Get Prepped for a Fantastic Finale
May 24, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We love this time of year. And not just because school is nearly out for summer.
There’s little argument that the week ahead is the most exciting of each MHSAA school year. And you’ll want to set your bookmarks for MHSAA.com and Second Half for updated results and coverage not just next week – but through the rest of this spring season.
The MHSAA.com Score Center is our home for scores from all District softball, baseball and soccer games, which begin Tuesday. You also can view real-time brackets for every District by going to the “Sports” page for each, and updated brackets for lacrosse by visiting our girls and boys pages for that sport as well.
In the Lower Peninsula, we’ll have same day or next morning results as golf Districts are played, and first-day results from next weekend’s Girls Tennis Finals on May 31 – followed by final results at the conclusion of play June 1. We’ll post Finals results for Upper Peninsula golf and tennis as we receive them Wednesday and Thursday, and then results for all seven Lower and Upper Peninsula Track and Field Finals as they come in June 1.
But results are only the start. As we have during the fall and winter, Second Half will provide coverage including photos from every MHSAA Final – beginning with Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Girls and Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals. Keep an eye on Second Half throughout the week, or follow the Second Half feed on the cover page of MHSAA.com.
Transfer rule clarification
We released Monday the actions our Representative Council took earlier this month at its Spring Meeting, including an addition to the athletics-related portion of our transfer rule. Based on some questions we’ve received and read, here’s some further explanation of what will be installed for 2014-15:
The longer period of ineligibility for athletes who transfer because of athletics is not new. This has previously existed for cases in which a school could prove that it lost a student to another school purely for sports-related reasons.
What’s new is what must be proven and by whom for the longer ineligibility period to take effect. Now, a school that lost a student does not have to file a report with the MHSAA for the case to be considered. As long as one of a set of offending activities can be verified – including practicing, competing or training with a member of the new school’s coaching staff during summer or non-school sports activities or seasons – that student will have to sit 180 days instead of the usual period of roughly a semester. The 15 exemptions that allow a student to be eligible immediately – like making a full move to a new district or a student’s school closing – may still apply.
So, to conclude: The longer athletics-related ineligibility period is not new, just how athletics-related transfers are considered and reported. Click to read the full release.
Kickoff is coming
And that means we’re collecting varsity football schedules.
In fact, we have most of them thanks to our athletic directors, their secretaries, coaches and many others who chip in to help us keep complete and accurate information throughout the season.
But there are still plenty of steps in getting ready for August – and a huge one is locking down correct leagues for our teams this season, especially as schools continue to switch things up.
Check out your school’s schedule page by click on the “Schools” button in the menu bar at the top of MHSAA.com and searching for your school. Once on the school page, click the blue “Boys” button next to football. The schedule will appear in the middle of the page, with standings to the left.
See an error in a schedule or the standings? Email me at [email protected]. I thank you in advance.
Kramer’s words of wisdom
Long before Roy Kramer served as athletic director at Vanderbilt University, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and creator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for Division I college football, he coached multiple sports at East Lansing High School.
He recently was named winner of this year’s Duffy Daugherty Award, given in honor of the former Michigan State University coach to a valued coach or contributor to college football. The award, presented in East Lansing, is among those recognized by the College Football Hall of Fame.
Kramer finished his acceptance speech with a stirring endorsement of the sport that brought the crowd of more than 300 to its feet. If you’re a fan, former or current player or coach, see below.
PHOTO: Athletes race toward the finish of a relay during this spring's Alma College Invitational. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
BOTF X: West's Creatures Filling Bleachers with Support for Titans Teams
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 11, 2022
TRAVERSE CITY – The Bleacher Creatures have been waiting for this.
Of course, students everywhere were aching for some signs of normalcy over the last many months. But what’s that looked like at Traverse City West this school year?
Something like 400 students showing up to a Tuesday night nonleague basketball game/dance show/drumline concert/Valentine’s Day extravaganza reminiscent of gameday experiences Bleacher Creatures have enjoyed during decade-plus run as one of the state’s top student cheering sections.
“I think we’re all just so eager to get back at it after a year of pretty much constant disappointment because we just constantly want to be at games, and pick the themes and just be in that community and we couldn’t,” West junior Ella Boivin said. “Now that we’re back, we have such a good group of people. We just have so much energy. We just want to put it out there and have great school spirit.”
That’s turned into the biggest student sections anyone remembers at volleyball matches, a crew for home and road soccer games, a major turnout for wrestling and even some support at the ski hill – on top of the usual football and basketball gatherings. “It’s not just a thing where our school is having a game, we should just go,” senior Hattie Holmes said. “Everyone wants to be here.”
The MHSAA visited West and its Bleacher Creatures as the final stop on this year’s Battle of the Fans X finalists tour, taking in the Titans’ Feb. 8 boys basketball game against Ludington. This was our fourth visit to West, which won BOTF V in 2016. Midland Dow hosted the first of this year’s visits Jan. 28, and Buchanan was the second stop Feb. 4. Public voting begins on the MHSAA's social media channels Monday, with the BOTF X winner announced Feb. 18 on Second Half.
Below is our highlight reel and 10 “X Factors” from our trip to Traverse City West.
1. Battle Plan
As noted, Tuesday’s theme added some serious pink and red to West’s usual green and gold home court. Red and silver pompoms were another festive touch, as was the red flowery loveseat hauled in to become part of the first row. The Boys Dance Team – a collection of 20 “protégés” under the tutelage of trained dancer Boivin – performed at halftime, and the drumline provided a hard-hitting soundtrack including coordination with one of the section’s traditional cheers.
2. Jammin' in the Stands
An estimate of 400 students at Tuesday’s game is not an exaggeration. In fact, it might be light. We’ve been to West a number of times, as noted above, and this easily was the largest section we’ve seen – and perhaps can only be rivaled by Rockford’s showing during the first BOTF in 2012.
3. Follow the Leaders
Student life at West is driven in part by its Student Senate, made up of seven representatives from each of grades 9-12 who meet for a class daily. The Senate is charged with usual student government duties – mostly planning social and community service events – but also directs the student section. Input from all four classes is anticipated and appreciated – the most popular theme night of the year was thought up by a sophomore – and senators from every class give the group the ability to have leaders comfortably reach out to peers their own age. The leaders we met with Tuesday also represented seven sports, including senior Will Gaston taking the court with the boys basketball team that night and his football teammate Kale Cerny who helped organize those sections before playing in front of them in the fall.
4. It’s About Making Connections
Senior Henry Melcher was stunned earlier this year when, while asking a group of students if they were coming to an upcoming game, they replied that they thought they needed to be officially invited to be part of the Creatures. In the past, it was thought the section was made up of students from just certain social circles, but “I think this year that idea has been thrown away,” senior Patrick Guiney said. “We talk to every single person about games, and no matter what we encourage them to go – ‘If you’ve never been to a game before, try it out.’” Newbies figure things out quickly. “Most of our chants are pretty simple,” he added, “but they’re also really energetic.”
5. We Have History
The Creatures date the start of their section to 2007-08 and the student governor that school year. When West won BOTF V, the governor (who leads the Senate) was senior Cooper Kirby – who last school year was a teaching and coaching assistant at West, and he connected with Guiney and others as they sought to restoke the section after the COVID-induced break. Mission accomplished. Among highlights we've enjoyed every time we've visited: The drumline chant with “We Are The Creatures” – especially toward the end of games when it’s either crunch time or time to celebrate – is one of the most memorable we’ve encountered over our decade of BOTF travels.
6. Make the Most of Media
The Creatures utilize the normal social media channels, like many successful sections. But senators also do a ton of random, go-up-to-people public relations and promotions – “PR’ing” was one of the buzzwords of our visit. Guiney takes it up a notch by giving the section its own in-house media. A soccer player during the fall, he began interviewing teammates and posting those segments, and has branched out into interviewing members of the student section and even non-sports groups like the theater cast. Those kinds of connections – especially giving a voice to the variety of teams/groups and students from all four grades -– help make a school of 1,600 students feel more close-knit.
7. Down to a Science
Setting this all up takes about 10 minutes of class time each day – senators pick a theme, plan to “PR” it, talk about additional details, and then everyone jumps into their roles (decorators, promoters, etc.). The system is set up well to connect with constituents – again, with leaders from every grade, students know which senators to go to with questions. And they also know to get there early – Holmes said friends show up at 5 p.m. for 7 p.m. games to make sure they get close to the front.
8. House of Cards
No, not the Netflix drama. This House of Cards describes the Creatures’ favorite theme of 2021-22 so far, a first-time “Vegas” night for football Homecoming that saw a massive and fashionable turnout as students rolled in "dripped out" elegantly in gowns, suits and other formal wear. As referred to above, that theme was thought up by a sophomore – and providing ideas is an open-ended process. A list hangs in the Senate classroom that’s open for anyone’s contributions – and as of the weekend stretched about 50 ideas long.
9. Everywhere They Go, People Want to Know
Senior Zack Featherstone is the governor, and he’s been asked by multiple other schools’ student leaders how West gets such a turnout. “The first time I got asked that question, I had no idea how to answer,” Featherstone said. “But I think it evolved into when we (as leaders) emit the energy of going to these games, having fun and just being very crazy and having a good time, it spreads to other people and they eventually want to go.”
10. The Right Way
As inviting as the Creatures are, they aren’t tolerant of fans who don’t want to follow decorum. Again, the large number of leaders spread among all four grades is key when it comes to keeping everyone on the right page. “We do not let anything disrespectful happen in our section because it completely ruins everyone’s fun,” Boivin said. “It doesn’t matter what team you’re on.”
The Battle of the Fans X finalists tour is complete. Public voting on the MHSAA’s social media channels starts Tuesday – come back to Second Half for details – and the champion will be announced Feb. 18.
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City West's "Bleacher Creatures" enjoy one of many rowdy moments during Tuesday's boys basketball game against Ludington. (Middle) The Creatures provided a blast of pink and red for their Valentine's Day theme night. (Photos by Alan Newton/Newton Photography; click for more from this BOTF visit.)