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.)
List of 2021-22 MHSAA Network Affiliates Growing as Fall Sports Ramp Up
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 31, 2021
More than 70 radio stations and web audio outlets have joined a growing list of Michigan High School Athletic Association Network affiliates for the 2021-22 school year, with more expected to come on board as fall sports schedules continue to build toward a busy September and October.
Affiliates carry games and also the MHSAA Network radio show – “This Week in High School Sports” – which began its seventh season last week.
A list of MHSAA Network affiliates can be found on the MHSAA Website. Below is a list of those affiliates and links to their broadcast platforms through Aug. 30.
Alma - WQBX (104.9 FM)
Auburn Hills - WAHS (89.5 FM)
Benton Harbor - WSJM (94.9 FM)
Bloomfield Hills - WBFH (88.1 FM)
Bloomfield Hills - BRBN
Canton - WSDP (88.1 FM)
Caro - WIDL (92.1 FM)
Cheboygan - WCBY (1240 AM)
Cheboygan - WCBY (100.7 FM)
Deckerville - Thumb Tailgater Sports
Dowagiac - Dowagiac Chieftains Network
Escanaba - WCHT (93.5 FM)
Escanaba - WCHT (600 AM)
Escanaba - WYKX (104.7 FM)
Escanaba - WDBC (94.5 FM)
Escanaba - WUPF (107.3 FM)
Ferndale - WDTK (101.5 FM)
Frankenmuth - Frankenmuth Sports Network
Flushing - MFNT
Gaylord - WMJZ (101.5 FM)
Grand Haven - WGHN (92.1 FM)
Grand Haven - WGHN (94.9 FM)
Grand Haven - WGHN (1370 AM)
Grand Haven - WMPA (93.1 FM)
Grand Haven - WAWL (103.5 FM)
Grand Haven - Michigan Game Night
Grand Haven - JoeInsider.com
Grand Rapids - WMAX (96.1 FM)
Grayling - WQON (100.3 FM)
Grayling - WGRY (101.1 FM)
Grayling - WJML (1110 AM)
Grayling - WJNL (1210 AM)
Grayling - W266CS (101.1 FM)
Hancock - WMPL (920 AM)
Hillman - WKJZ (94.9 FM)
Hillsdale - WCSR (92.1 FM)
Hillsdale - WCSR (99.5 FM)
Holland - WHTC (1450 AM)
Holland - WYVN (92.7 FM)
Houghton - WHKB (102.3)
Iron Mountain - WZNL (94.3 FM)
Ironwood - WJMS (590 AM)
Jackson - WKHM (970 AM)
Jackson - WKHM (105.3 FM)
Manistique - WTIQ (1490 AM)
Marquette - WFXD (103.3 FM)
Marquette - WZAM (106.9 FM)
Marquette - WZAM (970 AM)
Marquette - W286BC (105.1 FM)
Marquette - W262AG (99.9 FM)
Marquette - WKQS (101.9 FM)
Marquette - WRUP (98.3 FM)
Marquette - GTO (97.5 FM)
Marquette - WUPG (96.7 FM)
Marquette - WUPT (100.3 FM)
Midland - WMPX (97.7 FM)
Mt. Pleasant - WMMI (92.3 FM)
Muskegon - WLCS (98.3 FM)
Muskegon - WVIB (100.1 FM)
Novi - WOVI (89.5 FM)
Ontonagon - WUPY (101.1 FM)
Ovid - WOES (91.3 FM)
Prudenville - WTWS (92.1 FM)
Rockford - Michigan Sports Radio
Sault Ste. Marie - WUPN (95.1 FM)
St. Ignace - WWMK (106.3 FM)
Stevensville - Lakeshore Lancers Network
Tawas City - WKJC (104.7 FM)
Tawas City - WQLB (103.3 FM)
Tawas City - WTZM (106.1 FM)
Temperance - WMLZ-LP (107.9 FM)
Traverse City - WWMN (106.3 FM)
Warren - WPHS (89.1 FM)
West Bloomfield - WBLD (89.3)
MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network enjoyed an exciting opening weekend of football video streaming, with 16 games played as part of the Vehicle City Gridiron Classic, Battle at the Big House and Xenith Prep Kick Off Classic receiving a combined 22,494 live views on MHSAA.tv, with the Big House game featuring Traverse City Central and DeWitt leading that list with nearly 5,000 views. Those totals do not include views by those who watched two Xenith games live on MHSAA broadcast partner Bally Sports Detroit’s cable channel and digital platforms.
Bally Sports Detroit will take its live cable broadcast to Muskegon on Friday (Sept. 3) for the Big Reds’ 7 p.m. matchup with Detroit Cass Tech. The game can be watched on live TV on Bally Sports Detroit-PLUS and on BSD’s website.
MHSAA broadcast partner State Champs! Sports Network will begin its series of live Saturday football streams this week as well, covering Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean at Grand Rapids Catholic Central at 4 p.m. Sept. 4.
A number of other intriguing events are scheduled to be streamed live on MHSAA.tv, including the following:
FOOTBALL
Sept. 2: Cedar Springs at Rockford, 7 p.m.
Sept. 2: Livonia Stevenson at Dearborn Fordson, 7 p.m.
All football games: MHSAA.tv Football
VOLLEYBALL
Aug. 31: Marquette at Menominee, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1: Traverse City Central at Traverse City West, 5 p.m.
Sept. 1: Saginaw Valley Lutheran at Midland Bullock Creek, 7 p.m.
All volleyball matches: MHSAA.tv Volleyball
BOYS SOCCER
Sept. 1: Ludington at Whitehall, 5:45 p.m.
Sept. 1: East Grand Rapids at Grand Rapids South Christian, 6:45 p.m.
Sept. 2: Ann Arbor Skyline at Saline, 7 p.m.
All soccer matches: MHSAA.tv Boys Soccer
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 per month. Subscribers have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as a portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program. More than 400 MHSAA member schools are participants in the School Broadcast Program, now in its 13th year, producing games using traditional hands-on student crews or via Pixellot cameras installed at stadiums and gymnasiums across the state. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.