Forsythe Honorees Give All to Educational Athletics
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 6, 2021
At one time during his four tenures as a Michigan high school athletic director, Leroy Hackley Jr. hosted MHSAA Finals in tennis and track & field and Districts in baseball, softball and soccer – all on the same day.
Another time, a neighboring athletic director hosting a Regional basketball game called because a dunk had just broken a backboard. An hour after Hackley took the call, the entire game had been moved to his school and play resumed.
Patti Tibaldi moved to Traverse City in 1995 already a high school and college basketball coaching legend and with district-wide administrative duties her next mission after also having served as a college assistant athletic director.
But with West High School set to open for the 1997-98 school year, and the most experienced applicant for the girls basketball varsity job having no more than seventh-grade experience, she stepped in again to build another program and make sure that generation of students received a great experience as well.
For nearly the entirety of their careers, and in multiple roles, Hackley and Tibaldi have been immersed in improving educational athletics. To celebrate their continued dedication and contributions over the years, they have been named honorees for the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Charles E. Forsythe Award for 2021.
The annual award is in its 44th year and named after former MHSAA Executive Director Charles E. Forsythe, the Association's first full-time and longest-serving chief executive. Forsythe Award recipients are selected each year by the MHSAA Representative Council, based on an individual's outstanding contributions to the interscholastic athletics community.
Tibaldi spent 40 years in educational athletics at Comstock Park, Grand Rapids West Catholic and Traverse City West and also Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, serving as a coach, athletic director and physical education specialist. Hackley has spent the last 22 years of more than 40 in sports as an athletic director at Byron Center, Jenison, Grant and currently Muskegon Orchard View, as well as serving as an MHSAA-registered game official for 37 years. Both are recognized statewide among the best in their various fields.
“Patti Tibaldi has given more to athletics in our state at the small college and high school levels than perhaps anyone over the last 40 years,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “She was a pioneer in small-school college basketball at Aquinas College, and my wife Marcy played against her there, and 30 years ago you could see that passion for women's sports that was unmatched. During her time at Traverse City West, her passion for kids was unchanged, and most of her students had no idea she had been that pioneer. She was a trailblazer for women in leadership positions in coaching and administration.
“Leroy and I were first-year athletic directors together in the same conference in 1999, and it's been a pleasure to watch him grow into one of the most respected voices over the last 22 years,” Uyl said. “At its core, athletics is a people business, and Leroy is all about those relationships. He's a guy who genuinely enjoys going to work every day.
Hackley has served as an athletic director first at Byron Center for five years, then Jenison for seven, Grant for three and Muskegon Orchard View for the last seven. Before those stops he served as director of health, recreation & wellness at Grand Valley State University for 14 years after serving as assistant director of recreation/intramurals for four years at Eastern Michigan University. His first administrative experience came while as a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa serving as supervisor of officials for the recreational services department. He’s also served as an adjunct professor in physical education at GVSU, Aquinas College and Muskegon Community College.
As well as hosting numerous postseason events, Hackley has served on eight MHSAA committees over the years and four years on its Representative Council. He’s been a registered MHSAA official in boys and girls basketball, softball, baseball, swimming & diving, volleyball, cross country and track & field over 37 years and has officiated every collegiate level of women’s basketball including Division I in the Mid-American Conference. He has officiated three MHSAA Basketball Finals and NCAA Division III and NAIA national championship games.
Just this week he changed his spring break plans to step in and host a Boys Basketball Quarterfinal and serve as a manager at MHSAA Semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
“I’ve always wanted to step in because I know what it’s like when you need help. I’m one of those guys who doesn’t like to say no. I try to find a way to lend a hand wherever I can,” Hackley said. “I’ve always enjoyed sports; all my free times has been spent watching sports or playing sports, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have a wife who enjoys watching sports. Pretty much my whole live has been centered around recreation and athletics. Coming from a big family (as one of 13 children), that’s one of the things we always did.”
Tibaldi spent 40 years in education and athletics at the high school and college levels, beginning first at Comstock Park from 1973-75 before spending the next six years at Grand Rapids West Catholic where she led the girls basketball team to the Class B championship in 1979 and the softball team to four league titles.
Simultaneously for the final three years at West Catholic, Tibaldi also served as women’s basketball coach, then also softball coach at Aquinas College, where she also became assistant athletic director in 1981. While at Aquinas she led the Saints to a 340-136 record on the court and the National Catholic Basketball Championship in 1984.
Tibaldi then moved to Traverse City Area Public Schools, first as the district’s K-12 physical education coordinator but eventually in multiple physical education specialist roles. She also was named the first varsity girls basketball coach at the new Traverse City West High School from 1997-2011 and served as West’s athletic director from 2004 until retiring in December 2014. As coach, she led the Titans to multiple league and District championships and the final few hundred wins of more than 800 total on high school and college basketball courts.
She’s also played a prevalent role in helping make MHSAA policy over her decades. She’s served on a variety of MHSAA committees, including the Basketball Committee, and served in multiple roles with the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan including as president. She also served at the collegiate level on the NAIA Executive Committee, the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Executive Council and as part of NAIA Women in Sports Leadership program and the Michigan Women’s Foundation Tribute to Women Athletes Committee.
Tibaldi has received various honors for her coaching and administrative contributions, including the MHSAA’s Women In Sports Leadership Award in 2011. She was The Associated Press’ Class B Coach of the Year in 1981 and twice earned special mention, and she’s a member of the BCAM Hall of Fame. She also was named state Coach of the Year for basketball by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in 2004, and named Regional Athletic Director of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) in 2011. She also was named BCAM’s College Coach of the Year in 1988 and is a member of the NAIA’s National Coaches Hall of Fame. She earned multiple NAIA District Coach of the Year awards for both basketball and softball and was the WHAC Coach of the Year four times.
“To me, teaching life lessons is everything,” Tibaldi said. “I had great kids, and it makes me proud to see where they’re at – the things they’re doing are mind-boggling, and it makes me really proud. The thing they all tell me is they learned what hard work was, about teamwork and persistence, and resilience. That to me is what’s valuable.”
Tibaldi also co-authored and was granted a $1 million federal grant as part of the Every Step Counts program to provide the Traverse City community with funds to fight obesity, and wrote and coordinated a USDA-funded Michigan Fitness Foundation grant for promotion of healthy school environments in five high-needs schools. She’s been an active volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club and presented at the annual Girl-Tech Conference to encourage young women to choose non-traditional careers. She continues to do work with the Michigan Fitness Foundation.
Tibaldi is a graduate of the former Redford St. Mary’s High School in Detroit and earned her bachelor’s degrees in English and physical education from Aquinas in 1973. She was named Aquinas’ Outstanding Alumni of the Year in 1995 and is a member of that school’s Hall of Fame as well as Grand Rapids West Catholic’s and the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame.
Hackley is a graduate of Culpeper County High School, located southwest of Washington, D.C. He earned his bachelor’s degree in recreation administration from Bethany College in Kansas and his master’s in recreation education from Iowa.
A member of the West Michigan Officials Association (WMOA) and National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), Hackley was co-founder and has been co-director of the Michigan Intramural and Recreation Sports Association (MIRSA) basketball officials camp and served on six committees as part of the National Intramural and Recreation Sports Association (NIRSA). He also was appointed to the Board of Directors of the West Michigan Sports Commission.
He’s also volunteered with Michigan Special Olympics, Georgetown Little League, National Kidney Foundation and Habitat for Humanity, served three years on the Board of Directors for the Downtown Metro YMCA in Grand Rapids and nine years on the Board of Directors at Bethany College.
Hackley was named WMOA Athletic Director of the Year in 2011 and an MIAAA Regional Athletic Director of the Year in 2018. He also has received MIRSA’s Tom Jones Service Award.
Past recipients of the Charles E. Forsythe Award
1978 - Brick Fowler, Port Huron; Paul Smarks, Warren
1979 - Earl Messner, Reed City; Howard Beatty, Saginaw
1980 - Max Carey, Freesoil
1981 - Steven Sluka, Grand Haven; Samuel Madden, Detroit
1982 - Ernest Buckholz, Mt. Clemens; T. Arthur Treloar, Petoskey
1983 - Leroy Dues, Detroit; Richard Maher, Sturgis
1984 - William Hart, Marquette; Donald Stamats, Caro
1985 - John Cotton, Farmington; Robert James, Warren
1986 - William Robinson, Detroit; Irving Soderland, Norway
1987 - Jack Streidl, Plainwell; Wayne Hellenga, Decatur
1988 - Jack Johnson, Dearborn; Alan Williams, North Adams
1989 - Walter Bazylewicz, Berkley; Dennis Kiley, Jackson
1990 - Webster Morrison, Pickford; Herbert Quade, Benton Harbor
1991 - Clifford Buckmaster, Petoskey; Donald Domke, Northville
1992 - William Maskill, Kalamazoo; Thomas G. McShannock, Muskegon
1993 - Roy A. Allen Jr., Detroit; John Duncan, Cedarville
1994 - Kermit Ambrose, Royal Oak
1995 - Bob Perry, Lowell
1996 - Charles H. Jones, Royal Oak
1997 - Michael A. Foster, Richland; Robert G. Grimes, Battle Creek
1998 - Lofton C. Greene, River Rouge; Joseph J. Todey, Essexville
1999 - Bernie Larson, Battle Creek
2000 - Blake Hagman, Kalamazoo; Jerry Cvengros, Escanaba
2001 - Norm Johnson, Bangor; George Lovich, Canton
2002 - John Fundukian, Novi
2003 - Ken Semelsberger, Port Huron
2004 - Marco Marcet, Frankenmuth
2005 - Jim Feldkamp, Troy
2006 - Dan McShannock, Midland; Dail Prucka, Monroe
2007 - Keith Eldred, Williamston; Tom Hickman, Spring Lake
2008 - Jamie Gent, Haslett; William Newkirk, Sanford Meridian
2009 - Paul Ellinger, Cheboygan
2010 - Rudy Godefroidt, Hemlock; Mike Boyd, Waterford
2011 - Eric C. Federico, Trenton
2012 - Bill Mick, Midland
2013 - Jim Gilmore, Tecumseh; Dave Hutton, Grandville
2014 - Dan Flynn, Escanaba
2015 - Hugh Matson, Saginaw
2016 - Gary Hice, Petoskey; Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2017 - Chuck Nurek, Rochester Hills
2018 - Gary Ellis, Allegan
2019 - Jim Derocher, Negaunee; Fredrick J. Smith, Stevensville
2020 - Michael Garvey, Lawton
PHOTOS: Muskegon Orchard View athletic director Leroy Hackley Jr., left during his time at Jenison High, and retired Traverse City West athletic director and basketball coach Patti Tibaldi are the 2021 Charles E. Forsythe Award honorees. (Hackley photo by Rob Kaminski; Tibaldi photo courtesy of Traverse City Record-Eagle.)
'Lapeer Through and Through,' Schmidt Surpasses Half-Century in Coaching
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
April 2, 2025
Manny Schmidt still wants to be at track practice.
After 50-plus years coaching in Lapeer, the man they call Coach Manny has not lost his love for helping student-athletes – and at this rate, he might go another 50.
“I told my wife years ago that the first day I don’t feel like going to practice, that I’d rather be somewhere else, that’s the day I’m done,” Schmidt said. “And it hasn’t happened yet. Obviously, you have bad days and things like that. But track, and right now practice, it just keeps me going.”
Schmidt, who is the head boys track & field coach at Lapeer, began coaching track as an assistant in 1974, and has remained there – and Lapeer East, then back at Lapeer when the schools merged back together – ever since. On Friday, April 11, he will be honored at an event at Lightning Rounds in Lapeer for his years of service to Lapeer athletes. The event begins at 7:30 p.m., following the Lapeer Lightning Co-Ed Relays.
“Manny has been a staple of Lapeer Athletics through many different renditions over the years,” Lapeer athletic director Shad Spilski said. “His willingness to help student-athletes grow and achieve their goals is all he wants out of his athletes. Manny spends, and has spent, countless hours over several decades providing athletes multiple opportunities to hone their skills. He not only coaches, but he is one of Lapeer athletes’ biggest fans and supporters. You will always find him at other sporting events cheering on athletes and his coaching colleagues. He truly is Lapeer through and through.”
Schmidt came to Lapeer to teach English in December of 1972 after graduating from Western Michigan University. He had attended high school at St. Joseph Catholic, and was unfamiliar with Lapeer.
But it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with the school community after receiving the assignment.
“Almost immediately,” he said. “I started in December; the teacher had left and I got the job in December. Three days later, they had a staff Christmas party that I got invited to, and all of my close friends over the years, many of them, I guess, I met at that party.”
Coaching was always something Schmidt wanted to do. He played basketball and ran track in high school, and had a basketball coach who made a big impact on his life. He wanted to do the same for others.
In the spring of 1974, during his first full year of teaching English at Lapeer, he got that chance as the assistant track coach. He has since coached cross country – working to start the Lapeer East girls program in the 1990s – junior varsity football and middle school basketball. He also served as a basketball official for more than 30 years.
“I just liked being part of it,” he said.
Throughout his five decades coaching track, Schmidt has worked with athletes in every event. While middle and long distance are what he’s long enjoyed coaching, he’s currently working with the Lapeer throwers and high jumpers, as head cross country coaches Russ Reitz and Bill Spruytte are also coaching track.
“In our program, we have four of us (Schmidt, Reitz, Spruytte and Anthony Merlo), and we all have equal voice, we all coach together,” Schmidt said. “On any given day, and that’s the nice thing, I could be with anything. I could be with the hurdlers.”
This past year, Schmidt returned to the Lapeer cross country staff as an assistant, saying he was honored that the current coaches respected him enough to call him back.
But for them, it was an honor to have him.
“Working with Manny is like having access to decades of knowledge,” said fellow cross country assistant Christine Cerny. “It is such a privilege to be able to draw from that and learn from that myself. It’s so awesome to be able to coach alongside him after he has coached my kids.”
During his time, Schmidt has coached multiple generations of Lapeer families, including his own. His children Corrinne and Jennifer both ran for him, as did his grandchildren Morgan, Mason and Colton.
And by his side the entire time has been his wife, Val, who worked as a scorekeeper during meets.
“When I started coaching, she would be the person at all our home cross country meets and all our home track meets who sat there and kept track by hand,” Schmidt said. “Probably the happiest person with this new technology is my wife – now she doesn’t have to do it. When we have invites, she’ll do medals and stuff like that.”
Technological changes have been abundant for high school athletes over the past five decades, not just in competition but outside of it. Schmidt recalls returning to Lapeer from away meets and having athletes line up at the school’s two payphones to call their parents.
“Now, when we get back, everyone has called home and their rides are there waiting,” Schmidt said.
Throughout his time, Schmidt has done plenty of winning and coached several athletes who have moved on to compete at the college level. But the relationships he’s created are what he values most.
“Nobody’s luckier than I am with where I taught and where I coached, and who I’ve coached with over the years,” Schmidt said. “You have to look forward to going to work, and I hate to use the word ‘work’ with coaching. It is, I guess. But there’s just so much good with it.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Clockwise from the top left: (1) Manny Schmidt (standing, second from left) coaches the Lapeer White Junior High girls basketball team. (2) Schmidt, top middle, takes a photo with Lapeer’s boys track & field team last spring. (3) Schmidt, left, has coached three of his grandchildren including Morgan Turk. (4) Schmidt, far left, takes a photo with the 2011 Lapeer East cross country teams. (5) Schmidt, standing far right, coaches Michelle Brundage during the 1991 Meet of Champions. (Middle) Schmidt looks on during an event. (Photos provided by the Lapeer athletic department.)