Linked Up: 12/19/11
December 20, 2011
We've hit a bit of a slow spot with schools out for break and most contests reserved for holiday showcases and the like.
Here are some suggestions if you have some time for some reading between now and the start of 2012.
High school coaches try to bring basketball back to basics (Detroit News)
For most of the last decade, we've heard about the recessing of basketball fundamentals even among elite high school players. Enter Ben Kelso, Marshall Thomas and a number of other Michigan coaches who have pledged to end that trend. Tom Markowski tells us how the Metro Detroit Basketball Coaches Association aims to do so.
Lantzy retires after more than 4 decades as Ike grid coach (Macomb County Advisor & Source)
Utica-Eisenhower coach Bob Lantzy has been his school's only varsity football coach. He took four teams to MHSAA Finals and this fall became one of only nine state football coaches to win more than 900 games. He has retired after 41 seasons, and Kevin Lozon fills us in on the legacy.
Tabahn Afrik poised for greatness in pool for West Ottawa (Holland Sentinel)
The Holland area has its next big swimming star. Dan D'Addona introduces us to Tabahn Afrik, a freshman at Holland West Ottawa who qualified for the MHSAA Division 1 Finals in two events in his first meet this season.
High school basketball: History of class hoops is just that (South Bend Tribune)
"Hoosiers" made Indiana's former one-class basketball tournament known on a grander scale. But Indiana went to classes (similar to Michigan's) beginning in 1997-98. Al Lesar tells us how some in the state are attempting to revert to one class.
Today In The MHSAA: 8/30/21
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 30, 2021
1. CROSS COUNTRY The Ann Arbor Pioneer girls and Traverse City Central boys won big-school championships, Johannesburg-Lewiston swept the small-school titles, and Hartland’s Riley Hough and Central’s Julia Flynn won races featuring some of the state’s elite individuals at the Benzie Central Pete Moss Invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle
2. CROSS COUNTRY The Marquette girls edged Negaunee by a point, and the Marquette boys dominated as the school swept the Queen City Invitational titles – Marquette Mining Journal
3. BOYS SOCCER After ferrying across Lake Michigan, Ludington won the inaugural Carferry Classic Cup by downing Wisconsin’s Manitowoc Lincoln – Ludington Daily News
4. VOLLEYBALL Kingsford downed Niagara, Wis., in a tiebreaker to win the Great 8 Fall Classic at Forest Park – Iron Mountain Daily News
5. BOYS TENNIS Midland edged Petoskey by a point to win the eight-team Bill Baum Invitational – Midland Daily News
6. VOLLEYBALL Muskegon Mona Shores repeated as champion at Grand Haven’s Battle on the Boardwalk – Grand Haven Tribune
7. VOLLEYBALL Division 4 No. 5 Traverse City Christian downed host Kingsley 2-1 in the final of the Stags’ invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle
8. CROSS COUNTRY Holland West Ottawa’s girls won the Under the Light Invitational at Grand Rapids South Christian; the Portage Central boys and both Forest Hills Eastern teams also won championships – Holland Sentinel
9. VOLLEYBALL Division 2 No. 6 Cadillac downed Clio a second time to finish a 5-0 day and championship run at its home invitational – Cadillac News
10. BOYS TENNIS Battle Creek Lakeview claimed its sixth-straight All-City championship – Battle Creek Enquirer
Also of note …
HEALTH & SAFETY Grand Rapids-based be nice. began providing valuable mental health training for MHSAA preseason coaches meetings in 2019, and received some much-deserved national recognition on the TODAY show – TODAY