'All-Time Seaholm Great' Clifford Looking to Lead Maples to 4th-Straight Team Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 10, 2022
BIRMINGHAM – Even in the days leading up to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals, Birmingham Seaholm coach Karl Hodgson might not know what to do about senior Samantha Clifford.
But make no mistake, that is a good thing.
Other than the breaststroke and diving, there’s really no event Clifford can’t excel at, which is giving Hodgson extra time to pause and think about lineup strategy.
“That part is nice,” Hodgson said. “It creates a lot of angst over making those decisions. But it is nice to have that problem.”
Unfortunately for Hodgson and the Seaholm program, there aren’t many more days left to enjoy having such a problem.
A standout for Seaholm since her freshman year, Clifford is about to finish her high school career as one of the all-time greats for the Maples.
She’s been a vital part of Seaholm winning the last three Division 2 titles, and odds are decent she’ll make it 4-for-4 in terms of being on a team champion when this year’s Finals title is decided next weekend at Calvin University.
Individually, Clifford won the LPD2 Finals title in the 100-yard freestyle last year in a time of 51.02, and was second in the 200 freestyle. She also anchored Seaholm’s winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Hodgson said Clifford is among the top five in Seaholm’s top-times record book in half of the events.
“She’s meant everything to our program,” he said.
Clifford started swimming when she was 5 years old and started getting coached by Hodgson competitively with her summer club team when she was 6.
“I’ve known her all her life,” Hodgson said. “She was that dominant as a little kid. She’s one of the best racers I’ve coached.
“It’s something you can’t coach. She just has that ‘it’ factor.”
Clifford said she first got into the sport mainly because her older sister Megan was doing it, and they both pushed each other growing up and when they were swimming for Seaholm together during Samantha’s freshman and sophomore years.
Megan graduated after Samantha’s sophomore year, so the last two it’s been her time to be on her own and serve as a leader for the underclassmen on the squad.
“It was definitely very different,” Clifford said. “Not having her there was a big change, but I think the upperclassmen (last year) helped make that change easier.”
Since taking up the sport, Clifford said swimming always has had a soothing effect on her, especially when some days are harder than others.
“I just like racing a lot,” she said. “There’s just something about being in the water that calms me down.”
Water will definitely be a big part of Clifford’s life when she finishes up high school.
Clifford will swim and study at the U.S. Naval Academy. She said she’s always been interested in serving and that she clicked with the swim coaches there after a series of conversations.
She is also excited to be involved in STEM programs there and follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War.
Before she turns her attention toward college though, Clifford, who is also a flute player for the school’s band, is fully focused on her final days as a swimmer at Seaholm.
Clifford said it will be a challenge to swim at Calvin because she’s never swam there before, and she’ll have to adjust to the surroundings of the pool.
She admits going for four titles in a row as a team has been a different challenge than aiming for those championships earlier in her high school career.
“The first two years, it was more fun and, ‘Let’s go and get after it,’” Clifford said. "These last two years, it’s like we have to prove ourselves. It’s definitely more intense.”
Hodgson may not fully know which events Clifford will swim in the days leading up to the meet, but one thing is for certain – whatever Clifford swims, points will follow.
“She’ll go down as one of the all-time greats,” Hodgson said.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Seaholm’s Samantha Clifford, middle, launches into the water for the 100-yard freestyle championship race at last season’s LPD2 Finals at Oakland University. (Middle) Clifford, right, talks with Birmingham Groves’ Madison Helmick at the conclusion of the race. Clifford won, and Helmick was third. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
3 Michigan Leaders Earn NFHS National 'Coach of the Year' Honors
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 18, 2022
Three Michigan high school varsity coaches have been recognized among 23 National Coaches of the Year for 2020-21 by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS) Coaches Association.
Ann Arbor Pioneer girls swimming & diving coach Stefanie Kerska, Bronson volleyball coach Jean LaClair and DeWitt football coach Rob Zimmerman were selected by a committee including representatives from all eight NFHS sections – Michigan is part of Section 4 with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The following brief bios includes an excerpt from each honoree’s coaching philosophy, which nominees were asked to submit after being identified as candidates for the awards.
Stefanie Kerska took over both the Ann Arbor Pioneer girls and boys swimming & diving programs during the 2014-15 school year, and she has led the girls to the last two Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals championships; her 2020 team doubled up the runner-up’s score with 368 points, and this fall’s team climbed even higher with 405.5 points at the season-ending meet. She also led the girls team to a runner-up Finals finish in 2019 and the boys team to last season’s LPD1 Finals championship. Kerska previously served as an assistant coach at University of Michigan from 1997-2012 and on the USA Swimming national team staff from 2008-16. She remains active with USA Swimming, the FINA Swimming Development Team and as a presenter for the Summit for Empowering Women in Swim. She was named the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association Coach of the Year for both Division 1 girls and boys during the 2020-21 school year.
“Athletics starts with a belief in belonging and making every team member feel safe and valued. Teammates should depend on coaches and each other for support, guidance and motivation to be the best they can be. Athletics should create an environment where effort, attitude and dependability are valued and required for success. It is often said that athletics builds character. I, however, believe it reveals it.”
Jean LaClair ranks fourth in Michigan high school volleyball coaching history for varsity victories with a record of 1,289-398-99 having led Midland Dow from 1988-90, Pinconning from 1997-99 and Bronson beginning with the 2000-01 winter season. She’s coached Bronson to five MHSAA Finals championships – including four straight in Class C/Division 3 from 2015-18 – and her last two teams have reached the Division 3 Quarterfinals and Regional Semifinals, respectively. She is a longtime executive board member of the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association and has served as president, and was a 2017 inductee to the Michigan High School Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. She also serves as Bronson’s athletic director and has received both the MHSAA’s Women In Sports Leadership Award and Allen W. Bush Award.
“High school athletics should be a lifelong, fun experience for our student-athletes where they learn what it takes to be a part of a team, what it means to work hard for the team. Those who play competitive spots in high school demonstrate more confidence, leadership and self-respect. They learn to set goals and manage their time! They have a better appreciation for diversity and a more developed sense of morality. These are all reasons why athletics are important, and I love working with our kids to make them better leaders for the community and world.”
Rob Zimmerman led DeWitt to the last two Division 3 championship games and the Panthers’ first MHSAA Finals title to cap the 2020 season with a 12-0 record. He’s built a 241-67 record coaching DeWitt’s varsity since 1999 after previously coaching the varsity at Cedar Springs from 1996-98. He also has served as a head varsity track & field coach and middle school wrestling coach during his tenure in school sports, and he has served as both a regional director and on the executive board for the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association. His teams total have played in six MHSAA Finals, to go with 19 league, 14 District and 12 Regional titles during his 23 seasons at DeWitt. He has five times received statewide Coach of the Year recognition from The Associated Press, and in 2020 was named the state Dream Team Coach of the Year by both the Detroit Free Press and MHSFCA and state Coach of the Year by the MHSCA and Detroit Lions.
“In an ever-changing world that poses more social and emotional challenges for young people than ever before, systems that can provide a foundational support and teach high levels of collaboration, discipline, accountability and relationships are more important that ever. Athletics provides young people the opportunity to foster and cultivate these key traits that are crucial for their development. For future success, students need to be equipped to handle a variety of diverse situations and work with a variety of diverse people. This is sports at its core.”
Rockford wrestling coach Brian Richardson was honored in Section 4 after leading the Rams to the Division 1 Semifinals and a 20-4 record.
The NFHS has been recognizing coaches through an awards program since 1982.