Buckshot | February 2020

the magazine

FEBRUARY 2020

WINTER BALL

OLD ABE TRAPANI’S OFFSEASON WORK HELPING HIM DEVELOP INTO ONE OF EAU CLAIRE’S BEST

MORE INSIDE

REGIS GRAD WAMPLER SETS SIGHTS ON NCAA TOURNEY UWEC GOALIE CONNOLLY WORKING CLOSELY WITH ECA TENDERS WHY DO PLAYERS PICK THEIR NUMBERS? POSTERIZED: MCDONELL’S MAGGIE CRAKER

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Don’t let a sports injury

TABLE OF

CONTENTS 4: A word from our editor on the 12: Posterized: McDonell’s Maggie Craker importance of coaching 6: Regis grad Bill Wampler’s goal is the Big Dance in his senior year

17: UW-Eau Claire goalie Erin Connolly working closely with ECA Stars tenders

10: Memorial’s Vincent Trapani using next-gen training to prep for the season

20: Local basketball players share why they chose their number

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

W

hen people discuss coaching, it’s often about the X’s and O’s. Did Coach make the right decision? Should he or she have started someone else, or called a different play?

But the lessons coaches are able to pass down are really just as important as the gameday strategies. Coaches possess years of experience, often times both as a player and a bench boss, that serve as a valuable resource for high school athletes.

Erin Connolly, who I spoke with this month for the magazine, takes that to the next level. She’s passing along the lessons she learned sometimes as she’s learning them, coaching Eau Claire Area girls hockey’s goalies while still serving as the starting goalie at UW-Eau Claire. The tricks of the trade she picks up as a player stay in Hobbs as she instructs Stars goalies Naomi Stow and Alesha Smith. Someday, perhaps these two young women will pass that knowledge down again.

As last month’s Buckshot showed us, lessons can span multiple generations. Aaron wrote in our January edition about former Ladysmith coach Forrest Larson, whose press defense permeated across the Chippewa Valley. One of his disciples, former Lumberjack Matt Siverling, has even brought the press up to the college level as the head coach at UW-Eau Claire.

Sometimes the lessons are technical, sport-specific, but often they translate to life beyond sports. Commitment and integrity help on the playing field, but also in life.

When heading out to prep events this winter, remember that each coach’s job goes far beyond winning and losing. As Connolly said about the goalies she’s working with, “They’re still kind of like sponges. They’re trying to soak up any information that they can.”

Jack Goods Leader-Telegram sports editor

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Altoona boys basketball coach Paul Henrichs watches his team play Thorp on Dec. 5 in Altoona.

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Buckshot Magazine, March 2020

Joint replacement: not your grandfather’s surgery As countless Americans —maybe even you — know, arthritis can make every step a pain. Over the years, wear-and-tear on knee and hip joints can eventually make it difficult to walk, climb stairs, and get in and out of chairs. When this pain persists despite conservative treatments such as physical therapy and medication, it may be time to consider joint replacement surgery.

People are often nervous about having surgery, that fear is understandable. However, joint replacement is a very safe procedure and one of the most common operations performed. And it can be life-changing for people who have been living with chronic pain.

New materials mean artificial joints are lasting longer than in the past. And in the case of hip surgery, new techniques have made recovery easier and less painful. In short: This isn’t your grandfather’s hip replacement.

How it’s done

In a joint replacement procedure, an orthopedic surgeon removes damaged bone and cartilage, and replaces them with parts made of metal, ceramic, plastic or polymers. The artificial joint improves function and reduces pain.

Often, patients can’t believe how much better they feel.

Risks

Risks with hip or knee replacement procedures are similar to those of other surgeries. They include the possibility of developing an infection or blood clots. In the case of hip replacement, there’s also a chance of a fracture during surgery or dislocation after surgery. And because even artificial joints can wear out, there’s a chance that the procedure would need to be repeated at some point in the future.

Recovery

Most patients go home after one or two nights in the hospital and some even leave the same day. Usually, people go home using a walker and transition to crutches or a cane for a few weeks after surgery. Most daily activities such as shopping, driving and housekeeping can be resumed within six weeks after a knee or hip replacement. To get the most out of the procedures, patients need to stretch and strengthen their new joints. A

physical therapist will help patients begin those exercises in the hospital the day of surgery. Physical therapy is an essential part of getting function back and maximizing a patient’s recovery after surgery.

Results Most people experience pain relief and overall improvement in their quality of life after surgery. And thanks to new materials, artificial joints are lasting longer than in the past — up to 20 or 30 years in some cases.

People suffering from joint pain often give up parts of their lives because of discomfort. After surgery, they’re able to do things like garden and travel and play with their grandkids.

To learn more about joint replacement surgery, including information on patient education classes to help decide if surgery is right for you, visit mayoclinichealthsystem.org.

Jonathan Webb, M.D., is an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire.

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LAST CHANCE TO

DANCE Regis grad Wampler shooting for NCAA tourney

By Spencer Flaten Bill Wampler is hoping for a bit of déjà vu this March.

Well, maybe not exactly.

The Regis graduate has already lived through a Selection Sunday celebration with the Wright State men’s basketball team. But if it were to happen again this March, the circumstances would be entirely different.

Two years ago, Wampler was just a redshirt forward for the Raiders. When Wright State’s named flashed across the television screen on one of the most hallowed days on the basketball calendar, he knew he wouldn’t be participating in the NCAA tournament. He’d be stuck on the bench for the 14th-seeded Raiders’ matchup with Tennessee.

But things are different this year. Wampler doesn’t just play for Wright State — he stars.

And for one of the Horizon League’s best seniors, it’s now or never if he wants to finally move to the beat in the Big Dance.

“I listen to JJ Redick’s podcast almost every day, and he says one of the things that haunts him is never winning a national championship,” Wampler said. “My goal has been to go to the NCAA tournament, so I think if I don’t get to go there as a player, it would probably haunt me for the rest of my life.”

And for Wampler’s part, he’s doing everything in his power to make it happen, with good effect.

Through Wright State’s first 28 games this season, they’ve won 23. They have a chance late in February to lock up the top seed in the Horizon League tournament and put themselves in position to earn the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

Through those 28 games, Wampler is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per night. His 4.4 rebounds per game are fourth on the team. The two-time All-Northwest first team selection helped the Raiders earn votes in the AP Top 25 poll in February.

“It’s great, I feel like I’m the best basketball player I’ve ever been in my entire life right now,” he said. “I think I’m more skilled than I ever have been, just from the work that we’ve put in.”

PHOTO BY MARISA WOJCIK

Billy Wampler, pictured while at Eau Claire Regis, jumps up for a basket on Fall Creek during the WIAA Division 4 boys basketball sectional semifinal Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at Zorn Arena.

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Of course, it’s not exactly a surprise that Wright State is running rampant over the Horizon League this winter. The Raiders were the No. 1 seed in the conference last year, and had a wealth of experience coming back with unfinished business.

The Raiders were the favorite to take the Horizon League’s bid to the NCAA tournament last year, but lost the conference championship game to Northern Kentucky, 77-66. They had to settle for the NIT instead of the NCAA tournament, and lost to Clemson in the first round.

“It wasn’t as bad for me because I knew I had another season, another shot at it with a lot of guys coming back,” Wampler said.

“But it was tough, because for those seniors it was the end, and they taught me the ropes at Wright State — what to do, the culture — so it was hard to see those guys go. But this year is a little different, a little more emotional because I know it’s my last chance.”

If this winter’s body of work is anything to go on, the Raiders are on their way to righting those wrongs. They’re 13-2 in their first 15 Horizon League games and could earn a double-bye in the Horizon tournament. If they do, they’d only need to win two tournament games to punch their ticket to March Madness.

Whatever it takes, Wampler just wants to see the Raiders slotted into the bracket on Sunday, March 15.

“It’s something I want to experience again, but this time it would mean more because I’m actually playing and not just practicing,” he said. “It would pretty much be a dream come true for me. ... It would mean the world.”

But last year taught Wright State that nothing is for certain in late February and early March.

“You feel a sense of urgency. You want to enjoy the moment, but also work hard to get to the NCAA tournament,” Wampler said.

Billy Wampler puts up a shot against Whitefish Bay Dominican in the 2015 WIAA Division 4 state semifinals at the Kohl Center in Madison.

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Wampler’s Wright State career hasn’t been the longest — he transferred to the school from Drake in 2017 — but he has become known for more than just basketball in Dayton, Ohio.

Wampler opened up about his struggles with mental health in a 2018 interview with the Dayton Daily News, becoming an advocate for those in the same boat. He revealed he battled depression throughout his high school years and while leading Regis to the state tournament in 2015.

Things got better after he found a home at Wright State, and now he wants to help others through the same issues.

“It’s been good for me, more than anything else, just because I can talk about it more, talk about what I go through. Just the other day, a kid’s dad came up to me and told me his son has ADHD and said I have had an impact on his life. He even said he shed a tear when I walked out on senior night because it was probably the last time he was going to see me play,” Wampler said. “Just impacting people’s lives is probably the most positive thing, and being there and knowing I can help somebody with something simple like a high-five or responding to a DM on Instagram.

“It means the world, I definitely like being outspoken about it just to help everybody feel like they can be accepted and that it’s OK to be who you are. That’s what I like to say, be happy with yourself, no matter what the circumstances are.”

Wise words from a man who managed to overcome a lot when he got a fresh start with the Raiders.

“The year he sat out (after transferring) was a good year for him. As a basketball player, it was. And as a man, it was,” Wright State coach Scott Nagy told the Dayton Daily News. “He’s been a joy to coach.”

It has given Wampler purpose beyond his life in basketball. But however things shake out with the Raiders over the course of the next month, this might not be the final season of Wampler’s basketball career. If possible, he wants to pursue playing professionally, with an eye toward the leagues overseas.

“It’s a great opportunity to go over there and play professionally, because you really can’t beat playing basketball for money,” he said.

But first, he wants a chance to dance.

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Billy Wampler, pictured at Drake, grabs a rebound away from Iowa State guard Deonte Burton during the first half Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa.

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WINTER

BALL

Memorial pitcher Vincent Trapani using next-gen training to prep for spring

By Aaron Rose Mark Trapani was standing beside the ballpark in Mauston in the fall of 2014 when a man approached him to compliment his son, Vincent, on his pitching.

“Your son has a special talent,” Mark recalled the man saying.

“Ya, if he was left handed we’d be making plans for his future,” Mark replied jokingly.

“No,” the man replied, “you’ll make plans regardless.”

When that man, James Wambach, a former professional ballplayer in the Chicago White Sox organization, approached Mark on that autumn day, everything changed. In the six years since, Vincent has taken his game to the next level and it’s come about thanks in part to a revolution within baseball training that’s turned Vincent into one of the greatest prospects to ever come out of Eau Claire.

While other boys spend their winters shooting hoops or on the ice, Vincent, a junior at Eau Claire Memorial, has spent much of this winter at Momentum Baseball Academy or in Madison, working out with his GRB Academy baseball team. He spends six days a week doing something to improve his game. Some days it’s simple stuff, like throwing with his younger brother or weight lifting, but other times he dips into the new technology and uses PlyoCare balls to keep his arm healthy.

These balls are essentially medicine balls made of a rubber skin and filled with sand. Vincent uses two different weights, one 225 grams and another 1000 grams, and he throws them backward, trying to replicate the motion his arm takes throwing a traditional baseball.

MORE TRAPANI | PAGE 15 STAFF PHOTO BY DAN REILAND

Eau Claire Memorial’s Vincent Trapani, pictured posing with his glove, is an Arkansas commit looking to become Eau Claire’s next baseball star. View more photos at LeaderTelegramPhotos.com.

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Memorial’s Vincent Trapani throws a pitch in an intracity baseball game against North on May 14, 2019 at Carson Park.

> TRAPANI FROM PAGE 10

“It’s basically trying to get all the muscles engaged and ready to throw,” he said.

The idea behind using the PlyoCare balls is to increase arm strength, specifically those muscles that are used after a traditional baseball is released and the arm begins to decelerate.

“It’s like building a Ferrari, you need to start with good brakes,” Mark said.

The use of PlyoCare balls, coupled with his weight training, has allowed Vincent to take his fastball velocity from 86 mph two years ago, to 94 mph this past year.

“I would say it’s had a big impact on how hard I’ve been able to throw, especially pairing this stuff with lifting,” he said.

This baseball revolution has come about thanks to the success of high profile pitchers like the Reds’ Trevor Bauer who have taken to social media over the past few years to preach the gospel of data-driven baseball training. Nowadays, terms like spin rate, spin efficiency and true spin rate are thrown around as high-end video cameras breakdown every minute detail of a pitch.

“I’ve been thrust into the world of science because there is so much data in baseball that wasn’t used before,” Vincent said. “I think I’m a baseball person following the trend of where baseball is trending with all the math and stats that are associated with it.”

It’s the kind of information and training Vincent’s GRB coach, Greg Reinhard, never had when he was working his way through high school and eventually to Triple-A with the Chicago Cubs.

“It’s not even in the same ball game,” Reinhard said. “The average high school

player today is far more advanced than what a lot of guys were doing in college 10 years ago. They’re far more refined.

“Think of what we were doing as a 1970s television and what kids are doing today is streaming Netflix on a smart TV.” And while all this data and training is nice, it’s really on every individual ballplayer to accept it and work with it on his own. That’s what has made Vincent so special. Over the past few years he’s improved on his God-given physical gifts and transformed his body into a pitching machine. He’s cut out all junk food, according to his father, and he is willing to focus on his training without any reminder.

“By the time he was 14 I don’t think I could get him to drink a Mountain Dew if I gave him $100,” Mark said.

On the GRB team, Vincent’s work ethic stands out.

“I think he is one of the hardest workers that we’ve had in a long time,” said Reinhard, who has sent over 100 boys to play Division I baseball. “He’s as committed as we’ve seen.”

Now, as his winter training begins to wrap up, Vincent will once again turn his attention toward his prep season with the Old Abes. He’ll have two more years at Memorial and then if everything goes to plan he’ll be faced with one of baseball’s toughest questions: go pro or go to college?

He committed to play Division I ball at Arkansas at the start of 2019, but that doesn’t mean he can’t explore his professional options.

“It would be hard for me to believe he wouldn’t be drafted in the top five rounds,” Reinhard said. “There have been a lot of great players in Eau Claire in the last 10 years that I’ve seen but he is the best one.”

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GOALIE

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GUILD

ECA tenders work closely with UW-EC starter Erin Connolly

By Jack Goods Eau Claire Area girls hockey goalies don’t have to look too far to find a role model.

The pair of Stars tenders, Alesha Smith and Naomi Stow, get to work hands on at practice with UW-Eau Claire women’s hockey starting goalie Erin Connolly. That is, when Connolly can fit the ECA practices into her crazy schedule.

Connolly, a senior with the Blugolds, is in her third year as an assistant with the Stars.

She’s balancing school, work, coaching and her playing career, which brings her all over the Midwest playing for nationally-ranked UWEC. It’s a grueling slate at points, but a fulfilling one.

“Even if it is stressful at times, it definitely is worth it,” Connolly said during a February Stars practice just prior to heading straight to work. “I have a lot of opportunities to do a lot of things that I’m really interested in. So, it’s important for

me to pursue an opportunity like this.”

When she is at the rink, she’s able to give the Star goalies positional-specific instructions, something the other coaches can’t provide. Playing goalie is just about getting in the way of the puck, but of course, it’s not that simple in practice.

“It’s definitely good that she knows what it takes to be at a college level,” said Smith, who played in 22 regular season games for the Stars. “She takes everything she’s learned from her experience playing on the Blugolds and she really cares to make us better. She applies all that and takes it to our practices.”

On the ice, Connolly was a star at the high school level. With the Lakeshore Lightning she was named Wisconsin’s Ms. Hockey, given to the top girls player in the state, and the winner of the Jessie Vetter Award, given to the top girls hockey goalie in the state, in 2016. With the Blugolds, she’s been a backbone of a team consistently in the Division III rankings.

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What she says to Smith and Stow comes with a lot of weight, especially since she’s been in their shoes so recently. She knows what it’s like to be at a high school practice, what pressures they face.

“We’ve become really close,” Stow said. “Whatever we need, she’s there for us. She supports us through everything.”

Connolly doesn’t just understand what it’s like to be a goalie, but a female goalie. Stow, Smith and Connolly all agreed that brings them even closer together.

“She definitely understands the struggles of being a girls hockey player,” Stow said. “We can really talk about anything.”

It’s a relationship Connolly said she wishes she had growing up as a player.

“It’s definitely something that we’re moving toward as a hockey community, having more female coaches in general,” Connolly said. “It’s something that they can look up to and they can take advice from. ... I’m just really fortunate that I’m in the position where I can be that person.”

Stars coach Tom Bernhardt said the Stars have always had a goalie-specific coach on staff since he took over the program. It is likely the most important position on the ice, after all. A great team can easily be squandered by a mediocre player in the crease.

“I think it’s important for the goaltenders to have that individual time,” Bernhardt said. “We always do a lot of positional splits with the forwards and the defensemen, and those are days where Erin can take her 20 minutes to a half an hour and do nothing but work with the goaltenders.”

How often Connolly can make it to practice depends on the time of year.

At the start of the Stars’ season, the

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only major hurdle is her class schedule.

Once the college hockey season heats up, she’s often packed toward the later half of the week when the Blugolds play a majority of their games.

Bernhardt said the team has even started adjusting practice times to fit in with Connolly’s schedule.

The results speak for themselves.

Entering the postseason, Smith ranked fourth in the state with a 1.56 goals against average and seventh in the state with a .928 save percentage.

Stow isn’t too far back when it comes to goals against, slotting in at No. 7 in Wisconsin with a 1.76 average.

“I don’t think I’d be here, where I’m at today, without her,” Stow said.

The duo have backstopped ECA to a top seed in its sectional as the team looks to return to Madison for the state tournament.

“They’re great students,” Connolly said. “It’s super rewarding to see them succeed with the team, to see them take something that I taught them or I’ve been working on with them and see them improve in that is awesome.”

The young Stars goalies aren’t the only ones benefitting from the relationship, either.

“It’s helped me as a player,” Connolly said. “When I’m teaching kids the fundamentals and helping them improve their fundamentals it reminds me of what I should be doing in my practices.”

Connolly said the long-term plan is to continue coaching following her playing career in some form or capacity. She’ll walk out the Zorn Arena doors following graduation already with plenty of experience, giving her a leg-up on some others.

“It’s awesome,” Connolly said. “I’m definitely in a very good situation. I’ve been blessed to have the opportunities that I have.”

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STAFF PHOTO BY STEVE KINDERMAN

ECA Stars goaltender Naomi Stow shut out Hayward 3-0 in her team’s sectional semifinal win Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019 at Hobbs Ice Arena.

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WHAT’S IN A NUMBER? LOCAL HOOPERS REFLECT ON THE DIGITS THEY WEAR

When Abe Rocksvold takes the court for Regis basketball, he wears the number 22. It’s the jersey he’s worn since he made his varsity debut three years ago.

He’s kept the number because he said he’s made a name for himself in it, but it’s not the number he originally wanted as a sophomore and in hindsight, had he known what last month was going to bring, he said wishes he had switched numbers when this year started.

Rocksvold has been a Kobe Bryant fan for as long as he can remember. He grew up in a household of Laker fans because his father, Adam, fell in love with basketball watching the Showtime Lakers of the 80s. That love was instilled in him since Rocksvold’s birth in 2001, so naturally he came of age in the 2000s watching Bryant and the Lakers.

“I was just a huge Kobe guy growing up,” Rocksvold said.

“He was the only person I ever watched, I ever cared about. …

Even when the Lakers were bad for his last few years, I still wore number 24 because he was the man, he was the best.”

Rocksvold said he used to come home from elementary school, hop on the computer and spend hours watching highlights of Bryant’s greatest moments — from the ally-oop to Shaquille O’Neal, to the 81-point game against the Raptors, to the laundry list of game-winning shots.

So when he got the news late in January that Bryant, his daughter Gigi Bryant, and seven

others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Cali., Rocksvold was devastated.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“Kobe Bryant was like a part of our family.”

Looking back, Rocksvold said he wishes he switched to wear 24 this season. He’s worn a Bryant number dating back to his earliest basketball days at the YMCA in second or third grade when he wore the number eight, Bryant’s original number from 1996 to 2006. When Rocksvold started playing AAU in fifth grade, he chose number 10, Bryant’s Olympic number after Bryant helped to lead Team USA to a gold medal in 2012. Eventually, like Bryant, as Rocksvold matured, he decided to switch to 24 on his AAU team, Wisconsin City Hoops.

“That’s who I model most of my game after,” Rocksvold said of Bryant. “He motivated me a lot to play basketball, so to have his number kind of feels like that’s who I am, that’s how I play basketball.”

For Rocksvold, it was Bryant’s “Mamba mentality,” that made Bryant special: his never-give up attitude, his unflappability and his willingness to play through pain. When he puts on one of Bryant’s numbers, he feels he adopts that mindset, embodying Bryant on the basketball court.

Other locals have adopted similar reasons for wearing their jerseys. Eau Claire North’s Dalton Banks wears three because he grew up loving fellow 6-foot-1 point guard and NBA legend, Chris Paul.

STAFF PHOTO BY STEVE KINDERMAN

Abe Rocksvold of Regis puts up a shot in the paint against Altoona’s Evan Moss Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Regis.

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PHOTO BY BRANDEN NALL

Osseo-Fairchild’s Madison Hugdahl prepares for a shot while splitting the defense of Altoona’s Dru Nicolet, left, and Kennedy Trippler on Friday, Feb. 14, in Osseo.

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For Eau Claire Memorial’s Caden Boser, 33 has two meanings. It’s the number his mother and his uncle both wore when they played and it’s the number Larry Bird wore, the Celtics legendary small forward that Boser models his game after.

Others take different approaches to choosing a number. Osseo-Fairchild’s Makayla Steinke reasoning for wearing number 10 is – to use her words – “kind of dumb.”

“In fourth grade I was given the option of like 1, 10, 23 and 33, and I was 10 years old, so I picked the number 10,” she said with a laugh.

Her teammate Madison Hugdahl doesn’t wear 22 for any particular reason other than it’s not 14, the number she used to wear to copy her older sister until she decided to step out of her sisters’ shadow and carve out her own path.

At Chippewa Falls, Peyton Rogers-Schmidt chose number one for a similar reason. He wanted to be different from everyone else and despite his favorite player being LeBron James, he didn’t want to wear 23 because it’s synonymous with Michael Jordan more so than James.

“I’m just trying to be different from everybody else and be my own person,” he said of wearing number one.

Whether the reason is as simple as McDonell’s Eion Kressin’s “it was the last jersey available” or aspiring to adopt the mentality of the players you aspire to be, it seems everyone has a reason for picking their jersey.

PHOTO BY BRANDEN NALL

Eau Claire North’s Dalton Banks comes down after a basket against Chippewa Falls on Friday, Jan. 24, at North.

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Chippewa Falls’ Lucas Steinmetz takes the puck into the Eau Claire Memorial zone during the boys hockey game at Hobbs Ice Arena on Dec. 12, 2017.

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