step up and play the best,” Hooker said. “It brings the best out of you. I don’t enjoy playing some of the really easy teams as much.”

The East Grand Rapids senior loves a challenge. And she’s helping the Pioneers blaze through a few of them in this, her final high school season, before joining the Marquette University program this fall.

East Grand Rapids has started this season 20-0. The Pioneers are ranked No. 1 both in Division 2 and regardless of division based on the computer rankings supplied by LaxPower.com. And they are doing so with only two seniors – although Hooker, who received a Second Half High 5 this week,  gives the team a star at the top that few teams in Michigan can counter.

Playing attack, she’s scored 101 goals -- already third-most for a single season in the MHSAA record book, and more than 25 percent of her team's total. Add in her 33 assists, and her 134 total points are fifth in MHSAA history for one season.

And indeed, she’s been at her best against the best. Hooker had three goals and three assists in an 11-9 win last week over No. 2-ranked Grand Rapids Catholic Central. She scored seven goals in each of two games against Division 1 No. 5 Rockford, and had nine goals in Monday’s 17-8 win over Division 1 No. 2 Hartland.

“She’s what I’d call sneaky quick. Basically, she doesn’t take a big wind-up in her shot; it looks like she’s cradling, looking to pass. And then she just puts it past the goalie,” Pioneers coach Rich Axtell said. “Some players take a different approach, but she’s deceptive. She’s got really good stick control. When she’s in close, she can make you feel pretty slow by comparison.”

Hooker has been on a quest after being part of teams that have lost either in the first or second rounds of Regionals her first three seasons. The last two, the Pioneers ended with defeats by the eventual MHSAA champions. A year ago, they lost 14-13 in double overtime to eventual Finals winner Grand Rapids Catholic Central.

But there’s no question in Axtell's mind that Hooker has brought her game up a level this spring. That effort began in September, when she hit the weight room for training that continued all winter.

Hooker said she started those sessions in part to bring the team together early, especially with so many young players joining the program. Axtell said he thinks part of that drive also came with getting the scholarship to Marquette, which will begin as an NCAA program in 2013.

“She’s really playing with a lot more purpose,” Axtell said.

Hooker first was a golfer, before quitting that sport until taking it up again as a freshman in high school. In the fall, she was the low scorer on the Pioneers golf team that finished eighth at the Division 3 Final, and she missed the individual top 10 by only two strokes.

But lacrosse has been her number one since she first picked up the game during third and fourth grades. “A huge tomboy,” Hooker learned the game from a boy who lived in her neighborhood. After attending a couple of boys clinics, her mom found a girls team for her in the Forest Hills area.

Her mom and group of others then organized an East Grand Rapids youth team that Hooker joined for a few years before jumping up to the Pioneers’ varsity lineup as a freshman.

This offseason she accepted the challenge to set a championship standard. She hopes to leave high school next month having helped the Pioneers win their first MHSAA lacrosse title – with the groundwork for more to come as she moves on.

“I have a lot of hope for the program to continue to do so well,” Hooker said. “Hopefully when I’m gone, people will carry on doing so well.”

Click to read more about Hooker's future plans and lacrosse influences.

PHOTOS: East Grand Rapids' Lauren Hooker (14) has scored 101 goals this season (Photos courtesy of East Grand Rapids lacrosse.).