Alpena students text2win $50,000

January 24, 2012

Alpena High School -- and more specifically its Kids and Parents United Together (KAPUT) program -- recently received a $50,000 prize from Verizon after the school received 450,000 text votes as part of the company's TXT2WIN contest.

KAPUT provides safe events and activities for teens. Although this prize isn't specifically designated for athletics, Alpena previously has been recognized for promoting school sports. The community's CHAMPS program – Community Helping Athletes Maintain Positive Sportsmanship  -- received the MHSAA's SCOPE award in 2007.

Alpena, a Class A school with roughly 1,300 students, competed against schools from 15 states.

To read more, click on this link to The Alpena News.

Called to Coach (Bay City Times)

May 30, 2012

Even for the best, coaching wouldn't be referred to as "easy" -- and many would argue that it's grown tougher as time commitment, financial need and parental influence all have increased.

And yet, there are thousands who every year continue to lead our programs. The Bay City Times' Cory Butzin recently explained some of the reasons why in his three-part series, "Called to Coach." 

Below are links to all three parts:

Part 1: Teaching young athletes is a high school coach's biggest reward

Part 2: High school coaches put in the time

Part 3: Support on the home front is crucial for a high school coach