Performance: Bronson's Kiera Lasky
September 21, 2018
Kiera Lasky
Bronson senior – Volleyball
The Vikings’ three-year starting libero has been part of three Class C championships and has her team pointing toward another run. Lasky had 16 digs, an ace and 12 passes in serve receive without an error as Division 3 No. 2 Bronson downed Division 1 No. 6 Battle Creek Lakeview to win the final of last weekend’s Portage Northern Invitational – earning Lasky the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Lasky is one of 10 finalists for this season’s statewide Miss Volleyball Award after earning all-state as a junior and sophomore and all-region as a freshman. Playing libero, she has 293 digs, 56 aces and 33 assists this season and has passed the ball 302 times in serve receive with only 19 errors. During her career, Bronson is 194-31-11 including 27-3 this fall. She set her school record for career digs as a junior, and her total now stands at 2,488. The Vikings beat Lakeview in three games at Portage after sweeping Wayland, Otsego and Stevensville Lakeshore. For the day, Lasky finished with 70 digs, 10 aces and seven assists.
A three-sport athlete as a freshman and sophomore, Lasky also is an all-league basketball player who has helped that team to multiple District titles. She also played softball her first two years of high school and is considering running track next spring. Lasky will sign this fall to continue her volleyball career at Davenport University, and she carries a 3.8 grade-point average. She’s worked on her family’s flower farm since the start of elementary school, and she’s interested in studying business management and marketing and starting her own business down the road.
Coach Jean LaClair said: “Kiera is a workhorse, both in sports and in life. This shows not only in academics, but in her successes both on and off the court. Anyone would tell you that she is a tremendous person, who goes about her business, not arguing calls, not complaining about anything – just going out and getting the job done. She has the ability to read the game very well, always putting herself in the best position to make the play. She makes what most would consider a spectacular dig look easy because she puts herself in the right position. She is willing to cover more of the court when a teammate is struggling, and has the confidence in her game to do this. Kiera has been the libero on three state championship teams – she runs the back row, and has since her freshman season. Kiera will be missed when she moves on to play in college, but she is doing a great job training our younger players on the work ethic and attitudes needed to keep this program moving forward.”
Performance Point: “Just to be able to play a Class A team and perform well against them is just a win in itself,” Lasky said of the Lakeview match. “We just played really, really well, and we were smart, and it was just exciting to see because we’re not to our full potential yet and it was really cool to see how well we could play when it’s all put together. … Everything we do revolves around our block. So our blockers, our front row, played extremely well. Our middle senior Ashton (Wronikowski) really took control up there and made sure she was closing the block, which makes it a lot easier on the back row because the block takes away a certain part of the court. We could all get in our positions and just dig the ball and do what we’re supposed to do. And we have a lot of hustle plays, and the effort was definitely there. So we just did our job and dug the ball.”
In the running: “I honestly didn’t think I was going to be on (the Miss Volleyball finalist list), so when I found out I was excited. I was like, ‘Oh man, this is an honor.’ But in all honesty, it’s not just my award, it’s the team award because I’d never be able to be where I am without our team. I wouldn’t be half the player I am today without my team and without my coach. At Bronson, we’re all about team chemistry and 100-100 – going 100 percent 100 percent of the time. We know what we’re supposed to do, when we’re supposed to do it, and we hold each other accountable.”
Back row driver: “When I was younger, I was dead set that I was going to be an outside (hitter). I guess my growth just got stunted, so I ended up 5-5, and that’s where I got put. … Being a libero, you don’t get all of the limelight, you don’t get all of the fame. But I think it’s extremely important. It’s kinda like being a quarterback on the football field. You’re telling people what to do, where to go. They just look to you when they don’t know. Especially on my team, I take a leadership role, and so I find it extremely important where other people might not. It’s a role, that if there wasn’t one, I don’t think a team would be as successful.”
Play like a champion: “What I take away most from (winning three titles) is just from year to year, as I’ve gotten older, we tend to do a lot of the same things. We have these traditions before every game. We go, we’ll stretch, we’ll sit in a circle, we’ll discuss the scouting reports because we do scouting reports whenever we watch film – so we watch film about every single team that we play. That’s a big part about why we’ve won, because we know our opponents – we almost know what they’re going to do before they do it. We know them because Coach’s husband Duane goes and he scouts every single team for Districts and Regionals, so we’re thankful to have him around and for doing things that other teams don’t really get the opportunity to do. That’s a big part, and just taking away from the state championships, people kinda look at you in a different way. They’re like, ‘Oh man, they’re state champs.’ So you’ve really just got to set the tone and be the example, like at school; people look up to you. You always try to do the right thing. Coach always says, if there’s a piece of paper in the hallway, bend down and pick it up. Show people what they’re supposed to do.”
One big Bronson family: “I’m kinda related to half of the town. Last year my cousin Kiana (Mayer) was the setter. My sister Adyson (Lasky), who was a captain, she played outside and she was a really big role on our team. My younger sister Meagan, she’s actually the setter now on this team. The right side is also my cousin, Jolie (Smoker). There’s another DS (defensive specialist) on the team, Scyler (Cary), she’s my cousin too. (Cousin Alanna Mayer also is a returning hitter.) So there’s been a lot of relatives on the same team. It was a little frustrating sometimes, because there were three of us that were sisters and we’d kinda get in little arguments. But it would be over and done with – (and) it’s been a lot of fun making memories. My other two cousins, Kylei Ratkowski played on the 2009 state championship team and Alexa (Ratkowski) who sets at Trine, she was the setter my freshman year. So there’s been a lot of us who went through the program, and there’s more coming up.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Bronson's Kiera Lasky digs during Saturday's match against Wayland at the Portage Northern Invitational. (Middle) Lasky serves during last season's Class C championship match win over Laingsburg. (Top photo courtesy of the Sturgis Journal.)
Wroubel Continues to Champion Athletics
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 20, 2016
Betty Wroubel still remembers the first pop fly she caught 57 years ago.
Perhaps fleeting for most, it was one of the earliest memorable moments that eventually led to a career stretching four decades and impacting thousands of high school athletes across our state.
Wroubel – one of Michigan’s winningest high school coaches in both volleyball and softball with more than 2,000 combined victories – also has served as an athletic director and in various other leadership positions since beginning her educational career in 1975. Her contributions to educational athletics over the last 40 years will be celebrated Sunday, Feb. 7, when she receives the MHSAA’s 29th Women In Sports Leadership Award during the WISL banquet at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West.
“When I look at all of those names (of past WISL winners), knowing what they meant to the advancement of girls sports in schools and the total sports culture, it boggles my mind that I can be mentioned in those,” Wroubel said. “I’m not so sure I belong in there. I’ve had great leaders; my high school teachers and coaches were great leaders. I know nothing more than to work hard to make things better, sometimes inch by inch, sometimes two inches forward and one back – and sometimes leaps forward.”
The honor, given annually by the MHSAA Representative Council, recognizes the achievements of women coaches, officials and athletic administrators affiliated with the MHSAA who show exemplary leadership capabilities and positive contributions to athletics.
Wroubel, a 1971 graduate of Clawson High School, first returned to teach and coach at her alma mater, and currently serves as the athletic director, varsity volleyball and softball coach at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. She also continues to teach sports medicine and leadership classes at the school.
She’s served in the athletic department at Notre Dame Prep since the school opened in 1994 and also coached and served as athletic director at the former Pontiac and then Oakland Catholic high schools after her stint as a coach and teacher at Clawson. She’s third on the MHSAA coaching victories list for volleyball with a record of 1,306-290-122. In 2015, she became the 14th coach in MHSAA softball history to win at least 800 games and sits 12th on that career wins list with a record of 826-293-3.
Wroubel also has been a registered MHSAA official in both volleyball and softball since the 1975-76 school year and has held numerous leadership positions as part of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, her sports’ coaches associations and the Detroit Catholic High School League. She’s hosted numerous MHSAA Coaches Advancement Program sessions and mentored young officials as part of the MHSAA Legacy Program.
“Betty Wroubel has dedicated much of the last four decades to assisting student-athletes and is passionate about the mission of educational athletics,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “Education is her life’s work, and that remains clear in her emphasis on coaches training and desire to continue teaching students as well – both in the classroom and on the volleyball court and softball diamond. We’re pleased to honor her with the Women In Sports Leadership Award.”
Wroubel earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Central Michigan University and her master’s in classroom teaching from Michigan State University. She was a five-sport athlete at Clawson High School – participating in basketball, volleyball, track & field, tennis and softball – and went on to play volleyball, tennis and field hockey at CMU.
Among those who provided Wroubel early mentorship was Judy Hacker, a teacher and coach at Clawson from 1962-95 who died in 2011 and like Wroubel was a pioneer in girls athletics during their early growth in the 1970s and 80s. Wroubel also was impacted athletically by her parents Marshall and Lucille; Marshall was a recognized youth baseball coach in Clawson and with Lucille provided opportunities for Betty to compete during an era when they were only first starting to emerge.
During her early years coaching and teaching at Clawson, Wroubel also worked as an assistant athletic director at Pontiac Catholic. She then took over as fulltime athletic director there, leaving her alma mater, but continued to pass on those many lessons learned to another generation including her Pontiac Catholic volleyball coach at the time, Dianne Phillips – who has gone on to rank 11th on the MHSAA volleyball coaching wins list with 986 victories mostly over the last 17 seasons at Dearborn High.
“Betty has dedicated her expertise, time and energy to coaching hundreds of young women in more than just sport, but in life lessons as well,” Phillips said. “Betty’s leadership skills and grounded philosophies are a model to all who aspire to teach and coach. The positive impact Betty has made on the lives of so many young people can never be overestimated.”
Wroubel led teams to MHSAA championships in two decades; her Pontiac Catholic softball team won the Class C title in 1983, and her Notre Dame Prep volleyball teams won Class B titles in fall 2007 and 2013. In 2010, Notre Dame Prep dedicated its new athletic facility in her name: the Betty A. Wroubel Athletic Performance Center.
She is a member of various Halls of Fame – she’s been inducted by the Detroit Catholic League, Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association, Michigan High School Coaches Association, Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association and the Michigan chapter of the United States Specialty Sports Association. She received the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award in 2010 for her continuing service to high school athletics, with the WISL Award her second from the association.
Her administrative efforts were recognized twice by the Detroit Catholic League with its Tom Kelly Athletic Director of the Year Award in 1994 and 2007. Wroubel also was named National High School Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2007 and state coach of the year by MIVCA for Class B in 2007, 2013 and 2014. She also was named Michigan High School Coaches Association Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2014.
Wroubel served on the Catholic League’s executive board and as an officer for more than 30 years and on a variety of MHSAA committees during her long tenure as an athletic director. She has served on boards for the statewide volleyball coaches association for more than 30 years and statewide softball coaches association for more than 25.
As would be expected by a coach with such success across multiple sports, Wroubel remains an ardent supporter of athletes playing as many as possible despite a recent shift toward specialization.
“By (coaching both), I hope it sends a nonverbal message that if I can coach, they can certainly play multiple sports,” Wroubel said. “That’s been the biggest change; kids are so specialized. The pressure is on us (coaches) to do more and more training. But during the school year, we don’t do anything; I don’t get out a softball. That tells them to go play basketball, ski, go cheer, go bowl.”
Wroubel also volunteers for her church and the American Red Cross, and with a local food bank and soup kitchen.
The first Women In Sports Leadership Award was presented in 1990.
Past recipients
1990 – Carol Seavoy, L’Anse
1991 – Diane Laffey, Harper Woods
1992 – Patricia Ashby, Scotts
1993 – Jo Lake, Grosse Pointe
1994 – Brenda Gatlin, Detroit
1995 – Jane Bennett, Ann Arbor
1996 – Cheryl Amos-Helmicki, Huntington Woods
1997 – Delores L. Elswick, Detroit
1998 – Karen S. Leinaar, Delton
1999 – Kathy McGee, Flint
2000 – Pat Richardson, Grass Lake
2001 – Suzanne Martin, East Lansing
2002 – Susan Barthold, Kentwood
2003 – Nancy Clark, Flint
2004 – Kathy Vruggink Westdorp, Grand Rapids
2005 – Barbara Redding, Capac
2006 – Melanie Miller, Lansing
2007 – Jan Sander, Warren Woods
2008 – Jane Bos, Grand Rapids
2009 – Gail Ganakas, Flint; Deb VanKuiken, Holly
2010 – Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2011 – Ellen Pugh, West Branch; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
2012 – Janet Gillette, Comstock Park
2013 – Barbara Beckett, Traverse City
2014 – Teri Reyburn, DeWitt
2015 – Jean LaClair, Bronson
PHOTOS: (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball coach Betty Wroubel, left, celebrates the 2013 Class B championship with her team. (Middle) Wroubel instructs her players during the Semifinal match that season.