Michel Finishes with Story to Tell
June 11, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Andrew Michel received the heart-breaking news only moments before leaving his golf team’s Regional on Friday to get ready for that night’s Brownstown-Woodhaven prom.
But missing making the MHSAA Finals by a stroke was not the first thing he shared with those who asked about his day at West Shore Golf and Country Club in Grosse Ile.
Instead, the graduating senior told of the 132-yard shot he dropped for a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th hole, his second ace but first in competition.
Michel finished with a season-best 76, missing the cut for this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final by a stroke despite firing another eagle during the final holes of his round.
“At the start of the day, I told myself don’t leave anything on the table. Go for it on every hole, make every shot and just have fun at your last tournament,” Michel said Tuesday afternoon as he readied for that night’s graduation ceremony. “Being a senior, I went for everything.”
The best part might’ve been how he came back from a disappointing previous hole.
Michel had just finished off a triple bogey on No. 11, and admitted he was down on himself. He stepped to the next tee with his pitching wedge, and “I didn’t really care what happened. I chose the club I like to hit on that hole, and in the air I was thinking it was really good,” he said.
The ball touched down on the green and spun back into the hole.
Michel also played golf and soccer at Brownstown-Woodhaven. He’ll attend Grand Valley State University in the fall, study engineering, and will try to walk-on the Lakers’ golf team.
“Deep down inside,” he said he’s disappointed he won’t be playing at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West on Friday. But he’s got a quite a highlight to take with him from his final high school round.
“It was very bittersweet. I really wanted to go to state,” Michel said. “But the hole-in-one balanced it out a bit.”
Eye on the official
Hopefully you caught our MHSAA benchmarks piece (also published on Second Half) on longtime official Lamont Simpson, who has worked not only MHSAA Finals but NCAA tournaments and is one of 32 officials in the WNBA. (Here’s the link in case you missed it.)
He also became that league’s first to wear the referee cam, debuting the new gear during a recent game between the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever.
The camera provides plenty of ref’s-eye views. Click the video below to check it out.
Wheels of Steele
We’ve been watching the inspiring progress of Frankenmuth runner Bobby Steele especially over the last few years as his story became known across the Lower Peninsula.
Steele, who is visually impaired, has run cross country and track for the Eagles, thanks to the help of guides who ran with him to help him stay on course.
If you haven’t heard Steele’s awesome story, check out this 8-minute video. Not only did Steele run, but he cut roughly 12 minutes off his first cross country times over the course of his career.
Bentz Adds Next Chapter to Inspirational Story as Novi Christian Athletic Director
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 24, 2024
NOVI – For anyone seeking an inspirational speaker, new Novi Christian athletic director Chad Bentz has a story he’d like to tell.
His includes the value of resilience, proof that improbable dreams can come true, and affirmation that mentors can change lives.
Bentz spent time in Major League Baseball, playing 36 games for the Montreal Expos in 2004 and four games in 2005 for the Miami Marlins as a left-handed relief pitcher.
The chances of making it to the big leagues are slim to begin with, but were even longer considering that Bentz grew up in Alaska.
On top of that, Bentz has a deformed right hand. When he debuted with the Expos, he followed in the footsteps of Jim Abbott, who also has a deformed right hand and starred at Flint Central and University of Michigan on the way to pitching for four MLB teams across 10 seasons.
Bentz was certainly a case of beating improbable odds, and watching Abbott while growing up was a big reason why.
“Everybody has their favorite players, but Jim was more than that to me,” Bentz said. “He gave me confidence to try things. I was always the kid with the weird hand. I always kept my hand in my pocket and was always self-conscious about it. Then I saw Jim pitching. He gave me confidence to try things, and thank goodness he did. When I tried things, I discovered I was good at it and got more confidence.”
It got even better for Bentz as a college freshman playing for Long Beach State, when he got to meet Abbott in during an unexpected visit.
“Meeting him was by far the most star-struck I’ve ever been,” he said. “We both stuck out our left hands to shake and it was the first time ever where it wasn’t that awkward. It was everything I thought it was going to be. He was incredibly nice, funny and just a good dude. That was one of my favorite moments. Kids being born, wedding and Jim.”
A big part of Bentz’ baseball development occurred in Michigan. Although he grew up in Alaska — he said he could’ve been a “Hall of Famer pitching inside of a gym” — Bentz would spend his summers in Michigan with family members in the Grand Rapids area.
He ended up hooking up with a travel ball team in the area, the Grand Rapids A’s, which was a step up from competition he saw in Alaska.
“I went down to Michigan, and I said, ‘OK, there are a lot of players in this country, and I am not as good as I thought I was,’” he said. “After my freshman year here (playing summer ball), I went back (to Alaska), and I started lifting and I didn’t stop. I kept working.”
Bentz eventually was drafted out of high school in the 34th round by the New York Yankees, played at Long Beach State and then was drafted in the seventh round by the Expos in 2001. In choosing baseball, he turned down opportunities to play football at Division I schools in what was then the PAC-10.
Bentz had been a standout linebacker and fullback, and when his baseball career was done, he began a college football career at age 30 playing for Castleton State College in Vermont.
“Playing college football at age 30 kind of gave me a taste of it, and that taste was that you should have done this 10 years ago,” Bentz quipped. “Not at 30. I was in slings every single Sunday. I couldn’t move. My arms were in slings. Both of them. But it was worth it. I loved and was thankful I had that opportunity. It filled that ‘what if’ type of thing.”
A husband and father of three, including 2-year-old twin boys, Bentz jumped on the chance to become the athletic director at Novi Christian and move to Michigan to not only be closer to family but give his kids a chance to be more active.
“Alaska is great, but it’s limiting,” Bentz said. “I told people that the grass isn’t going to be greener, but it’s just going to be a bigger yard and more swings for them to play on. We just wanted a little bit more opportunity.”
Bentz also said he would love the opportunity to speak in front of groups of people and share his journey in hopes of inspiring others, something he did regularly when he was in Major League Baseball at various ballparks.
"I was able to meet a lot of people of all ages who had any types of disabilities or anything,” he said. “I just know the kind of impact it can have. If I can do that and do a tiny bit of what Jim gave me, I’d like to pay it forward as much as possible.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTO courtesy of Chad Bentz.