Century of School Sports: Top Performers Tell Us What High School Sports Mean to Them
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 17, 2025
As we move into the final installments of our MHSAA 100th-anniversary "Century of School Sports" celebration, we present a project we've been working on this entire school year -- an opportunity for some of the state's highest achievers from 2025-26 to explain how school sports have played an important role in their lives.
Following is a collection of answers from athletes we recognized with our "Performance of the Week" over the last 11 months, as we asked all of them: "What has participating in high school sports meant to you?"
@mhsaasports What do high school sports mean to you? Student-athletes like you share their take on high school sports. Stay tuned as we share our #HighSchoolSportsMeanToMe series starting in JulyđĽđ¨đ˘ #MHSAA ⏠Inspirational - neozilla
Be sure to check out the MHSAA's TikTok channel starting on July 8 to see more answers to the question "What does high school sports mean to you?" Search the hashtag #HighSchoolSportsMeantoMe.
Video transcription:
Asher Clark â Bay City John Glenn: [00:00:00] Every time I step on the field, I get to wear the name of my high school on my jersey, which is an honor.
Aubrey Hillard - Rochester: [00:00:05] It's basically shaped me into the person I am today. It's brought me closer to some of my favorite people, like with my team and my coaches.
Chloe Qin â Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: [00:00:11] It like helps you figure out how to manage your time better and how to, like, cooperate on a team and how to, like, push yourself past your limits.
Izzy Horvath â Bangor: [00:00:23] It's also a stress reliever for me, playing with my friends.
Kate Simon â East Grand Rapids: [00:00:26] I love competing and pushing myself, and they've taught me how to set goals and stay focused and work hard.
Katie Spicer â Fowler: [00:00:32] To me, high school sports are kind of like an escape from reality, and they brought me friendships that I'll have forever and memories that I'll hold on for my whole life.
Alex Graham â Detroit Cass Tech: [00:00:40] You build real good, strong relationships with the coaches, and even after football they'll be there for you and everything.
Asher Clark â Bay City John Glenn: [00:00:46] It's very unique in that you're playing with kids who are older than you that you can learn from, and kids that are younger than you, who you can pass on your knowledge to.
Brock Morris â Southfield Christian: [00:00:54] Being an athlete has taught me discipline, mental toughness, and it's taught me how to push past my limits. I've learned how to lose. I've learned how to win. I've learned how to lead my team through all of that and support my teammates through all of that.
Hunter Lemmon - Fraser: [00:01:06] There's a lot of people that like, I don't know if I ever would have talked to them, and they're like my best friends to this day.
Maggie Buurma - Fowlerville: [00:01:12] The team atmosphere that you get out of high school sports is not really comparable to anything else I've ever experienced. Whether I won or I lost, they were there for me the next day. They didn't base my worth off of my wins and losses.
McRecco McFadden III â Burton Bentley: [00:01:26] It's definitely a learning experience to watch yourself grow. Throughout this whole experience, it made me who I am, if I'm being honest.
Olivia Flynn â Harbor Springs: [00:01:32] Being on a team has had a huge impact on my confidence. It's bringing and embracing the leadership roles on and off the court. And then, just like I said, playing with girls from all different backgrounds, just being together to accomplish one goal, it's so fun and I love it.
Wyatt Spalo â Reed City: [00:01:47] It's become my home away from home in a sense. High school sports has definitely been like a key factor in not only who I've become today, but like, also how I've grown.
Victoria Garces â Midland Dow: [00:01:57] Every school day, no matter if it's good or bad, you always have your practice after school. And it's just such a fun way to see all your friends and then also get to focus on something that you love.
Shaelyn Perry â South Lyon United: [00:02:08] And all those lessons are so applicable in other areas of my life, and they've enabled me to be successful in other areas of my life, and it opens up so many other doors and other relationships that without it, I wouldn't have.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
June 10: 'The Mitten' Becomes Sought-After Symbol of MHSAA Greatness - Read
June 3: MHSAA's Move to TV, Now Internet, 60 Years Old & Growing - Read
May 27: Upper Peninsula Helps Make Michigan's School Sports Story Unique - Read
May 20: From Nearly A to Z, Schools Repped by 221 Nicknames - Read
May 13: These Record-Setters were Nearly Impossible to Defeat - Read
May 6: 200+ Representatives Fill All-Time Council Roster - Read
April 29: MHSAA Programs Prioritize Health & Safety - Read
April 23: Patches Signify Registered Officials' Role in MHSAA Story - Read
April 16: Student Advisory Council Gives Voice to Athletes - Read
April 9: State's Storytellers Share Spring Memories - Read
April 2: Sharp Leadership Synonymous with MHSAA Success - Read
March 25: Athletic Directors Indispensable to Mission of School Sports - Read
March 18: 2025 Finals Begin Next Half-Century of Girls Hoops Championships - Read
March 11: Boys Basketball's Best 1st to Earn MHSAA Finals Titles - Read
March 5: Everything We Do Begins with Participation - Read
Feb. 25: Slogans & Logos Remain Unforgettable Parts of MHSAA History - Read
Feb. 19: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value - Read
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
'Green Machine' Gears Up for BOTF V
January 26, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
MUSKEGON â Lots of cheering. Lots of smiles. Everyone in beach gear and standing for a girls basketball game â flippers and all.
The first revving of Western Michigan Christianâs âGreen Machineâ this winter wonât soon be forgotten by leaders charged this fall with organizing the few hundred students who now regularly fill a corner of the Warriorsâ gym to cheer on their classmates.
âIt was like, âWhoa,ââ senior Christopher Visser remembered of that first game together. Freshman Tyler Somers left with an impression that âwe can do this.â
âIt gave us a lot of confidence,â senior Lily Vander Molen said during Saturdayâs Battle of the Fans finalists visit. âLike wow, this is our first try. Look at the great response weâve gotten. It made me really proud of our school.â
The first four years of Battle of the Fans have uncovered common strategies for nurturing a strong student cheering section. Still, there isnât a book explaining how to get one started.
WMCâs âmechanicsâ came up with a blueprint that over a few months has organized an already-enthusiastic student body of nearly 300 and made it a model for student sections statewide.
Western Michigan Christian was the second stop on this yearâs BOTF finalists tour, which began with a trip to Yale on Jan. 15 and will continue with visits to Traverse City West, Munising and Charlotte over the next three weeks leading up to the naming of this yearâs champion Feb. 19. The public may vote for its favorite on the MHSAAâs Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sites beginning Feb. 16, with the MHSAA Student Advisory Council taking that vote into consideration when selecting the champion after that vote has concluded.
Hereâs how the Green Machine joined the party:
The scene was set for success with a student body that admittedly feels bonded, both by its small size and shared faith. Students at least recognize the rest of their classmates and meet for all-school chapel services weekly â and like most schools with an organized student section, attended games together in the past but en masse only for the big ones.
Athletic director Josh Glerum got the ball rolling at first this fall, showing senior Nathan Landheer the video from last yearâs visit to eventual Battle of the Fans champion Dowagiac. Still, the small group of leaders who attended the MHSAAâs Sportsmanship Summit on Nov. 16 in Kalamazoo didnât really understand what they were getting into even as they were making the trip.
The Summitâs message of positive sportsmanship â and emphasis on Battle of the Fans â sunk in quickly.
âWe've always had a really cool student-based student section, just a really cool environment. We've always had this really cool spirit,â junior Kaitlyn Van Hekken said. âEveryone wants to come out and cheer people on. After (the Summit), we were like, this is something that we can do. Let's expand on this, because we already have all the people for it.â
The three leaders came back and started to spread the message. They first met as âmechanicsâ â Glerum selected the representatives, including Landheer, Vander Molen, Visser, senior Maddy Heffron, Van Hekken and junior Dorie Bekins, sophomore Natalie Van Houwelingen and freshmen Somers and Sarah Moorhead â the Tuesday after the Summit and began hatching the plan.
They would work to have big crowds for Friday night home games â WMC parties students would look forward to all week. And they would point toward Battle of the Fans as the drive for participation.
âI love getting crazy, and I'm also a really competitive person. So if you're going to put me in a competition where all I have to do is get crazier than the other people, I will win that competition,â Visser said.
âWe just know this school is super close, together. So basically it was just like, hey, let's go get all of our friends and do this thing.â
Communication had to be a focus â first to tell classmates there would be a student section, then to explain how the section would work.
And it needed a name.
Using Twitter, Snapchat, Survey Monkey and old-fashioned e-mail, students cast votes â Warrior Nation and Gang Green also were candidates â and Green Machine came out as the big winner.
Mechanics decided the key would be big turnouts immediately for the opening games for both the girls (Dec. 1) and boys basketball (Dec. 8) teams. They started planning themes for those games and preparing a list of cheers. They came up with contests for best costume for theme nights and games for students to play during halftime.
The mechanics took all of it to the student body during a pep assembly where each mechanic dressed up for a different theme, explained Battle of the Fans, what they learned at the Summit and showed the Dowagiac video to the entire school.
âI donât know if we knew how to do anything,â Van Hekken said. âWeâre like, maybe a pep assembly would work. We had an idea. Letâs just try a pep assembly, see how it goes. The response was overwhelmingly good.â
They circled that girls opener as a âBeach Nightâ and hoped for the best.
The best continues to get better.
For Saturdayâs girls and boys games against Spring Lake, nearly 180 students filled one set of stands, with a sizable pep band filling the adjacent corner and a group of middle schoolers then packing half the baseline stands on the other side. WMC has four feeder middle schools, and mechanics have made sure to include those students to get them to not only participate this year, but take up the mission for years to come.
The cheers arenât much different than what students have done in the past, but the intensity and participation are different, Landheer said. Students load into spirit buses for away games when available, rushing to the school office to reserve seats.
And the bond already present has grown tighter, with the Green Machine another way for a close-knit student community to feel even more inclusive.
âThe coaches came up to me afterward (the first night) and said this is the best the girls have ever played; âThank you for starting to lead the student the right way.â That was my encouragement to keep going with these,â Landheer said.
âEven if youâre not involved in the sport of basketball, you can still come out on Friday nights and feel part of the team. We create a team on the court and a team in the stands, (and) we work together.â
PHOTOS: (Top) Western Michigan Christian students cheer on their boys basketball team Saturday night. (Middle) The Green Machine student section cheers for classmates during pregame introductions. (Below) Senior Christopher Visser waves the WMC flag to rev up the crowd. (Photos by Randy Riksen Photography.)