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.
Schrauben Finds Way Back to Gymnastics, Follows Path to Top of Finals Podium
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2025
The last thing Sydnee Schrauben enjoys is time on her hands.
During her previous breaks between fall field hockey and spring lacrosse, the Rockford senior had opted to throw herself into the school’s musical theatre program and appeared in productions such as "Shrek the Musical" and "Mamma Mia."
But this winter, when the Rockford senior found herself with little to do between those sports, Schrauben decided to reevaluate a return to gymnastics, which she had dabbled in growing up but eventually gave up prior to entering high school.
She and close friend Ava Ezell opted to come out for the Rams team.
"I've never been one to not do something," Schrauben explained.
While Schrauben is accomplished enough athletically to land a lacrosse scholarship to Coker University in Huntsville, S.C., next season and an excellent field hockey player as well, she had modest expectations for gymnastics. After all, she hadn't participated since eighth grade when the mental and physical demands of the sport became too great.
Her thinking was that gymnastics would keep her close to friends, fulfill her competitive drive for a few months and generally just give her something to do after school. But accomplishing something as grand as winning a state title? No chance, Schrauben said.
She was wrong.
Schrauben placed among the top five in two events while winning the MHSAA Division 2 all-around championship last weekend at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills.
It's a story that includes more than simply brushing aside long odds to win a championship. Schrauben hadn’t been around a balance beam or attempted a floor exercise for three years and enjoyed phenomenal success.
"I was very, very shocked," she said. "I was top-five in all-around in a couple meets, but after winning (the Final) I cried. It was a very surreal moment. Everyone has a dream (of) being awesome, but you never really think it's gonna happen to you."
Schrauben said she improved her scores as the season progressed and had a goal of scoring a 36 in all-around in her final meet. She actually bettered that by a fraction despite, she admitted, surviving a couple missteps.
Schrauben had to overcome not even placing among the top 36 in floor and finishing 25th in vault. That was done by winning beam (9.6) and taking fourth on bars (8.7). Her overall score of 36.025 in all-around outdistanced Rams teammates Kate Tracey (35.9) and Lillian Green (35.85), who finished second and third, respectively.
"I wanted a 36 in all-around and (to) hit all my routines, but that didn't happen,” Schrauben said. “But things worked out fine. I just told myself not to worry and go out and do the things I've done all year."
Not only did Schrauben have to shake off years’ worth of cobwebs to win, she also overcame a midseason ankle injury that put her foot in a boot for six weeks. But in a strange way, the injury may have benefitted her as she was able to step back from the sport and take a deep breath.
"I definitely fell behind, and when you stop training that's going to bring down your scores, but at the same time it gave me time to perfect working on bars and beam," she said.
"Bars and beam are my best events. I just wanted to have a solid meet and bump up my all-around score, and they helped me immensely."
Rockford coach Michelle Ankney said Schrauben's Finals title can best be described as the culmination of possessing athleticism, mental toughness, an ability to focus on what's at hand and a unique competitive drive.
"It's a combination of all the above," Ankney said. "She's a fantastic athlete, competitively very driven, has a mental talent and is fearless. She's doing this, and I just stared at her. I said, 'I can't believe she's doing this.'"
Winning was an amazing achievement, and a direct result of Schrauben attempting to harness something she's always recognized deep within herself.
"I get bored easily," she said. "I wanted to do something, whether it was a job or another sport or whatever. But then I found I kind of missed gymnastics. I thought doing something in my final season would bring back a love of sport and I'd end on a good note."
PHOTOS (Top) Rockford’s Sydnee Schrauben takes her first strides of a vault run during the MHSAA Individual Finals on March 8 at Kenowa Hills. (Middle) Schrauben takes a photo at a state gymnastics competition prior to high school. (Below) The Rams senior tops the podium for Division 2 all-around last weekend. (Click for more from this season’s Finals from High School Sports Scene.)