SAC Sound-off: Lessons Taught
May 9, 2012
MHSAA Student Advisory Council members are charged in part with passing on the lessons of educational athletics. We asked them what they tried to teach their teammates this school year.
“I tried to teach my teammates …”
Focus on the end game
“… How to be intense throughout the game and to be united in our goal to win.” – Portland St. Patrick junior Elle Lehman
“… To work together for a specific goal.” – Muskegon Catholic Central senior Alissa Jones
It starts with work
“… It doesn’t matter how big, strong or fast you are. What matters is how much heart and effort you put into any sport or life situation. Because hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work.” – New Buffalo senior Lena Madison
Stand together
“… Respect each other, because it’s nearly impossible to succeed as a team if you don’t work together.” Walled Lake Central junior Taylor Krumm
“… We are a family. Even if it’s cliché, it’s true. We win together and lose together. As a captain of the golf team, sometimes it is difficult to keep the team mentality since it is also an individual sport.” – Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central junior Abby Radomsky
“… The importance of being a good teammate – and how that includes both playing hard on the field and being supportive off of the field.” – Pontiac Notre Dame junior Carly Joseph
It’s about more than physical skills
“... Be selfless. It is so difficult for us as teenagers to stop and realize that not everything is about us. So I wanted to make sure we worked as a team, not as individuals, by communicating.” – Detroit Country Day senior Maria Buczkowski
“... To have a better attitude on the golf course.” – Grand Blanc senior Bailey Truesdell
“... Even in times of trouble (loss, problems, etc.), you need to keep cool and continue to work hard.” – Vandercook Lake junior Thye Fischman
“… To give it their all and to have fun; also to not get worked up over mistakes.” – Rogers City junior Evan Lamb
Don’t take this for granted
“… You need to have fun. Sports are not about winning or losing.” – Benzie Central senior Travis Clous
“… Love the game. My main message as a senior captain in three sports this year was simply to cherish every moment of high school sports. To me, there is nothing better.” – Rudyard senior Tyler Wilson
Performance of the Week: Battle Creek Harper Creek's Ella Laupp
November 14, 2025
Ella Laupp ♦ Battle Creek Harper Creek
Sophomore ♦ Swimming
Laupp won the 200-yard freestyle in a school record 1:56.54 and the 500 in 5:21.86, and also swam on winning 200 medley (1:55.26) and 400 freestyle (3:44.79) relays as Harper Creek won the Southwestern & Central Conference championship meet – locking up the program’s first league title since 1983. Laupp’s 200 free time ranks 30th on the state’s “top times” list for all divisions and fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 3 this fall.
After finishing fifth in the 200 and eighth in the 100 freestyle at the MHSAA LPD3 Finals as a freshman, Laupp should score well again at next weekend’s meet; her best 500 time this season (5:15.84) ranks third on the LPD3 top times list and 29th statewide, and she also ranks sixth in LPD3 with a top 100 free of 53.53. Laupp first broke the school’s 200 freestyle record as a freshman and also owns the school record in the 500 after earlier this season surpassing the previous best posted by Lindy Maroney in 1987; Maroney went on to international fame and swam solo across the English Channel in 1991.
@mhsaasports 🏊POW: Ella Laupp #swimming #harpercreek #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ Bright and fun upbeat pops, Kids, Animals, Pets, Fun, Cute, Happy, Playful, Upbeat(1465232) - SAKUMAMATATA
@mhsaasports 🏊POW: Ella Laupp #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA ♬ Girly and cute synth pop - SAKUMAMATATA
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Previous 2025-26 honorees
Nov. 7: Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Stephen Gollapalli, Lansing Christian tennis - Report
Oct. 23: Talya Schreiber, Pickford cross country - Report
Oct. 16: Avery Manning, Dexter golf - Report
Oct. 9: Brady Van Laecke, Hudsonville football - Report
Oct. 2: Sarah Giroux, Flat Rock volleyball - Report
Sept. 25: Sam Schumacher, Portage Central tennis - Report
Sept. 18: Kaylee Mitzel, Saline field hockey - Report
Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4: Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report
(Photos submitted by the Laupp family.)