Let's Play 2 (or 3, or 4)
February 16, 2012
A few conversations I had at last week's Women In Sports Leadership conference further affirmed a point I've been making for years -- high school athletes, if they'd like, shouldn't hesitate to play multiple sports.
Doing so does not hurt, but might just help their chances at landing that prized college scholarship -- on top of adding another layer to the high school sports experience.
Reaffirming this for me last week was Michigan State softball coach Jacquie Joseph, who spoke on that subject at the WISL conference. She's heading into her 24th season as a head coach at the Division I college level -- so she's been around for some of the evolution of both high school sports specialization and college recruiting. Plus, she coaches a sport that sees its share of athletes playing just that one.
Later, I spoke with a high school coach who leads teams in three sports and also played one at the Division I college level. She's a believer in this as well.
Some of the things I've been told over the years about playing more than one sport:
- It allows an athlete to learn more skills and hone more parts of his or her athleticism.
- Using another range of movement further helps condition an athlete's body and make it more resistant to injury.
- It's hardly rare to see a college football coach watching a prospect's basketball game -- coaches like to see how athleticism transfers across sports, and sometimes will see something from an athlete playing basketball that he didn't show on the football field. (Football and basketball are used in this example, but the same applies to a number of similar situations.)
- Athletes get an opportunity to play whatever they'd like only this once (unless they turn out to be that rare college athlete who takes on more than one sport at that level).
These are hardly new arguments. But they are always worth repeating -- especially when the people frequently making them (college coaches) are the ones single-sport athletes often are trying to impress.
Fast Start Leads to Familiar Allen Park Finals Finish
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 27, 2021
EAST LANSING – Allen Park proved Saturday the importance of a fast start in competitive cheerleading.
The Jaguars built a big lead, then held on despite not having their best stuff in Round 3 to capture their second consecutive Division 2 championship at the Breslin Center at Michigan State University.
“We didn’t have our best Round 3, but we definitely had our best Rounds 1 and 2,” said Allen Park senior Kylee Dietz, a returning all-stater from last year. “That just proves it takes three rounds to win a state championship.”
Allen Park posted the best scores in the eight-team field in the first two rounds and did enough in the final round to win with a 782.34 score.
DeWitt (778.90) moved up one after a third-place finish last year to place second. Muskegon Mona Shores (776.48) moved up to third with the best Round 3 score in the field.
Allen Park has now won three of the last five Division 2 titles, while placing second the other two years.
Julie Goodwin, in her 16th year as the Jaguars’ coach, said the key to this year’s victory occurred long before Saturday’s first two rounds – and far away from the bright lights of the Breslin Center.
“For two months we had practice on the computer four days a week and we had 100 percent attendance,” said Goodwin, who is assisted by Meghan Terry, Tina Johnson and Jessica Tremonti. “These girls worked hard in their basements.”
It looked for most of Saturday morning that Allen Park was going to run away from the rest of the field, in similar fashion as Rochester Adams did in the Division 1 Final on Friday.
But the Jaguars had an uncharacteristic drop on a stunt and several bobbles in Round 3, opening the door, albeit slightly, for its competitors. Goodwin said her team showed its grit by finishing the round strong.
“Endurance and perseverance were the key to today’s win,” Goodwin said. “I have been saying all year that we are grateful, thankful and blessed – and I truly mean that.”
Leading the Jaguars through this challenging season were six seniors, including returning all-staters Skyler Longton and Dietz. Other seniors were Cailey Tuttle, Haylee Jent and returning all-state honorable mention choices Rayden Guthrie and Monica Karagozian.
Those six seniors pointed to the depth of the program, with 27 girls on the roster, as the key to this year’s championship. That depth allowed the Jaguars to overcome teammates that were sidelined by COVID testing and injuries.
“Everyone here is always prepared to step in and get the job done,” said Guthrie.
Allen Park will likely be in the hunt for a “three-peat” next winter, with a strong group of 10 juniors (including all-staters Adrianna Carone and Cassidy Kuhn) and nine sophomores returning.
DeWitt, which has never won a cheer Finals championship, finished runner-up for the third time, after also taking second in 2007 and 2015.
Candace Heskitt, in her 13th year as DeWitt’s coach, featured a veteran team with nine juniors and eight seniors – notably returning first-team all-staters Gabrielle Cooney and Aubrey McKinley.
“We had a feeling we were going to have a breakthrough, and it finally came today,” McKinley said. “It’s sad that it’s over, but it’s great to leave with this big trophy.”
Click for full team standings.
PHOTOS: (Top) Allen Park celebrates its Division 2 championship Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) DeWitt competes on the way to its third runner-up Finals finish. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)