Keep on Coaching
February 1, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A few weeks ago, I finally got my first chance this season to watch a friend coach his basketball team. After guiding some others at the lower levels, this is his first time running the varsity – something he wasn't sure he wanted to do with a 1-year-old just learning to walk, but a challenge he ended up taking on to the benefit of all those involved.
Simply put, he’s good. I've seen a lot of teams and a lot of coaches over the past 15 years, and although I wouldn't know much of what to do if I were walking the sideline, I felt pretty qualified in telling him I was impressed – even if he didn't buy that I was offering an unbiased opinion. The best news is he’s gone from not sure about this a few months ago to talking about next season.
We know, at least anecdotally, that coaching continues to get more challenging. The time commitment has grown substantially to make running a program a year-round endeavor in a lot of sports at a lot of schools.
That commitment – especially for coaches with children of their own – was a main reason referred to in a New Haven Post-Chronicle story Saturday that noted 23 football coaching openings in Connecticut at one point this offseason. That state has 146 football teams – meaning roughly 15 percent will have new leaders this fall.
And that got me thinking about my friend, about how glad I am he’s given this a shot, and how I've seen so many others either not do so, or not stick around long despite having some pretty nice success.
A study published last winter in Interscholastic Athletic Administration magazine – a product of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association – noted some predictable results of a study that sought to determine the biggest challenges faced by first-year high school coaches.
The toughest according to the study was balancing the demands of coaching and teaching, experienced by nearly half the respondents – 98 percent of which coached high school teams and 81 percent of which are teachers.
The next six reasons all were noted by at least 30 percent of those in the study – personal fatigue, securing community support, securing and caring for facilities and equipment, parental contact, keeping non-starting players motivated, dealing with schedule interruptions and motivating athletes to achieve consistent, peak performance.
Nothing there is earth-shaking, and most if not all of these challenges are faced by high school coaches regardless of how long they've been in the field. But I got a little more perspective from some of the 32 items that ranked as least challenging to the first-year leaders – keeping in compliance with state and league regulations, dealing with substance abuse issues, teaching sport skills and creating a positive team atmosphere – things that seem most important, and yet appear to be easiest to do. I’m not sure what that tells us – but I think it tells us something.
Click to check out the entire three-page breakdown of the study, plus the researchers’ recommendations to remedy some of what first-year coaches face.
Giving back to Saginaw
I love reading about high-level athletes – like a star-studded group of alums from Saginaw – giving back to where they got their starts.
Pittsburgh Steelers star LaMarr Woodley made a big impact before the start of this school year by donating $60,000 to cover all participation fees for athletes in his former school district. The Saginaw News’ Hugh Bernreuter writes today about how Woodley (Saginaw High), the Philadelphia 76ers’ Jason Richardson (Saginaw Arthur Hill) and former Oakland Raiders standout Stu Schweigert (Saginaw Heritage) have combined to give more than $865,000 back to their home communities.
Bernreuter also mentions the non-monetary contributions of the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (Saginaw High) and former Indianapolis Colts receiver Blair White (Saginaw Nouvel).
Click to read more about it.
Quote(s) of the Week
While rifling through more papers on my desk, I found an article from the Washington Post from Sept. 2011 titled “How high school sports save our schools.” I was drawn to it in part because I spent more than a decade in a newsroom, and it was a piece by a reporter covering education who instead of reporting on school boards and the like, delved into the importance of interscholastic athletics to education as a whole.
He spoke of how participation continues to grow even as resources dwindle, and of data supporting that extracurriculars like sports are more effective than academic classes in teaching leadership, teamwork, time management and “other skills crucial for success in the workplace.” Later, he mentioned a study noting that those who participate in extracurriculars earned more a decade later.
Click here to read the entre piece. These passages struck me most.
“Coaches might be the only faculty members still allowed by our culture and educational practice to get tough with students not making the proper effort. They have the advantage of teaching what are essentially elective non-credit courses. They can insist on standards of behavior that classroom teachers often cannot enforce because the stakes of dismissing or letting students drop their courses are too high. …
“Students do better in activities they choose. If we provide more of them, led by committed adults … that can make a difference. We know the bad news about education. Dropout rates are high. Achievement scores are stagnant. But sports participation is going up, despite pressure to cut it back. Let’s cheer about that and look for a way to draw in more students.”
Stapleton Rewriting Frankenmuth Record Book as Eagles Pursue Historic Heights
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
September 16, 2026
Carter Stapleton set his sights on the Frankenmuth boys soccer scoring records as soon as he walked into the high school.
After accomplishing that feat just three games into his senior season, Stapleton is now setting the bar incredibly high for the next ambitious Frankenmuth freshman.
“It just showed all of the hard work that I put in throughout my career, and how much my team has supported me,” Stapleton said. “Last year (100 goals) became a big goal. Later in the season, I was pretty confident I was going to break the school record, so 100 was definitely the next big milestone that I had in mind.”
Stapleton has 90 goals and 134 points in his Frankenmuth career, both school records. He surpassed both marks Aug. 24 during a 5-0 win against Saginaw Valley Lutheran, supplanting Kendall Morris (2023) and Matt Hinds (2013), respectively.
Stapleton also is tied for the school single-game records for goals (six), points (eight) and assists (four).
“(Playing with Stapleton) is beneficial for everybody,” Frankenmuth coach Marcus Baker said. “He’s a great leader, a strong player. We have a small community, so I get chances to drive by the field in my off time, and he’s usually the one that’s out there doing drills, bringing teammates with him or working by himself. He’s definitely committed.”
Baker had his eye on Stapleton well before he was playing for the Eagles, having seen him play club soccer for Detroit City FC Genesee.
So, as a freshman, when he and his teammates had to help fill a roster that had lost 11 seniors from the year before, Stapleton was immediately tasked with a major role.
“With his technique and his skill level, we were able to play through him,” Baker said. “He was a guy that could make all the plays and read the game better than most people. He was a vital, key player. Like if we were playing chess, he’d be the queen.”
Stapleton, who had played forward for his club, played that season as a center midfielder and managed 18 goals and five assists as a young Frankenmuth team advanced to the District Final.
The following year, in the same role, he had 22 goals and 12 assists as Frankenmuth won its District before losing in the Regional Semifinal to eventual Division 3 champion Notre Dame Prep.
As a junior, Stapleton moved back to his more familiar center forward position and had 30 goals and 22 assists, leading Frankenmuth to a Regional Final, where it lost in overtime against Lansing Catholic.
This fall, he’s up top again and has 20 goals and five assists 12 games into the season.
“We just let him loose,” Baker said. “He’s definitely a threat, and his finishing skills are above the majority of our players. He sees passes that can be made to score goals while playing up top, and he also finishes the opportunities that he does get up top. It’s huge, it’s almost like having two queens on the chess board. He’s been playing with some of these boys since AYSO, and the chemistry is there.”
Foremost among those teammates when it comes to chemistry is Stapleton’s DCFC teammate, Landon Jacobs, who plays center mid for the Eagles.
That allows Stapleton to adjust his playing style from club to high school seamlessly, even though the games can be played in slightly different styles.
“For club, I tend to drop back as kind of a false nine, and get a lot of other players involved in the play,” Stapleton said. “With high school, it’s a lot more direct. So I either have the ball at my feet and drive to goal, or I make runs in behind, because I know Landon can find me.”
Stapleton and Jacobs are two of 10 seniors leading the way this year for Frankenmuth, which is 8-4 and ranked No. 11 in Division 3.
The four losses came over a five-game stretch, with three at the Eagles’ own Bavarian Cup against Davison, Ann Arbor Greenhills and Rockford, and the other against Haslett. Stapleton was out injured during the tournament, and while he would have liked to prove himself and help his team compete against some of those larger schools, he sees the positives in his absence.
“That could have been a good thing for the younger guys,” Stapleton said. “To help them get ready for next year, and the rest of this year.”
That outlook is further proof to Baker that his team is in good hands with Stapleton wearing the captain’s armband.
“He’s a very humble person, so for him to say that about his teammates, that’s a reason he’s one of the captains,” Baker said. “He sees it the way that I see it. He understands that it’s not just on him.”
The experience of the seniors, plus that gained by the underclassmen already this season, has Stapleton excited about how the rest of his final year at Frankenmuth could unfold. The team has advanced one round further during the postseason at the end of each of his first three years in the program. Another win this year would mean a berth in the Division 3 Semifinals, something Frankenmuth has achieved only once, in 2003.
With his name already all over the individual record books for the school, Stapleton would love to share that record-setting performance with his teammates.
“I definitely want to get there,” he said. “We can get a lot done this season. It’s kind of a toss-up with all the teams in Division 3. Honestly, I thought last year was going to be our year, we had a lot of really strong seniors. But a lot of younger guys have stepped up a lot this year.”
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) Frankenmuth's Carter Stapleton advances the ball during his team's game against Bay City John Glenn on Wednesday. (Middle) Stapleton, right, and teammate Jack Muller give each other a quick five during an August win over Saginaw Valley Lutheran. (Photos by BMB Studios.)