Heritage's Hawks Nest Wants You 'Hype'
February 5, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
SAGINAW – Three years ago, Saginaw Heritage teacher Melissa Fila showed up at Bay City Central, tub of pompons in hand, ready to rev up her students who had made the trip to support the Hawks boys basketball team.
She found three huddled together and two more sitting with their parents. That was it.
How things have changed.
When Central visited Heritage this Jan. 18, the Hawks were filming a congratulations to the eight semifinalists joining them in the second round of this year’s MHSAA “Battle of the Fans VIII.” The stands behind Heritage’s home basket hold roughly 400, and they were packed.
From the humblest of beginnings, Heritage’s student section has grown into a Saginaw Valley League force and the first from that conference to make the BOTF finals. Thanks to a significant boost in “leadership” – much more on that below – the Hawks Nest has become the place to be for many of the school’s 1,500 students.
“This year I’ve seen a total change with people in the student section,” senior Khayli Bracey said. “Everyone is more confident than in past years. You don’t have to be like, ‘Everyone cheer.’ Everyone’s just doing it. Nobody’s necessarily telling people what to say, how to say it.
“Everyone’s just hype.”
We heard that buzzword more than a few times as we met with section leaders Bracey, fellow seniors Shelby Vondette and Josh Frank, juniors Abbey Coenis and Dom Simpson and sophomore Brendan Trier before Friday’s girls basketball game against Midland Dow to find out what’s made the Hawks Nest take flight this school year.
We’ll report on all three of our BOTF finalists visits this month following the format of a typical game night. We kick things off below with some of the Hawks Nest’s suggestions for other student sections hoping to grow, followed by the video from our visit and then more of a story behind Heritage’s rise.
Heritage’s Gameplan
Take some of these tips from the Hawk’s Nest:
Just get started. A gathering of just a few students to watch games can snowball into something more. Don’t be intimidated or afraid. Grab some friends, maybe pick out a theme to dress alike for a game, and see where it goes.
Team up with a teacher. Or an administrator, advisor, coach, etc. Working together with someone who can serve as a champion for your section to the rest of the faculty and administration is invaluable – as is having someone with whom to bounce around ideas.
Care, then don’t care. Care enough to be there, to cheer on your classmates, to make the effort to get more people involved. And then don’t care – what you look like when you’re dancing, how silly the chants might sound. Just join in and enjoy the ride.
Get everyone involved. Heritage’s leaders were adamant that the main difference in this year’s section is the enthusiastic contributions from underclassmen. We’ve learned this from many finalists over the years – the best student sections have plenty of seniors and juniors, but also welcome plenty of sophomores and freshmen.
Be unique. Be creative. It’s getting harder to come up with original cheers. Heritage has taken its share from others, including Iceland’s soccer national team supporters and the NFL’s latest ad campaign. But the Hawks Nest also benefitted from an early-fall leadership “day camp” where students were assigned to come up with new chants – and produced the section’s current favorite: “Ooh! Ah! We’re the Hawks of Saginaw!”
Pregame Prep
Heritage has offered a “Leadership Development” class for decades, and Fila has taught it for most of this one. Her students take part in some awesome projects – like for Veterans Day putting out 10,000 American flags on the school’s lawn to represent Saginaw soldiers, or directing coat and prom dress drives and an “Amazing Race” that most recently netted $15,000 in local donations.
Beginning with the 2016-17 school year, Fila’s Leadership classes also began working on ways to lead more students into the stands.
Heritage had good student sections in the past. The Hawks football team made the playoffs four out of five seasons during the mid-2000s, and students turned out to cheer. Vondette said hockey games have always been crazy – especially as the team has joined the state’s elite over the last few years. The girls basketball team has a long history of success, but she remembers students especially starting to show up during the Hawks’ run to the Class A Semifinals in 2015 when she was in eighth grade. “I feel like everybody got the idea that’s what a student section should be like when they went to a game like that,” Vondette said of that run.
Enter the Leadership class. In addition to all of the good stuff students continued to do in the community, Fila helped them begin to organize a student section – sparking ideas on persuading their classmates to give it a try, guiding code of conduct discussions to make sure students were cheering in a positive manner, and most of all empowering them to create something that would have an impact.
At first, the reborn section was made up of a group of sophomore and junior boys who liked sports. But it quickly grew. So did the Leadership class – last year Fila began teaching an “Intro to Leadership” for underclassmen, and that class allows them to get involved in the student section planning earlier.
There are 200 students taking a Leadership course each semester, and roughly 50 percent of the student body has taken one of them at least once. That means 50 percent at one time have had some hand in helping plan student section activities, putting together presentations on how to do cheers for the rest of the student body, or helping the Hawks Nest apply for Battle of the Fans the last three years (and make "Challenge" videos like the one below).
This fall’s MHSAA Sportsmanship Summit energized section leaders further. But what brought us to Heritage for this BOTF finals may have started during last season’s girls basketball run – the Hawks defeated East Lansing to win the Class A title in front of a sizable group of students at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena.
“The girls winning the state championship. We took busses. There were so many kids there, and it was just such a good environment,” Simpson recalled.
“There was not one person quiet. Everyone was standing. Everyone was screaming,” Bracey added. “It’s the best I’d ever seen Heritage.”
“The energy was different,” Vondette agreed. “And now it’s just kept going strong.”
Game Time
The Hawks Nest filled with 250 students for our visit Friday for one of the most highly-anticipated girls basketball matchups of this regular season. Home games, as at any school, are the top draw, and Simpson said he’s seen fans going not just to basketball, hockey and football, but also soccer, volleyball and even once to a bowling match.
For this night, it’s important to keep in mind that those 250 attended while the boys basketball team was playing at Midland Dow and hockey team was taking on Birmingham Brother Rice in a high-powered matchup at the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase in Trenton. And what’s more, Heritage didn’t have school Friday – giving fans a great reason to stay in for the night.
That wasn’t going to happen with Frank at the video controls.
He spends game nights with a camera in hand, and his skills have taken the Nest’s marketing up a level. Many games are previewed with a short Twitter video announcing the theme or other important information. Then he shoots at every game, building a library of hype videos to keep classmates engaged – and help him put together a strong BOTF application.
“We always said, the intention last year, since we didn’t go on (in BOTF), this year’s we wanted to make it a really jaw-dropping moment,” Frank said. “So right from the beginning of the school year, we were going to start filming and get everything.”
The theme Friday was “EXTREME” and that meant lots of lime green as students received a free T-shirt with student ID. The Nest also included a pep band, two pom teams and the school’s mascot – and plenty of noise, all positive, and despite a fast start by Dow as it went on to hand Heritage its first loss of this season.
“It was a blast. There was just so much energy,” Trier said. “We do it every night. If we’re winning, losing, we still cheer on our team no matter what.
“We’re just getting started. It’s about to take off. We’re going to go even higher. We’re going to shoot for crazy stuff.”
Postgame Analysis
We’re in this together: “I feel like our student section is a more comfortable environment for younger people now. I know a lot more of the underclassmen now through Leadership, and I feel like we’re all one now,” Simpson said. “Our school revolves around Leadership and the student section now. Everyone goes to the games. It’s a culture for us.”
Multi-media marketing works: “When Josh will post videos, and you see everyone in the student section just screaming their heads off, you want to be a part of that,” Vondette said. “That’s what you want to do.”
One memory can make it happen: “At the girls state finals, I was in the front with Shelby, and we were the ones who started stuff, and I just remember (thinking), ‘I want to keep doing this,’” Bracey said. “I would never be the one to want to start cheers – of course I’d cheer along with everyone else, but I was never one that would want to lead a whole group of people. But after that game and seeing everyone getting involved, I was like, ‘I want to keep doing that.’ That was the turning point for me.”
The Nest is the place to be: “Because we make it look so fun,” Coenis said, echoing Trier that the section will just keep getting bigger and better. “The more hype you are, the more hype everyone around you is going to get too. It’s just going to spread.”
Next stop on BOTF: We will visit Buchanan for its boys basketball game Friday against Parchment, and finish the 2019 BOTF tour at North Muskegon for its Feb. 12 boys basketball game against Montague.
The Battle of the Fans is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.
PHOTOS: (Top) Saginaw Heritage’s Hawks Nest anticipates a big moment during Friday’s game against Midland Dow. (Middle) Shirts and pompoms made for a green and blue “EXTREME” theme night.
Scholars & Athletes 2020: Class B
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 10, 2020
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has selected 10 student-athletes from Class B member schools to receive scholarships through the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award program.
Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 31st year of sponsoring the award, will give $1,000 college scholarships to 32 individuals who represent their member schools in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament. The first 30 scholarships are awarded proportionately by school classification and the number of student-athletes involved in those classes; also, there are two at-large honorees who can come from any classification.
Students applying for the Scholar-Athlete Award must be carrying at least a 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average and have previously won a letter in a varsity sport in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors a postseason tournament. Other requirements for the applicants were to show active participation in other school and community activities and produce an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Each of the scholarship recipients will be honored at a halftime ceremony during the Division 3 Boys Basketball Final, March 28, at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing. Commemorative medallions will be given to the finalists in recognition of their accomplishments.
The Class B Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are: Hannah Fulmer, Grosse Ile; Alicia Kanai, Ada Forest Hills Eastern; Tara Keller, Frankenmuth; Faith Schafer, Williamston; Delaney Wesolek, Bay City John Glenn; Hunter Assenmacher, Ida; Samuel Beach, Hillsdale; Gabriel Hassan, Ada Forest Hills Eastern; Lucas Kopp, Grosse Ile and Ben Lankfer, Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class B Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay also is included:
Hannah Fulmer, Grosse Ile
Ran four seasons of cross country and will participate in her fourth of track & field this spring; also played three seasons of basketball including on varsity as a junior. Qualified for the MHSAA Finals in both cross country and track, helping both teams to multiple league titles and the cross country team to a Regional championship. Earned all-state in track and all-area in track and cross country. Serving as captain of both teams this school year. Serving as class president after three years as vice president, and also serving as Key Club president. Participating in third year of National Honor Society and is among those ranked first academically in her class. Participated in church mission trip as a junior and as Vacation Bible School leader and teacher all four years of high school. Will attend Michigan State University’s honors college and major in education.
Essay Quote: “In reality, sports are just sports. They're meant to be enjoyed. If we take them too seriously and don't treat our competitors with respect and kindness, then it goes from being a game to a battle. Additionally, without proper sportsmanship, high schoolers are taught that it is okay to treat our "enemies" with contempt and hostility. We need to be shown, however, that that type of behavior will get you nowhere in life.”
Alicia Kanai, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Playing third season of varsity basketball and will play third of varsity soccer this spring; also played varsity softball as a freshman. Received “Team First Award” from Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan and has served as captain in all three sports. Earned AP Scholar Award and is participating in second year of National Honor Society. Selected to speak at NHS induction ceremony. Participating in third year of math club and second with school’s Writing and Math Center, which she serves as head of communications. Also participates on school’s volunteer board and as Project CHUCK coordinator. Serves as small group and worship leader at her church and treasurer for her Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter. Will attend Taylor University (Ind.) and study mathematics.
Essay Quote: “Our behavior on the field reflects our character, our team, our school, and our community. We should play with class not only to positively represent those with whom we are associated but to show others their value. When we are separated by different colored jerseys, we often dehumanize the opponents, viewing them only as a team we need to defeat. However, sportsmanship tears down the barriers and destroys the presumption that opponents are enemies.”
Tara Keller, Frankenmuth
Ran four seasons of cross country, is playing her third of varsity basketball and will play her third of varsity softball this spring. Qualified twice for the MHSAA Cross Country Finals and earned all-conference and academic all-state honors in that sport. Helped basketball and softball teams to District championships. Earned AP Scholar with Honors designation and named National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. Serving as treasurer in fourth year of student council, and third year as clarinet section leader in marching band. Selected to represent school for Great Lakes Bay Regional Youth Leadership Institute. Participates in school’s Be the Change club and served on local library’s Teen Advisory Board and church’s Youth Leadership Team. Coached youth basketball throughout high school. Will attend Cedarville University (Ohio) and major in pre-medical studies.
Essay Quote: “The purpose of educational athletics is not to boost kids’ egos with championships and all-time bests, but rather to teach teenagers how to handle loss with grace and class, how to treat their rivals, and how to communicate with adults and opponents. … I personally have grown to realize the importance of sportsmanship the longer I have played sports. The things that I love most about athletics now are not the sports themselves, but the atmosphere of joy, selflessness, and love that I associate with them.”
Faith Schafer, Williamston
Ran four seasons of cross country and will participate in fourth of track & field this spring; also played two seasons of junior varsity basketball. Qualified for MHSAA Finals in both varsity sports three times and was league champion in track while earning multiple all-league honors. Earned multiple academic all-state honors as well in both varsity sports and served as captain multiple seasons for both. Earned Girls State Citizen Award and named semifinalist for United State Senate Youth Program. Serving as class secretary for both student government and National Honor Society chapter and team administrator for school’s InvenTeams team. Also participating in third year of Mu Alpha Theta mathematics honor society. Earned various honors during four years of Model United Nations and serves on Lansing Youth Action Committee. Will attend University of Notre Dame and pursue a degree in neuroscience.
Essay Quote: “This is the same sort of culture I have tried to build (with) my own team as a captain – one that encourages sportsmanship at all times, even in the race. … It is a sentiment that cannot be expressed by someone who has not experienced it – like fifth-grade me. If I had been asked what sportsmanship was then, I would have answered with a vague ‘being nice.’ But now, it means far more.”
Delaney Wesolek, Bay City John Glenn
Competed on swimming & diving team for four seasons and will participate in her second of track & field this spring; also played two seasons of subvarsity basketball with a promotion to varsity as a sophomore. Earned multiple all-state swim honors and is a four-time league and area champion, with six school and two area records. Also contributed to all-league team academic honor. Served as captain of swim and basketball teams and selected to multiple leadership conferences including USA Swimming Leadership Summit in Colorado. Serving fourth year as class president and third on student senate’s executive board. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and fourth as part of her district’s Superintendent Leadership Committee; also serving fourth year on Bay Area Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Board. Participated in various volunteer projects and assisted with local grant funding for community youth. Will attend Hope College and study nursing.
Essay Quote: “We all want to win. We all train hard and take our commitment to our sport seriously. This respect makes sportsmanship come easy. We all cheer for each other. We cheer as loud for the last girl to get out of the pool as we do for the first girl. Why? Because we understand the work and dedication that goes into being a student athlete.”
Hunter Assenmacher, Ida
Competing in fourth wrestling season, ran four seasons of cross country and will play third season of varsity baseball in the spring. Earned two MHSAA Finals wrestling championships and finished as runner-up as a freshman, and won Regional title and qualified for MHSAA Finals in cross country. Earned all-league and all-region recognition in baseball. Served as captain of all three teams and earned various league scholar-athlete and sportsmanship awards. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and student council and first in Key Club. Selected as Army Educational Outreach Program’s eCybermission state runner-up as freshman and participating in second year of school’s Peers for Accelerated Learning of Students program. Also participating in school’s role model program for third year and has taken part in various volunteer efforts. Served as youth wrestling referee for county tournament. Will attend Lawrence Technological University and study architectural engineering.
Essay Quote: “Sports provide the opportunity to have fun with your friends and community, improve as an athlete and person, and engage in a healthy lifestyle. When all of this happens, nobody feels like they lost when the final buzzer sounds. However, only when the players, coaches, and spectators all partake in maintaining a positive learning experience can we truly take away all that sports have to offer.”
Samuel Beach, Hillsdale
Played four years of varsity soccer, two of varsity football, is playing his second of varsity basketball and will play his third of varsity golf this spring. Earned all-league recognition in soccer and all-county in football, and served as captain of soccer and golf teams. Serving as class president and president of Interact club and school’s freshman mentor program; also serving on board of National Honor Society chapter. Attained Eagle Scout with a Gold Palm and selected as senior patrol leader for his local and national jamboree troops. Recognized by city and state for Eagle Scout project. Participating in fourth year of Hillsdale County Heritage Association Youth Council and contributed to writing, illustration and publishing of children’s story book. Participating in third year of Business Professionals of America and co-owns auto detailing business. Attended United State Naval Academy Summer Seminar in 2019 and will attend the Naval Academy and study engineering while training toward becoming a Marine Corps officer.
Essay Quote: “How you act on the playing field has an effect on your teammates, whether it be positive or negative. If your teammates see the anger you are displaying towards referees or coaches, they will assimilate the attitude and it will then spread. Whether people believe it or not, people’s attitudes directly affect the mood and overall success of your team.”
Gabriel Hassan, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Competing in fourth wrestling season and will play first season of high school lacrosse this spring; ran two seasons of cross country and played multiple season of junior varsity football. Serving third season as captain of wrestling team and is a past individual league champion and MHSAA Finals qualifier; also helped team to league and District titles. Carries a grade-point average above 4.0 and is participating in second year of National Honor Society and also second year of student government. Serving as vice president of Youth Advisory Board and head of marketing for Billy Bear Hug program that serves children with life-threatening illnesses. Founded organization that promotes volunteerism in his area. Selected to represent school at regional Athletic Leadership Seminar. Finalizing college plans but intends to study business.
Essay Quote: “To me (sportsmanship is) about setting a positive example and doing what is right even when there is a risk of losing. Being a member of a team, community, nation and our world, one needs to be a good citizen. I believe being civil and taking part in sports takes a certain type of character; one needs to be inherently willing to feel empathy and take action to understand others.”
Lucas Kopp, Grosse Ile
Played four seasons of varsity tennis, playing second of varsity basketball and will participate in third of track & field this spring; also played junior varsity golf as a freshman. Earned all-league recognition and helped his team to MHSAA Finals in tennis, and also earned all-league scholar-athlete honor in that sport. Served as captain of both tennis and track teams. Earned AP Scholar Award and is participating in third year of National Honor Society. Participating in fourth year of student government and has participated two years each in LINK Crew to mentor freshmen and STAND anti-bullying organization. Serving as executive leader of church youth group and teen liaison to parish council and earned St. Timothy Award from National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministries. Serves as referee in multiple youth sports and participated in Special Olympics Unified Sports program. Selected from among 5,000 applicants to attend Summer Leadership Experience at United States Military Academy at West Point. Finalizing college plans and plans to major in one of the sciences.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship is not always about winning, but being a winner in more ways than one. Being the one who stops to help a teammate or the friend who shows compassion are what educational athletics are all about.”
Ben Lankfer, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Played two seasons of varsity tennis and lacrosse and is in his fourth season skiing and first as part of that varsity lineup; also played football as a freshman. Earned doubles flight championships and helped tennis team to two league and Regional titles. Earned academic all-state in tennis and skiing and served as captain in both sports. Earned AP Scholar designation and Capstone Diploma. Received Harvard Book Award and Michigan Seal of Biliteracy. Founded and serving as captain of school’s Science Olympiad team, and serving as head delegate of Model United Nations team. Also serving as editor-in-chief of school newspaper and officer for National Honor Society chapter. Helped debate team to multiple league championships, and also participates in theater. Co-founded and serving as co-president of local PERIOD. chapter and also volunteers for Kid’s Food Basket. Served as research assistant at Aquinas College. Will attend Northwestern University and study biology and biomedical sciences.
Essay Quote: "When I consider the meaning of sportsmanship, it means creating an environment for sports that accepts players no matter their gender, race, or sexual orientation. After all, sports are a place for physical, mental, and emotional growth, not discrimination."
Other Class B girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Baylee Martens, Battle Creek Pennfield; Eleanor Kwartowitz, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; Olivia Prodin, Chelsea; Elizabeth Norris, Corunna; Grace Beardsley, Gladwin; Hannah Johnson, Hastings; Elizabeth Hovest, Ida; Sheridan Leinbach, Lansing Eastern; Katelynn Ceccacci, Ortonville Brandon; Abbey Almeda, Plainwell; and Katherine Topoleski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Other Class B boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Brice Austin, Alma; Jacob Herman, Berrien Springs; Jack Fairman, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; Isaac Joslyn, Caro; Trevin Phillips, Caro; Joseph Norwood, Chelsea; Chris Lilly, Croswell-Lexington; William Roosien III, Hastings; Alex Mitchell, Holland Christian; Jorden Sowash, Owosso; and Andrew Innerebner, Sault Ste. Marie.
The Class C and D scholarship award recipients were announced Feb. 4, and the Class A honorees will be announced Feb. 18.
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The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.