'Girls Night Out' Takes over Stadium
September 19, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A crowd of roughly 1,200 fans – including more than 700 students – loaded into Muskegon Mona Shores' football stadium on Sept. 5.
Batman, Captain America and the Cat in the Hat were there among cheering sections out in full force. Festivities included plenty of sun and live music to keep the crowd rolling.
It was a typical football night. And this was a typical football crowd. But Sept. 5 was a Wednesday. And the four teams playing on this night were a little bit "outside" of their natural element.
Mona Shores hosted the Grand Haven, Fruitport and Spring Lake volleyball teams for "Girls Night Out," a quad match that began with two rounds on portable courts in the football stadium and finished before a raucous crowd inside the Sailors' gym.
“The energy was outstanding. The student athletes playing loved the fact they were treated like football players on a Friday night,” Mona Shores athletic director Ryan Portenga said. “We had the adults in the bleachers facing the kids, and portable bleachers closed off (the court) with student sections yelling back and forth. It was wild.”
The idea was sparked some by a similar match between Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Grand Rapids Christian last season, when those teams played on a portable court on top of a high jump area.
But the additional challenge at Mona Shores was building two courts so four teams could play, sitting mostly on the track but also partly on the grass near the football sideline. The 12-by-12 inch plastic tiles, supplied by Illinois-based NetLynx, were pieced together like a puzzle by a crew that worked until 10 p.m. the night before.
Organizers waited out a forecast calling for thunderstorms. And given the significance of these matches, conditions had to be as close as possible to perfect – at the time, Grand Haven and Mona Shores were honorable mentions in Class A, while Fruitport (in A this fall) is the reigning Class B MHSAA champion and Spring Lake was a semifinalist in Fruitport’s district last season.
But it came off with barely a hitch. The first matches began at 6 p.m., and the football stadium lights were turned on about an hour later. The third matches were played in the school’s gym in front of all four student sections cheering throughout the final points.
Mona Shores finished 3-0, while Grand Haven was 2-1. Fruitport ended 1-2 and Spring Lake fell in their three matches.
With the help of a forklift and workers who stayed late, the courts were cleared from the football field by 1 a.m.
“It takes a lot of parental involvement to pull of that kind of event,” Portenga said. “We had a lot of helping hands.”
Click for additional match coverage from the Muskegon Chronicle.
PHOTOS courtesy of the Muskegon Mona Shores athletic department.
Laker Following Mother's Path as Wayland Multi-Sport Standout
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2024
When Wayland junior Harmony Laker opted to embrace athletics many years ago, she never worried about following some pretty impressive footsteps nor matching the hefty accomplishments of someone very close to her, a mentor who had herself been a standout three-sport athlete in high school.
In fact, Laker has wound up starring in the same three sports in which her mother, 2000 Wayland grad Kara Potter, also excelled in high school – basketball, volleyball and softball.
Kara was all-conference in all three sports and earned all-state recognition in volleyball and basketball. Harmony has been all-league since her freshman season in the same three, and all-region in volleyball and basketball.
Just a chip off the old block? Maybe, says Harmony.
But if there is anything mother and daughter have in common it's a love of sports.
"They introduced me to sports, and I've always strived to be like my parents," Harmony Laker said. "I was always drawn toward basketball, volleyball and softball. That's where my heart has always been, on a court or a field.
"I always wanted to play three sports; that's been my goal since middle school. Like my mother, I've always taken them seriously."
Like her mother, Laker hasn't just lettered in three sports – she's been outstanding. As a junior, she's already shattered the 1,000-point career basketball mark, reaching the milestone when she scored 38 points against Grand Rapids South Christian in late January. She's averaging 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists per game.
In volleyball, Laker had 864 kills, 513 digs, 80 blocks and 64 aces while serving 90 percent this season.
In softball, Laker has a 29-4 record as a pitcher over her first two seasons while batting .449 with six doubles and three homers as a sophomore. She's twice made all-conference in that sport, leading Wayland to two conference titles.
Kara Laker – also Wayland’s volleyball coach – said she and Harmony's father, Lance, a former varsity basketball coach at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg, never tried to edge their daughter toward athletics.
But when Harmony took up a variety of sports, the parents had one standing rule: Commit to the sport you're playing at the time. Worry about the other sports when it's time.
"Sports has always been a big part of our lives," Kara said. "We've never pushed our kids, but we've told them if you're going to be successful, you have to put in the time. My parents wanted us to do what we could (in sports). It was always in our prayers that our kids would truly love all sports. We're a competitive family, and we've always been drawn to sports."
The Laker family navigates a busy sports schedule. Liberty Laker plays volleyball at Grace Christian University, eighth grader Charity plays the same three sports as her mother and sister, and third grader Christian plays football, baseball and basketball.
"We divide and conquer," Kara said of her and her husband following the robust schedules of four children.
Harmony's first memories of sports involve supplying water to her father's basketball players. From there, she progressed to copying the three sports in which her mother excelled.
Kara won Wayland's coveted Multer Award as the school's top multi-sport athlete. Harmony hasn't won the award yet, but seems a shoo-in before she graduates in 2025.
Kara said it's tougher for athletes now to play three sports as AAU and travel sports often collide with high school athletics. But in terms of playing three, she said that decision has always been left to the kids.
"It's harder these days, but we were three-sport athletes who wanted to be good in all three," said Kara, who admits she's had discussions with Harmony about narrowing her participation list.
"It's actually a discussion we're having at this moment," she said. "A lot of it comes down to coaches and having them all work together so Harmony can play."
In order of preference, Harmony lists her favorite sports as basketball, volleyball and softball. But when it comes to cutting out a sport, Harmony hedges. If she plays all three as a senior – and that's currently the plan – she'll leave Wayland with 12 varsity letters, a rarity in today's high school sports world.
Harmony said the advice offered by her parents is the same that trickled down from their parents (her grandparents). Play as many sports as you choose, but also be well-rounded off the courts and fields.
Harmony is a member of the National Honor Society, leads the Wayland chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, is a member of the student council and has gone on numerous mission trips through her church.
But when it comes to athletics, Harmony is quick to revert to what she was taught early.
"I just want to work at my craft. You're only as good as the time you put in," she said. "My mom and dad have always said it's the heart that makes sports great. There are so many moments which are trials in sports and games, but ultimately that is what's going to make you better.
"Playing with pressure is a privilege. If a game is close and you have to execute, that's a privilege. God has put you out there for a reason, and you take the moments as they come."
PHOTOS (Top) Wayland’s Harmony Laker lines up for a free throw while playing her favorite sport, basketball. (2) Harmony, right, is successfully following in the multi-sport footsteps of her mother, Kara Laker. (3) Harmony Laker (12) soars to get a hand on a ball during volleyball season. (4) Laker makes her move toward the plate as a pitcher during the spring. (Action photos by Shannon N Jessica Photography.) mother/daughter photo courtesy of the Laker family.)