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.)
West Catholic Comes Back from Double-Digit Deficit to Get Past Reigning Champ
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2025
EAST LANSING – Grand Rapids West Catholic hadn’t faced adversity like that all season.
The Falcons trailed by double digits at halftime of Friday’s Division 2 Semifinal, but forged a furious second-half comeback to upset 2024 champion Detroit Edison 54-48 at the Breslin Center.
“I don’t think we’ve had situations where we were down that much at halftime or in the third quarter, but it just speaks to the resiliency that our kids have,” first-year West Catholic coach Derek Paiz said. “We’re just going to keep fighting.”
West Catholic (24-3) will face Tecumseh (26-1) at 6:15 Saturday in the Division 2 Final.
The Falcons trailed 26-14 at the half and 30-15 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter before making their charge.
Senior Anna Ignatoski was the catalyst and led West Catholic with 29 points, including four 3-pointers. She also added six rebounds.
“This means the world and I give all of it to God, and I’m just so thankful to be back playing and playing with these girls,” said Ignatoski, who missed the past two seasons due to multiple ACL injuries.
“I knew coming into this game that we were the underdogs and we had nothing to lose. I wanted to help my team prove everyone wrong, and we did that tonight.”
West Catholic lost in the Semifinals a year ago to Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard at the buzzer.
“This is my first year, but these girls have done it three years in a row; this is their second home,” Paiz said. “With those girls we had on the floor, I knew we were going to be all right. We’ve been preparing this season for exact moments like this.
“We set a goal at the beginning of the season, my first day in, to go win a state championship, and every day these girls have been working toward that. We never lost faith.”
The Falcons outscored Edison 40-22, including 23-12 during the fourth quarter. Ignatoski had 24 points in the second half and made clutch free throws down the stretch to seal it.
“She’s a shot maker,” Paiz said. “She had that look in her eye. She wanted the ball in her hands at the end of the game. She wanted to put the game away.”
Senior Alisha Dykstra added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
“This is so surreal, and I’m so blessed,” Dykstra said. “With the love we have for one another, we can do anything if we put our mind to it. We knew they were going to be a good team, but we knew we were built for this because we work hard and we put the time in.”
Nicole James led Edison (19-7) with 23 points, while Isis Johnson-Musah had 12.
“I knew they were going to be hungry to win, and I told my team at halftime that they were going to make a run and we just had to weather the storm,” Pioneers coach Monique Brown said. “Mentally we lost it when they started catching up, and I haven’t seen that in my teams in previous years.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids West Catholic celebrates its comeback win Friday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Falcons' Anna Ignatoski (3) and Detroit Edison's Caitlyn Green rush upcourt during their Semifinal. (Photos by Keionna Banks/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)