Former MHSAA Coach Lands in NHL
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 5, 2013
This week in the year 2000, Jon Cooper had just finished his first season coaching at any level, having guided the Lansing Catholic hockey team to its first Regional championship in 25 seasons.
It would be the only season Cooper – a local lawyer and former player at Hofstra – would coach the Cougars. But it also was the start of a nearly unimaginable rise that saw him hired to coach the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning two weeks ago.
As the saying goes, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Cooper always was friendly and helpful to this then just-starting local media member, and despite his lone season coaching the Cougars quickly built a local fan base that continues to cheer him on from afar.
An NHL.com piece last week led with the high school angle. Click here to check it out. He took over a team 16-18-2 and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but Cooper surely will have plenty rooting him on from the MHSAA hockey ranks as he works to bring the franchise back to the playoffs – and we’ll work to catch up with him this summer during his first NHL offseason.
Grand Haven athletics 'Exemplary'
The Grand Haven High School athletic department received this year’s Exemplary Athletic Program Award from the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association during its annual conference last month in Traverse City.
The program was established in 1998 to recognize outstanding athletic programs and give high school administrators a vehicle by which to self-assess their practices and measure improvements.
Characteristics of “exemplary” programs include district-wide commitment, excellence in advancing the growth of well-rounded participants and serving the needs of all involved including parents and staff, and sustained success in teaching the values of high school athletics.
Click for more details on award criteria and a list of previous winners, and additional coverage by Grand Rapids’ WZZM.
Volleyball teams 'dug' deep
Michigan high school volleyball teams playing "Dig Pink" matches combined to raise more than $50,500 for cancer research last fall to rank sixth nationally, according to the Side-Out Foundation, a non-profit organization that heads up the “Dig Pink” initiative.
Class D Engadine raised the most among MHSAA schools – $5,200 – with Kent City, Bronson, Grand Ledge, Allendale, Stevensville Lakeshore, Monroe, Waterford Mott, Coldwater and Grand Blanc also contributing to the grand total. Also, Grand Ledge’s Katie Everts received a Side-Out Ambassador Program award, one of 10 handed out to individuals nationally.
Total, more than $1.1 million was raised nationwide.
Name that trophy
Few if any schools in Michigan have done more work in researching and identifying the trophies in its case than Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, which will celebrate its 100th season of boys basketball in 2013-14.
It's rare the Eaglets historians can’t determine what a trophy celebrated. In this case, hopefully you can help.
We believe it’s a basketball trophy from the 1930s – but haven’t been able to pin down a season or a level of the MHSAA tournament. A few things that make this one unique are the plaque presentation, as opposed to a standard trophy, and the large MHSAA seal in the center. Any ideas? Email me at [email protected].
Giving back to those who gave
Those from the U.S. 23/I-94 area surely remember the tornado that tore through Dexter a little more than a year ago, on March 15, 2012.
Dexter track coaches Bob and Katie Jazwinski are remembering those who helped them rebuild after their home was destroyed by the storm.
In a Second Half report last year, Bob Jazwinski said he’d seen athletes and coaches from Adrian, Ann Arbor Pioneer, Pinckney, Chelsea, Ann Arbor Skyline, Whitmore Lake and the USA junior hockey team among the many who flocked to the community to lend a hand in the cleanup.
The Jazwinskis began repaying the favor three weeks ago on the storm's one-year anniversary with the Dexter F 3.1 Tornado Run/Walk that benefited non-profit organizations that had donated for storm recovery the year before.
Click to read the March 30, 2012 story about Adrian athletes’ contributions to the clean-up.
Last call for basketball
We got off to a late start on entering basketball schedules for this winter – but thanks to some incredibly helpful school, official and fan inputters, we were able to catch up quickly and finish with a nearly-complete list of results and standings for this season.
Still, there are some schools with incomplete schedules or a few scores missing. And before everyone forgets completely about this season, we’re hoping for a little help in finishing this enormous task.
Please check out your team’s page on MHSAA.com and help us fill in missing scores and fix inaccuracies. The latter could include just about anything – an incorrect game date, incorrect opponent or score, team missing from league standings, etc. For corrections, please email me directly at [email protected]. (Note: If a game was cancelled, don’t just delete it – contact me and I’ll add “cancelled” to avoid confusion.)
Why is this important? Two big reasons. First, MHSAA.com publishes the most complete statewide scoreboard with results from every corner of Michigan. And we have the most complete archive of basketball seasons available, currently dating to 2009-10. Help us fill in the blanks, and they’ll be saved for everyone’s benefit for years to come.
I thank you in advance for any help you are able to provide.
PHOTOS: (Top) Jon Cooper's bio appeared in the Lansing Catholic hockey team's yearbook for the 1999-2000 season. (Middle) Grand Haven athletic director Robin Bye (second from right) poses with Gull Lake athletic director and MIAAA Exemplary Committee co-char Marc Troop, Grand Haven athletic secretary Rita Way and Ann Arbor Greenhills athletic director and MIAAA Exemplary Committee co-chair Meg Seng after the Buccaneers received this year's award. (Bottom) Orchard Lake St. Mary's is hoping to identify the championship recognized by this trophy, believed to be from the 1930s.
'South Lyon Lacrosse' Wins Out as United Turns to Season-Long Style to Finish Title Run
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 7, 2025
ANN ARBOR – South Lyon United girls lacrosse was perfect throughout the 2025 season playing “South Lyon lacrosse.”
So, when United found itself trailing Hartland 3-2 at halftime of the Division 2 championship game Saturday at the University of Michigan, the solution was simple.
Play South Lyon lacrosse.
United kept Hartland scoreless over the final two periods of play while controlling possession and netting four third-period goals to pick up a 6-3 win and complete an undefeated season with its first Finals championship.
“We really weren’t playing our game, so we had to just settle down and play like South Lyon lacrosse and not Hartland lacrosse,” South Lyon United coach Deanna Radcliffe said. “I just told them that if they remained poised and do what we have worked on all year, eventually (the lead) would come.”
The lead came midway through the third period. Junior Shealyn Perry netted the first goal in the second half with 7:19 remaining in the third to make it 3-3. That was followed just over a minute later by a free protection shot score from sophomore Reagan Shields to make it 4-3 in favor of United (24-0).
Sophomore Cate Cumberland added another goal only 36 seconds later on an assist from Perry, then Perry recorded her third and final goal of the match with 24.3 seconds left in the third to make it 6-3.
“I definitely did put a lot of pressure on (myself), but it was all for my team and I don’t regret it at all,” Perry said of leading the second-half charge.
With the lead, South Lyon went into possession control in the fourth, limiting Hartland’s opportunities to get back in the game. When the Eagles (20-6) did have the ball, they had some rushed turnovers that gave it right back to United.
“(South Lyon) has a talented defense. They have a lot of fast girls, and I think we were just too relaxed with our sticks in the midfield,” Hartland coach Ryan Skomial said of the scoreless second half.
United was the first to score Saturday, but it took just over 10 minutes of gameplay to get the scoring started. Junior Gabriela Lucchesi found the net first, but Hartland senior Ella Ebright answered a minute later.
In the second, Hartland senior Claire Brown gave the Eagles their first lead, 2-1, off a free protection shot. Perry responded for United with her first goal of the day, but Hartland countered with a goal from junior Amanda Norton during the final minute of the half.
Radcliffe admitted her young team, which had just four seniors, may have been nervous coming into the Final with an unbeaten record. The veteran coach admitted she had plenty of nerves herself.
“I didn’t even turn around until the very end of the game because I didn’t want to look (at the crowd). Even I was (nervous),” Radcliffe said. “It’s a different setting, a different stage.”
Perry said the team remained confident at halftime and stuck to the initial game plan with an emphasis on possession control.
She was key in all phases, helping with faceoffs, locking up on defense, and scoring three goals with an assist to earn South Lyon United its first title. Perry was quick to acknowledge her senior teammates, who played on graduation day, while holding an opponent to the fewest goals in MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals history.
“I could have never imagined it. I am beyond excited,” Perry said of being a Division 1 champion. “I am so proud of my coach for leading us on this journey. I’m so proud of the seniors that had to leave graduation early to play in this game with us. They know they made the right choice to come win this championship with us.”
The win for South Lyon United ended a three-year run of Brighton Division 1 titles. Brighton ended South Lyon’s season in 2024, but Radcliffe knew her team had a chance to come back and do something special in 2025.
“At the end of last year, when (the team) lost to Brighton and they realized they didn’t do what they could have done, I think they had belief that if they worked … I told them that if everybody just works a little bit harder, you can surprise yourself next year. I think they all bought into it, and here we are,” she said.
Hartland finished runner-up for the second time in program history, reaching its first Final since 2012. Skomial encouraged her players to keep their heads held high and be proud of their runner-up trophy after the match.
“It’s not something a lot of people expected. We were unseeded going into Regionals, graduated a lot of talent. I don’t think anybody expected this team to grind and get here. … Honestly, it was just an honor to get here,” Skomial said. “It’s so fun to be on this stage, and it’s such a great memory for the girls. It stings right now, but they will come away with a fond memory that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.”
PHOTOS (Top) South Lyon United players celebrate their first Finals championship Saturday. (Middle) Hartland works to slow down a South Lyon United rush during the Division 1 Final.