Keep on Coaching
February 1, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A few weeks ago, I finally got my first chance this season to watch a friend coach his basketball team. After guiding some others at the lower levels, this is his first time running the varsity – something he wasn't sure he wanted to do with a 1-year-old just learning to walk, but a challenge he ended up taking on to the benefit of all those involved.
Simply put, he’s good. I've seen a lot of teams and a lot of coaches over the past 15 years, and although I wouldn't know much of what to do if I were walking the sideline, I felt pretty qualified in telling him I was impressed – even if he didn't buy that I was offering an unbiased opinion. The best news is he’s gone from not sure about this a few months ago to talking about next season.
We know, at least anecdotally, that coaching continues to get more challenging. The time commitment has grown substantially to make running a program a year-round endeavor in a lot of sports at a lot of schools.
That commitment – especially for coaches with children of their own – was a main reason referred to in a New Haven Post-Chronicle story Saturday that noted 23 football coaching openings in Connecticut at one point this offseason. That state has 146 football teams – meaning roughly 15 percent will have new leaders this fall.
And that got me thinking about my friend, about how glad I am he’s given this a shot, and how I've seen so many others either not do so, or not stick around long despite having some pretty nice success.
A study published last winter in Interscholastic Athletic Administration magazine – a product of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association – noted some predictable results of a study that sought to determine the biggest challenges faced by first-year high school coaches.
The toughest according to the study was balancing the demands of coaching and teaching, experienced by nearly half the respondents – 98 percent of which coached high school teams and 81 percent of which are teachers.
The next six reasons all were noted by at least 30 percent of those in the study – personal fatigue, securing community support, securing and caring for facilities and equipment, parental contact, keeping non-starting players motivated, dealing with schedule interruptions and motivating athletes to achieve consistent, peak performance.
Nothing there is earth-shaking, and most if not all of these challenges are faced by high school coaches regardless of how long they've been in the field. But I got a little more perspective from some of the 32 items that ranked as least challenging to the first-year leaders – keeping in compliance with state and league regulations, dealing with substance abuse issues, teaching sport skills and creating a positive team atmosphere – things that seem most important, and yet appear to be easiest to do. I’m not sure what that tells us – but I think it tells us something.
Click to check out the entire three-page breakdown of the study, plus the researchers’ recommendations to remedy some of what first-year coaches face.
Giving back to Saginaw
I love reading about high-level athletes – like a star-studded group of alums from Saginaw – giving back to where they got their starts.
Pittsburgh Steelers star LaMarr Woodley made a big impact before the start of this school year by donating $60,000 to cover all participation fees for athletes in his former school district. The Saginaw News’ Hugh Bernreuter writes today about how Woodley (Saginaw High), the Philadelphia 76ers’ Jason Richardson (Saginaw Arthur Hill) and former Oakland Raiders standout Stu Schweigert (Saginaw Heritage) have combined to give more than $865,000 back to their home communities.
Bernreuter also mentions the non-monetary contributions of the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (Saginaw High) and former Indianapolis Colts receiver Blair White (Saginaw Nouvel).
Click to read more about it.
Quote(s) of the Week
While rifling through more papers on my desk, I found an article from the Washington Post from Sept. 2011 titled “How high school sports save our schools.” I was drawn to it in part because I spent more than a decade in a newsroom, and it was a piece by a reporter covering education who instead of reporting on school boards and the like, delved into the importance of interscholastic athletics to education as a whole.
He spoke of how participation continues to grow even as resources dwindle, and of data supporting that extracurriculars like sports are more effective than academic classes in teaching leadership, teamwork, time management and “other skills crucial for success in the workplace.” Later, he mentioned a study noting that those who participate in extracurriculars earned more a decade later.
Click here to read the entre piece. These passages struck me most.
“Coaches might be the only faculty members still allowed by our culture and educational practice to get tough with students not making the proper effort. They have the advantage of teaching what are essentially elective non-credit courses. They can insist on standards of behavior that classroom teachers often cannot enforce because the stakes of dismissing or letting students drop their courses are too high. …
“Students do better in activities they choose. If we provide more of them, led by committed adults … that can make a difference. We know the bad news about education. Dropout rates are high. Achievement scores are stagnant. But sports participation is going up, despite pressure to cut it back. Let’s cheer about that and look for a way to draw in more students.”
Preview: Memorable Finishes Guaranteed at LP Boys Track & Field Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 30, 2024
A few storylines immediately jump off the page when glancing at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals lineups:
- All four of the fall’s Lower Peninsula cross country individual champions are stacking up as favorites in one or more distance races across their respective divisions, three as reigning champions on the track as well.
- Another set of magnificent seniors will be finishing their high school careers, led by three-time individual champion Shamar Heard of Clinton Township Chippewa Valley.
- And the Division 2 team championship pursuit could be another classic as last season’s top finishers contend again.
All four LP Finals will be contested at Grand Rapids-area schools, with pole vault and long jump beginning at 9 a.m., race semifinals and the 3,200 relay at 10 a.m. and the rest of the running finals starting at noon. Tickets cost $11 and are available digitally only via GoFan.
MHSAA.tv will live-stream all four meets beginning at 10 a.m., viewable with subscription. Check out the Boys Track & Field page for meet information for all four sites and lists of all qualifiers. Those described as "seeded" below have received those seeds based on Regional performances.
Below is a glance at team contenders and individuals to watch in all four divisions:
LP Division 1 at East Kentwood
Team forecast: Belleville may be in line to claim its first Finals team title in boys track & field with potential contenders in at least four races, with opportunities to place three in both hurdles championships and contend in the 800 relay. Annual contender Rockford has all four relays running – with three seeded among the top four in their respective races – plus a contender in the long jump among other events. Northville’s distance strength – and presence in all four relays as well plus four field events – could put it in position also to claim a team title for the first time.
Andrew Harding, Ann Arbor Huron senior – Last season’s high jump champion at 6-7 edged 2022 winner Nathan Levine from Canton by an inch and likely will have to outlast him one more time. Harding’s LPD1 Regional-best 6-8 this season was two inches higher than Levine and four others’ Regional jumps.
Shamar Heard, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley senior – He owns four Finals championships having won the 100 and 200 as a sophomore and the 400 and as part of the 800 relay last year. He’ll run the 200, 400 and on the 800 and 1,600 relays this time, and his 200 (21.49), 400 (46.80) and 1,600 relay (3:16.88) times ranked fastest for all LPD1 Regionals.
Brandon Herger, Northville senior – He anchored the all-Finals record-setting 3,200 last season, finished second in the 800 and also anchored the fifth-place 1,600 relay. He’ll run on the same relays this weekend, and his 800 (1:52.47) and 1,600 (4:12.86) times are top-seeded.
Quincy Isaac, Canton senior – The reigning LPD1 long jump champion had the best Regional jump in this division by more than a foot at 24-3¼ and also will high jump and run the 200 and on the 400 relay.
Seth Norder, Grand Haven senior – Last season’s 3,200 champion and last fall’s LPD1 cross country winner (and the runner-up in the 1,600 in 2022) is set to run the 800, 1,600 and on the 3,200 relay. He defeated Herger in the Elite Mile at the Romeo Barnyard Invitational with a 1,600 time of 4:04.81.
Will Jaiden Smith, Belleville junior – He finished sixth in the 200 and eighth in the 400 last season, but enters this weekend with the second-seeded 200 (21.61), fifth-seeded 110 hurdles (14.27) and top-seeded 300 hurdles (38.03) times and running on the fourth-seeded 800 relay.
LP Division 2 at Hamilton
Team forecast: Familiar star power will be everywhere this weekend. The Bower twins will try to lead Corunna to a repeat championship after combining to contribute to 36 of the Cavaliers’ 41 points last season. Mason has a similar one-two punch and tied for second a year ago. Whitehall last won in 1996 and is back after finishing fourth in 2023, bringing top seeds in two individual races and the 1,600 relay. Wayland is seeking its first team title since the first Track & Field Finals in 1925 and has a top hurdler and contenders in multiple field events.
Trannon Aylor, Whitehall senior – The reigning champion in the 400 was also eighth in the 200 in 2023, and among his four events this weekend he has the top-seeded 400 (48.49) and will run on the top-seeded 1,600 relay (3:25.36).
Tyler Baker, Mason senior – He won the 110 hurdles, was second in the long jump, third in the high jump and ran the 300 hurdles last season, and he’ll compete in all four again with his 110 hurdles time of 14.71 second-seeded.
Tarick Bower, Corunna senior – He ran on the winning 400 relay, runner-up 800 relay and was third in long jump last season, and enters this weekend second-seeded in the 100 (10.78), top-seeded in the long jump (22-7½) and running on two second-seeded relays.
Wyatt Bower, Corunna senior – He ran on the same relays as his brother last year, won the long jump and was seventh in the 100, and enters this weekend again on the same relays as Tarick, second-seeded in the long jump (22–¼) and second-seeded in the 200 (21.93).
Jacoby Dunlap, Alma senior – The returning high jump champion will compete in that event again and run on two relays.
TJ Hansen, Freeland junior – The reigning 3,200 champion is another fall cross country champion, and he’s set to run the 1,600 and 3,200 after posting the top LPD2 Regional time in the former (4:15.33).
Jake Machiniak, Berrien Springs senior – He’s the reigning 100 champ and ran on the first-place 800 relay last season as well, and he’s top-seeded in the 100 (10.56) this weekend, third-seeded in the 200 (21.99) and running on the sixth-seeded 800 relay and top-seeded 400 relay (42.40).
AJ Martel, Mason senior – The Bulldogs swept hurdles last season with Martel winning the 300, and he’s seeking a repeat while also running on the 400 and 1,600 relays.
Sam Vesperman, Grosse Ile junior – The reigning pole vault champion posted the best vault of LPD2 Regionals this season by seven inches with a 14-6 after winning last year’s Final by a foot.
LP Division 3 at Kent City
Team forecast: Hillsdale strung together three straight runner-up finishes from 2015-17, but may emerge this weekend with its first team title. The Hornets have potential point scorers in nearly every race and two second-seeded relays, plus contenders in both jumps. Detroit Edison is another hopeful seeking a first team championship, featuring contenders in the 200 and 400 and the top-seeded 800 relay. Reigning runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia has three top seeds and entries all over the meet as it seeks its first team since 2008 in Division 4.
Collin Farmer, Pewamo-Westphalia senior – He finished eighth in the 1,600 and 3,200 last season, but won the LPD3 cross country title in the fall and enters this weekend seeded first in both distance races at 4:25.56 and 9:37.80, respectively.
Sawyer Moloy, Sanford Meridian senior – The reigning high jump champion is seeded first at 6-7 and will also long jump and run on two relays.
Gavin Nurenberg, Pewamo-Westphalia senior – He’s the reigning champion in shot put and runner-up in discus and is seeded first in shot (60-0) and third in disc (169-3).
Tryce Tokar, Ovid-Elsie junior – The two-time champion in the pole vault has the top seed (14-6) and also will run on three relays.
Holden Van Poppel, Napoleon senior – He’s another returning champion, seeking to repeat in the 110 hurdles and seeded sixth (15.36).
Jerry Wiegers, North Muskegon senior – After winning the 200 and 400 last season, he’s seeded first in the 400 (48.24), second in the 200 (22.01) and will also run the 100 and on the third-seeded 1,600 relay.
LP Division 4 at Hudsonville Baldwin
Team forecast: Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep has won the last two team championships but will face strong challengers again in its three-peat pursuit. The Irish do have the top-seeded 3,200 runner and 3,200 relay, entries in the other three relays and contenders in at least two more individual races. But Reading, last season’s team runner-up finishing six points back, has all four relays running and three seeded fourth or higher with multiple individual contenders as well as it seeks its first team title since 1991. Fowler is seeking its first team championship since 1988 and like Reading is strong in sprints and hurdles (with junior Brady Feldpausch seeded first in both hurdles races), but also with top-seeded 800 and 1,600 relays and competitors in all five field events.
Landon Bennett, Athens senior – He’s seeking a repeat in the 300 hurdles and also finished third in the 110s last season; he has the second seed in the 300 (39.93) and third in the 110 (15.14) this time.
Tayshawn Bester, Reading senior – He’s the reigning 110 hurdles champion and is second-seeded in that race (15.08) while running as well on two top-four seeded relays.
Nathan Feltner, Caseville senior – The reigning 400 champion and fifth-place finisher in the 200 will run those races plus the 100 and as part of the 400 relay.
Tyler Lenn, Marine City Cardinal Mooney senior – Another cross country champion from the fall, Lenn also is the reigning LPD4 title winner in the 1,600 and seeded second in that race (4:21.92) while also running the 800 and on the fifth-seeded 3,200 relay.
Owen Patton, Vestaburg senior – After winning the 800 by nearly four seconds last season, Patton is the top seed in that race (1:58:09) and also the fifth seed in the 1,600 and running on the 3,200 relay.
Bradley Richards, Fruitport Calvary Christian junior – The reigning high jump champion missed the meet record last year by half an inch at 6-10. He should approach that again – with 2022 champion Braden Prielipp from Marion also making a push – and also will long jump.
PHOTO Corunna, including twins Tarick and Wyatt Bower, celebrates its LPD2 team championship last season. (Photo by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)