sport: March 2010

Rod Watts And LaDontae Henton Lead Eastern Hoops Recovery E.L.’s Klarissa Bell Comfortable At Home OU Golden Grizzlies Hail From Mid-Michigan Spartan Stampede Tests Riders’ Courage

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SPORT CONTENTS

08 ALONG FOR THE RIDE

Spartan Stampede Brings Rodeo To Life

BY ANDREA NELSON

18 Bell rings true

COVER Photograph MIKE MAJOR

East Lansing Star Loves Family Environment

BY ANDREA NELSON

22 greater lansing Golden grizzlies

Area Basketball Stars Growl At Oakland U.

BY Chuck klonke

26 Play ball! (all winter)

12

Mid-Michigan Teams Approach Season Differently BY andy flanagan

06

EB-SERVATION

16

FITNESS

Hold That Line!

Dancing Provides Fun And Fitness

By RITA WIEBER

20

SPORTS AUTHORITY

SHE Shoots!

SHE Scores!

Turnaround x 2 LaDontae Henton, Eastern Quakers Rebound From Life’s Lessons

BY Sam hosey

28

NEWS + NOTES

Women’s Hockey Takes Greater Lansing Sports Scene By Storm

By BRENDAN DWYER

32

FINISH LINE

Red, Blue And Green With Memories To Cherish At Every Stop

By Doug herner

SPORT COMMUNITY

Contribute To SPORT Magazine

Send us your News + Notes, story ideas and Last Shot photographs. www.SportLansing.com

MARCH 2010

3

Assists

SPORT CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mike Major Born and raised in the Lansing area, Mike was always a huge sports fan, participating in baseball, football, basketball and golf in his youth. He served as the head boys basketball coach at Lansing Sexton from 1989-2005. Since leaving the coaching ranks, sports photography has filled that void. Mike can often be seen photographing area youth sports or playing a round of golf.

Andrea Nelson Andrea is a sophomore at Michigan State University, studying journalism with an emphasis in sports and public relations. She is a member of the Honors College and Tower Guard and has a true passion for sports. Andrea helped Frankfort High win back-toback state titles in girls basketball in 2005-06. Today, she helps produce “Ebling and You” on 1320 WILS.

Andy Flanagan Andy has written about high school teams and athletes in MidMichigan for more than a quarter-century, starting with the Lansing State Journal in 1982. The Everett High and MSU grad helped cover Spartan football from 1987-89. An avid homebrewer, Andy works in corporate communications for Auto-Owners Insurance Company. He and his wife, Jamie, have two children.

Sam Hosey Jr. “Da Chairman” has been a fixture in the Mid-Michigan sports scene for more than a decade. He has covered MSU and LCC athletics, as well as high schools, for the Lansing State Journal, The Detroit News, WKAR radio and SPORT. Sam has also written and scouted for Prep Spotlight, Spartan magazine and Rivals. com. He has become a leading authority in grass-roots basketball and recruiting.

SPORT, The Greater Lansing Sports Magazine is published monthly by NBB Publishing with offices at 1223 Turner St., Suite 300, Lansing, MI 48906. Postage is paid under USPS Permit #979.

Subscriptions: One copy of SPORT, The Greater Lansing Sports Magazine, is mailed complimentary to qualified business addresses in the Greater Lansing metropolitan area.

Residential, household, promotional, out-of-area and additional subscriptions are available for $18 per year, half of the shelf price of $3 per issue. Subscribe at: www.SportLansing.com Postmaster: Address changes should be sent to: SPORT Magazine, 1223 Turner St., Suite 300, Lansing, Michigan 48906.

4 MARCH 2010

The Greater Lansing Sports Magazine

Volume #2 • Issue #6 March 2010

Publisher NBB Publishing Editor Jack Ebling Assistant EditorS Andy Flanagan Doug Warren Contributing Writers Brendan Dwyer Jack Ebling Andy Flanagan Doug Herner Sam Hosey, Jr. Dan Kilbridge Chuck Klonke Andrea Nelson Rita Wieber PhotographY Ceil Heller Chris Holmes Mike Major MSU Athletic Communications Oakland University Sports Information Terri Shaver Whiskey Barrel Saloon MAGAZINE Design & LAYOUT Traction Printing Millbrook Printing, Co. Mailer Aldinger’s, Inc. Editorial Office 1223 Turner St., Suite 300 Lansing, Michigan 48906 (517) 455-7810 www.SportLansing.com Copyright © 2010 NBB Publishing.

All rights reserved.

SPORT EB-SERVATION

Get In The Swing

Spring Golf Edition Is Everyone’s Playing Partner

BY JACK EBLING

It’s almost impossible to be all things to all people.

I knew that long before SPORT debuted just 18 short months ago.

But more often than not, we’ve tried to do that. We’ve attempted to touch on events big and small, on well-known names and little-known heroes.

With a blank canvas each month, we’ve started with one simple question: “What does our audience want to read?”

Fourteen times that has been a potpourri. We’ve been a buffet for readers to sample. If you don’t like baseball, how about bow hunting?

The only exceptions have been two special issues, the Final Four commemorative after Michigan State’s spectacular march last spring and our sesquicentennial salute to Greater Lansing’s Top 150 athletes.

Neither was easy. Good things shouldn’t be.

So it’s time to venture out of our comfort zone again. It’s time to take a long look at golf in Mid-Michigan. Our April issue will do just that.

A staff lunch at Dublin Square this week produced nearly two-dozen great ideas. As usual, we’ll have more material than places to put those stories and photos.

That doesn’t mean we’ve stopped exploring. And it doesn’t mean we don’t need your help. We do. Now and always.

If you have an idea for a feature story or a News + Notes item, we need to know

that. Go to www.SportLansing.com and let us know what you’re thinking.

If you have a favorite hole anywhere in Mid-Michigan, we want to know where and why. We’ll be picking our Dream 18 in the area. And if your best hole is the 19th, we’d like to know that, too.

We’ll be spotlighting some families that prove golf is a game for all ages. If you know of a three-generation story, we want you to help us tell it.

We’ll be naming the most-influential people and the best moments in Greater

Lansing golf history. As many things as we’ve seen ourselves, we need every lasting memory we can get.

We’ll be providing a pullout course list with all the information you need to make 2010 your best golf season ever.

We’ll also be giving some amateur photographer a chance to show off his or her work in our Last Shot two-page spread. If you’ve taken a fabulous photo, you may as well share it with everyone – or at least our 95,000-plus readers.

And if you want your business to be on

Jack Ebling SPORT EDITOR

Jack has covered sports and much more as a writer and broadcaster in Mid-Michigan since 1978. A three-time Michigan Sportswriter of the Year, he was a 2006 inductee into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame. He has written five books–four on Michigan State and one on the Detroit Tigers– and has contributed more than 125 pieces for national publications. The former English teacher and coach spent nearly a quarter-century as a beat writer and columnist for the Lansing State Journal and won 21 major writing awards. He became a sports radio host in 2002 and branched into news talk in 2006. Currently, he hosts “Ebling and You” weekday afternoons and co-hosts “The Jack and Tom Show” Saturdays on 1320 WILS in Lansing. A two-time graduate of MSU, he has lived in the area for 36 years and has helped to raise two remarkable young adults.

6 MARCH 2010

display for an issue with a six-month shelf life, we can help with that, too. Sharon Osborn and our growing sales staff can be reached at Sharon@SportLansing.com.

You have roughly two weeks to make those contacts and share your ideas for April. If your e-mail isn’t working, you can always call 517-455-7810. If Diane doesn’t answer, please leave a message.

Already, I can hear some of you saying, “Don’t like golf. Never have. Never will.”

That’s fine. We’ll have plenty of other things to offer in May, June, July and August.

But as the snow melts and we start to shed layers of clothing, it’s time to take advantage of one of the state’s and the region’s great selling points – a wide array of courses of every kind.

From leagues to charity events to your favorite weekly foursome, there’s something for anyone of any age. And we’ll tell you all about the options for juniors.

We’ll also focus of golf as a business. It is amazing how many deals are done, in principle at least, in a golf cart or while sharing a post-round beverage.

But at the highest levels of play, MidMichigan can stack up with any region.

When the Golf Association of Michigan named Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll and Russ Cunningham as its Players of the Decade, it casts a light on an entire community.

Maybe you can’t relate to their games. You should be able to appreciate their stories.

We’ll give you another chance to do that.

We’ll also look at our history, from the struggles of minorities to the formation of a golf association that has impacted thousands of players.

With Burton Smith, Steve Grinczel and Tom Lang among the writers, we’ll have more than 100 years of golf experience to draw from.

With Dan Kilbridge, Scott Eckersley and Andrea Nelson, we’ll be looking for every relevant morsel. And we’ll watch all season as one of them learns the game the right way.

With Camron Gnass, who insists he’s a player, and Traction designers Jon Eslinger and Brian Paulson, we know the design will be eye-popping, yet reader-friendly.

If we can’t get everything into the April issue, there’s always May through October.

Golf doesn’t have to stop on Labor Day weekend. Not when it’s a labor of love.

If you like what you see, it’s time to subscribe at www.sportlansing.com – still the best deal in town with 12 issues delivered to your door for $18.

Especially when the memories are priceless.

Join NFL Star & former Spartan

Battlefield Brawl is a flag football tournament to raise funds which will go towards pediatric brain cancer research at Sparrow Hospital.

REGISTER YOUR TEAM AGES 18 AND OVER

DATE

April 25th TIME

12pm - 6pm LOCATION

Valley Court Park EAST LANSING, MI

V i s i t w w w. b a t t l e f i e l d b r a w l . c o m for info or follow @BattleBrawl on twitter

Along For The Ride Spartan Stampede Brings Rodeo To Life BY andrea nelson

8 MARCH 2010

One one-thousand . . . two one-thousand . . . three one-thousand . . . four one-thousand . . . five one-thousand . . . six one-thousand . . . seven one-thousand . . . eight one-thousand.

Could you stay on a bull that long? . . . Don’t worry. You’re not alone.

Photography CEIL HELLER

The 41st annual Spartan Stampede took place Feb. 19-21 at the MSU Pavilion. More than 200 cowboys and girls competed in seven rodeo events. Bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, tiedown roping, team roping and barrel racing kept spectators entertained for the weekend.

Hosted by the Michigan State Rodeo Club, competitors from Canada to California came to East Lansing. MSU Rodeo Club adviser Brian Nielsen said it’s the adrenaline rush people get from riding that keeps them coming back for more.

“There’s a lot of people out there who would love to try it,” Nielsen said. “But they realize there’s a good chance we could get hurt, so they don’t try it. These are the people who are brave enough or stupid enough, depending on how you look at it, to actually go ahead and do it.”

A few Spartans were bold enough to jump into the ring. MSU senior bull rider Max Pfund said he had wanted to be a matador since he was 12 years old. But in high school, he became interested in what drew people to the

sport of bull riding. He soon found himself riding bulls instead of waving a red cape.

“The first time I rode I was extremely scared. I was terrified,” Pfund said. “I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ They tie your hand so tight you can’t move, so you’re like, ‘OK, if I fall off, my arm’s going to stay here, I’m going to get drug around and probably die.’”

Not for you? Luckily, the audience gets to sit back and watch the show. Cowboys compete in their Stetson hats, leather boots and chaps. Rhinestones on cowgirl belts and hats shine into the crowd as their horses prance around the ring. Hundreds of colorful horses, heads high, eyes shining, muscles rippling under their skin, wait for their rider’s next move. That is, if it’s not a bronc riding event.

Nielsen thinks bronc riding is one of the most brutal rodeo sports. In college, he competed in bareback bronc riding. Even though it was fun in his younger years, Nielsen laughed as he said, “Now, it just looks painful.”

As soon as their gates open, the broncs

Ground Bound A bull rider bites the dust in the annual Spartan Stampede.

MARCH 2010

9

Along For The Ride

Cutting It Close Danielle Palermo shaves seconds around a barrel at the MSU Pavilion. jump out bucking. Bareback or in a saddle, men try desperately to hold on for eight seconds. Not all are that lucky. Pfund thinks it takes a certain kind of person and a lot of bravery to willingly ride a rodeo animal.

“It’s not for a lot of people,” Pfund said.

“Some people love it, and some people don’t.

They always say it takes a bigger man not to do it than it does to do it, to step away from it. But I would recommend it to everybody if they wanted to do it. You have to be pretty courageous to try it.”

Not all of the Rodeo Club members participate in competitions. Only three of the 30 are National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association members who compete within their region.

Since Michigan is part of the Ozark Region, most rodeos are held in Kentucky, Missouri and other southern states. Nielsen said members don’t compete in these events because of the time commitment. But the club is open to anyone with an interest in rodeos.

“Most of our club members just enjoy the sport of rodeo,” Nielsen said. “They like working with horses, they enjoy working with livestock, like being involved with the sport of rodeo. So that’s why they’re in it.

And these guys make great friends that will last a lifetime.”

Former Rodeo Club president Jesse Bement couldn’t agree more. He makes an effort to stay close and connected with the friends he made during his three years at MSU. “I’m still such good friends with a lot of these people,” Bement said. “The bullfighter that’s fighting here tonight, I was in his wedding. This is really kind of a rodeo club reunion to come back to Stampede every year.”

But friendships aren’t the only treasures the Spartan Stampede has to offer. The 10 MARCH 2010

Rodeo Club divides $7,000 in prize money between the seven events. The participants’ entry fees are also added to a purse pool, so the total prize money for each event is dependent on the number of competitors.

One of the best prizes of the weekend doesn’t come in the form of money, though.

Every year the Spartan Stampede crowns

an MSU Rodeo Queen. Nielsen said this year they had seven contestants. The girls are judged on their horsemanship, written tests, modeling, how they interact with others and the quality of their public speeches. They are also interviewed by a panel of judges that makes the final decision.

As the seven cowgirls lined up for the Rodeo Queen announcement, MSU junior Danielle Palermo heard her name called as the recipient of the “Miss Congeniality” award. Recognized for being friendly, outgoing, helpful and likeable, Palermo was excited to receive that recognition. But she had her eye on the bigger prize. A few seconds later, she got it.

Palermo was named the 2010 Rodeo Queen as well as Miss Congeniality. And she took her first lap around the ring with her new title. She said she was a little choked up after the announcement but has some big plans for her year as queen.

“I want to take it to a new level,” Palermo said. “I want people to know who the queen is and inspire young girls. I’m going to travel to as many rodeos I can this summer, hopefully talk and meet new people.”

Palermo also has an idea she wants to promote, called “Tough Enough to Wear a Helmet.” She said bull riders aren’t required to

Labor Of Love MSU professor of equine exercise physiology Brian Nielsen takes care of a friend.

wear helmets, and it bothers her that there’s such a large chance they could get hurt. She hopes to emphasize her new idea in the rodeo community for the riders’ personal safety.

For some beginners, rodeo riding is a non-contact sport. Then again, they’re only 3 years old. Dan Ritter, president of the Little Britches Association of Michigan, trains about 65 children from ages 3-18 to be future rodeo stars. Ritter said the 3-year-olds start by riding stick horses and work their way up to bronc and bull riding between ages 8-13.

Ritter has been around rodeos all of his life, as a competitor and now a trainer. He said he has worked with every MSU rider in the ring during Stampede weekend and has a few sons that have been very successful.

Ritter’s 8-year-old is ranked third in the world in the bareback junior division. His oldest son ranks fourth in the world in Little Britches team roping. “I’m proud of every one of them,� Ritter said. “All the kids involved are all my kids.

I just dedicate everything now to the kids and the rodeo.�

Children are a large part of the reason the Spartan Stampede has been so successful.

Nielsen said the rodeo’s family atmosphere appeals to a lot of people. But he thinks

Horsin’ Around A cowboy shifts his weight and tries to avoid an early ejection. it’s the horses that draw the most attention from the crowd. “Horses . . . if they aren’t part of your life, there are so many people who want horses to be a part of their life,� Nielsen said. “So whether you’re 2 years old or 100 years old, it’s still one of those things that for most Americans, they really love and want to be

part of. What little kid doesn’t want to be a cowboy or a cowgirl?�

So whether you’re a competitor or a fan, a bull rider or a matador, 3 years old or 40, rodeos have something to offer. After another successful event, the Spartan Stampede will return to East Lansing next year for its 42nd anniversary, cowboys and all.

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Turnaround x 2 LaDontae Henton, Eastern Quakers Rebound From Lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lessons BY sam hosey

12 MARCH 2010

Before every game, LaDontae Henton stares down at his shoes to see the hand-written words “Free ‘Trell.” Those words are Henton’s battle cry. A reminder of what’s important. A representation of why he plays the game with such passion and aggression. “‘Trell” is the nickname of Henton’s older brother, Dontrell Crosby. And when Henton buys a new pair of playing shoes, he etches those two words onto them.

“He was the first person to put a basketball in my hands,” the soft-spoken Henton said. “And that’s why I’m really tough now, is because I’ve always been playing up with my older brother. And I had to always play hard or else he would get on me, so he just made me tough.”

Henton’s big-brother lessons don’t come from the comforts of home or on the blacktop of Lansing’s playgrounds any more.

Crosby’s lessons to Henton come from a much harder place.

“He’s in prison right now,” Henton explained.

“He’s my inspiration. I learned a lot from him.

Like, what he did, he taught me not to do. I learned a lot from him in a positive way.

“I learned from his mistakes. He never let me make any mistakes. He was always on me when he was not in jail. So he was like a father to me but just a little older. He was like a younger dad to me.”

Crosby has been incarcerated at the Alger Correctional Facility in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since 2008.

“One of the things I tried to impress on LaDontae, because he was totally open with me, is to look at your brother and use him an example of what not to do,” Eastern coach Rod Watts said. “And I’m not saying his brother was guilty, but sometimes you’re guilty by association by some of the people that you run with.”

Despite the separation, Henton always looks forward to talking with Crosby, even smiling when he thinks about their talks.

And it was a serious conversation the two had last summer that Henton credits with changing his path as a student-athlete.

“He talked to me over the phone,” Henton

said. “He was just telling me that I need to pick my grades up. I mean, they weren’t bad but I want to be the best player on the floor and the best student as well.”

Crosby’s words left a lasting impression on Henton, who struggled during his academic career including a repeated year in the sixth grade.

“LaDontae shared some conversations with me that he and his brother had,” Watts said. “And I just supported some of the things his brother told him – try to keep his nose clean, continue to do the proper things

Paying The Price LaDontae Henton has learned some lessons the hard way and has rebounded from every blow.

MARCH 2010

13

A Cut Above Henton soars to the basket and shows why he could become Mid-Michigan’s all-time leading rebounder by the end of next season. in the classroom and try not to run with the wrong group of people, so he doesn’t end up in the same situation.

“It’s a continual fight for his parents to get his brother out of prison. LaDontae sees that, and it is a driving force. ‘Free ‘Trell’ is a message to his brother. Therefore, his brother is always with him when he’s playing. Every time he puts on his shoes, he can see his brother’s name.”

In watching Crosby’s life, Henton now had a clear example and understanding. The person he idolized was now in one of life’s most difficult places. Henton wanted no part of that. He saw his ticket to success in hand.

He simply had to punch it.

“I just thought about it,” Henton said.

“I mean there’s a lot in front of me right 14 MARCH 2010

now and I didn’t want it to go to waste. I mean, before school even started I just knew I had to get my GPA up. I wasn’t failing or anything. But I just had a low GPA. I needed to do better than that. I knew I could, and I just tried to push myself in the classroom as well as the basketball court.”

Henton, a junior, had a 3.2 GPA last semester – a major upgrade from 2.1 his sophomore year.

“That says he can do the work,” Watts said. “So now he’s really proud of the improvement he’s made, and he takes ownership of that. When we do progress reports, all I see are A’s and B’s now.”

Through Crosby, Watts and the stern warnings of parents Kathy Brown and Leroy Henton, things have turned around.

“My parents are a major influence on my life,” Henton said. “I live with both of my parents, so I’m fortunate to have that. And they just stay on me to get better on the floor and get better in the classroom.”

Henton confronted the challenge of his inner circle – to change his study habits and get serious about his school work. But that wasn’t the summer’s only test. Another jolting wake-up call drove home the point of academic responsibility and even forced him to check his basketball work ethic.

“Coming into high school, LaDontae was – depending on whose rankings you read – the No. 1 guy and [Detroit Southwestern’s] Brandan Kearney the No. 2 guy in the 2011 class,” Watts said. “When Michigan State offered Brandan and didn’t offer LaDontae, that really hurt him. He was crushed.

“So I spun that around, used that as motivation for him and told him, ‘This is the deal. You struggled in the classroom, and Kearney’s a pretty good student. So you have to understand that Michigan State has to look at everything – what type of student you are, what type of athlete you are.’

“So we have to give some credit to Michigan State and Brandan Kearney. That was the other motivational piece for him coming into school this year in doing the job he’s doing on the court and in the classroom.”

On the court, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Henton is having banner season. He has shown improved shooting range and ballhandling skill while averaging 24.6 points, 14.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.0 blocks and 2.2 steals. Eastern has posted its best season in decades winning the Quakers’ first league crown since 1991.

“It makes me feel real good,” Henton says. “That’s what I came here for – to win championships. Any kind of championship, I just wanted to win one when I came here as a freshman. It’s just nice to see we’re starting to do that right now.”

Memories of Eastern’s powerhouse teams from the days of legendary coach Paul Cook have returned. Eastern captured the Class A state title in 1980 with Cook roaming the sidelines and Sam Vincent controling the court. Now, Watts and Henton have breathed life into a once-proud program.

“It makes me feel real good,” Henton said.

“Since I was growing up, I’ve been hearing about them. I never saw them play but, I’ve always been hearing about Jay and Sam Vincent. I got to meet them a couple years back at the anniversary at Michigan State.

But it makes me feel good to help bring that atmosphere back here at Eastern.”

That atmosphere of winning and accountability has been handcrafted by Watts, a

Photography MIKE MAJOR

Turnaround2

STATS

SEASON

POINTS REBOUNDS

TEAM RECORD

2007-08

16.7

17.0

9-12

2008-09

20.4

14.5

13-8

2009-10*

26.5

14.8

21-2

*Through Mid-March

23-year veteran officer with the Michigan State Police. He is currently a Road Patrol Officer in the department’s Traffic and Safety Division, and Watts has brought that same discipline to the Quakers program.

Watts paid his dues on the sidelines as an East Lansing assistant, then at Everett under Johnny Jones. It was there that Watts helped mold Derick Nelson and Goran Suton into Division-I players en route to the 2004 Class A state championship.

“Coach Watts disciplines everyone on the team,” Henton said. “He influences everyone’s life. He strives for everyone to be a better person in life and [on] the basketball floor as well. He’s been a mentor to me since I was young. He’s a great guy.”

Henton admits Watts’ unwavering message of academic and athletic excellence has been hard at times, but he’s never been frustrated by it.

“I never got mad,” Henton said. “I know he was right. You can’t get angry with someone when they’re right. He just wants what’s best for me in life as well as on the floor.”

Henton’s new focus and drive this season has been infectious.

“He’s the leader of the team,” freshman teammate Charles Tucker Jr. said. “His court presence is great. He’s a great guy to have around. Off the court, he’s a funny, real cool, laid-back sort of guy.

“He’s a great guy to have around on any team because he works so hard. It doesn’t matter what team he’s on – he’s going to make a difference.”

Most aren’t surprised at Henton’s success.

He’s been a known commodity in Lansing basketball circles since the seventh grade.

He fell one point shy of Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s single-game scoring record of 48 points at Dwight Rich Middle School. He developed a prolific scoring touch around the basket, earning him the nickname “Buckets.”

Scouts and college coaches from across the country put him on their short list of top prospects. Henton even received scholarship offers from Utah and Penn State before playing a single varsity game. Regardless of the buzz, none of that changed Henton.

“I never let it get to me,” Henton said.

“I just want to be the best player that I can be. So I never let any of the small talk get to me.”

Henton’s humility is unusual for a star athlete. While many are preoccupied with chest pounding, jersey popping and embarrassing the opponent, he stays true to his nature by quietly seeking out ways to be efficient and win games.

“I feel that I haven’t done anything. I’m not nowhere right now,” Henton said. “I just strive to be better in life as a person and on the basketball floor. I try to get in the gym any time I can. I just want to be the best.”

If that seems like an act or sounds like a bunch of clichés from Henton, it isn’t.

“As a kid in middle school, he knew he was better than a lot of guys but he’s never been cocky,” Watts said. “Even when I met him in middle school, I pointed out some things he needed to improve, like his ball-handling skills. ‘Well, what do I need to work on?’ he’d

ask. So I’d show him some drills. He might be fumbling around with them the first couple of times, but by the second or third time I’d see him, he had the drill mastered.”

It’s that tireless work ethic now in the classroom and on the court that has Henton close to writing his own ticket. He currently holds scholarship offers from Penn State, Utah, Detroit, Dayton, Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.

But with high-major schools like Providence, Miami, LSU, Marquette, Arizona and Florida showing interest, Henton is content to go through the process.

“Yeah, they’re saying come down on an unofficial, see the facilities and things like that,” Henton says. “I’m supposed to go to Kentucky in March and Michigan State again.”

Henton knows his recruitment will take care of itself. For now, it’s daily thoughts about his brother, hard work in the classroom and fantasies about winning a state title.

“I want to lead this team to a state championship at the end of the year – and next year too,” Henton says. “I want to get as many as I can before I leave. I’ve got two years left, and I want to get both of them.”

He pauses. Henton looks upward at the 1980 Class A state championship banner hanging on the wall above Eastern’s home floor.

“I look at the banner every day, even in gym class,” he said. “I need a couple more up there. I want to make my mark. I want to mark my territory – the Don Johnson Fieldhouse.”

Plenty Of Drive Henton uses a quick first step to attack the goal and give the Quakers two points.

MARCH 2010

15

SPORT FITNESS

Hold That Line!

Dancing Provides Fun And Fitness

When MSU assistant gymnastics coach Katie Teft heads out for a workout on Thursday nights, she swaps running shoes for cowboy boots and heads to Whiskey Barrel Saloon.

A former elite gymnast who appreciates a good workout, 28-year-old Teft will burn over 600 calories in her two hours of line dancing, about the same as a six-mile run.

Line dancing, with roots in historic folk dance, gained popularity in the United States in the early 1980s with the choreography of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hustleâ&#x20AC;? and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tush Push.â&#x20AC;?

While most make a connection to country music, thanks to the popularity of Billy Ray Cyrusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 1992 hit â&#x20AC;&#x153;Achy Breaky Heart,â&#x20AC;? most early dances were to non-country tracks.

The new millennium brought line dancing to a mix of music styles that is now enjoyed in establishments all over the world.

Greater Lansing is no exception, with

country-western dance instruction experts Ellie and Floyd Meerman leading the way.

The Meermans donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t consider line dancing to be just a hobby or workout. They have made it their livelihood for the past 20 years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a way of life for us,â&#x20AC;? said Floyd, a retired General Motors employee. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done weddings, church gatherings, community classes and conventions, and we teach at bars all over Michigan.â&#x20AC;?

With more than 500 dances in their repertoire, Ellie Meerman said she has seen participants from all walks of life enjoy line dancing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve taught undercover cops, lawyers, doctors, mechanics, you name it,â&#x20AC;? said Ellie. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We once met a 55-year old man who had

never had a date. He would come and line dance by himself each week because he enjoyed it. Then he met a woman while dancing, and they later married.â&#x20AC;?

The Meermans, who put in up to six hours a day dancing, are instructors at the Whiskey Barrel Saloon in East Lansing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wednesday nights we teach beginner line dancing classes from 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.,â&#x20AC;? Ellie said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On Thursdays we do intermediate lessons at the same time. We typically have between 100 and 150 people join in each class.â&#x20AC;?

It takes only one glance at the crowd at the Whiskey Barrel Saloon on a Wednesday night to know that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not an exclusive gathering. While some dress the part of the country dancer, others are there for the workout in tennis shoes and sweatpants.

The group ranges in age from young adults to well-seasoned seniors. Every shape and

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Photography WHISKEY BARREL SALOON

By rita wieber

Line Dancing Lessons BEGINNER LEVEL

Wednesday Night 18+ Welcome 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Getting A Leg Up Line dancers get a workout at the Whiskey Barrel Saloon. size can be appreciated. Every level of ability enjoys the same fun.

After the lessons are over the dancing continues with popular dances like “Slappin Leather,” “Watermelon Crawl” and “Baby Likes to Crawl.”

“There’s always someone in the crowd who knows the steps and starts the rest of the group in a particular dance,” Ellie said. “Some dances have been around for many years. Others come and go in waves of popularity.”

Learning to line dance is like learning to ride a bike. At first, you are very conscious of what you are trying to do, thinking about each move. A few weeks later, it’s automatic. Your body will process commands like “Cha-cha”, “Hitch”, “Monterey Turn” or “Scoot” without a conscious thought. The

thrill of “getting it” matches the high of any new accomplishment.

The best aspect of getting out-of-thebox and trying to line dance is that there are no mirrors. With everyone so intense on doing the dance, they aren’t paying attention to anyone else.

“Once you get the hang of it, you can put more into it and really get a good workout,” said Floyd, as lean and trim as you could imagine. “A few years ago we took about 8 months off. It wasn’t until we came back that we realized how out of shape we were and how fit the dancing kept us.”

For those like Teft, with a lively spirit and a willingness to try something new, line dancing is a great option to those cold, winter workouts.

$5.00 cover ages 18-20 with college ID (8.30 p.m.-close ) $2.00 cover ages 21+

INTERMEDIATE LESSONS Thursday Night 21+ Only 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

No cover For more information on Country Western Dance Instruction, contact Ellie or Floyd Meerman, 517-627-7876.

Whiskey Barrel Saloon 410 South Clippert Lansing, MI 48912 517-351-5296

MARCH 2010

17

SPORT QUICK HIT

Bell Rings True

East Lansing’s Miss Basketball Loves Family Environment

When Klarissa Bell was 10 years old, the last thing she wanted to do was play basketball. Eight years later, it’s hard to imagine the East Lansing High star, Michigan’s 2010 Miss Basketball, without a ball in her hands.

“My stepdad forced me to play basketball in the fourth grade,” Bell said. “I really hated it. I was in love with soccer, and he forced me to go to tryouts.”

Suzy Merchant isn’t complaining. Bell committed to play for Michigan State in April 2009. Bell’s stepfather, Monty Myles, said the short distance to MSU was one of the main reasons Bell chose to be a Spartan.

“She had different options and different opportunities, but I thought deep down inside that’s where she’d probably choose,”

just always hanging out,” Bell said. “If it’s watching TV or if I’m taking them to a movie, we’re just always together. I feel just because we’re so close in age we grew up playing together.”

With a family of eight, Myles said they usually stay pretty busy. Helping with chores around the house and taking care of her brothers, he said Bell learned to be responsible at a young age. That’s only one of the qualities that makes her such a good role model, especially to her brothers.

For Whom The Bell Toils Klarissa Bell is flanked by her parents, Krista and Monte Myles and siblings (from left to right) MJ, Jared, Westin and Mikhail, a rock-solid support group.

Myles said. “Just because in reality, we do a lot together, in the family. I figured she’d want to keep that.”

Bell didn’t want to have to keep track of her five younger brothers from a distance.

She grew up babysitting and chauffeuring and admitted it wasn’t always easy being the oldest of six. But there’s strength in numbers, and she wanted to be part of their lives while in college.

“I think having so many kids, we’re 18 MARCH 2010

For a school project, her brother MJ had to write a letter to someone he admired.

Myles said he chose his older sister because she works hard at her goals and has accomplished a lot in school and on the court.

Trojans head coach Rob Smith said Bell also a sets a good example for young girls at East Lansing.

“They see that if they work harder, play team basketball, work on their skills and believe that anything is possible, they could

follow their dreams to a lot of different places,” Smith said. “You just never know where it’s going to take you.”

Smith is hoping Bell’s hard work will lead her to compete for a national title. Myles said he’ll be happy to see her have the opportunity to play at the collegiate level, form friendships with her new teammates and enjoy her time at MSU. “If in a couple years if I could see her maybe starting or contributing a lot to the team, I think that’d mean a lot to her,” Myles said. “I think it’s very important that she gets a good education and she heads in the direction she wants.”

And that direction would be down the same road Myles took. Just like her stepfather, Bell is looking to pursue a career in education. She said she likes the benefits that come with teaching and enjoys working with kids. With five younger brothers, it’s not hard to see where that came from.

And according to senior teammate Zakiya Minifee, Bell has the perfect personality to be a teacher.

“As a person, she just gets along so well with everyone and is so funny,” Zakiya said.

“She knows how to make everyone so comfortable around her, even if they haven’t really known her that long. She just has the charisma that makes her welcoming.”

Bell’s demeanor isn’t the only key factor holding the team together. The Trojans do different activities as a team to strengthen their friendships. Minifee said they’re known for hosting sleepovers. They also like to go out to eat and watch movies together.

Those team-bonding efforts won’t stop after graduation. Minifee, who’ll play at Oakland University, said she has already been talking to Bell about watching each other’s college games.

“We’re such a close team that I don’t think anything is ever really going to break that bond,” Minifee said. “We’ll always be teammates at heart even when we’re not playing basketball any more years and years away from now. I have a feeling we’re always going to be really close.”

Bell thinks it’s great that this year’s team has been able to come together and be successful

Photography MIKE MAJOR

BY andrea nelson

Above And Beyond Bell’s athleticism and poise earned her a scholarship to Michigan State next season, where she will be part of an outstanding recruiting class.

both on and off the court. Even though East Lansing graduated key players last year, the underclassmen have stepped up to the challenge. With a close-knit group of girls and no drama, they enjoy spending time together.

“It’s just fun to get everyone together and have a good time outside of basketball,” Bell said. “We’re not in the gym. We’re not running sprints or anything. It’s just us hanging out with one another.”

Smith has noticed Bell’s role in organizing team activities but says her leadership doesn’t end there.

“On the court, being the athlete she is, she just sets an example of how to play the game the right way,” Smith said. “She hustles.

She is extremely aggressive offensively. She has improved tremendously over the years defensively. And she encourages her team on the floor to play good basketball. It’s not that she’s on the bench very often. But when she is, she’s really encouraging.”

It’s not hard to tell that Bell is an important

part of East Lansing’s success. But their record wouldn’t be the same without a few fellow seniors by her side. Malika Glover, Minifee and Bell have been playing together since middle school. Watching them on the court, you’d think they could read each other’s minds.

Bell said if she throws a pass to Glover or Minifee before they’re even there, there’s no doubt in her mind that it will be caught.

Even if they had to play blindfolded, the trio would always know where each other was.

“Over the years we’ve become accustomed to knowing how well or what we do best for each other,” Minifee said.

“I always look immediately up the floor because I always know that Klarissa is running 95% of the time. And I can throw it ahead of her and I know that she or Malika will always catch it. It’s just stuff like that, having faith in your teammates.

I have faith in her abilities.”

Bell said it didn’t hit her until this year that she’d soon be playing for MSU. She

didn’t even know if she had the talent to play for a Division 1 school.

“I really wasn’t sure if I was good enough to play at the college level,” Bell said. “But after I saw how much interest I was getting from coaches, it kind of hit me that I could actually do this.”

Bell’s head coach Rob Smith wasn’t surprised.

“She’s kind of a unique player,” Smith said. “She has so many different attributes.

She just kind of reminds me of a lot of those athletes that you see in the WNBA. I would say less that she reminds me of a particular player, but more she just reminds me of the type of kid that can go all the way with the talent she’s been given.”

No one’s happier for Bell’s success than her closest friends and family. Minifee knew Bell wanted to continue playing basketball after high school. But staying close to home was also important. Seeing her friend get both put a smile on her face.

“I was ecstatic because I knew that was something she wanted,” Minifee said. “Just the fact that it was exactly what she was looking for and the opportunity opened up for her, it was great.”

Looking back on everything she has accomplished, it’s hard for Myles to hide how proud he is of Bell.

“She’s just met all the expectations you look for in a kid,” Myles said. “Not just in basketball – that’s a great expectation too – but as a person. It’s really nice because she’s out there in the public eye, and she’s always going to represent herself and our family at a high level.”

Basket-Bell Rob Smith’s Trojans rely on Bell and Oakland University signees Malika Glover and Zakiya Minifee.

MARCH 2010

19

GREATER LANSING SPORTS AUTHORITY

SHE Shoots! SHE Scores!

Women’s Hockey Takes Greater Lansing Sports Scene By Storm

BY BRENDAN DWYER

tournament participant is usually just a day or two. Participants, coaches, families and fans of the USA Girls Hockey event will be staying three times that long - six nights in the region. That’s a lot of time off-ice enjoying meals, These days, you’d better shopping, area attractions look twice. Greater Lansing’s and more. second largest sports tourna“We’re proud to showment in 2010 is almost here. case our community and And it features the fastest the entire state of Michigrowing youth sport in the gan to this up-and-coming country – girls ice hockey. sports group,” Price said.

While records show that “We hope area residents ladies have been rifling topwill enjoy sharing our resshelf slap shots since the late taurants or maybe catch a 1800’s, the sport caught fire movie with the players and after the debut of women’s families of the Colorado hockey in the 1998 Winter Select or the Alaska FireOlympics in Nagano, Japan. birds, just to name a few.

Over the last decade girls While Greater Lansing is hockey participation has pleased to host this highgrown at remarkable rates. profile national event, Those seeking proof of that USA Girls Hockey reprepopularity need only take note sentatives appear equally of the first-time event headed excited about bringing the to Greater Lansing this April Pucks And Ponytails The Michigan Icebreakers play at Suburban Ice in Detroit and event to Mid-Michigan.

7-11 – the USA Hockey Tier II “Greater Lansing is a perGirls National Championships. will participate in the upcoming USA Hockey National Championship Tournament. fect fit for this tournament.

The tournament will welWe’re thrilled,” said Patty come 48 teams from across the country for a five-day tournament at helping to coordinate everything from meals Madden, event organizer and Michigan repThe Summit and Suburban Ice and a stay to lodging to recreational options for over resentative for the girls/women’s section in Michigan’s capital region. With 20 girls 1,000 people from as far away as Alaska, of USA Hockey. “To showcase the best girls on each team, plus families and friends, Los Angeles and Dallas. This is where our hockey players in the nation in a state and it doesn’t take long to do the math. And partnership with the Greater Lansing Sports region with a great hockey culture is a true asset. Plus Greater Lansing’s central location no one understands that better than Jeff Authority (GLSA) becomes critical.”

Bringing sports tournaments to town, makes it easy for players and their families Mitchell, general manager of Suburban Ice then laying out the red carpet when they to explore other areas of Michigan when the in East Lansing.

“This event is going to put Greater Lan- arrive, is the mission of the GLSA. And tournament wraps up.”

Anyone who would like to catch a sing on the map in terms of big-time youth according to Mike Price, manager of sports girls and boys hockey tournaments,” Mitch- development, this tournament is worthy of glimpse of the best of the best from the fastest-growing tournament sport in the ell said. “But with girls hockey growing even all-star treatment.

“The GLSA is proud to be a part of the country should check out the GLSA webfaster than the boys now, I’d be happy to see us become known as a hub of interest and growth of girls hockey and elated to be site, www.lansingsports.org.

This time, when you see a skater fly hosting this elite national event,” Price activity for this fast-growing sport.”

As manager of one of the tournament sites, said. “So many aspects of this group are past the boards and you catch a glimpse talk with Mitchell quickly turns to logistics special, not the least of which is the eco- of long hair sticking out the back of the nomic impact the event will have on Greater helmet, don’t assume it’s the return of the for scheduling an event of this size. hockey mullet. What you just saw was a “We’re talking about more than just slat- Lansing and Michigan as a whole.”

Price shared that a typical stay for a pony tail. ing ice time for games,” Mitchell said. “We’re 20 MARCH 2010

Photography JEFF CARTER, MICHIGAN ICEBREAKERS

It used to be when you saw long, flowing locks out of the back of a helmet you were seeing the time-honored hair style-of-choice among competitive icers – the hockey mullet.

22 MARCH 2010

Greater Lansing Golden Grizzlies Area Basketball Stars Growl At Oakland U.

BY Chuck klonke

Derick Nelson stood at center court at Breslin Center, waiting for cheers befitting a hometown hero.

Instead, the former Lansing Everett star was stunned to hear boos.

The reason? Nelson was wearing the uniform of Oakland University, Michigan State’s opponent that night.

Photography MIKE MAJOR

“I wanted to say, ‘Hey, I’m from Lansing!’” Nelson recalls of the first time he played in Breslin after winning the Class A state championship in 2004.

“It was kind of awkward. You want them to cheer for you. But you know you’re on the other team. It’s always fun to go there.

I watched Michigan State as a little kid and always wanted to play in Breslin. I just didn’t know I would be on the opposing team.”

Nelson is part of the Greater Lansing pipeline to Oakland. He’s also a big reason the Golden Grizzlies won the Summit League regular-season and post-season titles and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, scoring 36 points in the championship game.

So is Johnathon Jones of Okemos, one of the premier point guards in the country.

And former Lansing Sexton standout Drew Valentine is making a key contribution as a freshman.

Next year, when Jones and Nelson graduate, Okemos’ Travis Bader, a redshirt this season, figures in Oakland’s plans.

The pipeline started years ago when Oakland was still Division II. “We had a kid from Waverly named Tom Marowelli,” Golden Grizzlies head coach Greg Kampe said. “He had good success, and Waverly’s Hall of Fame coach, Phil Odlum, talked it up. When Cortney Scott transferred to Oakland, it really opened a lot of people’s eyes.

Cortney was kind of a legend in Lansing.

“We’ve been able to get a lot of really good players, most of the top players from Lansing.”

Former assistant Jeff Smith had a lot to do with that. Now serving unding Jim Boylen at Utah, “Smitty” was a tireless worker who helped bring Nelson and Jones, among others, to Rochester.

But Jones said Oakland was on his short list of colleges from the time he was a freshman at Okemos.

“They were one of the first to recruit me in high school,” he said. “They showed a lot of interest my freshman year. Coach Kampe came to one of my games my sophomore year. He told me how much he wanted me and said there was a scholarship waiting for me. It really took off from there.”

Nelson had to spend a year in prep school.

And Oakland helped him get into Bridgton (Maine) Academy, where he received the Headmaster’s Award as “the student most outstanding in character deportment, scholarship and being a good influence upon fellow students.”

He also excelled on the basketball court and led Bridgton to the New England Prep School championship. After scoring 24 points and pulling down 15 rebounds in the title game, Nelson had plenty of offers.

“Oakland was the one that stuck with me when everybody else had given up on me, so I came here,” Nelson said. “It wasn’t too far from home, but it wasn’t too close, either.”

Oakland was just one of several schools on Valentine’s list when he began his senior year at Sexton as a Division I prospect in football and basketball. Everything changed when Valentine injured his knee in the first football game of the year.

“I was confused about where I wanted to go,” he said. “Then I tore my ACL, and all the schools except Oakland and Central Michigan backed away from me.”

When Valentine came out of surgery, one of the first people he saw was Oakland assistant Saddi Washington, another former Big Red. “He actually came to my surgery,” Valentine said. “When I saw him there, I knew this was the place for me.”

MARCH 2010

23

Greater Lansing Grizzlies Nelson and Jones, who were honored at the Golden Grizzlies’ final home game on Feb. 27, are leaving the program in style.

When Oakland clinched its second regularseason title with an 88-81 victory over North Dakota State on Feb. 20, Jones scored 24 points. Nelson collected 21 points and 14 rebounds.

“Derick and Johnathon are the heart and soul of our team,” Kampe said. “They’re the only seniors, and they’re the captains.

Johnathon has started every game since he’s been here. With the leadership he brings, he’s basically a coach on the floor.”

Nelson hadn’t planned to be part of this year’s team. That changed when he broke his foot two days before the 2008-09 season started. He tried to come back in late December but had too much pain in his foot and he took a medical redshirt.

The year off did a lot of things but didn’t make Nelson want to try coaching.

“I don’t know if I can coach,” he said with a laugh. “I give a lot of props to my coaches.

I see them tell us to do one thing, and we still don’t do it. I don’t see how they deal with that. I would get too irritated. Being a coach is like being a father. I tell my daughter one thing, and she does the other. I have patience with her because she’s my daughter.

But if I’m coaching, they’re not my kids.”

There have been lots of highlights for Jones during his four seasons at Oakland.

In fact, it’s difficult to narrow them down.

“Just coming out here and playing in college,” he said. “One of my dreams in high school was to play at the Division I level.

But to start every game is a big highlight.

Leading the nation in assists last year was big. We’ve been able to go to the conference

“I’ve had a lot of influences here at Oakland . . . People who stuck with me when I wasn’t doing well personally – not just on the court.”

- Derick Nelson, Oakland University Golden Grizzlies

When Nelson returned this season, his role had changed.

“Nelson is a make-plays guy,” Kampe said. “He’s the best defender in the league – one of the best I’ve ever coached. Before, he was more of a scorer. With this team, we needed him to be our defensive stopper.

When we need him to get buckets for us, he can do that, too.”

Nelson and Kampe both said that the season on the sidelines turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the 6-foot-5 forward.

“He was at practice, so he was watching and understanding the coaching aspect,” Kampe says. “In the other mode, you’re just playing. He sees what we did in practice and sees kids making mistakes. That was really good for Derick. That’s part of the reason he was able to make the transition from scorer to stopper.”

Nelson admits he was somewhat depressed when he was injured last year.

“I felt like I let my team down,” he said. “I was one of the leaders and I couldn’t play. It was a hard year. A lot of people questioned whether I would come back and be as good as I was before. That made me work harder.”

Jumpin’ Johnathon Jones has helped the Grizzlies win with sweet jumpers and pin-point passes the past four seasons.

24 MARCH 2010

championship game two of the first three years I’ve been here.”

Jones didn’t become one of the nation’s best point guards by accident. He studies the best point guards in the NBA, with one standing above the rest.

“There are so many great point guards, but I like Steve Nash,” Jones said of the Phoenix playmaker. “It’s the way he gets everybody involved. He’s at the top of the list in assists every year. He gets his teammates involved and really runs the show.

At the same time, he can go out and get 40 points. I love the way he’s so versatile.”

Nelson enjoys having Jones feed him the basketball.

“The point guard is the leader of your team,” Nelson said. “It starts with him.

‘JJ’ is one of the best point guards you can have. He does everything well. He can play defense. He can score. He can pass. He’s very consistent. And Coach always says consistency is the hallmark of greatness.

“Being a point guard is like being a quarterback. You have to know which way your receivers like the ball. I might like the ball different than somebody else. He knows everybody’s personalities. He manages that very well.”

When Nelson talks about his highlights at Oakland, he thinks about how he has been helped off and off the court.

“I’ve had a lot of influences here at Oakland,” he said. “People who stuck with me when I wasn’t doing well personally – not just on the court. There are a lot of people I’m forever indebted to for helping me better myself as a person. Sometimes when you go to college, all they do is care about what you do on the court and academically.”

While the college careers of Jones and Nelson are ending, Valentine’s is only beginning.

The son of Sexton coach and ex-Spartan Carlton Valentine has played in every game this season as a reserve for the Golden Grizzlies.

“Right now, my role on the team is rebounding and defense,” Valentine said. “I’m old school, kind of a glue guy. I’m not out there just trying to score, though I feel I’m versatile as an offensive player. I’m 6-5 and can handle the ball. I can shoot pretty well. I feel like I’m a well-rounded player. I’m just doing whatever it takes for my team to win.”

Valentine says that his father was a huge influence.

“He was the one pushing me once I told him this was what I wanted to do,” Valentine says. “He never forced me to play. But once I told him this was what I wanted to do, he was the one reminding me how much hard work I had to put in if I was going to be the great player I said I wanted to be.”

Kampe has been pleasantly surprised by

Valentine’s play since he arrived on campus.

“Valentine is way better than I thought when I recruited him,” Kampe says. “I thought he would be a role player at Oakland University. We recruited him because of his leadership and toughness. I didn’t know how good a basketball player he was until he got here. When Nelson leaves, I expect him to step into that spot.

“When Nelson came back it was kind of a bad deal for Valentine. But he has handled it very well. He would have played a lot more.”

Kampe says that Bader, a 6-foot-3 guard, is being groomed to replace Erik Kangas, a DeWitt native who graduated last year as the top threepoint shooter in Golden Grizzlies history.

“Bader is going to be our next Kangas – the great shooter who comes off screens,” Kampe says. “He has to get bigger and stronger. That’s what this redshirt year is doing. He’s in the weight room four or five days a week. He’s a great shooter and a great scorer.”

The Greater Lansing pipeline to Oakland continues.

Full Nelson A year of prep school eased the adjustment for one of the Summit League’s top all-around players.

MARCH 2010

25

SPORT QUICK HIT

Play Ball! (All Winter) Mid-Michigan Teams Approach Season Differently

Apparently it’s never too early to plan ahead if you’re a high school baseball player in Mid-Michigan.

On Deck Grand Ledge coach Pat O’Keefe will have the Comets ready to go, thanks in part to a spring-training trip.

The “Boys of Spring” have been doing a variety of drills and workouts this winter in preparation for the high school season, which for some teams begins this month. But some players are already looking toward their summer-league season, area coaches report.

“It seems like the kids who are playing summer ball go to Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo,” Charlotte coach Bill Whitely said of what his players did this offseason.

Ditto for some Okemos players, according to Chieftains coach Phil Magsig. And some Grand Ledge players also made trips this winter to Grand Rapids and other cities, longtime Comets coach Pat O’Keefe said.

It used to be that local baseball players playing outside of the area in the summer was a rarity. They would often join their high school teammates on a summer-league team. Not any more, the coaches said.

“More and more are going their separate ways,” said O’Keefe, who will begin his 42nd year as Grand Ledge’s head coach in April.

“Some of the larger metropolitan areas – like Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids – have a lot of all-star teams. More and more of our kids are 26 MARCH 2010

being recruited by those travel leagues.”

Make no mistake, the coaches are happy their players worked out during the winter, regardless of where the workouts took place.

If they played a winter sport, that’s OK, too.

But if a baseball team has a lot of players tied up in a winter sport – like Charlotte, which had four pitchers on the varsity basketball team – preparation time becomes a little more compressed.

“It’s a heck of a lot better than not doing anything,” Whitely said of baseball players who play a winter sport. “You need a little bit of cooperation with the winter coaches. If a kid is a pitcher, he needs to throw a little bit.

“If you talk to most baseball coaches, it’s hard because baseball is the last sport of the season. If you have a lot of seniors, they’re thinking about prom, graduation and college. There are so many distractions.”

It’s harder now than it was 10 years ago, said Whitely, who has coached at Charlotte since 1999 after moving from Sturgis.

“Football coaches now almost aren’t realistic in their demands,” Whitely said. “They want kids all the time to do stuff during the school year. That puts a lot of pressure on being a two- or three-sport athlete.”

One of the best ways a high school baseball team can prepare is to take a spring trip. Teams from Grand Ledge, East Lansing and Holt head to Delray Beach, Fla., for Bucky Dent’s Baseball School.

“This will be our 33rd year,” O’Keefe said of the Comets’ Florida trip, a key part of the team’s preparation. “Up here you might have 8 inches of snow. Down there it’s 75-80 degree weather, and you can practice three times a day.”

O’Keefe said the Comets raise funds almost year-round for the trip. Between that and some help from the parents, the trip is reasonable for the players.

“Grand Ledge is a very supportive community,” he said.

Baseball players in Charlotte and Okemos don’t go on spring trips, for different reasons.

“We have never done one,” said Magsig, who is beginning his 16th year as head coach and 21st overall at Okemos. “We’ll come back (from spring break) and play two or three teams that have taken a trip, and we ask, ‘Why do it?’ It’s a family time.

That’s more important in the big picture.”

Whitely said Charlotte took a spring trip his first year as coach. Since then, the school board has placed too many restrictions on such trips to make them worthwhile, he added.

“It hurts us the first couple of weeks, but not at the state tournament,” said Whitely, whose teams have won seven district titles.

“If you give the players time off, you can demand more when you get back. What other sport can you play where you get seven to nine days off?”

All three coaches said that their players spend a lot of time in the winter in the weight room. Magsig, for example, said he has about 20 of his players working with a personal trainer at his home. The trainer, Mike Twombley, has 13 stations set up in his home.

“The kids are putting weight on and getting stronger,” Magsig said.

Added Whitely about off-season weightlifting: “Really, it’s just getting kids stronger, more than doing baseball-related drills.”

Where does a high school player go in the Lansing area if he wants to more than just lift weights? One place that provides all the elements of baseball except games is the Lansing Indoor Sports Arena (LISA), the old Lansing Ice Arena, on Lake Lansing Road.

LISA actually has two locations; on Lake Lansing Road and the old Baseball Academy of Mid-Michigan (BAMM) facility on Enterprise Drive in south Lansing. Players can go to LISA for batting practice in its cages, to work on their pitching or to practice their fielding. Baseball Director Justin Pierce is essentially a one-man gang.

“This is my life, my full-time job since 2002,” Pierce said. “I’ve taken quite a liking to it and the clientele seems to keep coming back.”

Pierce had about 150 players using the facility this winter, most being high school

Photography CHRIS HOLMES

BY anDY FLANAGAN

players. He runs two eight-week sessions in the off-season – November through December and January through February. If a player goes through the two programs, he’ll be ready to go when high school practice begins in mid-March.

LISA hosts to a high school hitting league two nights a week during the winter. Players look at a television-like device, with an actual pitching machine behind the screen that throws the ball through a hole that syncs with the video of a pitcher throwing a pitch. The machine can throw the usual assortment of pitches—fastballs, curves, sliders and changeups—and it can also simulate either a right- or left-handed pitcher.

“A lot of high schools like this program because they can get some live hitting in before the start of the season,” Pierce said.

He also makes room for fielding practice, if requested, and offers pitching classes throughout the week. Pierce said he has instructors assist him with pitching. The drills mix long-toss with mechanical work.

In November, for instance, he said it’s mostly long-toss with weighted balls.

“As they get close to the season, we really focus on players’ stamina and maintain a high pitch count,” Pierce said. “Mechanics

Fun And Fundamentals Justin Pierce works to build good habits at the Lansing Indoor Sports Arena. are secondary then, and pitch selection is more primary. As we get close to March, we focus on game-time.”

Pierce played four years of varsity baseball at Jackson High, then spent two years playing for Frank Deak at Lansing Community College before completing his career at Spring Arbor University. He said most of his business is word-of-mouth.

“It’s a way to keep things cost-efficient,” Pierce said, adding that 70 percent of his business is with high school players. “I don’t have too many employees. I do this mainly by myself.”

Instruction at LISA costs $25 an hour for a class, with most consisting of four onehour classes a month. Personal instruction is $30 a half hour.

When the high school kids leave for their seasons, the focus turns to youth teams and players, Pierce said. He coached one U-12 travel team last summer and will have a U-15 and a U-12 travel team this year. Teams are composed mainly of players who train with him.

“They want to play more serious baseball,” Pierce said. “We’ll play 50-55 games and experience a little more than what the local teams offer.”

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SPORT NEWS + NOTES

Greater Lansing Notables By dan kilbridge & SPORT CONTRIBUTORS

DEWITT

MID-MICHIGAN

OKEMOS/LANSING

Dan Pavlak, a DeWitt High graduate, earned second-team all-conference recognition for the Wheaton College soccer team.

The freshman defender started every game for the Thunder, who placed second in the league. He had two goals and one assist, including the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Hope College.

Great Lakes Track & Field won the AAU Northern Indoor National Championship in the age 16-19 division with just 10 competitors in Bloomington, Ill. Tavarrio Davis of Lansing Eastern won the 800 meters, set a record in the semifinals of the 400 (50.3) and teamed with fellow Quakers Leroy Green and Recardo Dabney, plus East Lansing standout Dan Tyler, to set another mark in the 4x400 relay at 3:24.9.

With 19 entrants in all, Great Lakes won 12 gold medals, two silvers and three bronzes and set three national marks. Taylor Manson, a fifth-grader at Waverly East, won three golds in the 11-under division and set a record with a 400 clocking of 1:02.6.

Re’Anna Blair, a sixth-grader at Waverly East, won two golds and was just .2 off the record in the 200 with a 27.2 clocking.

Christopher Luoma of Okemos was selected as one of 14 Class A competitors to receive the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s 2010 Scholar-Athlete Award. Frank Liesman of Lansing Catholic was among the eight honorees in Class B. Both will receive $1,000 scholarships March 27 at Breslin Center. Luoma is a three-time letter-winner in golf and hockey.

Liesman has earned four letters in hockey and three in football and lacrosse.

LANSING Sexton High running back Onaje Miller verbally committed last month to play football at Michigan State, becoming the first member of Mark Dantonio’s 2011 incoming class. The junior set a school single-season record with 33 touchdowns last fall, while rushing for 1,758 yards on 216 carries. His seven scores as a kick returner were also a Big Reds record.

ST. JOHNS The St. Johns High wrestling team won its first state championship at the Division 2 Finals in Battle Creek and the school’s first title in any sport since 1926. The Redwings defeated Allegan 31-30 in the last dual meet after edging Greenville 29-28 in the semifinals. Sophomore Taylor Massa led St. Johns to a CAAC Red title this season and finished with a No. 1 ranking at 152 pounds.

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SPORT LAST SHOT

Quite A Trip MHSAA Division 3 wrestling finals THE PALACE OF AUBURN HILLS. 03/06/2010

PHOTOGRAPHED BY brad johnson

Williamston Senior, 152 pounder Aaron Risch, finishes a high single leg takedown on Caleb Slavik of Birch Run. Risch continued to a third place finish in the tournament.

MARCH 2010

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SPORT FINISH LINE

Red, Blue And Green With Memories To Cherish At Every Stop

By Doug herner, Lansing Sexton, U-M And MSU Basketball

March has always been special. So has Jenison Field House. It has been that way since I was a ballboy for Michigan State under Pete Newell.

I wanted to go here. But I wasn’t good enough.

32 MARCH 2010

Otis Davis, Butch Miller and Wiley Barnett.

Greg Eaton was a mid-year graduate. And Clayt Kowalk was a heckuva coach. He wore the same socks all through the tournament. I don’t know if he washed them or not. That wasn’t our problem.

The next year was boring. We were No. 1 all season. Our only loss was at home to Ann Arbor. Then, we beat them in a lopsided game in the quarters. We played Grand Rapids South with Billy Curtis, then Pontiac Central. I’d gotten kicked in the calf and couldn’t walk. I spent the whole day in the training room at Jenison, then played 30 minutes that night.

When I went to Ann Arbor, we didn’t have much. Then, the coaches got a call about a kid with a broken foot, a manager at Detroit Northern. He was 6-7, 230, and no one knew who he was. But Billy Buntin turned Michigan around. We won eight games my sophomore year. Suddenly, Billy was grabbing 16 rebounds a game.

That was the year I hit the infamous shot to beat State in Jenison. We scored to get within one, and Tom Cole made a great steal at midcourt. He passed to me, and I let it go from the left elbow. I should’ve dropped it off for Billy to dunk it. It went in with three seconds left.

When I was a senior, Cazzie Russell joined us. Billy and Larry Tregoning were juniors.

And when Cazzie came from Chicago, we also got Oliver Darden, Jim Myers and two other all-staters from Illinois, John Thompson and John Clawson. Cazzie was a post player in high school. His range was 8 feet.

But we played him at guard. By the time he graduated, range was no problem. He was the hardest worker I ever saw.

I was planning to go to grad school in ’64 when Coach Kowalk called. He had a chance to go into administration and asked if I’d assist Don Little. I thought about it for a while – a

Sweet Memories Lansings’ Doug Herner has seen it all, from back-to-back state championships at Sexton, a Final Four appearance at Michigan and more than a decade of sustained excellence at Michigan State. second or two. I’ve always loved Lansing. Sue and I have had the same house since ’73.

I was an assistant at Sexton for seven years, then head coach for 14. It was tough with George Fox at Everett, Paul Cook at Eastern, Danny Hovanesian at Holt and Don Ashdown at East Lansing. We were all friends. In ’74 George had a really good team, and we had him over for dinner before the game. We knocked them out. And he never came to dinner again.

I probably got out of coaching too soon – mainly because of illness and fatigue. The administration and parents were sick and tired of me. But I got to know Jud Heathcote at State, and he always made us feel welcome.

It wasn’t just so we’d help in recruiting. He had to fill some of his empty seats.

Then, when Tom Izzo took over, he asked me to come over and help, first with the camps, then watching some tape. He has been great. So has the run.

And I can still say I never lost in Jenison.

Photography MSU Athletic communications

I remember when Sexton got beat by Fordson in the finals in ’53 and when St. Mary won in ’54 with Ralph Coleman and Tommy Ramsey. I knew them from the old YMCA. I had my first job there, scoring games. My coach at West Junior High, Dale Metts, cut me, and got me a job. He did me a favor.

My sophomore year, we got beat in the districts. That was in ’58, the year East Lansing won it with Gus Ganakas and Art Brandstatter.

In ’59 we beat Benton Harbor by one in the regional. Then, we beat Portage, whose shortest starter was 6-foot-4. Our tallest, Brian Ferguson, was 5-11. We won by almost 30. And I got kicked out for a little skirmish. I looked the guy square in the belly button.

We beat Adrian in the quarters and Grand Rapids Central by about 30 in the semis.

Then, we met Hamtramck, the most famous game in tournament history. We were down 17 and cut it to 15 with 3:55 left. We got a couple of steals. They missed a one-andone. And they took their best player out for 27 seconds. We scored five more, and it really got crazy.

Robert Davis missed a shot to put us ahead in overtime. They got the rebound, got fouled and made a free throw. We came back down, and Robert took a shot from the left elbow. It hit the front rim, the back, the front and went through at the buzzer.

He always said he did that so they wouldn’t have time to inbound the ball.

There were more than 12,000 people there. I’ve had 24,000 tell me they saw it. But with two minutes to go, the place was half-empty. By the end of the game, it was full again.

We had Robert, Brian and Art Frank up front. Chris Ferguson and I were the guards. We had a little depth, too, with

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