Next Play: Action Plans Save Lives
July 2, 2015
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
Without a doubt, questions will enter the minds of many as they attend AED or CPR training sessions, or MHSAA Coaches Advancement Program courses on health and safety:
“Will I ever need any of this?”
“Is this worth my time?”
The answer to the first question is, “Hopefully not.” The answer to the second musing lies in the stories that follow, excerpted from a small sampling of countless situations occurring in school buildings on a regular basis. These had happy endings, thanks to trained, educated individuals who knew how to react. The MHSAA’s mandate for CPR certification in 2015-16 aims to put more school sports personnel into that position.
Roughly 30 months after the tragic death of Wes Leonard, a Fennville High School basketball player who collapsed moments after his shot capped a perfect regular season in 2011, his mother Jocelyn helped to save the life of another Fennville student.
Thanks in large part to her efforts to promote greater presence of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in high schools across Michigan, and to provide training for such circumstances as the one in which she lost her son, Jocelyn was prepared for such a moment in the school where she serves as a choir teacher.
In October 2013 a Fennville High student collapsed in the middle of a math class prompting an alert being sent to Leonard, who rushed down the hall to the classroom and began CPR. She activated the AED that had been retrieved from the school’s office and used it on the boy, who was resuscitated as emergency responders arrived on the scene.
The Leonard family continues to campaign for mandatory advanced CPR training and practice in schools across the state through the Wes Leonard Heart Foundation, and more can be found by clicking here.
Chess can be a mentally exhausting game. Thinking of your opponent’s moves and the counter moves you can make, often anticipating many moves into the future, can be stressful and draining. Luckily, Andrew Wilson, a sophomore member of the Streamwood (Illinois) High School chess team, used that quick thinking to save a 7-year-old girl’s life in February.
Wilson had just finished a long four-game day at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state chess tournament in Peoria, Ill., and was eating dinner with a friend when they heard screams coming from the pool area at the hotel where the team was staying. Initially thinking nothing of it, Wilson and his friend continued eating before the reason for the screaming became known.
“We both agreed it was probably just a bunch of kids playing in the pool,” Wilson said. “After a while, a man came in and said that some girl had a seizure and asked if anyone in the lobby knew CPR.
“I said I did, ran in, gave CPR and revived her.”
Wilson had become certified in CPR less than a year ago as part of the Elgin Explorers Group, which is conducted by the Elgin Police Department for teenagers interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement. There, Wilson learned about being a police officer, just like his father who is on the Elgin Police Force.
“I didn’t expect to have to use [the certification] at all,” Wilson said. “I remember during training, I said, ‘I don’t understand why I’m going to need this.’”
The rest of the weekend in Peoria was uneventful, even with three more chess matches the next day, Wilson said. The Streamwood chess team didn’t win the tournament, but they brought home a hero.
Wilson was recognized at a ceremony in March, where he received a proclamation from Illinois Senator Michael Noland and an award from the police department. Both he and his chess coach, Pat Hanley, won awards from the U46 School District at the ceremony as well.
“While you may not have won the chess tournament, you’re definitely a winner in our eyes,” Board Member Traci O’Neal Ellis said while presenting the certificates of achievement.
(Below by Juli Doshan for NFHS.org)
Father & Son Set to Meet for 1st Time Coaching from Opposing Benches
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
December 10, 2025
The bantering back and forth is almost complete.
On Thursday, Mike and Zachary Zyla will finally coach against each other in a varsity girls basketball game.
It’s a game that both coaches circled months ago when Zachary, 26, got his first head coaching job at Britton Deerfield.
“It’s going to be intense,” Zachary said. “I’m sure he will want to win just as badly as I will. Me and our girls have been talking about the game a lot because it’s a game we think we can win. We want to beat Sand Creek.”
Mike Zyla coaches Sand Creek and is Zachary’s dad. He is a longtime coach in cross country and track and added varsity basketball to his resume three years ago. Zachary, who played at Sand Creek, was hired this past offseason to coach the Patriots.
Both schools are in the Tri-County Conference.
“It’s going to be fun,” Mike said. “We’ve been going back and forth about it for a couple of weeks. We’ll see how it goes.”
Basketball is special in the Zyla household.
Zachary’s other brother, Ryan, coaches at a junior college in Minnesota. His sister, Chelsi, played two years of college basketball after graduating from Sand Creek. Their mom, Kirsten, keeps the scorebook for Mike’s games. She is a special education teacher at Britton Deerfield.
“When basketball season rolls around, that’s all we talk about,” Zachary said.
“I guess it’s a little bit in the bloodlines,” Mike said.
After graduating from Sand Creek in 2018, Zachary served in the Navy. He returned home two years ago and served two seasons as his dad’s assistant.
“I just love the game of basketball,” he said. “I’ve been playing since I was probably 2 years old. It’s the thing I’m passionate about. I watch almost every night. If it’s not a live basketball game, I watch clips of old games. I’m just a junkie for basketball.”
Mike said he misses having his son on his bench.
“I miss having him on staff,” Mike said. “He’s really sharp, picking stuff up on the fly. It was nice having him on the sidelines with me. It’s a good opportunity for him, though.”
Please welcome BD’s new varsity girls basketball coach Zach Zyla! Zach comes to BD from Sand Creek where his father Mike is the head girls coach. Zach assisted on the Aggie varsity girls team in the 2024/25 season and is a track assistant coach for the Aggies. Go Patriots! pic.twitter.com/6cpwUw6OW4
— BD Athletics (@athletics_bd) May 2, 2025
Zachary accepted the job in time to have a summer program with BD.
“I’ve always been a big fan of basketball,” he said. “It’s in my blood. I started coaching the Sand Creek hoopsters when I was 16 years old. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I would say coaching at the varsity level was a goal of mine. It’s always been a dream of mine. I didn’t expect to get a head coaching job so soon. I’d like to get to the next level someday.”
He said he has a few new things for his team to run against his dad.
“He taught me a lot, but our coaching strategies are different,” Zachary said. “I think I’m going to have some things he hasn’t seen yet.”
Sand Creek and BD both lost their season openers Tuesday. Since BD’s game started at 4:30 p.m., Zachary was able to get to Sand Creek to see his dad’s game against Pittsford.
“He was able to scout us,” Mike said.
It’s all in good fun.
“We have a great relationship,” Zachary said. “We bounce ideas off each other all of the time. Even for our first game of the season, we were talking about what we should do, the offenses and defenses. We talk pretty much every day.”
As rare as it is for a father and son to coach against each other, it’s the second time it’s happened in Lenawee County in recent years. Hudson varsity boys basketball coach Jeff Webster coached against his son, Jamison Webster, when Hudson played Tecumseh two seasons ago.
Jamison said it was a great experience, one the Zylas will never forget.
“Coaching and competing against my dad’s teams at Hudson over the last few years has been a great experience,” he said. “We both want to win, being the competitors we are. That being said, the lifelong memories we have made being able to share a sport we both love is what makes it special.”
Zachary said he knows it will be a little different than normal.
“The game’s intensity will be higher than most nights,” he said.
Mike agreed. He doesn’t relish the idea of beating his son, but doesn’t plan on backing down. Since they are both in the TCC, they’ll face off again later this winter.
“We’re both pretty competitive,” he said. “Competitive genes are in the family. I don’t think either one of us will be very happy if we are on the losing side Thursday night.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTO Britton Deerfield varsity girls basketball coach Zachary Zyla poses for a photo with his father Mike Zyla, right, the varsity girls basketball coach at Sand Creek. (Photo provided by the Zyla family.)