SAC Sound-Off: Glad to be an AD's Son
October 30, 2012
By Coby Ryan
Manistique junior
“Oh, you’re Rob Ryan’s son, right?”
As a student-athlete, I hear that all the time. The Upper Peninsula is a tightly-knit network in the sports world. Names, faces, and schools are heavily interconnected. And as the son of Manistique’s athletic director Rob Ryan, everything in that perspective is multiplied.
There are certainly perks to being my father’s son. At every away game I attend, I am greeted by some coach, athletic director, or other school official who already knows my name before the game even starts. Also, we have unlimited access to the gym. It is hard to stay connected to statewide sports living where I do, but having my dad as an AD helps. We always attend the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals in East Lansing through him, and we love it. Finally, he introduced me to the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, and I am extremely thankful for that. He has more sports-related access than most people, and I benefit from that.
There also are some traits of being an AD’s son that people probably do not see if they do not have a similar relationship. I definitely am held to a higher standard, both academically and athletically, because of my father’s position in the school. This pushes me to be the best student-athlete I can be, and for that I am grateful.
But, there can also be a feeling of being overshadowed by what he does. I am my own person; I am not my father. Many times, I am identified by his achievements, not mine. If I play a good game, I’m “Rob Ryan’s son,” not “Coby Ryan.” Identity problems can be an issue as an athletic director’s child, but this motivates me more to want to be called by my own name because of who I am and what I’ve accomplished.
When I am attending or involved in an athletic competition, my peers and I do not have the same experience. They all see the players playing, a couple guys reffing, and some other people doing statistics or something; they don’t really care about the details. They are just there to watch the game.
When I go, I see things in an entirely different light. I see a team that arrived on the field or court without a hitch because my dad was there to greet them, show them where everything was, and make sure they were all settled in. I see an unbiased, professional officiating crew contracted by my father from a different community. I see scorekeepers, announcers, timers, and statisticians, all hired by him because of their knowledge of the game being played and their ability to perform the task given to them. When there are unruly fans, coaches, or players, I see people that my dad has to deal with by getting them out of the game so enjoyment is not taken away from the rest. In the student section, I am much more aware of sportsmanship and what is appropriate or inappropriate for a high school game than my peers because of him. Being his son puts a whole new perspective on how I view the game.
Through my dad, I can be much more involved in my community’s sports, even if I am not playing all of them. He taught me how to keep stats for basketball games. He had me announce JV football games. I have been a referee with him in local basketball tournaments. Also, we coached a girls basketball travel team together. These opportunities all arose from his being an athletic director.
Overall, I love being my dad’s kid. We both love high school sports and get to enjoy them in more ways than most fathers and sons ever will. I believe there are some negatives to it, but I find that in the end these actually just make me a better student-athlete and a better person. I guess I am pretty lucky to be “Rob Ryan’s son.”
Coby Ryan, Manistique junior
- Sports: Football, basketball, track and field
- Non-sports activities: Class President, Quiz Bowl, Drama Club, Glee Club, National Honor Society, Spanish Club, YETI, Academic Booster Club Class Representative
- Favorite class: Gym
- Up next: Ryan hopes to attend the University of Michigan.
- Shining moment: Scoring 22 points and beating our rival Big Bay de Noc in JV basketball.
- Pump-up jam: "Winner" by Jamie Foxx (with Justin Timberlake & T.I.)
- Must-see TV: "The Office"
- Favorite films: "Step Brothers" and "The Dark Knight"
PHOTO: Manistique junior Coby Ryan stands with parents Christi and Rob during his football team's Parents Night this fall. 
2021 Scholar-Athlete Finalists Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 19, 2021
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2020-21 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 32nd year, has recognized student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year and again this winter will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.
Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Awards and will present a $1,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 832 scholarships have been awarded.
Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships will be awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships will be awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships will be awarded to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, two scholarships will be awarded at-large to minority recipients, regardless of school size.
Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification, and could have more than one finalist. Traverse City Central has four finalists this year while Hillsdale Academy has three. Fifteen schools each have two finalists: Adrian Lenawee Christian, Ann Arbor Greenhills, Bad Axe, Clare, Dollar Bay, Grand Haven, Grosse Pointe North, Grosse Pointe South, Holland West Ottawa, Lapeer, Leland, Montague, Mount Pleasant, Newaygo and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.858. There are 74 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, and all but one of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 418 schools which submitted applicants, 12 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,356 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the MHSAA Website.
The applications were judged by a 72-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 9, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 16 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 23. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.
To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) and previously have won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions, submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services—life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more—protecting nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
2020-21 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Sadie Freisthler, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Laura O'Brien, Ann Arbor Skyline
Audrey DaDamio, Birmingham Seaholm
Samantha Yamin, Bloomfield Hills
Emily Song, Canton
Sadie Gerlach, Dearborn Edsel Ford
Tatiana Mason, Grand Ledge
Catelyn Gagnier, Grosse Pointe North
Madeline Kohler, Grosse Pointe North
Alexa Downey, Grosse Pointe South
Kennedy Dumas, Holland West Ottawa
Alyssa M. Karner, Holland West Ottawa
Michaela Castle, Ionia
Jane C. Heystek, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
Charity Dundas, Lapeer
Emma Muir, Lapeer
Addison Bruwer, Lowell
Grace Ann Whipple, Mason
Iris Hwang, Mount Pleasant
Zoe Ziegler, Okemos
Sarah Liederbach, Petoskey
Megan Lorenzo, Rochester
Regina Duerst, Saline
Katherine Potter, South Lyon
BOYS CLASS A
Michael Kim, Ann Arbor Huron
Charles Frank, Dearborn
Matthew Kozma, Detroit Catholic Central
Lawrence Gilliam, Detroit U-D Jesuit
Grant Uyl, DeWitt
Thomas MacDonald, Grand Haven
Michael MacDonald, Grand Haven
Jacob Harris, Grosse Pointe South
Kyle Hamlin, Hartland
Kameron Karp, Marquette
Chase R Mahabir, Midland
Caleb Qiu, Midland Dow
Daniel Forsythe, Mount Pleasant
Alex Mooney, Orchard Lake St. Mary's
Aidan Eichman, Portage Central
Jack Eiden, Portage Northern
Liam Smith, Rockford
Troy Pratley, St. Joseph
Brendan Evert, Sterling Heights
Ryan Royston, Traverse City Central
Drew Seabase, Traverse City Central
Ethan Vander Roest, Traverse City Central
Maxwell Werner, Traverse City Central
Jonathan Holland, Walled Lake Western
GIRLS CLASS B
Katie DeVlaminck, Buchanan
London Eldridge, Central Montcalm
Andrea Kowalski, Chelsea
Riley Schroeder, Clare
Bailey Taylor, Clare
Caitlin Mullen, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Katelyn Moore, Grayling
Jordyn Disbrow, Kalkaska
Katie Acker, Lake Odessa Lakewood
Allison R. Hall, Montague
Kendall Mathis, Newaygo
Elena Schwegman, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Rachel Joslyn, Saginaw Swan Valley
Haleigh Knowles, Sault Ste. Marie
Illyanna Marie Taylor, Three Rivers
Anna Gerardy, Yale
BOYS CLASS B
Dillon Dennison, Alma
Dhilan Nagaraju, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Ryan Tang, Detroit Country Day
Ryan Atkinson, Dundee
Brock Holek, Durand
Jackson Hoover, Edwardsburg
Wilson Bragg, Gladwin
Stuart Hamilton, Lansing Catholic
Drew Collins, Montague
Hudson Alexander Harkness, Newaygo
Cade M. Vota, Niles
Ian Burke, Ortonville Brandon
Nickolai J. Emde, Plainwell
Cole Bennett, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Jack Parker, Spring Lake
Zachary Huitema, Tawas
GIRLS CLASS C
Makayla Harris, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Avery McNally, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart
Meagan Lasky, Bronson
Hannah Penfold, Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker
Reese Martin, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett
Elizabeth M. Williams, Ishpeming Westwood
Kenzie Bowers, Kent City
Grace Graham, Laingsburg
Mahrle Siddall, Maple City Glen Lake
Hope Johnson, North Muskegon
Sophia Rayes, Oscoda
Grace Kalb, Petersburg Summerfield
BOYS CLASS C
Jameson Chesser, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Brennan Griffith, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Zachary Stephenson, Alcona
Finn Feldeisen, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Nicholas Errer, Bad Axe
Micah Gordon, Bad Axe
Braxton Lamey, Ithaca
Trayton Wenzlaff, Kingston
Caden Kienitz, Munising
Drew Kohlmann, New Lothrop
Jeffrey Vanholla, Norway
David Jahnke, Saginaw Valley Lutheran
GIRLS CLASS D
Aubrie Sparks, Boyne Falls
Molly Myllyoja, Dollar Bay
Elise Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek
Kiera Welden, Hillsdale Academy
Mollie Zaleski, Kinde North Huron
Olivia Lowe, Leland
Sophia Stowe, Northport
Josephine Gusa, Ubly
BOYS CLASS D
Jacob M. Werner, Bay City All Saints
Connor LeClaire, Dollar Bay
Jack Kaplan, Dryden
Jäeger Griswold, Ellsworth
Quincy Thayer, Frankfort
Christian Gossage, Hillsdale Academy
Nicholas Treloar, Hillsdale Academy
Wyatt Sirrine, Leland