Today in the MHSAA: 4/17/19
April 17, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Big-time matchups in soccer, baseball and softball highlighted a busy day of spring sports action across the state Tuesday.
2. Girls Soccer: No. 6 Hartland scored a major win over No. 10 Brighton, 3-1, in a matchup of top teams in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. Baseball: Two-time reigning Division 2 champion Stevensville Lakeshore claimed a pair of one-run wins over Division 1 No. 9 Portage Northern – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
3. Softball: South Lyon East handed Division 1 honorable mention Walled Lake Northern its first loss, but Northern came back to take the second game of the doubleheader – State Champs Sports Network
4. Softball: Traverse City West and Kalkaska each handed the other its first loss in a doubleheader split – Traverse City Record-Eagle
5. Baseball: Hudsonville won the first game and was leading the second against Division 1 No. 16 Rockford in a key Ottawa-Kent Conference Red matchup – FOX 17
6. Boys Lacrosse: Traverse City United came back from a halftime deficit to edge Petoskey 8-7 – MI Sports Now
7. Track & Field: Alpena’s boys defeated Traverse City Central 92-71, highlighted by Gabe Bullis breaking his school pole vault record by seven inches at 15-7 – Alpena News
8. Baseball: Division 2 No. 10 Detroit Country Day emerged from a matchup of sharp pitchers to down Birmingham Groves 3-1 – Observer & Eccentric
9. Softball: Division 2 honorable mention Chelsea improved to 7-0 in handing Dexter its first losses of the season – Chelsea Sun Times News
10. Baseball: Kingsley earned what could become a key Northwest Conference sweep over Frankfort – WPBN
Also of note …
Boys Basketball: Southfield Christian coach Josh Baker has stepped down to take a job at University of Alabama under Nate Oats, who formerly coached at Romulus before turning Buffalo into a mid-major power – MLive-Detroit
Wrestling: Hudson’s Jordan Hamdan was named Mr. Wrestler by the Michigan Wrestling Association – Adrian Daily Telegram
Noel Dean on Parental Expectations
July 9, 2012
At Lowell High, football parents who think their child should be playing more get an opportunity to convince coach Noel Dean of the same -- but must do so in a meeting with the parents of the player who would lose time in the process.
Dean, who has led the Red Arrows to three MHSAA titles, recently spoke with the America Football Coaches Association about managing parental expectations and providing a wider view of his program and the decisions that must be made to parents who often see through a more narrow scope.
Click on the link below, and especially pay attention at the 2:30 mark as Dean talks about his strategy for discussing playing time.