Seng Leads, Coaches Others to do Same
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 25, 2018
Meg Seng misses coaching – in her words, “those relationships really are what it’s all about … stronger than just about anything other than family.”
But the coach in Seng continues to show the way in her work every day.
Seng will be honored next month with the MHSAA’s 31st Women in Sports Leadership Award for her work at Ann Arbor Huron and Greenhills over more than 30 years in educational athletics.
The award also will recognize Seng’s teaching, training and empowering of the next generation of coaches and especially women aspiring to follow her into leadership positions in a field where they remain underrepresented.
“I’ve always loved sport, and early on found I had a knack and an interest in coaching. So to be able to share with other young women what I think is a really noble profession makes it a passion for me,” Seng said. “I think it’s a great endeavor, and I’d love for more women to have the opportunity and the confidence to seek out some of those positions.”
Seng will receive this year’s award during the WISL Banquet at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West.
Each year, the Representative Council considers the achievements of women coaches, officials and athletic administrators affiliated with the MHSAA who show exemplary leadership capabilities and positive contributions to athletics.
Seng is in her 28th year at Greenhills School, serving as the athletic director the last 15 after 13 teaching physical education and health. Previously a scholarship athlete playing both volleyball and softball at Indiana University – and winning a pair of Big Ten championships on the diamond – Seng coached both sports at Ann Arbor-area high schools over nearly two decades and has continued as a role model for emerging coaches.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve been to every single (WISL) conference, and so for years, I’ve certainly been in the audience watching these great women be recognized,” Seng said. “To have followed for that long and now be on stage, it’s a tremendous honor for me – that group of women and their value to sport in Michigan is not lost on me at all. I truly respect that group, and I’m really proud to be part of it.”
A 1977 graduate of Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Ill., Seng began coaching at the college level after her playing days with the Hoosiers were done. She served first as a graduate assistant softball coach at Louisiana Tech University in 1983-84 while studying for her master’s degree, and then as a softball assistant at Illinois State University for 1984-85.
Seng took over the Ann Arbor Huron volleyball program in 1985, and over 12 seasons stretching two tenures led her team to five league titles and a District championship in 1993. She also served as Huron's co-head varsity softball coach from 1986-90.
She completed her teacher certification at Eastern Michigan University in 1990 and began teaching at Greenhills that year, later coaching that school’s varsity volleyball team from 1993-2000 and leading the Gryphons to a District title in 1997.
In 2001, Seng co-founded The Academy of Sports Leadership (TASL), a non-profit organization that provides education and training for women interested in becoming coaches and hosts a five-day residential camp for high school girls with that aspiration. In 2003, Seng became Greenhills’ athletic director and began her work as well contributing to the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA), serving on committees for both including as part of the MIAAA’s Leadership Academy faculty since 2011 and the NIAAA’s certification committee since 2014. She served as the MIAAA’s Executive Board president in 2013-14.
At Greenhills, Seng has hosted more than 20 MHSAA tournament events in various sports at the District, Regional and Quarterfinal levels, and she’s served on a variety of MHSAA committees as well as currently the Multi-Sport Participation Task Force. She also is an instructor for the MHSAA Coaches Advancement Program.
“Meg Seng has been a leader at every level of educational athletics – as an accomplished coach, respected athletic director and someone who empowers women interested in following her lead and filling the need we have in school sports for more women in all forms of leadership positions,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “She personifies the Women In Sports Leadership Award, and we’re delighted to present her with this honor.”
Seng received the MIAAA Jack Johnson Distinguished Service Award in 2012 and her region’s Athletic Director of the Year Award in 2008. She also received the Pathfinder Award in 2004 from the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports (NAGWS), and under her leadership Greenhills received the Exemplary Athletic Program Award from the MIAAA in 2017. She also received the Girl Scouts’ Leaders and Best Award in 2005.
In addition to her work with The Academy of Sports Leadership, she’s served since 2009 on the board as a founding member of the Michigan Softball Academy, which annually raises money for the American Cancer Society. She is published for her work in coaching education and recruitment and has spoken on various occasions on ways to provide opportunities for young women in coaching. She will present on recruiting and retaining female leaders at the annual statewide MIAAA conference this March.
“Meg sees a need and takes initiative to put a committee, group or process in place to solve and satisfy this need,” Holly athletic director Deb VanKuiken said in her letter recommending Seng for the WISL Award. “I truly respect and admire her. She has a great mind and a great heart for athletes and coaches alike. She leads, and she serves.”
Part of filling that need is helping athletic directors find candidates and helping candidates feel confident.
Seng monitors coaching at the high school and college levels, and has watched the percentage of female coaches at the college level fall drastically since Title XI. She also hears a few things – from women finishing college athletic careers who don’t feel qualified to coach, and also from athletic directors who would love to hire women coaches but aren’t finding candidates.
“Our Academy is a grassroots organization just trying to get young girls to follow that dream and show them the possibilities,” Seng said. “It’s a primer on coaching; we show them all the things coaches do and hope it sticks, that they say, ‘I can do that.’
“Part of what we do is try to empower them to take some of those risks.”
In addition to the MIAAA and NIAAA, and NAGWS, Seng is a member of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).
The first Women In Sports Leadership Award was presented in 1990
Past recipients
1990 – Carol Seavoy, L’Anse
1991 – Diane Laffey, Harper Woods
1992 – Patricia Ashby, Scotts
1993 – Jo Lake, Grosse Pointe
1994 – Brenda Gatlin, Detroit
1995 – Jane Bennett, Ann Arbor
1996 – Cheryl Amos-Helmicki, Huntington Woods
1997 – Delores L. Elswick, Detroit
1998 – Karen S. Leinaar, Delton
1999 – Kathy McGee, Flint
2000 – Pat Richardson, Grass Lake
2001 – Suzanne Martin, East Lansing
2002 – Susan Barthold, Kentwood
2003 – Nancy Clark, Flint
2004 – Kathy Vruggink Westdorp, Grand Rapids
2005 – Barbara Redding, Capac
2006 – Melanie Miller, Lansing
2007 – Jan Sander, Warren Woods
2008 – Jane Bos, Grand Rapids
2009 – Gail Ganakas, Flint; Deb VanKuiken, Holly
2010 – Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2011 – Ellen Pugh, West Branch; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
2012 – Janet Gillette, Comstock Park
2013 – Barbara Beckett, Traverse City
2014 – Teri Reyburn, DeWitt
2015 – Jean LaClair, Bronson
2016 – Betty Wroubel, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
2017 – Dottie Davis, Ann Arbor Huron
PHOTOS: (Top) Ann Arbor Greenhills athletic director Meg Seng instructs in the classroom; she taught at Greenhills for 13 years and continues teaching as part of CAP and the Academy of Sports Leadership. (Middle) Seng, left, also was a successfull volleyball coach at Ann Arbor Huron and Greenhills. (Photos courtesy of Meg Seng.)
'Scott Hancock Court' Celebrates JV Coach's 50 Years Building Up Cheboygan Hoops
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
December 19, 2025
It’s been a remarkable season so far for the Cheboygan boys basketball players and coaches.
The undefeated varsity Chiefs are looking ahead to the new calendar year and their next opponent, Northern Shores Conference rival Elk Rapids. They also have the District tournament they’ll be hosting in February in their sights.
But Scott Hancock is already looking ahead to the classes of 2035, 2036, 2037 and 2038. And nobody can blame him.
Hancock, a 1976 graduate of Cheboygan, has no intentions of ending his coaching career soon. He’d like to make it long enough to coach his youngest grandson Lincoln Hancock, who is already playing youth basketball in Cheboygan.
And while the Chiefs are finding success this year with the foundation Hancock helped build, the veteran coach can’t help but dream about his youngest grandson playing at Cheboygan High School.
“As a kindergartner he’s in Saturday basketball, and he loves the game,” Hancock said. “God willing, I plan to be there for him.”
Hancock is his 50th season in Cheboygan program. He enjoyed the opportunity to coach his two sons Nick and Brian, both school record holders. He’s also enjoyed coaching his grandson, Landon Gahn, the Chiefs’ junior point guard. Gahn played junior varsity for Hancock his freshman year and moved up to the varsity his sophomore season.
All but two of Hancock’s season were spent as the JV coach. He took the varsity job on an interim basis when current Cheboygan varsity coach, Jason Friday, was playing for the Chiefs in the late 1990s.
On Dec. 9, the Chiefs officially named their home court the Scott Hancock Court. His family was on hand as well as current and former Northern Michigan coaches.
Hancock’s JV team lost that night to Alpena in overtime. The score was 50-50 when the fourth quarter buzzer sounded.
“Looking back, we should have just called the game at the end of regulation,” Hancock admitted. “I got a bunch of great kids this year. and it was a tough loss because it was an overtime loss.”
It was the only loss the Chiefs’ JV team has encountered so far this year. But wins and losses are not the focus of Hancock’s level of the program.
“I don't get too carried away with the wins and losses — I know what I'm there for,” Hancock explained. “I'm there to teach the kids to get them ready for the varsity.”
Hancock is considered by many to be the best coach in Cheboygan history. No counter argument can be found among the current varsity players and their head coach.
“He's the best coach that I've ever had — no bias because he's my grandfather,” acknowledged Gahn, who was found cheering from the bench as the Chiefs secured the victory earlier this week at Kingsley. “He teaches everything about basketball, but he doesn't really preach as much as he demonstrates being a good person. Just looking at him and what he does every day, you can just tell he's the guy that's doing everything right, even though nobody's watching.”
Senior Carson Kiefer helped lead the way for Cheboygan's varsity at Kingsley. He scored 12 points, with two 3-pointers. Kiefer credits Hancock for helping him improve his confidence on the court.
“I think he cares more about the person individually outside of sports,” said Kiefer, who is averaging 16 points per game. “It's fitting that he's a JV basketball coach, helping build players’ skills and confidence.”
Kiefer’s twin brother, Andrew, singled out Hancock’s commitment to the school.
“He's not just a school figure,” said Andrew Kiefer, who is averaging just under 12 points per game. “He is not just the coach. He is a community guy all-around.”
The Chiefs varsity is getting strong contributions from their juniors this season. Nolan Schley is averaging 12 points per game, and he’s second on the team in rebounding. And Gavin Smith is leading the team in rebounds and assists, collecting almost 10 boards and four dishes per game.
The Kiefers, Smith and Schley are part of the reason Friday is not surprised by the 6-0 start and seeking a District title for the first time since 2015. The last time Cheboygan won a conference championship was 2020, playing in the Straits Area Conference during Friday’s first season as boys head coach after previously coaching the girls varsity.
“We knew that our junior and senior classes had some talent in there,” Friday noted. “The boys really want to win a District championship, as well as a conference championship. The boys put a ton of time in the offseason to do everything they can to get over that hump and get both a conference and District championship.”
Cheboygan will host a Division 2 District tournament this season after falling 50-48 in last year’s Division 3 District Final – also at home. The Chiefs face a field including league foes Grayling, Kalkaska and Kingsley as well as Ogemaw Heights and Sault Ste. Marie. Cheboygan topped the Sault 67-43 earlier this year and will play a home-and-home series with Grayling in January.
For now, though, the Chiefs are thinking only about Elk Rapids. Cheboygan started 7-0 last year before falling to the Elks to start the new year.
“We're approaching 7-0 again, so having them coming up here on the schedule, we’re definitely going to be practicing a little harder and watching maybe a little more film and just preparing for the game more seriously,” Gahn said. “Coach Friday was saying last year that he can't remember the last time the team started off 8-0, and it was our eighth game that we lost to Elks. So we're hoping to beat them next time we play.”
The court naming did not come as a surprise to Hancock. He was informed in a meeting with Marty Mix, Cheboygan principal. He thought he had some papers to sign and was surprised his family was waiting in the office.
“He was completely shocked, and Coach Hancock doesn't like attention,” said Friday, who is also the school’s athletic director and was in the notification meeting. “Scott always likes to be in the background, and he handled it quite well.”
And while his signature was placed on the court opening day this year, he points out the Hancock legacy started way before him.
“I'm more proud of the Hancock name on there more than the Scott part of it,” said Hancock, who also serves as the city’s as the parks and recreation director. “Believe me, my dad was a Chief through and through. He passed in 2006. I know he was there in spirit with us looking down.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Longtime Cheboygan boys basketball JV coach Scott Hancock sends a starter onto the floor during introductions before a game against Kingsley. (Middle) The Hancock family takes a photo with Scott’s newly-added signature on the floor. From left: Landon Gahn, Brian Hancock, Olwyn Hancock, Scott Hancock, Marjean Hancock, Lincoln Hancock and Nick Hancock. (Below) Scott Hancock shakes hands with a Kingsley assistant coach. (Family photo courtesy of Chris Murdick. Other photos by Tom Spencer.)