Rivaling for a Cause
January 25, 2013
It’s impossible to include all the perspective we gain from every “Battle of the Fans” visit.
But this anecdote, although it didn't make Tuesday’s story about our Frankenmuth trip, tells of another great example for what student cheering sections can accomplish.
Frankenmuth and Millington are heated rivals, to say the least, separated by 13 miles and made more competitive by plenty of championship-deciding matchups over the years.
But for their boys basketball game Jan. 10 at Frankenmuth, student section leaders from both schools almost completely on their own set up the game as a cancer awareness night, complete with Frankenmuth students in black shirts and Millington’s wearing pink.
The idea was the brainchild of a of Frankenmuth section leader, who then received help from a local bank and contacted Millington to get the ball rolling.
Battle of the Fans has shown us the obvious – these student sections need strong leaders – but also the special things they can accomplish with additional initiative.
“Never Forgotten”
Two more rivals, Fennville and Saugatuck, met late last month for their second “Never Forgotten” boys and girls basketball games with proceeds going to the Wes Leonard Heart Team for the purchase of AEDs.
Players wore jerseys with names on the backs of friends and family members who had died, and those jerseys were then given to family members after the games. Officials Ace Cover, Chris Dennie and Kyle Bowen also donated their game checks to the Heart Team, as did the winner of that night’s 50-50 raffle.
Leonard died from sudden cardiac arrest after making the game-winning shot in a basketball game March 3, 2011. The two schools played their first “Never Forgotten” games last season.
More support for less specialization
I’m asked once a year at least about sport specialization – that is, athletes focusing on just one sport, often from an early age, and if it pays off some way down the road.
Most of my evidence to support my belief in the well-rounded athlete has been anecdotal, based on conversations with people at the high school and college levels over the years. But a British study published this fall in the Journal of Sport Sciences by University of Birmingham researchers provides some interesting empirical findings.
The study of 1,006 people from the United Kingdom showed that those who participated in three sports at ages 11, 13 and 15 were “significantly more likely to compete at a national rather than club standard” between ages 16-18 than those who had practiced only one sport.
In other words, the study found that those who played more sports at earlier ages played at a higher level during their high school-age years, which seems to contradict the one-sport focus philosophy.
Click for more perspective on the study from Chris Kennedy, the Superintendent of Schools in West Vancouver, British Columbia.
PHOTO: The boys and girls teams for Fennville and Saugatuck pose together after their "Never Forgotten" games Dec. 21 at Fennville High. (Photo courtesy of Al LaShell.)
Reeths-Puffer's 'Marvin Moore Experience' On Track for Memorable Finish
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
May 14, 2026
Not many high school kids have started their own non-profit organization.
But, then again, there are not many kids quite like Muskegon Reeths-Puffer senior Marvin Moore – who as a sophomore founded Rocket-Powered Positive Path Forward, Inc. (Rocket-Powered.org) a nonprofit committed to igniting young people’s confidence, fueling their potential and launching them toward brighter futures.
“I wanted to help kids not get discouraged by seeing negative things online or get down on themselves if it seems like other kids are having all of the success,” said the soft-spoken Moore. “I just want to be there for other people.”
Moore somehow finds time to grow and develop the organization while playing three sports and maintaining a 3.977 GPA, with a schedule packed with Advanced Placement classes.
He is best known as a basketball player, a three-year varsity starter and 1,000-point career scorer for the Rockets. Moore, a 6-foot, 175-pound guard, will play college basketball next year at Kalamazoo College.
“I challenged the younger guys in our program,” said R-P boys basketball coach JR Wallace, who recently completed his second year as varsity coach. “I told them: Marvin is leaving us, but he showed you how to do it, with great humility and the attitude of doing whatever he can for the team.”
Moore was also a standout receiver in football who was having a breakout season as a junior – including during a memorable win over Grand Rapids Union when he caught a touchdown pass, ran for another TD, intercepted a pass and had a long kickoff return. Unfortunately, his season was cut short by a dislocated shoulder against Byron Center – and he decided to not play football his senior year for fear of re-injuring that shoulder and jeopardizing his senior basketball season.
He is now one of the Muskegon area’s top track & field athletes, entering Friday’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional at Zeeland as the top seed in the 400-meter dash after a couple of big wins over the past couple of weeks.
Moore achieved one of his main goals earlier this month by winning the 400 at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association city meet.
Last week, he edged Jenison’s Kole Bassler to win the 400 at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green meet with a personal-best time of 49.97.
He was able to post that sub-50 second time despite running it right after helping his team to a conference title in the 800-meter relay and also running the second leg of the 400-meter relay.
“He’s always been a little bit tired running the 400 in our big meets so far,” explained R-P boys track coach Don Ketner, who is also hoping for a big day Friday from senior Mason Darke, the top seed in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. “This Friday, we will finally be getting the full Marvin Moore experience, and we’ll see how low he can go.”
Ketner believes Moore has a shot to eclipse the 300 school record of 48.88, set by Jared Meier in 2008.
Moore, who ranks sixth on the school’s career basketball scoring list with 1,095 points, would love to add his name to the track school record board in the gym which has meant so much to him throughout his life.
He was first moved up to the varsity basketball team late in his freshman year, and truly emerged as a sophomore – averaging 10 points for a Puffer team which finished 19-4 and co-champion of the O-K Green.
R-P lost a loaded senior class after that season (notably current Central Michigan athletes Jaxson Whitaker and Travis Ambrose), and with the Rockets in somewhat of a rebuilding mode, several athletes transferred to other schools.
“There were some schools that reached out and asked me to go there, but I started my whole career at Reeths-Puffer and I wanted to end it here at Reeths-Puffer,” said Moore, the son of Marvin and Kathy Moore, who plans to major in accounting in college. “I wanted to stay with my friends and be there for them and support them any way possible.”
The Rockets struggled on the basketball court the past two seasons, but Moore certainly provided some bright spots. He was a three-time all-conference pick and an MLive Muskegon Area Dream Team selection this past year, averaging 20 points per game despite facing constant double teams.
Moore helped his team snap an 11-game losing streak on Jan. 24, scoring 15 of his game-high 24 points during the fourth quarter including a floater off the glass as time expired in a 65-63 win over visiting East Grand Rapids.
Two weeks later, Moore scored 37 points and almost single-handedly helped the Rockets erase a 10-point deficit against Caledonia over the final three minutes, driving for a bucket during the final seconds in a 65-62 win. He remembers a huge student section was going crazy that night at R-P’s Dan Beckeman Arena, and that excitement carried over to a school dance after the game.
“That was such a fun night all the way around and something I will never forget,” said Moore, who was awarded the prestigious Lux Esto Scholarship at Kalamazoo College.
“We had a lot of losses the past couple of years, but honestly, I will never forget so many of those Friday nights. It was so much fun playing at home and having the whole community there for us.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Marvin Moore, middle, runs the inside lane during a meet this season. (Middle) Moore lines up for a free throw. (Below) Moore breaks away on a run against Grand Rapids Union. (Photos by Joe Lane.)