Dowagiac Superintendent Continues Connection to Hoops as MHSAA Game Official
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
January 8, 2025
DOWAGIAC – It was about three years ago that Greg Blomgren, a former high school boys basketball coach, realized he needed to find a niche that allowed him to stay connected with the game he grew up loving.
Blomgren, who took over as Dowagiac Community Schools' superintendent July 1, has found the perfect way to fill that void as a registered basketball official for the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
Now in his fourth season working varsity boys and girls games in the Southwestern Michigan area within a 45-mile radius of his home in Sister Lakes, Blomgren enjoys the opportunities officiating has provided him to help bridge the gap between coaches and game officials and continue improving the game of basketball.
“Having been a coach in the past, I am able to better understand things from the coaches' perspective, and that is an advantage for me. I really believe that all coaches should officiate and all officials should coach,” Blomgren said. “It brings about a better level of communication and understanding because you've experienced both sides.
“Back when I was coaching, I know I was sometimes tough on officials. My appreciation of officials grew though in my latter years of coaching. I just really enjoy being part of this game again.”
In January 2021, Blomgren contacted Kalamazoo Officials Association assigners Rob King and Chuck Rawsthorne regarding the process to become a registered MHSAA basketball official. The KOA is responsible for assignors for primarily the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference, Wolverine Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
After completing his training and necessary exams, Blomgren was assigned four games during his first week that January. He officiated mostly freshman and junior varsity contests in 2021 but was assigned one varsity girls game between Lawton and Vicksburg that season.
"I was really nervous calling my first varsity game, but it went pretty well," Blomgren recalled.
Blomgren steadily increased his officiating schedule to 35 games his second season, then 85-90 games during the 2023-24 campaign at various levels. Since taking the superintendent's job in Dowagiac, Blomgren has reduced his schedule for this season to around 55 games.
"I'm really thankful to Rob and Chuck. They have both done a great job working with me and finding a schedule that works with mostly varsity games that take place later in the evening," Blomgren said.
Blomgren is a 1991 graduate of Des Moines Lincoln High School (Iowa) where he played multiple sports, with a passion for basketball, at the largest school in the state.
He also grew up during the explosion era of the AAU basketball circuit. From age 11 through his high school years, Blomgren had the opportunity to compete on several Iowa state title teams in national tournaments.
"Those teams were a fun and rewarding experience. We went to nationals and faced some competitive teams, including the Michigan Super Friends, a team with future Michigan and NBA standouts Chris Webber and Jalen Rose," Blomgren said. “There were other star players on other teams from various states we faced like Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, Eric Montross and Damon Bailey.”
After graduating high school, Blomgren attended the University of Nebraska-Kearney before transferring to Grandview College, an NAIA school, in Des Moines where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1996.
Upon moving to Milwaukee in 1997, Blomgren began substitute teaching and got into coaching basketball at the middle school level. He returned to school around that time and completed his teaching certification from Wisconsin University-Parkside.
Blomgren began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Kenosha St. Joseph (Wisconsin) followed by a similar job at nearby Wilmont High School. Shortly after those two stops, Blomgren landed his first head coaching job at Clear Lake High School in Iowa, where he spent two years.
Blomgren and his wife Angie, a Niles native and daughter of former Niles Brandywine band director Jay Crouch, moved to Michigan after Greg was hired as a science teacher and replaced Al Westendorp as Dowagiac's varsity boys basketball coach. Blomgren served as Dowagiac's boys coach from 2002-09 and spent three years as the head girls basketball coach as well.
Blomgren accepted the position of Dean of Students in St. Joseph, where he replaced Greg Schaffer as the Bears' varsity boys coach and served from 2009-16. Blomgren resigned after the 2015-16 campaign to concentrate on his administrative duties as the assistant high school principal before eventually taking over as the district's high school principal.
"Eventually I had to resign from coaching. There are too many evening activities that you have to be present at and supervise, so I stepped down," Blomgren said. "People don't understand the amount of time you must spend to do it right with practice planning, scouting, watching film and all the time you spend in the offseason trying to give the kids the best opportunity to compete. It’s more time spent than what you become accustomed to seeing from coaches on Tuesday and Friday nights. I don't think I'll ever return to coaching. Right now, it just doesn't fit my schedule."
Blomgren and his wife have three grown children – daughters Alyssa (24) and Avery (20) and 22-year old son Andy, along with one granddaughter Aria.
Blomgren is enjoying his new role as Dowagiac's superintendent and is pleased with the positive things that have taken place during his first few months leading the school district.
"The time we spent here a few years back when I was at Dowagiac helped us develop a lot of good relationships," Blomgren said. “There's a lot of pride that people take in small towns like ours. I knew the people here, and I believe they thought I was someone who could bring some of that culture back to the district. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do that and make this a district everyone is proud to be a part of.”
The MHSAA has seen a decline in recent years in the number of registered game officials, due in part to poor sportsmanship particularly among adult spectators. But the organization has worked hard in recent years to change that, and participation is on the rise once again.
As an administrator and basketball official, Blomgren sees himself playing a major role in promoting good sportsmanship.
"Good sportsmanship in a school district depends on the leadership in the building. A good athletic director will make sportsmanship a top priority. He or she will make sure their school is going to represent themselves and the school district appropriately," Blomgren said. “If you do that it sets an expectation and tone with the parents, players and people in the community.
“Good sportsmanship is something I believe needs to constantly be improved upon in every district. The $7 you pay at the gate doesn't give you the right to say whatever you want after you walk into the gym. That isn't what high school athletics are about. When I was coaching in St. Joe and Dowagiac, it was always about how we conducted ourselves on the court rather than the number of wins or losses.”
Even in today's age of high technology, Blomgren believes high school athletes still desire to work hard and succeed as a team.
"Kids today want to be good, but they need to realize the time and effort you must put in to be successful," he said. “Schools that win consistently are the ones where everyone on the team shows up and puts in the work both during (the season) and in the offseason. The successful programs have good feeder programs with at least three or four good players in each class who have played a lot of games with one another. Those factors are what breeds success.”
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Dowagiac superintendent Greg Blomgren addresses an audience during his first day in the position, July 1. At right, Blomgren officiates a girls basketball in December between host Cassopolis and White Pigeon. (Middle) Dowagiac assistant superintendent Michael Dunn, left, and Blomgren present Dowagiac Middle School science teacher Pat Lyle with a pin for 30 years of service. (Below) Blomgren, far right, is pictured with members of the Dowagiac Board of Education before the start of the 2024 Homecoming Parade. (Basketball photo by Scott Hassinger. All others provided by Dowagiac Community Schools.)
Yale's Dykstra Wasting No Time Showing Superior Multi-Sport Potential
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 28, 2024
Sadie Dykstra’s already long list of accomplishments from less than two years of high school – three all-state medals, multiple all-conference awards and a league MVP to name a few – may seem shocking.
And to most, it justifiably is.
But it’s come as little surprise for those in Yale who saw her grow up and do, well, anything.
“I’ve always known that she’s kind of special,” said Yale boys track coach and Dykstra family friend Brian Bearss. “She was that kid that, when other kids would be playing and learning how to ride their bikes, here comes Sadie and she’s yelling, ‘Look at this,’ and standing on the seat riding the bike. She’s always been exceptional as far as being an athlete.”
Dykstra is entering her sophomore track & field season at Yale and has already established herself as one of the best female athletes in the state. Want to argue against that? Check out this résumé:
Volleyball: Two years varsity, second-team all-Blue Water Area Conference as a sophomore.
Basketball: Two-time first-team all-BWAC selection, BWAC all-defense and BWAC MVP as a sophomore, BCAM all-state honorable mention as a freshman, sophomore all-state honors still pending.
Track: Unbeaten in the BWAC as a freshman with four league titles (long jump, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 1,600 meter relay), three all-state finishes at 2023 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals (fourth in long jump, fifth in 100 hurdles, sixth in 300 hurdles).
Again, just a sophomore.
“I can’t believe that I get to coach her,” Yale girls track coach Ashley Garofalo said. “She has a drive and a mindset that I can’t teach somebody. Nobody can teach you to have this. She gives every single thing that she has in every single sport. I think it does help when you’re so good at it. It makes you want to do it more.”
Basketball gets Dykstra’s most attention and it’s the one she’d most like to play at the next level. The 5-foot-11 guard is getting interest already from Division I college programs.
But it wouldn’t be right to say her heart is with one sport or another.
“I enjoy all my sports,” Dykstra said. “I like all my teams. I have a different team for each one, and I get along with all those girls. I think each one, it flows into the next one, and helps strengthen things for my other sports. Volleyball helps my legs for basketball. In basketball, I’m getting in shape for track.”
You don’t have to look far to find where Dykstra gained her love for athletics. Her parents, Kerry and Brad, both played basketball at Calvin College. Kerry graduated as Calvin’s all-time leading scorer in 1999 and is still sixth on the all-time list. She also served as Yale volleyball coach for 10 years, just recently stepping down.
Brad was a two-sport athlete at Calvin, playing baseball as well. He also played baseball at Grand Valley State. He coached basketball at Yale from 2006-10.
“We’re a very sporty family,” Sadie Dykstra said.
So, when it came time to enter high school, there was never a thought of specializing.
“I came in with the mindset of, I’m going to play three sports each season and enjoy them, too,” Dykstra said. “I don’t want to be in them and have them be the most awful things in the universe. I came in with the mindset of enjoying all three sports.”
While basketball is her current collegiate goal, she did say that competing in basketball and track & field would be something she would consider if given the opportunity. Bearss said Dykstra has Division I potential in track & field, adding that heptathlon could best suit her.
But there are still two more years to figure that out. The next thing for Dykstra to enjoy is track, the sport in which she had the most early success. And while outdoor meets are still a couple weeks away, she’s already locked in.
“She’s just a natural leader, and I think that’s why she’s so disciplined,” Garofalo said. “(Tuesday), I was going over a workout with somebody else, and she just started her warm-ups on her own. She’s not afraid to lead 60 other kids, even though there are juniors and seniors.”
Dykstra has big goals for this spring, mostly based around performance marks. She’s eyeing the Yale school long jump record of 18 feet, 1¾ inches, which is less than an inch longer than her personal best of 18-1. She’d like to move that record closer to 19 feet.
Her 100 hurdle PR (personal record) sits at 15.59 seconds, and she’d like to knock that into the low 15s or even high 14s. For the 300 hurdles, where her PR is 47 seconds, she’d like to get down to 45.
“I have big goals, and I think I can get to them,” she said. “But that’s something for the end of the season to play out and see how that goes.”
Anybody who’s watched her wouldn’t doubt that Dykstra can reach those goals. And that list, along with those accomplishments, continues to grow.
“Last year we went to Ortonville Brandon, and we had really nice weather that day and the competition was really good – a lot of schools there,” Bearss said. “Even with all of those great athletes, you could just kind of see, people are pointing and looking, ‘There’s that girl from Yale.’ They’re taking notice. Every once in a while, you get kids that turn heads like that.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Yale’s Sadie Dykstra launches into a long jump last spring. (Middle) Dykstra brings the ball upcourt against Armada. (Below) Dykstra stands at the net during volleyball season. (Photos courtesy of the Dykstra family.)