AD Inducted to National Hall of Fame
May 7, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Winter gets hectic so quickly that we’re forced to save some intriguing items that come our way for a sunnier day – and that day is today.
Following are news, notes and a few key links collected over the last few months, including the national Hall of Fame induction of a longtime Michigan athletic director, local recognition for another and statewide acclaim for a group of students putting their video production equipment to good use benefiting all.
Ann Arbor AD Honored Nationally
Former Ann Arbor Huron athletic director Jane Bennett was among five inducted into the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame in December.
Bennett served 26 years as a teacher, coach, athletic director and assistant principal in Michigan before spending the last decade as a principal at two schools in Montana. She served as athletic director at Huron for 15 years through 2002-03. The NIAAA reported that during her final decade in that position, participation in athletics doubled.
Bennett, who received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, began her career at Huron in 1977 as varsity softball coach and became a math teacher and the co-director of athletics a year later. She coached the softball team 14 seasons before moving into the full-time athletic director position. Bennett was co-founder of the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association and served as MHSSCA president from 1982-87.
Among other achievements at Huron, Bennett was a leader in a successful campaign to gain voter approval of a $60 million bond package, which included $20 million to improve and expand athletic facilities. She also developed curriculum for an annual varsity captains/head coaches leadership training program and composed handbooks/guidebooks for coaches, athletes and parents.
Bennett also was a valuable contributor to the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and the NIAAA. She was president of the MIAAA in 1993-94 and a state conference speaker on several occasions. Bennett also served in various NIAAA leadership positions including on the committee that developed the Leadership Training Institute in 1996.
Bennett was named MIAAA Athletic Director of the Year in 1998 and received its State Award of Merit in 1997. She received the MHSAA’s Women in Sports Leadership Award in 1995 and was inducted into the MHSSCA Hall of Fame in 1995. Prior to her selection to the NIAAA Hall of Fame, Bennett was honored with the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 1998 and the NIAAA Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence in 2000. In 2005, she was inducted into the National Council of Secondary School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, having served as its president in 2003 and been selected as its Athletic Director of the Year in 1998.
PSL's Ward: 'Pillar' of Detroit Athletics
Alvin Ward, the executive director of athletics for the Detroit Public School League and a member of the MHSAA Representative Council, received a 2014 Pillar in the Community Award in April from the Coast II Coast All-Stars, a Detroit-based pro basketball team that plays in the American Basketball Association.
Ward has served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal as well for Detroit Public Schools, and directs programs with a combined 500 coaches and 4,500 athletes.
Linked up
- This winter, the MHSAA Representative Council adopted a number of football practice rules changes aimed at improving player acclimatization at the start of fall and reducing head trauma and injuries. The Adrian Daily Telegram’s Doug Donnelly got responses from a number of coaches from that area of the state; click to find out why they feel these changes are important.
- Port Huron Times Herald writer Paul Costanzo let people know about our Student Advisory Council through the experience of Marlette’s Connor Thomas, one of our juniors and a great contributor this school year.
Power of Awareness
The Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation works to educate Michigan schools on sudden cardiac arrest and train personnel in CPR and the use of an AED (automated external defibrillator). The video below teaches us again about the importance of awareness.
Saginaw Heritage was awarded $5,000 in April as the winner of the Gillary Foundation’s High School AED Contest. Students were asked to create a 3-minute video emphasizing the importance of Michigan high schools being adequately prepared to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest or related event on school property.
Randy and Sue Gillary created the foundation after their 15-year-old daughter Kimberly – an athlete at Troy Athens – died after suffering sudden cardiac arrest in 2000. The contest judges were Kimberly’s sisters Emily Kucinich, Jennifer Gregroy and Katie Gillary.
As of April 1, the Gillary Foundation had raised $1.2 million and donated 650 AEDs to schools – with three lives having been saved with donated AEDs. For more, click www.kimberlysgift.org.
Grandville Seniors Striving to Finish Time Together with Another Memorable Run
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
December 19, 2025
GRANDVILLE – A talented group of nine seniors on the Grandville hockey team have been playing together since they first learned to skate.
Now, in their final season on the ice, they have sights fixed on ending their careers with another successful campaign.
“It's been really nice to play one last time with some of the guys you’ve been playing with since the youth hockey years and then playing together all four years in high school,” senior goalie Ayden Karas said. “ The chemistry and bond we’ve had all together really makes it one big family.”
Grandville senior Braden Vander Veen sees it as one last opportunity to make a lasting impact on the program.
“It’s been awesome to play with all these guys, and we have a ton of chemistry,” Vander Veen said. “We know we only have a certain amount of time left with each other, so we are just trying to leave it all out there.”
The Bulldogs, who lost in last year’s Division 2 Semifinal to eventual champion Flint Powers Catholic, have picked up where they left off en route to a solid 7-1-1 start to this season.
Longtime Bulldogs coach Joel Breazeale, who last month was recognized as the Michigan High School Coaches Association (MHSCA) Coach of the Year, said expectations remained lofty this winter with the return of several experienced players.
“Very happy with how we have played and I think the players would say they are pleased, but I don’t think they are surprised,” he said. “I think that’s the standard they’ve come to expect over the past two seasons, especially with this senior class that have been together with me since they were 4 or 5 years old. This is their opportunity to see it all the way through.”
Grandville, currently ranked No. 4 in Division 2, dropped its first game to second-ranked Trenton at the West Michigan Showcase, but bounced back the next day to defeat one of the top teams in Division 3.
The Bulldogs rallied to knock off Houghton 4-3.
“We’ve had some good and solid close games with them, but we never had an opportunity to play them at a neutral site,” Breazeale said. “For our guys, especially with the returning boys, this was an opportunity that we don’t get too often and they just dug a little deeper.
“I thought we played wonderfully the night before against Trenton but the game got away from us, and I felt like the kids came out in the second period (against Houghton) and just picked up where they left off and their coach said that they just couldn't keep up with our guys. We were remarkably consistent with our energy and our ability to stay on top of the puck, constant pressure.”
It was the first time the seniors had beaten Houghton.
“That was huge,” Vander Veen said. “Obviously the night before we played Trenton, which was our first real test, and then beating Houghton, who is one of the best teams in the state, felt great. It really gave us a lot of confidence.”
Six of Grandville’s wins have been shutouts as an aggressive defense and stout goaltending have been complemented by timely goal scoring from a balanced line-up.
“I feel like the season has been going pretty well, we’ve had some good games the past couple weeks,” Karas said. “The defense has been a really big reason why I've performed so well, and they've always been really helpful in front.
“Expectations were really high this year, especially coming off a final four run last year, but it's a new team and a new year.”
A promising group of younger players also have blended in well to provide depth.
“We have a ton of experience, and we took in a lot of young guys this year,” Vander Veen said. “It’s huge being able to mentor those guys and carry on with the success that we had last year. We have a lot of guys coming back who are hungry for more.
“We have definitely put in a ton of work in the offseason and with what we did last year, we were expecting to be up there this year. We are working toward that final four run again.”
Breazeale is looking for continued growth from his team as the season progresses.
“Marginal gains is what we’re focused on with the returning players, and then really hoping to see a jump from the new sophomores and juniors on the team,” he said. “The larger gains from our newest members will really determine how competitive we are with our depth because for any team to be successful it’s going to take more than just the leading cast members.”
The Bulldogs host Hudsonville on Friday before another road test Saturday against Rockford.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Grandville’s Braden Vander Veen (3) gets his stick on the puck as goalie Ayden Karas walls off that side of the net during a game this season. (Middle) Luke DeBoer (19) takes a faceoff against Jenison. (Below) A group of Bulldogs skate side by side, including Vander Veen and Lewis Gardine (18). (Photos by Jenn Bellgraph Photography.)