Freshman Flynn Has Harbor Springs Hoops Taking Flight Again
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
December 17, 2021
Kalkaska and the rest of the Lake Michigan Conference may not know much of the basketball family history of Harbor Springs point guard Olivia Flynn.
But likely they know all of her high school basketball history.
Flynn, just a freshman for the Rams, has already racked up three 30-point plus performances – over just five career games – entering tonight’s LMC game at home with the Blazers. The Rams are off to a 5-0 start under first year coach Amy Flynn, also the mother of the Rams’ emerging star.
And, the Harbor Spring boys are off to a 3-1 start under first year coach John Flynn, Olivia’s father. The boys suffered their first loss Thursday, to Kalkaska, 51-48.
Last year, Olivia was an eighth grader at Petoskey. She transferred to Harbor to be a part of the growing Flynn family basketball history. Her grandfather, Joe Flynn, is a member of the Harbor Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Joe Flynn began working for Harbor Springs schools in 1968 as a middle school social studies teacher. He left a lasting impression shaping and molding many Harbor student athletes’ lives during a career spanning more than 30 years.
John Flynn starred for the Petoskey boys basketball team for three years and coached the Northmen the last three seasons. He’s a member of the Petoskey High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Northmen went 43-16 under his guidance. But he grew up and spent most of his years in Harbor Springs.
The Rams girls varsity helm is Amy Flynn’s first high school head coaching job. But she’s no stranger to coaching youth basketball, and both she and John played at Grand Valley State. She and her husband also coached at East Grand Rapids High School.
Olivia urged her mom to apply for the Rams vacancy, knowing of her 1995-1999 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record-setting basketball career and all the knowledge she had gained from her mother’s previous experience.
“I wouldn’t want anyone else besides my mom coaching,” Olivia said matter-of-factly. “My mom’s always been there to help me get better.
“She has high expectations of me, so there is no other coach I would want.”
The 30-point performances, the most recent 38 in a lopsided win over Harbor Light Christian, is putting a little pressure on the freshman star. But the first-year coach is not feeling it.
“I don’t feel like there is pressure, just because when Olivia gets out there on the court it’s just so natural,” Amy Flynn said. “There is nothing forced. The game comes to her.”
Credit for Olivia’s fast start in high school also needs to go AAU coaches Rob Ruhstorfer, Jermain Smith and Jake Voelker, both Olivia and Amy noted.
“They had a huge impact on Olivia’s career,” Amy said. “The (Michigan) Mystics have been a great team for her and all the experiences.”
Amy Flynn has watched her daughter’s growth and feels blessed to have a team of players wanting to grow in the game of basketball. Athletes with a winning attitude and desire to learn were awaiting when she took over the Rams.
“Whether she continues to score 30 points or not, her game just will come along and she will bring her teammates along with her,” Amy said. “These girls are amazing – it was all there for me — already set more or less.”
Making the move to Harbor for the Flynn coaches was the best thing for their family, which also includes their second-grade son and boys team manager Johnny, fifth-grade daughter and girls team manager Alaina, and eighth-grade son and member of the Harbor middle school basketball team, Braeden. Another factor was the boys coach’s fond memories of playing for his father.
“I was apprehensive to take this position just because I didn’t know how Olivia would feel about it,” Amy Flynn said. “When she came to me a said, ‘Mom there is a girls opening in Harbor Springs and I want you to take it,’ I said, ‘You want to transfer from Petoskey and you want me to coach … are your sure about this?’ And she said, ‘Yep, and I will learn more from you and this is something we’ll never forget.’
“My husband (John) was on the same page,” the girls coach continued. “He said, ‘These are going to be four short years of her life and our lives. We’re going to do this as a family. If you want this, we’re all in.’”
So far, Olivia is loving high school basketball at Harbor. She’s expecting more difficult challenges ahead though, as she steps on the court each night sporting her No. 33 jersey.
“I am excited I started off on this foot, but I know we have some bigger games coming up too,” she said. “So I have to dial in and focus and get prepared for those games.
“They are going to be tougher competition, so I have to get ready for those.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Harbor Springs’ Olivia Flynn (33) has a spring in her step as she comes off the floor during last Friday’s win over Grayling. (Middle) The Flynn family, from left: Alaina, Amy, Olivia, Braeden, John and Johnny. (Below) Olivia and Alaina share a fun moment. (Photos by Sarah Sheperd.)
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 24, 2025
The calendar has played out well this girls basketball season, as last week saw several league championship deciders and this one will see a few more as teams also prep for the start of District play.
Brackets for that first round of the MHSAA Tournament were announced Sunday, with all teams seeded based on Michigan Power Ratings (MPR). We'll dive into those soon. But for now, there are still plenty of stories to tell as teams finish up the regular season.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 63, Detroit Renaissance 39 The Fighting Irish (20-1) have not played a single-digit game since suffering their lone loss in December to Belleville by a point, and this Operation Friendship win over the Phoenix (18-2) might be their most impressive of a 13-game winning streak.
2. Belleville 54, Detroit Edison 40 The Tigers are hoping to finish next month as Division 1 champions and continued their impressive surge into the postseason by downing the reigning Division 2 champ Pioneers (13-5).
3. Utica Ford 60, Utica Eisenhower 45 The Macomb Area Conference Red finished with these two sharing the title as Ford (19-1) avenged its 64-49 loss to Eisenhower (19-2) from Jan. 28.
4. Armada 56, Yale 45 With one league game left for both, these two could share the Blue Water Area Conference title after Armada (16-2) avenged its 69-62 loss to Yale (18-2) from Jan. 28.
5. Dexter 51, Temperance Bedford 41 The Dreadnaughts (15-6) pulled even with Bedford (18-2) in the Southeastern Conference Red with one league game left for both, avenging a 51-42 loss in their first meeting.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Farmington Hills Mercy (15-4) The Marlins have bounced back from a rare down (relatively speaking) season. Mercy finished 12-12 a year ago but rebounded to share the Catholic High School League Central West championship. The Marlins defeated Detroit Mumford 56-40 in an Operation Friendship game last week and can count wins over Howell (16-5) and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (16-3) – the second in a rematch after losing the first meeting – among their most impressive. Mercy finishes the regular season with a few more tests against Detroit Edison (13-5) and Detroit University Prep (15-3).
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (19-2) The Huskies have improved from eight to 11 to 16 and now 19 victories over the last four seasons, respectively, and this time also clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference White championship outright thanks to Friday’s 51-38 win over runner-up Grand Rapids Catholic Central (14-6). The Cougars had handed FHN its only league loss; Grand Haven (17-3) is the only other team to down the Huskies this winter. Northern meanwhile has wins over Muskegon Mona Shores (15-6), Hudsonville (14-6) and Portland (17-3) as well.
DIVISION 2
Grand Rapids South Christian (19-2) The Sailors have won 11 straight games and with Friday’s 53-42 win over Wayland (13-7) guaranteed a shared O-K Gold title with Grand Rapids West Catholic. South Christian lost its first meeting with West Catholic (18-2) by 13 and won the rematch Feb. 7 by seven; the Sailors also trended the right away with Wayland after winning that first meeting by just two points. South Christian also has defeated Holland Christian (17-3) and Grand Rapids Catholic Central, with the other loss to Hudsonville. Holland Christian and Wayland are part of the same District at Hopkins.
Sault Ste. Marie (14-5) With the dissolution of the Straits Area Conference after last season, two-time reigning champion Sault Ste. Marie has played as an independent this winter and capitalized by loading the schedule with several strong opponents. The Blue Devils have lost to Chelsea (16-3), St. Ignace (19-1), Freeland (17-3), Traverse City Central (13-5) and DeWitt (19-1) – but those losses no doubt have helped prep them for the postseason, along with wins over Harbor Springs (18-2) and Petoskey (11-8) among others. After falling to eventual Division 2 semifinalist Negaunee in District play last year, the Sault will head into an otherwise downstate bracket next week.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Christian (16-4) While the Comets saw their league winning streak end at 27 games this season, they’ve run their Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley title streak to three. That one league loss came to rival Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (18-3) in the second game of a split. Christian’s only other loses were to Paw Paw (16-4), Edison and Saugatuck (19-1) – and the Comets have swept first-round District opponent Lawton (14-5) and are coming off a win over Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (10-5) with Grandville Calvin Christian (16-4) up next. They could see Hacket one more time in the District Final.
McBain (14-4) The Ramblers are tied for second in the Highland Conference and one game behind Evart with one league game to play. Gaining a share of the league title is possible, but even without it McBain’s improvement has been notable after finishing 12-11 overall and tied for fourth in the league a year ago. The Ramblers did split with Evart (19-2), winning the first game and losing the second, and also split with Manton (16-4) and Beal City (12-10) in league play. Evart will host next week’s District, and a third matchup between the two could play out in the championship decider.
DIVISION 4
Frankfort (13-5) After opening this season with three losses, Frankfort is 13-2 and has clinched a share of the Northwest Conference championship despite losing to third-place Onekama (16-4) on Friday. Tuesday’s game against second-place Leland (16-4) will determine if the Panthers claim the title outright. Success wasn’t unexpected after Frankfort made the Division 4 Semifinals last season and brought back key pieces from that team. But the Panthers certainly have impressed, avenging a one-point opening loss to Buckley (14-6) with a 13-point win and also losing only to the Portagers, Roscommon, Evart and St. Ignace.
Indian River Inland Lakes (17-3) The Ski Valley Conference is one of the only undecided leagues left, and as noted below reigning champion Inland Lakes can secure at least a share of it with a win over Gaylord St. Mary tonight. The Bulldogs lost their first meeting with the Snowbirds 51-47 in overtime, and their only other losses were by two to Harbor Springs (18-2) and by one to Pickford (11-9). A sweep of East Jordan (16-5) finished off last week has kept Inland Lakes in the title hunt, and the Bulldogs are favorites next week at Rogers City as they look to claim a third-straight District title.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Gaylord St. Mary (17-2) at Indian River Inland Lakes (17-3) – The winner will take over first place alone in the Ski Valley Conference – with St. Mary either clinching the league title outright, or Inland Lakes claiming a share with a Thursday game to play against Johannesburg-Lewiston.
Thursday – Gladstone (19-1) at Negaunee (19-0) – Arguably the top two teams in the Upper Peninsula will cap the regular season with a rematch after Negaunee won their first meeting 45-28 on Jan. 28.
Thursday – Belleville (20-1) at Northville (14-7) – The champions of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East and West, respectively, will meet for the overall league title.
Thursday – Sandusky (19-1) at Cass City (18-1) – These are the champions from the Big Thumb Conference Black and White, respectively, and they could meet a second time in two weeks in a Division 3 Regional Semifinal.
Thursday – Haslett (18-2) at Parma Western (19-1) – These two league champions – Western from the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference and Haslett from the Capital Area Activities Conference Red – also might be meeting for a preview with a possible Division 2 Regional Semifinal rematch possible.
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PHOTOS (Top) Marquette's Alexis Curran defends Negaunee's Aubrey Johnson as she drives toward the basket during the Miners' 48-22 win Feb. 14. (Middle) Williamston's Jaiden Griffith (3) works to get upcourt during an early-season game at Okemos. (Marquette/Negaunee photo by Cara Kamps. Williamston/Okemos photo by John Johnson.)