22nd WISL Conference Set for Feb. 7-8
January 13, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first, largest and longest-running program of its type in the country, the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Women In Sports Leadership Conference will take place Feb. 7-8 at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West.
The 22nd edition of the conference will feature three keynote speakers and a variety of workshops. The program annually attracts upwards of 500 participants, most of them high school female student-athletes. High school students, coaches and administrators are invited to register on the MHSAA Website.
Cost is $50 for students and $60 for adults, not including lodging for those intending to stay overnight in Lansing. A registration form for lodging also is available on the MHSAA Website.
The theme for this WISL Conference is “Lead: I Can & I Will” – and the opening address by U.S. Olympian Allison Schmitt will focus on believing in oneself and achieving goals. Schmitt graduated from Canton High School in 2008 and went on to win 11 NCAA Division I championships at the University of Georgia and a combined six medals over the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, including individual gold in the 200-meter freestyle in 2012 in London. She also experienced depression after her second Olympics, and now speaks on the subject and how she’s worked to compete again at the elite level.
Former University of Michigan basketball player Nicole Emblad – a two-time Academic All-American now studying at the university’s medical school – will speak on the role of a leader and the importance of teamwork and team-building at the WISL Banquet during the evening of Feb. 7. After a standout basketball career at St. Ignace that included leading her team to the Class C title in 2011, Emblad was a two-time captain for the Wolverines and graduated as the program’s career leader with 133 games played with 82 wins. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience.
Michigan State University women’s basketball coach Suzy Merchant will speak on leading through “Vision, Values, Voice” during the morning of Feb. 8. Merchant is in her ninth season at MSU after previously coaching at Eastern Michigan University and Saginaw Valley State University and serving as a captain while a player at Central Michigan. Merchant has led the Spartans to Big Ten Conference titles in 2010-11 and 2013-14 and finishes of third place or higher in six of the last seven seasons. She earned a bachelor’s degree at CMU and a master’s at SVSU after starring in three sports at Traverse City High School.
Workshops offered during the conference include topics on coaching, teaching and learning leadership, sports nutrition and injury prevention, promoting team chemistry, multi-sport participation and the roles and responsibilities of captains. A complete itinerary is available on the MHSAA Website.
The WISL Banquet will include the presentation of this year’s Women In Sports Leadership Award. The winner will be announced later this month.
Follow the #WISL hashtag on Twitter to learn more about the conference’s activities.
Montrose Again SBP Program of the Year
By
John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director emeritus
April 15, 2015
Capturing first place in three of five individual categories, Montrose High School repeated as the “Program of the Year” in the second annual MHSAA School Broadcast Program Excellence Awards for 2014-15.
The SBP Excellence Awards are underwritten by Herff Jones, which will award certificates and plaques to the schools which took individual honors, with the presentation dates and times to be announced.
Montrose took first place in Best Play-By-Play, Best Single Camera Production with PlayOn! Sports graphics, and the top two spots for Best Use of PlayOn! Sports Graphics. The program also took a second place for Best Produced Commercial/Feature and a third for Best Multicamera Production. Montrose also demonstrated during the school year a good blend of productions in a variety of sports covered and an overall command of the PlayOn! Sports software used for graphics and inserting commercials/features during the course of productions.
Other category winners were: Cedar Springs High School for Best Multicamera Production and Rogers City High School for Best Produced Commercial/Features.
Here is the complete list by categories of the schools and students being honored in this year’s SBP Excellence Awards:
Best Multicamera Production
First Place – Cedar Springs – Sam Owen, Sydney Dryer, Bryan Taylor, Alec Lachniet, Kaci Clark – Football game vs. Grand Rapids Northview.
Second Place – Cedar Springs – Rider Swanson, Sam Owens, Darrick Liggett, Kaci Clark, Cody Hoogerheide, Krystyn Messersmith – Football game vs. Ada Forest Hills Eastern.
Third Place – Montrose – Trey Schmitz, Andrew Morley, Amanda Ramsey, Nathan Brown, Eric Vandefifer, Brandon Smith – Genesee Area Conference Girls Competitive Cheer Finals.
Best Play-By-Play
First Place – Montrose – Eric Vandefifer, Trey Schmitz – Boys Basketball game vs. Lake Fenton.
Second Place – Rogers City – Casey Szatkowski – Girls Basketball game vs. Whittemore-Prescott.
Best Produced Commercial/Feature
First Place – Rogers City – Megan Brege, Heather Hentkowski, Ally Streich – Huron Halloween of Horror Feature.
Second Place – Montrose – Alyssa Bernard, Amanda Ramsey, Alicia Town, Allia Town – Sexual Assault PSA.
Third Place – Rogers City – Megan Brege, Heather Hentkowski, Ally Streich – Rogers City Girls Basketball Season Preview.
Best Single Camera Production with PlayOn! Graphics
First Place – Montrose - Trey Schmitz, Andrew Morley, Eric Vandefifer – Girls Soccer match vs. Hemlock.
Second Place – Rogers City – Brendan Koss, Sarah Meredith – Football game vs. Rudyard.
Third Place – Rogers City – Chandler Beland, Josh Foster – Girls Volleyball match vs. Posen.
Best Use of PlayOn! Graphics/Software
First Place – Montrose – Eric Vandefifer, Trey Schmitz, Andrew Morley, Griffin Powell, Bradley Payne – Boys Basketball game vs. Goodrich.
Second Place – Montrose – Eric Vandefifer, Trey Schmitz, Andrew Morley – Girls Basketball game vs. Lake Fenton.
Third Place – Rogers City - Victoria Bullock, Zachary Myers – Football game vs. Hillman.
The School Broadcast Program, powered by PlayOn! Sports, is a platform which schools can utilize to reach members of their community about activities taking place in their buildings, providing recognition for students while at the same time giving them hands-on opportunities to gain broadcasting experience and providing schools an opportunity to realize additional revenues for their programs.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.