Flights, Flexibility, Fun & New Friends All Parts of Beaver Island's Sports Story

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

August 27, 2021

Chartered flights and overnight stays for all away games are part of the normal routine for one northern Michigan high school’s student-athletes.

Opportunities to make lots of new friends always come with the games too.

That’s the norm for Beaver Island athletes representing the Lakers in soccer, volleyball and basketball while competing in the Northern Lights League.

“We fly everywhere, and it is awesome,” says second-year soccer coach Bryan Doughman. “I thoroughly enjoy the travel.

“The biggest challenge is the kids forgetting something, and I am ultimately responsible for ‘How am I going to fix this?’”

Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan, northwest of Charlevoix in the Lower Peninsula and southeast of Manistique in the U.P. The island is home to 600 year-round residents, with 60 students kindergarten through 12th grade, including 17 in grades 9-12 this school year.

Doughman manages a restaurant on the Island. He is a native of Cincinnati. Coaching the co-ed soccer team has permitted him to make his first trips to the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island.

But social aspects provide the most benefit for the student-athletes. The Islanders will make their first trip of the season Sept. 15 to Concord Academy Boyne. As they do at home, the Islanders will play a game Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The overnight experience is provided by the home school.

Beaver Island volleyball“The kids will be seeing and meeting new friends,” Doughman noted. That’s what they ultimately look forward to … socially with different people.

“We all know the situation of going to work where you interact with the same people over and over again and can’t wait to meet new people,” he continued.  “That’s what they kinda go through their whole lives.”

Beaver Island’s girls volleyball team opened its season Aug. 27 with a pair of losses at Maplewood Baptist in Kinross, located in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

The soccer and volleyball teams will open their home seasons Sept. 10 and 11, hosting Hannahville Nah Tah Wahsh, another U.P. opponent.

“The island community enjoys being able to come and cheer on the island teams,” noted second-year volleyball coach Bridget Martin.

The boys and girls basketball teams will go through their seasons this winter similarly. Athletics and social opportunities are a source of satisfaction for Kerry Smith, Beaver Island’s athletic director. She grew up on the Island and competed for the Islanders.

“The best part of being an AD on an island is the great deal of satisfaction I get from watching our kids be able to connect with other kids their age and play a sport and have a great time doing it,” Smith said.  “The kids here know what a privilege it is to be able to have a sports program, and they show their appreciation through their outstanding sportsmanship – and that makes me beam with pride!”

Dianna Behl, Beaver Island’s language arts teacher, will take over the girls basketball team this winter. She has served as the school’s Nordic ski club advisor the past four years and has practiced with the basketball team frequently. She was a three-year letter winner at Charlevoix High School.

She’s expects her team to benefit from players taking part in fall sports.

“I am very excited for our season because many of the players are participating in soccer and volleyball, so they should be in great shape for basketball season,” she said.  “I hope to build on their solid base.”

Dan Burton will be entering his seventh season as the varsity boys basketball coach. He’s also developing an elementary basketball program and guiding the middle schoolers. He expects to have a middle schooler or two join the high school team to fill out the roster this winter.

Beaver Island soccer“The best part of coaching is getting these the students an outlet for sports,” said Burton, a business owner on the island.  “Otherwise, there’s nothing much else to do in a small town like this. 

“Keeping a sports program is the most important thing.”

The soccer team also is relying on middle schoolers as it attempts to find enough players to compete.  The co-ed roster is dominated by girls, and the Islanders have only two seniors and one junior on the squad.

“I just hope we can improve a lot on our basics this year,” Doughman said. “I hope to just have fun. The biggest challenge is they’re all first and second-year players, except for a handful.”

Weather is the most difficult challenge of being an island-based sports team, the coaches acknowledged. 

“The greatest challenge of coaching an island team is Mother Nature,” Behl said. “The girls practice hard for days and then at the last minute bad weather comes in and the planes aren't flying us out, or our competition in, for the games.

“It is heartbreaking and happens every season,” she continued. “Nonetheless, I am so impressed with how well the girls handle it. It is a life lesson in flexibility, and they are pros.”

Because of those frequent weather changes, spotting the athletic director in the school hallways often is a bad sign.

“The weather is a major frustration and always a factor for us,” Smith said. “On game day, I try not to  show my face down in the high school wing because the kids always think I am coming to deliver bad news.”

Beaver Island basketballThe school often chooses which teams will go on to MHSAA postseason play based on their success in the league. Beaver Island sent its boys basketball team to Districts last season.

The last Beaver Island team to move past the first round of Districts was the volleyball team in 2013. The Islanders beat Mackinaw City and went on to play Engadine before seeing their season come to an end. The school’s best-ever tournament run was by the soccer team in 2005.

“They were District winners; this was the farthest any team has ever gone,” Smith recalled. “It was a huge celebration. The team was greeted by the fire trucks, parents and pretty much the whole community when they flew home that day.”

Beaver Island anticipates sending the boys basketball team to Districts again this year, and possibly the girls basketball team as well. 

Mackinac Island is the Islanders’ favorite place to travel, according to coaches’ consensus. That’s the host for the volleyball and soccer Northern Lights Conference tournaments.

“One of our favorites would have to be Mackinac Island because the girls enjoy flying to another island, riding in the horse drawn carriage and the rare treat of getting to go to a Starbucks,” she said.

Mackinac Island will host conference tournaments for soccer Oct. 16 and volleyball Oct. 23.

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) Beaver Island's Ella Moon passes during a volleyball match this fall. (2) Olga Burton winds up to serve. (3) Beaver Island plays its lone home soccer game during the 2020 season. (4) The Beaver Island boys basketball team participated in District play this past winter. (Photos courtesy of the Beaver Island athletic department.) 

Senior-Freshman Combo has Hackett Catholic Prep Surging Toward Postseason

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

February 18, 2025

KALAMAZOO – Senior captain Addie Smucker is a stats stuffer who rarely leaves the floor.

Southwest CorridorFreshman Lucy Young already set a school record, scored a triple-double and received her first Division I college offer.

The veteran and the rookie phenom are instrumental in Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s amazing basketball season.

“This team has done more than we expected them to do,” coach Erin Gallagher said. “Our expectations were set with (our previous) teams.

“With Lucy coming in this year, you don’t count on your freshman leading scoring, averaging 23 points a game and (scoring) a school-record 41 against Kalamazoo Christian.”

The Irish take a 16-2 record and 14-game winning streak into the final weeks of the regular season, hoping to carry their success into MHSAA District play next month.

Smucker is the most consistent on the team, averaging 8.7 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals a game. She and Natalie Burhans are the only seniors on the team.

“Addie’s steals and assists turn to points for other girls,” Gallagher said.

Smucker averages 28 minutes a game, and it is not unusual to see her on the court all 32 minutes.

Smucker (2) takes on a pair of defenders during the Irish’s Feb. 7 win over Lawton. “If she didn’t get in foul trouble, she’d probably have more 32-minute games,” Gallagher added, smiling. “Over half her games, she’s played all 32 minutes in four years.”

At 6-foot-2, Young is the tallest player on the team, and if she continues scoring her average, could hit the 500-point mark by the end of the season and reach the magical 1,000-point career milestone during her sophomore year.

“Lucy’s biggest adjustment has been defense,” Gallagher said. “As a scorer, she comes in as a senior but as a defender she comes in a little bit like a freshman because (she hasn’t) played the fast pace like (varsity).”

Young said she had no idea she would start her high school hoops career on varsity.

“I was so nervous,” she said. “My first game (Smucker) asked if I was ready, and I told her I was so nervous.

“It was honestly nerve-wracking, but I know I can lean on my teammates and they can help me through the game. It’s been a really fun season.”

Young did not realize she set a school record with her 41 points against Kalamazoo Christian, a game that Smucker iced with a free throw during the final seconds.

The 56-55 win was the first for the Irish over K-Christian in four years (nine games).

“When they post me up, it’s a little easier to score,” Young said. “I do like to block shots, very carefully, of course. 

Young (34) gets to the basket against Lawton. “I always know where (Addie) is on the court and if I’m stuck in the post, I can pass it back to her. She has a great shot. Whenever she steals the ball, I know I can just run down the court and she can pass it to me, so I feel we complement each other well.”

Young’s triple-double came in a 55-31 win over Maple City Glen Lake when she recorded 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals.

Young said her strengths include “driving to the basket and posting up, using my height as an advantage to score. Maybe a little bit of passing, too. I can sometimes find some people in the corner and they can shoot it.”

Putting up such impressive numbers, Young has attracted the attention of several college coaches and got her first scholarship offer from Division I Western Michigan.

“ I was so proud, so happy,” she said. “That’s something I was working for because I really want to play in college.

“That’s my dream. It just felt like all the stars aligned. It was so cool. I was so happy.”

Young played volleyball in the fall and said that helped her get in shape for basketball.

“Volleyball can be fast-paced, but you don’t really move a lot,” she said. “I stay up at the net most of the time, so I only move side to side.

“Basketball is also fast-paced, but you’re sprinting, changing direction.”

Although Smucker is making her mark on the basketball team, soccer is her first love. She earned third-team all-state honors her sophomore year and first team last year.

“I’d say basketball is harder to get ready for because it’s more quick-paced,” Smucker said. “In soccer, you’re still running but it’s for a longer distance.”

She said she brings a common strength to her two sports.

“I feel like I’m a good passer,” she said. “In basketball, I’m always looking for Lucy and the same with soccer.

Gallagher is celebrated on-court after his 100th win.“That’s one thing I translate from both, looking for my teammates, the good pass.”

The team’s success also led to a milestone for Gallagher.

Hackett’s victory over Schoolcraft on Jan. 31 was the coach’s 100th varsity win, all at Hackett.

“I didn’t know even where I was at until two years ago when we made the (Division 4) Quarterfinals and had to turn in our stats to the MHSAA. I was 70-something,” he said. “Last year we won 16 and (during this season) coach Jared Butler asked where I was at and it was 97, so then I was keeping track from there. I didn’t want to miss that.”

While Young is getting much of the attention, Gallagher points out that everyone on the team is contributing.

“We don’t win those last few games without Addie putting in 10 points, (junior) Leah Smith putting in 10 points a game, (junior) Marissa Toweson’s hitting some big shots for us, timely shots.

“(Junior) Erin Cook has probably sacrificed more than anyone this year. As a freshman, we brought her up halfway through the season because we needed a post player and she just played defense and scored when she was able. Her defense and her rebounding have been incredible for us.

“Everybody has played very well all year. (Junior) Bethany Carpenter can score two points a game and have the biggest impact on the game. She is on the other team’s best player every single game.”

Young is not the only tall player in the lineup. Junior Lily Arechiga is 6 feet, Cook 5-11, and Smucker and Carpenter each 5-10. 

“They’re all really good teammates,” Gallagher said. “I think this is the best group I’ve had. They all get along, which makes it easier to coach.”

Pam ShebestPam 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) From left, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep's Addie Smucker, coach Erin Gallagher and Lucy Young chat during a recent practice. (2) Smucker (2) takes on a pair of defenders during the Irish’s Feb. 7 win over Lawton. (3) Young (34) gets to the basket against Lawton. (4) Gallagher is celebrated on-court after his 100th win. (Top photo by Pam Shebest. Action photos by Chris Ogrin. Gallagher celebration photo by Rachel Ogrin.)