Eventually, the sun will shine ...
April 25, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We all believe that, right?
Rain – and snow for some – has been the buzzword of this spring sports season. Just about every newspaper is writing about it and every athletic director, coach, player and parent is dreading it on a now-daily basis.
But eventually, we expect the weather to clear up and teams to play catch-up. To that end, there are limitations teams in some sports face when attempting to make up their games – but also opportunities to take advantage of while trying to fill out their regular-season schedules.
- Girls soccer and girls and boys lacrosse teams may play only three games during a week, Monday through Sunday. A weekend tournament – which generally includes 2 to 3 shortened games – counts as only one in this equation.
- Baseball and softball teams can play as many games as they want in a week, but no more than two on a school day – and baseball pitchers must not pitch for two days following their 30th out in a week.
- For tennis, an individual may not play more than three matches in one day – unless she or he is playing in a league championship tournament featuring more than eight schools for which a fourth match would decide the championship. That player also could not have played more than six sets that day heading into that fourth and final match.
- Golf and Track and Field do not have weekly contest limitations. Track and field athletes can compete in only four events per day.
As expected, a number of teams – especially for baseball and softball – are scheduling to smash in as many contests as possible into the next four weeks. Postseason play for tennis and lacrosse begins May 16 – three weeks from today.
But teams do have options.
One rarely used but anticipated to be used more this spring is an opportunity to continue playing regular-season contests through the final day of the MHSAA tournament in that sport. For example, a baseball team can continue making up games through June 15, the day of the MHSAA Finals in Battle Creek. A tennis team can play regular-season matches through June 1, etc.
Also, the MHSAA Executive Committee approved Thursday to allow for this spring two additional multi-team tournament dates for soccer and lacrosse, which will give those teams an opportunity to get in a few more games. That means soccer teams will be allowed to play in four multi-team tournaments instead of two, boys lacrosse four instead of two and girls lacrosse five instead of three.
Teams will have to do some juggling, no doubt, and all other tournament stipulations still apply (games generally are shortened so more can be played, etc.). But with a little creativity, teams could at least get in a few of their make-up games in this way.
Also, the Executive Committee approved a motion to waive the four-contest MHSAA tournament entry requirement for all Upper Peninsula schools in all sports this spring. As of the weekend, snow still covered parts of the U.P.
Gaps shrinking
Much has been discussed about minimums for all four MHSAA classes for 2013-14, and how they are the lowest student totals in at least a decade.
It’s true. The floor in Class A is 893 (down from 911 this school year), Class B starts at 429 (down from 449), Class C at 207 (down from 217) and Class D at 206 (down from 216).
However, there is a better way to crunch the numbers: Consider the shrinking gaps between the largest and smallest schools in each class.
For 2013-14, the gap in Class A is 1,888 students – 261 students fewer than 2007-08 and nearly 900 students fewer than in 2005-06. The gaps between largest and smallest in Classes B, C and D also are trending smaller – which means each class actually includes schools more similar in size, instead of a perceived other way around.
SAC 2013-14 on the way
We’re thankful for a valuable group of students who help us throughout the school year – our 16-member Student Advisory Council, made up of eight seniors and eight juniors from all over the state who are charged with providing feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, while also assisting at MHSAA championships and with special projects like the “Battle of the Fans.”
Selecting the next class to join is a highlight of every spring – but hardly an easy process.
A six-member selection committee, myself included, considered 62 sophomore applicants today from all over the Lower and Upper Peninsulas, representing all four of our classes and nearly every sport we sponsor.
Every candidate is impressive for a variety of reasons. That’s what makes this difficult – we could pick any number of combinations to make up our new SAC class, and no doubt leaders galore will emerge from another impressive group.
But there are only eight spots on the council. And we’ll announce who received them later next week.
PHOTO: A golfer attempts to keep warm during a round on a dreary day earlier this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Pair of 4th-Year Standouts Helping Fuel Bronson's Rising Expectations
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
December 3, 2024
BRONSON – Kam Brackett and Boston Bucklin are hoping to close out their Bronson basketball careers with a Big 8 Conference title and more postseason hardware this winter.
Brackett and Bucklin, who both begin their fourth seasons on the Vikings' varsity, are confident they can accomplish some lofty goals.
Both Brackett and Bucklin and their teammates are riding a wave of momentum following a successful football season that saw Bronson finish 6-4 and make the MHSAA Playoffs.
Eighth-year Bronson boys basketball coach Damien Loveless is excited to see how far his two senior leaders can take the Vikings, who finished 14-9 last winter.
"Kam is a phenomenal basketball player. He came in as an physically undersized freshman, and we asked him to go in there and bang with bigger guys. By the end of the season he became our starting point guard," Loveless said.
Loveless had another solid scorer at the time in then-junior Aiden Hathaway.
"It was around game 11 that we needed someone to relieve some of the pressure on Aiden. We put Kam at point guard and bumped Aiden off the ball, and the switch was very instrumental to our success and we ended up winning Districts,” Loveless explained. “This undersized kid (Brackett) thrived in that role. and he could've cared less if he scored and did a nice job distributing the ball to the other guys. He showed right away that he understood the game of basketball. When you have someone like that in your lineup, you're going to be a pretty good team.”
Brackett averaged 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and a pair of assists his freshman year. As a sophomore, he averaged 12.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per contest as Hathaway remained as Bronson's main scoring threat.
After losing Hathaway to graduation in 2023, Loveless asked Brackett to shoulder more of the scoring load as a junior. The son of Dave Brackett, a past all-stater at Burr Oak, Kam Brackett didn't disappoint as he finished his junior campaign averaging 23.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.5 steals. That performance earned the 6-foot-0 Brackett all-state honorable mention in Division 3, along with a runner-up finish for the Big 8 Conference Player of the Year honor. He is a two-time first-team all-league player.
"Last year we asked Kam to become our scorer, and that's a role he willingly stepped into," Loveless said.
Brackett poured in 37 points during Bronson's 2023-24 season opener and later posted a season high of 42 and another game with a triple-double with nine steals.
"Halfway through my freshman year I moved up and earned a starting spot on varsity. Ever since then I've been working to continue growing as a person and increasing my basketball skills," Brackett said. "My biggest strength is definitely getting to the rack. When my teammates find me open, I'm looking to drive and score or dish the ball off to our big guys when the defense collapses in on me. Coach Loveless and my teammates show a lot of trust in me when I have a good shot.
“I feel like we're going to go far in the tournament this year. We have a real good group of guys with different abilities and a bunch of underclassmen who will contribute greatly. There are a lot of people who can score, rebound or make a good pass. This team has improved a great deal over last season. We have to focus on league and Districts first, but a big step to putting our mark on this program would be to win a Regional title."
Going into the season opener against Battle Creek St. Philip last week, Brackett had 963 career points and was just 37 shy of going over the 1,000-point milestone for his career.
"Kam's instincts on the basketball court are so incredible. I love watching him play,” said Loveless, who during the school day serves as White Pigeon High School principal. “He's a great defender and takes a great deal of pride in that. Many of his points come off transition, but he can just flat out shoot, scores the ball very well and can play the game at the rim. He just loves the contact, pressure and intensity and thrives in the moment. Having someone like that on your team makes everyone around him better."
Brackett is looking to continue his academic career by studying business in college focusing on finance or accounting. Following a big football season this fall as a wide receiver, Brackett is weighing his options and considering continuing his gridiron career at the next level.
Bucklin, a 6-1 power forward, averaged 5.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and one steal per game his junior season.
"Boston has always been a big and athletic kid. He's physical, our strongest guy on the team and is going to move bodies out on the floor. He is good at just about everything he puts his mind to," Loveless said.
Bucklin is anxious to help put his stamp on the Bronson program as well.
"Like every year we are hoping for a Big 8 championship and a District title. Our conference is pretty tough, and our team is one of the most skilled teams I've ever been on,” Bucklin said. “Kam is one of those players that just makes everyone around him better. Everyone is always double-teaming him, and he still finds a way to score or he passes off to that open guy.
“Our team doesn't have lot of size, but it’s about how hard you are willing to work to be successful. I'm more of a rebounder than a scorer and prefer to get that rebound and get the ball back out to Kam or another teammate because I know they are going to do something great with the basketball. Everyone on this team is so positive when we're together."
Besides basketball, Bucklin has participated in football, soccer and track & field. He has been accepted and will attend the University of South Florida where he plans to study to become a physician's assistant.
Basketball runs in the Bucklin family genes. Boston's father Steve Bucklin and his uncle Jeremy Bucklin both played at Bronson. Jeremy Bucklin recently served as Sturgis' varsity girls coach. Boston's cousin Aaron Bucklin, another Bronson grad, is the varsity boys coach at Coldwater.
Brackett, Bucklin and Tyler Wilber, another senior, will serve as the Vikings' tri-captains. The remaining seniors on the roster are Drew Norton and Keegan Krebs. Other key players are sophomores Layne Arver and Warner Wotta, juniors Matt Anderson, Spencer Losinski, Stevie Wilson, Zeb Olsen and Carter Sikorski, and freshman Owen Losinski.
Bronson finished second in the Big 8 Conference last winter and fell in the District Semifinals to league rival Union City. The Vikings have not won a league title since joining the Big 8 Conference, but Loveless expects this team to be in the hunt.
Bronson finished 6-15 a year before Loveless took the reins of the program beginning with the 2016-17 season. The Vikings have won at least 13 games the last three seasons.
"To see the change in our kids' expectations the last few seasons has been remarkable and has set the tone for our program," Loveless said.
Loveless, an Olivet native and a Grand Valley State University graduate where he served as a student assistant, served as director of basketball operations at Olivet College before coming to Bronson.
While a student at GVSU and working at Olivet College, Loveless conducted research on the correlation between yoga and sports injuries. Along with weightlifting, Loveless has included yoga as part of his team's workouts twice a week at Bronson.
"When I was at Grand Valley we did a lot of stretching, and that led me to do some research. I found that there was this college that had implemented yoga in its sports program, and they had a 70 percent injury prevention rate," Loveless said.
"Yoga helps with your flexibility and injury prevention. It also makes our athletes a lot stronger."
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Bronson senior point guard Kam Brackett (11) looks to score against Sturgis during a game his junior season. (Middle) Bronson senior post player Boston Bucklin (35) battles for a rebound in a District game against Union City last winter. (Below) Vikings head boys basketball coach Damien Loveless, left, is joined by his two returning four-year senior standouts Brackett (middle) and Bucklin. (Top photo courtesy of Brandon Watson/Sturgis Journal. Middle photo courtesy of Troy Tennyson/Coldwater Daily Reporter. Loveless/Brackett/Bucklin photo by Scott Hassinger.)