House's Letters Spell R-E-C-O-R-D
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
December 18, 2018
COMSTOCK — As a freshman, Abby House could not decide whether to play volleyball or golf, so she compromised and did both.
Little did she know that first dual-sport fall season would put her on track to Comstock High School history.
She will graduate in May with a school-record 22 varsity letters — 21 for sports and one for band.
The previous record, set by Robert Bellisle in 1943, was 17. Bellisle was inducted into the Comstock Hall of Fame in 2011.
“I just really like sports and starting freshman year with five, I didn’t really know there was a record for it,” House said.
She has four letters each in bowling, golf, basketball and softball, three in volleyball, two in soccer and one in band.
The school supports dual-sport athletes under specific conditions, athletic director Justin Ansel said.
“Primary and secondary coaches have to agree on the details before it can happen,” he said. “If we don't have their agreement along with the player understanding of expectations, we don't allow it.
“I think it's important to just give the kids opportunity. It works best with picking a team sport as the primary sport and then an individual sport as secondary.”
House’s father, Rich House, said he and his wife have no problem with their daughter playing six sports a school year.
“It wasn’t really ever a plan; it just kinda happened,” he said. “She was always good at it and has always been a good student.
“We always told her as long as she could handle it and keep up – the school work is most important. She always seemed to do a good job at that.”
Schoolwork has not been a problem for House, who carries a 3.88 grade-point average.
This year, she has just one class at Comstock – band – but took psychology, physics and accounting at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Next semester, she will study sociology, chemistry and medical terminology at KVCC, working toward a degree in nursing.
Although House plays sports for fun, her dad said his daughter is a high-level competitor in all of them.
“She has multiple conference titles, qualified for state twice in golf, once in bowling, all-District catcher two years in a row,” Rich House said.
This year, she was Comstock’s top golfer and is the team’s top female bowler, carrying a 150 average.
Decisions, decisions
As a freshman, House earned varsity letters in golf, basketball, bowling and softball.
She played the same sports the next year, but also was moved up to varsity in volleyball, giving her five letters.
Her junior year, House added soccer, and is continuing to play six sports her senior year.
She chose volleyball because “I played (volleyball) with my teammates since middle school and I’ve enjoyed it when I played in season,” House said.
Golf is a family affair for the House family, including her brother, Mason.
“My parents are big golfers and we’re a big golf family and the coach was really into wanting me to golf, so she talked me into it and I thought it would be fun to try,” Abby House said.
Since she started playing basketball in elementary school; it was a no-brainer to continue in high school. She was called up to varsity after a month during her freshman year.
The bowling coach had an inside track to recruiting her – it’s her dad.
Softball was her only spring sport until her junior year.
“When I was younger, I played softball and soccer, but I chose softball because I liked it more,” House said.
“We had a softball coach who wanted us to concentrate only on softball, so I didn’t play soccer.”
Her junior year, the softball coach left and House decided to add soccer, giving her two sports in each of the three seasons.
Everything falls into place
House is an expert at time management.
“In school, whenever teachers get done with notes and we have homework I try to do it,” she said. “Or with any free time I’ll do it and what’s left, I do after practices.
“Freshman, sophomore year I did a lot on the bus.”
Choosing a favorite sport is not possible.
“Everybody asks me that,” she said. “I can choose one per season, but not one overall.
“Basketball, golf, softball have always been my top.”
House has stepped up this year, helping lead the basketball team to a 3-0 overall record, 2-0 in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red as a point guard, her fourth position in four years.
As a freshman she was a post player, as a sophomore she shifted to forward, and then to shooting guard last winter.
Last season, she averaged seven points and seven rebounds per game. This year, it’s 18 points, eight rebounds and nearly six assists on average, she said.
“Abby has always been a solid player even since fourth grade when (she and Daisy Ansel) started playing some travel ball together,” said Justin Ansel, who also coaches the girls basketball team.
“I think Abby has always been a very coordinated athlete, and it doesn't surprise me that she does so well in so many different things. She has contributed at a high level in a lot of sports.”
Ansel said he thinks House could be extremely good if she focused on a particular sport, but “I think she just loves competing so much that she would rather play all kinds of sports all the time.”
Ansel said House complements leading scorer Daisy Ansel well.
“Abby's start to this season from an offensive standpoint has been tremendous,” he said. “Both girls are shooting very well from the outside, and both girls are able to attack so defenses can't just key on one of them – which is amazing for Daisy.”
House will not go into sports withdrawal once she graduates.
She hopes to continue to play in college, but just one sport, either basketball or golf, she said.
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Abby House’s varsity letter jacket shows off many of her accomplishments over her first three-plus years of high school. (Middle) Abby House and her father Rich House. (Below) Abby House takes part in some of her sports – with her dad at the bowling center, golfing, and hitting in softball and volleyball. (Action photos courtesy of the House family. Head shots by Pam Shebest.)
Freshman-Infused Heritage Overcoming Injuries to Make Big Impression Fast
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 3, 2025
Saginaw Heritage entered this girls basketball season flying under the radar of most casual observers.
That turned out to be a quick flight.
A 26-point win against reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield on Dec. 7 showed the rest of the state what those in the program knew all along – despite having zero seniors, and freshmen making up half their roster, the Hawks are ready to compete at the highest level now.
“I guess I was a little, but I wouldn’t say there was a lot of surprise,” Heritage sophomore Emma Duran said. “We worked a lot this summer and into the season, so when we finally got to the season, we knew how to work as a team and how to get better. I wasn’t really surprised about it, because I knew how much talent we had.”
Heritage has stormed out to a 6-1 start, knocking off not just West Bloomfield, but also postseason contenders such as Sanford Meridian, Freeland, Detroit Cass Tech and Hemlock by an average of 23.2 points.
That’s happened with four freshmen starting most of their games, as the Hawks are not only young, but have been without star junior Alesia Ode for the past four games.
“I knew we had something special probably in April when we started doing workouts,” Heritage coach Jaden Clobes said. “These kids didn’t miss anything all summer. It’s a special group that is really committed to being excellent. It’s fun to coach kids that obviously know basketball, but that also want to get better and are committed to being the best.”
Heritage had a solid season a year ago, going 14-11 and winning a District title in Clobes’ second season in charge of the program before losing to eventual Division 1 runner-up Rockford in a Regional Semifinal.
While not a single upperclassmen was coming back from that team, there were major pieces to build upon. That included leading scorer Ode and classmate Bree Hamilton, who Clobes called the best leader he’s coached. Emma and Ava Duran were also coming back after solid freshman seasons, although a knee injury suffered in April has kept Ava off the court. Clobes called them two of the best defenders he’s coached.
Around those pieces, Clobes was able to add perhaps the most talented freshman class in the state: Josie Ode, Zariya McCrary, Jayla Laster, Brooklyn Isom, Londyn Newton and Phoenix Brownfield.
It’s a group that went unbeaten in middle school (24-0 over two seasons), and several of them play high-level AAU in the offseason.
“We have a lot of talent,” McCrary said. “We all came from a team where we all played together, so we’re used to playing together.”
They immediately meshed with their older teammates and gave Clobes the ability to play his preferred up-tempo, pressing style.
“It was fun to put this group together,” Clobes said. “I’m a pressing coach, and we haven’t had the pieces the first two years to do it. This year, we have the length, we have the size, have the speed, have the IQ. We’ve caused 40 turnover in a game, we’ve caused 35 turnovers in a game. It’s fun to watch this team. They can kind of play the game without me having to say, ‘Hey, set this screen. Do this. Do that.’ I really haven’t had a team where I can just let them go play.”
They’ve earned this type of trust and praise from their coach while playing in big games, and without the help of the older Ode on the court. Their early success, however, has made her feel comfortable waiting until she’s fully healed to come back. A year ago, she said she suffered the same injury and it lingered for much of the season as she rushed returns multiple times.
“I’m proud of these freshmen,” she said. “They’re making big plays to help us win. I love the way they play. They play free. They play with passion. They’re not scared; they just play their game.”
As great as those freshmen have been, in order for Heritage to reach the goals it’s set for itself, Alesia Ode will be needed. But it’s been nice to have others grow their roles in her absence.
“Losing Alesia, obviously as a junior and someone who knows how to play, definitely is a challenge,” Hamilton said. “She gives us 15 points a game, so we lost those. But we’ve had freshmen step up. She’s also a good leader, so I’ve stepped up as that.”
One other thing that could help the Hawks reach that goal – the one loss on their record. Heritage lost its most recent game 60-51 against Howell, handing the freshmen their first-ever defeat playing basketball for their school.
“That was very eye-opening for us,” Hamilton said. “We have six freshmen on varsity, and they haven’t lost a game. The outside view does really get to you sometimes, and we came in and honestly did not have good practices before. It was a big learning moment, which was good. It’s eye opening and a good lesson that hard work is really what you need. You need to come into practice every single day and work hard. There are no rest days.”
To hammer that point home, Clobes hands out a hard hat to the hardest-working player each week. They tote it around during school, bring it to practice and set it at the end of the bench during games as a reminder.
“There’s a great quote that says, ‘Hard work does not equal success,’” Clobes said. “‘It’s the opportunity for success.’”
If it all comes together, the Hawks feel they can achieve their goals – which include getting past Rockford in the Regional, making a trip to Breslin for Finals weekend, and winning it – and the pieces do appear to be falling into place.
If they don’t, the Hawks certainly seem to be fine for at least another year, and likely longer, as they try to bring the program back to the heights it reached in 2002, 2018 and 2019, when they brought home Finals titles.
While they acknowledge that the future if full of those possibilities, they’d much rather take care of business now.
“Our huge goal is winning a state championship this year or next year, and getting to the Breslin Center,” Emma Duran said. “We want to do it with this team. We hope to, and that’s our top goal is winning a championship. Or, it could be both years.”
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) Saginaw Heritage’s Bree Hamilton (11) makes a move toward the basket during a win over Freeland. (Middle) Hawks coach Jaden Clobes (kneeling) huddles with his team. (Below) Josie Ode (23) looks to make a play against the Falcons. (Photos courtesy of the Saginaw Heritage girls basketball program.)