Divine Child Family Grows with New Season
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
December 11, 2015
DEARBORN – Last April, Dearborn Divine Child assistant girls basketball coach Julie Kaniewski received some news for which she was not prepared.
Kaniewski and head coach Mary Laney have been close friends most of their lives. They played basketball together at Divine Child, graduated the same year and played on two Class B championship teams (in 1993 and ’94). Kaniewski and Laney were putting a close on the season when Laney made a stunning announcement.
“We were working with the returning players,” Kaniewski said. “We were going over some stuff for the summer, and as we were ending things Mary said, ‘By the way, I’m pregnant.’ Being a math teacher, I put it all together. That put her due date near the start of the season. She said she’d be there for tryouts. I said, can you guarantee that?”
On Nov. 24, Laney gave birth to an 8-pound, 8-ounce boy, Owen Michael Laney. He’s the third child for Mary and her husband Chris Laney.
But Owen Michael was the first to be born during the basketball season. Their first child, Ellen, was born on Oct. 26, 2010, and their second, and first boy, Niall, was born Sept. 18, 2012.
The birth of Owen Michael added a little excitement for the Laneys on Thanksgiving, and a bit of consternation for Kaniewski.
“Some things are just out of my control,” Mary Laney said. “It made for a nice Thanksgiving. It was the best Thanksgiving ever. Things will be better when (Owen Michael) gets his days straightened out from his nights.”
Things are already better for Kaniewski. Her best friend is back on the bench and coaching. In fact – and to the relief of Kaniewski – Laney was back coaching Dec. 2, two days before the Falcons’ opener at Chelsea.
No question, it was stressful for both coaches. What helped alleviate some of the pressure is their friendship. There’s nothing Kaniewski wouldn’t do for Laney, and vice versa.
And laughter helped.
“I was a little nervous,” Kaniewski said. “I can joke with her. I told her you’ll be on epidural and I’ll be coaching.”
Their bond extends to their immediate families as well. Kaniewski has two children approximately the same age as Laney’s first two. Kaniewski’s oldest is Elizabeth, who will be 5 years old in May. Thomas will turn 3 in April. Elizabeth and Ellen Laney attend dance class together, and in late October the coaches came to pick up their children when Laney sounded an alarm.
“She said she was having contractions,” Kaniewski said. “I said, no, no, no. That can’t happen.”
It was a false alarm.
Laney did miss nine days with her team, including scrimmages. The preparation would have been a challenge even without the pregnancy. Divine Child was 20-6 last season but all five starters graduated. Add that two players suffered injuries, one a torn knee ligament, the other a concussion.
Formulating tryouts and making cuts tested Kaniewski’s resolve. Both Laney and Kaniewski had ideas on who their starters would be for some time, but things change. Players get better. Some don’t progress as quickly as others.
“That’s been the hard part,” Kaniewski said. “Then there was the parent meetings. I told Mary, no, no. I don’t want to do that alone.”
Laney, for the sake of both, moved the parent meeting up so they could tackle that together.
Then they received some outside help. Mary Lou Jansen, who coached those fine Divine Child teams during the early 1990s, offered her assistance. Kaniewski was grateful.
“She spent a few days with me,” Kaniewski said. “The kids were responsive. It’s just a different set of eyes.”
The lack of experience has forced the two to concentrate on the basics and not over-complicate things. Divine Child had opened 0-3 heading into Saturday night’s game against Saginaw Nouvel.
“Not many teams come back with no starters,” Laney said. “This group has been receptive. We’ve had five of six Division I players over the past several years. We don’t have that. We’re not worried about wins and losses. We want them to play hard and communicate.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Chris and Mary Laney hold their newborn, Owen. (Middle) The Laney children, Ellen, Niall and Owen, smile while wearing their Divine Child hats. (Photos courtesy of the Laney family.)
Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 1
December 10, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan’s high school girls basketball teams wasted no time firing up highlights as their season tipped off last week.
Without giving the rest of this first “Countdown to Calvin” report away, we saw one reigning MHSAA champion fall and another just barely remain unbeaten – while an incredible winning streak ended and a few much shorter but perhaps someday notable ones got started.
Countdown to Calvin is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or fill in scores we’re missing, email me at [email protected]. (And remember, new this season: The tournament is now organized by Divisions, 1-4, instead of the traditional Class A-B-C-D.)
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Adrian Lenawee Christian 57, Detroit Country Day 52 – The reigning Class D champion Cougars bounced back off an opening-night loss with a statement downing reigning Class B champ Country Day.
2. Hudson 38, Pittsford 30 – The Tigers put an end to Pittsford’s 106-game regular-season winning streak that stretched back to Jan. 28, 2013.
3. Saginaw Heritage 45, Southfield Arts & Technology 43 – The reigning Class A champion Hawks are favorites for the Division 1 title, but the Warriors look like contenders now as well.
4. Michigan Center 59, Adrian Lenawee Christian 54 – That last season’s Class B semifinalist Cardinals won this opener wasn’t stunning, but it looks even better considering Lenawee Christian’s work later in the week noted above.
5. East Kentwood 52, Muskegon 51 – The Falcons earned a slight upper hand in a matchup of what should be a pair of Division 1 contenders this winter.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• East Lansing (3-0) – The Trojans graduated the Miss Basketball Award winner off last season’s Class A runner-up team and immediately bounced back to open with a 59-55 win over Division 2 contender Williamston, followed by a big victory over Lansing Waverly and a 66-63 win over last season’s Quarterfinal opponent, Muskegon.
• South Lyon East (2-0) – The Cougars nearly doubled their 2016-17 win total last season in finishing 13-8, and victories last week over Livonia Churchill (47-42) and Canton (50-41) set them up nicely for this week’s test against Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
DIVISION 2
• Chelsea (2-0) – The Bulldogs began building on last season’s 17-5 finish with wins over Marshall (40-38) and Dearborn Divine Child (54-46), the Marshall win avenging one of last winter’s defeats.
• Hamilton (2-0) – Two straight 20-win seasons and a trip to last winter’s Class B Quarterfinals have the Hawkeyes established among teams to watch. They opened with a 62-42 win over Grand Rapids South Christian, coming off a 19-win season, and then edged Grand Rapids Catholic Central 42-40.
DIVISION 3
• Whittemore-Prescott (2-0) – The Cardinals won four games all of last season but are halfway to matching that total after opening victories over Posen (50-45) and Fairview (36-35).
• Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (2-0) – Last season’s Class C runner-up opened with a 60-52 win over Division 1 power Clarkston (a Class A quarterfinalist last winter) and 59-55 victory over another impressive Division 3 team, Maple City Glen Lake.
DIVISION 4
• Ewen-Trout Creek (2-0) – The Panthers opened the season with a 49-45 win over Chassell, one of the only teams to beat them during last winter’s 16-5 run. Ewen-Trout Creek nearly doubled up Lake Linden-Hubbell to close the first week.
• Rudyard (3-0) – The Bulldogs’ fast start last week included double-digit wins over Manistique and Frankfort and a three-pointer, 54-51, over Newberry. Rudyard lost twice last season to Newberry in finishing 9-14, but showed signs of what may be to come by winning a District title.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Waterford Kettering (1-1) at Bloomfield Hills Marian (2-0) – Combined these two went 35-12 last season, and Kettering’s loss last week was by two to reigning Class C champion Detroit Edison.
Tuesday – Negaunee (2-0) at Marquette (2-1) – These likely are two of the best in the Upper Peninsula, with the Redettes’ loss last week by just two to Brighton.
Tuesday – Williamston (1-1) at Wayne Memorial (0-0) – After making the Class A Semifinals a year ago, Wayne’s new lineup gets an early test.
Friday – DeWitt (1-0) at East Lansing (3-0) – This is one of those matchups to always circle; eventually they also meet in the postseason, and often that victor makes a run at the title.
Saturday – Detroit Renaissance (0-1) vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (2-0) at Detroit Edison – This might be the most intriguing in-state matchup of the DEPSA Holiday Classic as Renaissance also won its District last year.
Second Half’s weekly “Countdown to Calvin” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart's Scout Nelson makes a move toward the basket against Morley Stanwood in a season-opening win. She went over 1,000 career points last week. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)