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 2018: Class C & D
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 4, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has selected 10 student-athletes from Class C and D member schools to receive scholarships through the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award program.
Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 29th 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 Class C Boys Basketball Final game March 24 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing. Commemorative medallions will be given to the finalists in recognition of their accomplishments.
The Class C Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are Ellen Charlotte Laurenz, Breckenridge; Rachel Nesburg, Charlevoix; Emma Pachulski, Saranac; Jack Avery Harris, Ann Arbor Greenhills; Parker Hayes, Beaverton; and Bryant Kieft, Watervliet.
The Class D Scholar-Athlete Award recipients are: Laura Lyons, Lake Linden-Hubbell; Sophie Ruggles, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart; Aaron Jacob Fahrner, Owendale-Gagetown; and Peter Kalthoff, Hillsdale Academy.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class C Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay also is included:
Ellen Charlotte Laurenz, Breckenridge
Playing her third season of varsity basketball, ran four seasons of varsity cross country and will compete in her fourth season of varsity track & field this spring. Earned all-state athletic and academic honors in track and helped the cross country team to three top-seven MHSAA Finals finishes. Served as captain of varsity teams for both cross country and basketball. Serving second year as student council president and vice president for Future Farmers of America chapter. Participated in a number of leadership endeavors as part of FFA, earning a number of awards. Also named a Good Citizens Award recipient by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Participating in third year of National Honor Society and this year as her chapter’s historian; also participates in German student exchange club and as part of her church youth group. Will attend Alma College and study communications.
Essay Quote: “The season in which I was unable to participate (because of injury) gave me a new perspective on sportsmanship. It was during that time that I learned to appreciate every athlete for the effort they put into their sport, regardless of how fast or slow, talented or not they may be.”
Rachel Nesburg, Charlevoix
Playing fourth season of varsity basketball, ran four of varsity cross country and will play her fourth of varsity soccer and participate in her second of varsity track & field this spring. Earned all-league honors in basketball and soccer and all-state in soccer and track; also earned multiple academic all-state awards. Served as captain of basketball and soccer teams and owns multiple school records in track and soccer. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and served three years as class president. Also has served as president and vice president of local Zonta Club and co-founded her community’s Junior Main Street Committee. Volunteered in a number of efforts including production of videos for local theaters to raise awareness of substance abuse. Also participates in Girl Scouts, her church youth group and SAFE Northern Michigan, and as a youth sports official and coach. Will attend University of Michigan and study pre-physical therapy.
Essay Quote: “Sometimes a little motivation is all it takes to make someone’s situation better. Sportsmanship is about helping others grow and succeed when they get knocked down. In addition, when we lift others up, we raise our own confidence levels, which can create unlimited potential for success and achievement.”
Emma Pachulski, Saranac
Played three seasons of varsity volleyball and will participate in her fourth of varsity track & field this spring. Served as captain of both teams; earned all-conference, all-region and academic all-state honors in volleyball and all-county in track. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and attended American Legion Auxiliary Girls State. Also plays in school band; has served as percussion section leader and first chair clarinet and helped band to highest possible “1” rating at district competition. Participates in her school’s drama productions, earning lead female roles and serving as assistant director and lead choreographer. Serves as lead photographer on yearbook staff. Earned Sportsmanship Award, the highest honor, from local 4-H and also participates as part of her church’s youth group. Walked and raised funds to honor cancer survivors as part of Relay for Life. Will attend Grand Rapids Community College and study theatre & media arts.
Essay Quote: “High school athletics is a place for students to learn life lessons. Practicing sportsmanship through athletics prepares youth for challenges they’ll encounter in adulthood. You know what they say – perfect practice makes for a perfect performance. If high school is the practice, life is the performance.”
Jack Avery Harris, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Played three years of varsity tennis, earning three Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals No. 1 doubles championships and helping his team to the 2015 title. Earned all-state honors all three years, served as a team captain and is among nominees for the Detroit Catholic League Scholar-Athlete Award for graduating seniors. Also has contributed to school chess club and forensics team state championships and played in the top jazz ensemble for three years. Served as chess club captain, head Gryphon Ambassador for school’s open house program and producer for ACTivate the Cure fundraiser performance for cancer research. Also has been involved in school drama productions all four years of high school. Is undecided what he will study, but will attend University of Michigan.
Essay Quote: “As a tennis player, there is nothing more frustrating than feeling like your opponents have less respect for your enjoyment than you do for theirs. But, from this seemingly flawed system, the greatest kind of student athlete is able to be formed. The greatest competitor in tennis calls every line as he sees it, cheating neither himself, nor an opponent. The measure of a great student athlete therefore relies not on one’s skill, but one’s character.”
Parker Hayes, Beaverton
Ran four years of varsity cross country and will participate in fourth season of varsity track & field this spring; also played subvarsity basketball. Earned all-state in cross country and also academic all-state while earning multiple cross country and track league championships. Served as captain of the cross country team and earned multiple conference Sportsmanship Awards. Participating in third year of National Honor Society and carries a 4.0 grade-point average after also taking classes from Mid-Michigan Community College for three years. Participating in third year of Business Professionals of America and has served as vice president while earning a regional championship and making state and national finals. Holds rank of Eagle Scout and has served as senior patrol leader, certified instructor and certified lifeguard and earned membership in the Order of the Arrow. Participates in his church’s youth group and serves as Sunday School secretary. Will attend Northwood University and study accounting.
Essay Quote: “My hope is that when others see me do the ‘right things’ in the middle of a competition, they may see my example and consider their own actions. I would love to see future competitions where every spectator and athlete shows good sportsmanship, where even the last-place finisher feel like a champion.”
Bryant Kieft, Watervliet
Played three years of varsity football, is playing his second of varsity basketball and will play his third of varsity baseball this spring; also wrestled as a freshman. Earned all-state in football while setting his school’s receiving yards record and has earned all-league recognition in both basketball and baseball; earned academic all-state in baseball as a sophomore. Helped football team to multiple league titles and football and baseball teams to District titles. Captained all three varsity teams. Serving fourth year as class’ co-president and this year as National Honor Society chapter vice president. Also has served as school’s representative at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Leadership Summit. Earned regional first place and state honorable mention at Michigan Industrial Technology Education Society competitions. Served two years on Watervliet Principal’s Committee and is in second of training in Whirlpool Apprenticeship Program. Will attend Northwood University to study entertainment and sports promotion management.
Essay Quote: “No matter the situation, I strive to set an example that displays the respect I have for my opponents, my teammates, my coaches, the officials and the game itself. We athletes are privileged to play a game we love, so we must treat it with the respect it deserves by displaying good sportsmanship at all times.”
Other Class C girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Shelby Trevino, Beal City; Kendall Gassman, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart; Kelleigh Keating, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart; Morgan Hartline, Marcellus; Clara Johnson, Negaunee; Emily Spitzley, Pewamo-Westphalia; Halie Robinson, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic; Kendahl Grace Overbeck, Saranac; and Melody Antel, Saugatuck.
Other Class C boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Matthew Harazin, Bridgman; Ilhan Onder, Calumet; Joseph R. Claramunt, Harbor Springs; Thomas Kelbel, Harbor Springs; Evans Brown, Kalamazoo Hackett; Eric Vandefifer, Montrose; Luke Skewis, Negaunee; Colton Yesney, Negaunee; and Ben Hogan, North Muskegon.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class D Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay also is included:
Laura Lyons, Lake Linden-Hubbell
Played three seasons of varsity volleyball, four of varsity basketball and will participate in her fourth of both softball and track & field this spring. Earned all-league honors for volleyball, softball and track and helped the volleyball team to league and District titles and the track team to league, Regional and 2017 Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals championships. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and serving as her chapter’s president as well as student council president; served two terms as her class president. Also is serving as her marching band drum major, physics club president and previously served as bowl team captain. Has volunteered for a number of efforts, taught Sunday School at her church and worked as an official for youth volleyball, softball and basketball. Earned Gold and Bronze awards from the Girl Scouts. Will attend Michigan State University and study biochemistry.
Essay Quote: “Little things often go unnoticed – but are the essence of who we are and what we become. As athletes we mirror our community and set a model for future generations. When we step out on the field or court, we represent not only ourselves, but our school, community and parents.”
Sophie Ruggles, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Playing fourth season of varsity basketball after completing her third of varsity volleyball during the fall; also ran track as a sophomore. Earned all-state first-team honors in both basketball and volleyball and academic all-state in both. Helped volleyball team to three league, four District and four Regional titles and basketball team to three league, District and Regional titles heading into this season plus a Class D runner-up finish in 2016. Participating in fourth year of forensics and helped that team to a conference championship while earning all-conference honors. Also helped quiz bowl and Model United Nations teams to conference titles. Serving fourth year as a Thrive Kids group leader and participating in second year of National Honor Society. Is undecided on what she will study, but will attend Michigan State University.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship is a tricky thing to define. Is it determined by a list of rules of things you have to do: Shake everyone’s hand. Never argue with a call. Always help someone up when they fall. It can be all of these things, yes; but it is what is behind the actions that embodies these words.”
Aaron Jacob Fahrner, Owendale-Gagetown
Played four seasons of varsity football, is playing his fourth of varsity basketball and will play his fourth of varsity baseball this spring. Earned all-conference honors in all three sports and has captained both the football and basketball teams; helped his three teams to a combined five league championships heading into this winter. Serves on MHSAA Student Advisory Council. Carries a 4.0 grade-point average and will enter college with 39 credits. Serving third year as class president and also this year’s National Honor Society chapter president, his school band’s president and as yearbook editor for the second year. Also serving third year as part of the Huron County Youth Advisory Committee and has taken part in multiple volunteer efforts. Will attend Michigan State University and study agri-business management.
Essay Quote: “In high school athletics, students are all put on a team together; each must be willing to work with one another to achieve a common goal, putting their differences aside to be competitive and to succeed. An athlete with good sportsmanship respects teammates, coaches and officials. Sometimes you may not always see eye to eye, but when it comes to the game you have to be willing to play as a team and respect the coach’s and officials’ decisions.
Peter Kalthoff, Hillsdale Academy
Played four seasons of varsity soccer and is playing his fourth of varsity basketball; also intends to participate in his second season of varsity track & field this spring. Started all four seasons of both soccer and basketball, helping both teams to District titles and the soccer team to a league title. Scored his 1,000th career basketball point as a junior. Earned all-state in multiple events in track & field, and also earned all-state recognition in soccer and basketball. Participating in fourth year of National Honor Society and his school’s service club, and served as president of the latter. Also participating in his fourth years of drama, chamber choir and vocal band and previously participated in string quartet, high school orchestra and Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra. Selected to participate in Cambridge International and Center Stage strings festivals as violinist, and served as part of the Governor’s Honor Guard for Boy Scouts. Achieved black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Will attend University of Michigan or Hillsdale College and study music performance.
Essay Quote: “Even off the court or playing field, our words and deeds will leave impressions. The good sportsman, even in day-to-day life, will dependably seek to give the impression he wants others to take.”
Other Class D girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Katelyn Smith, Akron-Fairgrove; Corra Hamilton, Athens; Madison Kadlec, Bellaire; Ciera Weber, Fowler; Stephanie Schuman, Lawrence; and Ellie Haan, McBain Northern Michigan Christian.
Other Class D boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Nicholas Burlingame, Ashley; Brendan Delaney, Gaylord St. Mary; Andrew Pechette, Kinde-North Huron; Andrew Hager, Mio; Jeremiah Torrey, Onekama; and Thomas Hursey, Suttons Bay.
The Class B scholarship award recipients will be announced Feb. 13, and the Class A honorees will be announced Feb. 20.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services — life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more — protecting nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders.
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.