Ultimate Teammate, Ultimate Captain
October 1, 2012
By Jed Blanton
MSU Institute for the Study of Youth Sports
What does it mean to be a team captain?
When I was in high school, our team captain was the best runner. There was no vote, no question. The best runner after the team time trial took over for the year. They led stretches, told the freshmen what to do, and did their best to stay in front of the pack.
And that’s what I did when I emerged first in our time trial. It was my team and my season now. The position was a status, a marker of my dominance, and a free pass to be a jerk. And I did it well.
When I went to college on a cross country scholarship, I was at the bottom of the totem pole again, and was nervous about how my captains would treat me and what a year it would be adjusting to college training and racing … while carrying the water and catering to our top runners. I wanted to be the fastest, so that it would be my team.
But in college, the team voted for our captains, and along with our coaches’ consensus, a leader was chosen. It wasn’t the best runner. Our team time trial had nothing to do with it. In fact, our women’s team captain didn’t even score for our team.
I asked one of the seniors, and one of the fastest runners, why these people had been chosen when there were several people faster. They answered simply, “They earned it, I respect them, and don’t mind being told what to do by them.”
I learned throughout the course of the year that the captain of this team had a lot to do, far more than I had ever done in high school ... when I thought I knew how to be a great captain.
When I earned the captain’s position on my college team my senior year, after a less-motivated try at captaincy my junior year, I had a completely different outlook on what needed to happen. For one, I wasn’t the fastest on the team anymore. An injury had prevented me from a successful offseason training regimen. But it was a new role and new challenge that I decided to have some fun and make my senior year memorable. But how could I make my team successful, even if it wasn’t by running fast?
That year I spent more time with the freshmen than I ever had, even more than when I was a freshman myself. I went to the dining halls, and invited them to my house for dinner. I went running with them on the weekends, and didn’t mind not being with the fastest guys on the team. I took an interest in our women’s team and how its training and experience was going. I went to study hall, which was an enforced weekly gathering for freshmen and anyone with lower than a 3.0 grade-point average, although I was about to graduate with honors and had twice been named “major of the year” in my department. I learned that being a captain was not a prize reserved for one person to selfishly hold. Being a captain meant being the ultimate teammate.
Since my college cross country days, I’ve spent the last six years in graduate school, researching and studying team captains. I’ve learned more about the position than I ever thought possible, but nothing I’ve read or discovered has been as powerful as seeing what it’s like to be respected as a captain. I keep in touch with far more teammates from my senior season than I do with anyone who graduated before me. Being a captain is far more than a title; it’s a calling. I whole-heartedly believe that anyone can become a great captain. They are made, not born. The difference is those who want it and those who don’t. Earning the captaincy position is not a status symbol, it’s not a recognition; it’s a job with a long task list.
The best captains I’ve met are the most organized, and also the most caring teammates. Placing the team before themselves is not the cliché; it is expected. And while I never was busier as an athlete than my senior year of college, I’ve never appreciated any other athletic achievement more than the friendships I made and the experiences I had leading my team through our season.
Blanton is a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University in the department of Kinesiology, specializing in the PsychoSocial Aspects of Sport and Physical Activity, and a research assistant for MSU's Institute for the Study of Youth Sports. He has served as a facilitator at MHSAA Captains Clinics the last three years and currently is assisting the association with its student leadership programs.
Century of School Sports: All-Time 'Parade of Champions'
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 25, 2025
As we do every June, we will complete 2024-25 this week by publishing our “Parade of Champions” – a listing of every team to win an MHSAA Finals championship trophy this school year.
Recognizing about 130 champions annually – give or take a few if there were shared titles along the way during that past fall, winter and spring – it’s always an impressive list. So we’re plenty stoked – maybe even 100 times more – to present as our second-to-last “Century of School Sports” feature a few findings from our work-in-progress all-time “Parade of Champions.”
Eventually, the data we’ve collected will be provided on the MHSAA website as a searchable data base – there’s more work to come, and I’ll explain some of that below. But for today, here are some of the first facts that jump off the pages from this massive collection.
Starting with the biggest: Since its first titles were awarded to finish the Winter 1924-25 season, the MHSAA has recognized 6,876 teams for winning Finals championships.
Five schools have won at least 100 Finals titles, and 17 schools have won 50 or more. Marquette leads the list with 295, followed by East Grand Rapids (145), Escanaba (134), Ann Arbor Pioneer (122) and Detroit Country Day (107).
For several reasons, it’s difficult to compare championship totals among Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula schools as apples to apples – chiefly, schools in both peninsulas compete against each other in postseason competition in only 16 of 28 MHSAA-sponsored sports, and a handful of those 16 have little or no representation from the U.P. despite being statewide tournaments.
That said, here’s a look at some expanded school Finals title rankings, but by peninsula, going deeper on Lower Peninsula schools ranked because the majority of Michigan’s high schools are below Mackinac Bridge:
Lower Peninsula: 1. East Grand Rapids (145), 2. Ann Arbor Pioneer (122), 3. Detroit Country Day (107), 4. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 88, 5. Detroit Catholic Central (74), 6. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (69), 7. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (64), 8. Jackson Lumen Christi (55), 9. Petoskey (46), 10. Traverse City Central (45).
11. Okemos (44), 12. Detroit St. Martin dePorres (41), 13. East Lansing (39), 14. Rockford (37), T-15. Ann Arbor Greenhills (35), T-15. Birmingham Seaholm (35), 17. Flint Powers Catholic (33), T-18. Bloomfield Hills Marian (32), T-18. Kalamazoo Central (32), 20. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (31).
Upper Peninsula: 1. Marquette (295), 2. Escanaba (134), 3. Iron Mountain (78), 4. Menominee (66), 5. Ishpeming Westwood (65), T-6. Ishpeming (64), T-6. Pickford (64), T-8. Negaunee (50), T-8. Ontonagon (50), 10. Houghton (49).
A few more interesting notes:
• Note Detroit dePorres at No. 12 among Lower Peninsula schools; dePorres closed in 2005. Flint Northern ranks 21st among Lower Peninsula schools with 30 championships despite closing in 2013. The former Ypsilanti High School, which consolidated with Willow Run in 2013 to form Ypsilanti Community, also is high on the list with 24 titles.
• Larger schools generally play more sports, and hence have more opportunities to win Finals titles. But Lower Peninsula small schools fell just outside those listed above, including Battle Creek St. Philip and Fowler – both with 29 championships – and Flint Beecher, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep and Pewamo-Westphalia with 26 apiece.
• We don’t have an easy way – yet – to figure out which schools have won at least once in the most sports. But among the top five, East Grand Rapids and Marquette both have won titles in 18 sports, Country Day has won in 17, Ann Arbor Pioneer in 15 and Escanaba in 13. Pioneer’s 15 include boys gymnastics, which was sponsored by the MHSAA from 1925-31 and 1961-81.
• Detroit Catholic Central has the most championships among all-boys schools, among 11 sports. Bloomfield Hills Marian ranks highest among all-girls schools, with its titles covering seven sports.
As noted, this remains a work in progress, as we’re continuing to research several school closings, consolidations or other name changes over the last 100 years and how those might affect our championship totals. We also need to continue figuring in how to list championships won by cooperative programs and if those are credited to primary schools or as standalone programs.
In the meantime, we’ll continue to update the data with championships won each season, including in our new sports of girls field hockey and boys volleyball debuting in 2025-26. Once the data is fully edited and complete, we’ll add this substantial source to our growing collection of historical information available for all to enjoy.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
June 17: Top Performers Tell Us What High School Sports Mean to Them - Read
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
PHOTOS These are all past MHSAA Finals champions, clockwise from top left: The 2016 Detroit Country Day girls tennis team, 2004 Marquette ice hockey team, 1978 Ann Arbor Pioneer girls cross country team, 1981 Escanaba football team and 2013 East Grand Rapids girls lacrosse team.