Today in the MHSAA: 6/1/17

June 1, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first MHSAA Finals championships of this spring were celebrated Wednesday in golf and tennis, while Hudsonville’s longtime softball coach celebrated a milestone win few have equaled.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Girls Golf

Escanaba repeated as Upper Peninsula Division 1 champion, finishing 18 strokes ahead of Houghton – Second Half

Boys Golf

Escanaba pushed past three-time reigning champion Houghton to win the Upper Peninsula Division 1 title – Second Half

Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 10 Shepherd won its first Regional title in more than a decade – Saginaw News

Unranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central edged No. 7 Rockford by a stroke to win an LP Division 1 regional title – Grand Rapids Press

No. 6 Plymouth won a third straight LP Division 1 Regional title, shooting a 319 to edge No. 10 Ann Arbor Skyline by five strokes – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Lacrosse

No. 3 Hartland claimed its first Regional title in boys lacrosse with an 11-10 win over Midland in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

No. 5 Warren DeLaSalle edged No. 8 Grosse Pointe North 10-8 to claim a Division 2 title – Macomb Daily

No. 9 Clarkston avenged a regular-season loss by downing No. 8 Lake Orion 12-9 in another Division 1 Regional Final – Oakland Press

Girls Soccer

Swartz Creek continued its perfect run with a 2-1 Division 1 District Semifinal win over Davison, which scored first – Flint Journal

Newaygo escaped with a 2-1 win over Muskegon Oakridge after a shootout in a Division 3 District Semifinal and thanks to 36 saves by Jenna Janke – Muskegon Chronicle

No. 17 Portage Central got past rival Portage Northern 1-0 in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Kalamazoo Gazette

Softball

Hudsonville downed Allendale 10-0 to give 36-year coach Tom Vruggink his 1,000th career win, against only 263 losses – Grand Rapids Press

Division 1 No. 10 Mount Pleasant split with Division 2 top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley, with a 6-5 win in the first game the Vikings’ first loss this season – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Tennis

Ishpeming Westwood won six flights in claiming a fourth straight Upper Peninsula Division 2 title – Second Half

Negaunee won its fifth MHSAA Finals title this decade, claiming six flights during a Division 1 run – Second Half

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.

AFCA Two Minute Warning