Ram Country, Here We Come
February 3, 2012
Rockford is next up on our "Battle of the Fans" tour, and we'll be making our stop for tonight's boys basketball game against Hudsonville.
So far, all good. We're having a blast. We've been to two Class B and one Class C school, and all three have brought a ton of what we're looking for in a "Battle of the Fans" champion. Rockford is one of our largest Class A schools -- so we're expecting more big things, especially amid the Twitter buzz we've been following this week.
MHSAA staff and Student Advisory Council members already have visited Frankenmuth, Grand Rapids Christian and Reese, and will finish up Feb. 17 at Petoskey. Voting on our Facebook page runs Feb. 20-23, with the winner selected Feb. 24.
Click to check out our YouTube channel playlist of our finalists we've seen so far.
What's My Why: Official Mike VanLaan
May 20, 2026
Mike VanLaan, Alto
VanLaan is completing his eighth year as an MHSAA-registered official. He began with football in 2018-19 and added boys lacrosse the following year.
So in 2018 I decided to get started in officiating. I started with football because that was the sport that gave me the most opportunity when I was younger. I played a lot of football and just wanted to give back to the game.
I loved it so much that I decided I also wanted to add a spring sport. So a couple of years later I added boys lacrosse, and now I officiate high school football and high school boys lacrosse.
Things that drove me to add another sport – just fell in love with the camaraderie, working with other officials, good people. And then also, just realizing how important it is to stay active physically and mentally, and this allows me to do that.
“What’s My Why” is a weekly feature telling the stories of MHSAA-registered officials in their own words. If you’re an MHSAA official and would like to share your reason why, please submit a 15 to 45-second video, taken horizontally, to director of officials Sam Davis at [email protected].
Don't miss Officiate Michigan Day 2026, July 25 in Grand Rapids! Check out MHSAA.com/OMD to register and learn more.
What's My Why
May 20: Clint Abbott, Newaygo - Watch