sport: October 2011

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Power Play Tom Anastos, Kelly Miller Return To Lead MSU Hockey Revival

holt/lansing

haslett

BOBBY WILSON

NICK STANKO

Tackles CATA Routes, Not QBs, Ballcarriers

Michigan’s Marathon Man Leads Girls Cross Country

VO L •3 ISSUE O9 OCTOBER

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contents

FEATURES 08 ALWAYS A SPARTAN

Delvon Roe Is Done…But Not Forgotten

BY JACK EBLING

10 A LOT TO LIKE

Lound, Reister Look, Excel, Win Alike

BY DAVID HARNS

12 TEAM TIME

Cathy George Builds MSU Volleyball Her Way

BY DAVID HARNS

14 OLDER AND BETTER

Legendary Ref Rich Weiler Returns With Rooting Interest

BY PETER MORRIS

18 THE ART OF RUNNING

Haslett’s Nick Stanko A Teacher And A Student Of His Sport

BY ANDREA NELSON

28 RIDE OF A LIFETIME

22

Home Ice

Anastos, Miller Set Goals For MSU Hockey

Ex-Spartan, Redskin Bobby Wilson Now Plays For CATA

BY STEVE GRINCZEL

BY NEIL KOEPKE

32 AP-PLIED SCIENCE

DEPARTMENTS eb-servation

05 Completing The Circle October Does That For sport, Coaches, Parents

BY JACK EBLING

Plyometrics Or Pliometrics ”The Physical Equalizer”

BY STEVEN A. MORGAN

spartans will

34 Banding Together Always A Character, Emerson Now Builds It

BY ANDREA NELSON

finish line

36 A Mom’s Challenge Jordyn’s Gymnastics Journey Continues With Balance

BY RITA WIEBER

Volume #3 • Issue #9 OCTOBER 2011

OCTOBER 2011

3

assists

EDITOR Jack Ebling Jack has covered sports and 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 contributed more than 125 pieces for national publications and is the columnist for a popular website (michiganstate.247sports.com). 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. A two-time graduate of MSU, he has lived in Greater Lansing for 37 years. With his wife, Robin, he has helped raise two remarkable young adults, Zach and Ali.

CONTRIBUTORS Rita Wieber Rita has worked in the health and wellness arena in Greater Lansing for more than 20 years as an exercise physiologist, a nurse and a college instructor. A former newspaper columnist and budding author, she has been running for more than three decades to support her chocolate habit. Rita lives in DeWitt with her husband, David, and their four children, including the world’s top gymnast and one of the area’s best quarterbacks.

Steve Grinczel Steve was an award-winning sports reporter for Booth Newspapers of Michigan and mlive.com and is a contributing writer for msuspartans.com. He has covered Michigan State University football and basketball since 1986 and has written or co-authored two books on the Spartans. Steve began his soccer officiating career in 1975 and has more than 1,300 NCAA, high school and USSF games under his belt.

Publisher Camron Gnass Sport Community Publishing Editor Jack Ebling Assistant EditorS Andy Flanagan Andrea Nelson WRITING Jack Ebling Steve Grinczel David Harns Neil Koepke Steve Morgan Peter Morris Andrea Nelson Rita Wieber COVER Photo Matthew Mitchell PhotographY Mike Emerson David Harns Mike Major Matthew Mitchell MSU Athletic Communications Dane Robison Chad Weiler Rita Wieber MAGAZINE Design & LAYOUT Traction www.projecttraction.com Mailer ICS Editorial Office 617 East Michigan Avenue Lansing, Michigan 48912 (517) 455-7810 www.SportLansing.com

Greater Lansing Sport Magazine is published monthly by Sport Community Publishing with offices at 617 East Michigan Avenue, Lansing, Michigan 48912. Postage is paid under USPS Permit #407.

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Postmaster: Address changes should be sent to: Sport Community Publishing, 617 East Michigan Avenue, Lansing, Michigan 48912.

4 OCTOBER 2011

Copyright © 2011 Sport Community Publishing All rights reserved.

eb-servation

Completing The Circle October Does That For sport, Coaches, Parents

BY JACK EBLING

Playoff baseball…Prep, college and pro football…The drop of the puck and the first jump ball.

How could October be any better for sports fans?

Perhaps by being just what it is. A month with Indian summer days and open fairways, ideal weeks for runners and walkers and a perfect time for other activities.

At Greater Lansing sport, we figured that out long ago – as early as our second issue in October 2008. In the days just before that, we made a decision that has shaped this magazine as much as anything has.

With all the major team sports in progress or about to be, we put a little-known, 13-year-old gymnast on the cover. Jordyn Wieber, the new U.S. Junior Elite champion, was a shining star.

Today, she’s simply the best in the world.

Her travels take her to Tokyo this month for the 2011 World Championships, much more than a tune-up for next year’s Summer Olympics in London.

And while her brother, Ryan, stars as a first-year quarterback for the unbeaten DeWitt Panthers, there’s one person who understands “Wieber Fever” better than anyone – their mom, Rita, our Finish Line guest columnist.

Completing the circle, she takes us inside the world of competitive gymnastics and shares stresses and strains that only a strong family can survive. The Wiebers could write the book on doing that, as Rita already has.

Potential is never a guarantee of greatness, as we’re often reminded. Luck with injuries is just as important in achieving individual glory. For Delvon Roe, a starter on two Final Four teams, that luck was all bad.

A year from now, we’ll all be talking about Delvon the actor. His basketball career at Michigan State ended a year prematurely due to chronic knee problems. But he’ll be on the

court again as the co-star of “Gametime” – a dark-side-of-basketball film.

Our tribute to Roe’s perseverance, a piece that ran on the Spartan Tailgate premium site on Sept. 29, shows why MSU coach Tom Izzo cried over one of his players for just the second time.

If Roe’s career has come full circle from being a high school All-American to being cast as one, he isn’t the only Spartan-for-life to embark on a new-but-familiar adventure, as our cover story illustrates.

Tom Anastos and Kelly Miller played together on some on Ron Mason’s best college hockey teams in the early-to-mid 1980s. Today, they’re back in Munn Ice Arena, teaching the game and the life lessons they learned there.

In Neil Koepke’s in-depth profile of the Spartans’ innovative head coach and his NHLseasoned assistant, we see how the circle that has been completed has nothing to do with faceoffs.

A different kind of homecoming awaited Bobby Wilson, the former MSU defensive tackle and Washington Redskins first-round draft pick. After earning a Super Bowl ring, when he was ready to retire, he chose Mid-Michigan.

Steve Grinczel, who covered Wilson in college, uncovered the story. His layered look at Greater Lansing’s most unlikely CATA bus driver is a terrific read. It’s also good to know that the guy who’s sitting behind the wheel can lift the front end.

We hadn’t done a lot with volleyball in sport’s first three years. But we did our best to correct that this month with three pieces on a popular fall activity, with a focus that spans three generations.

Mason High look-alikes Kaleigh Lound and

Hannah Reister didn’t like each other at first.

But they became great friends and very good players for one of the area’s best teams, as David Harns explains.

He also takes a look at MSU head volleyball coach Cathy George and her surging program, one that’s beginning to make noise again in the nation’s toughest league. Her team-first message is worth tying in any line or work or type of play.

And first-time contributor Peter Morris, one of the nation’s top baseball writers, introduces us to Rich and Carli Weiler. The only person to officiate a Rose Bowl and Final Four is spending more time in East Lansing now than he did as a ref to cheer his granddaughter on in Spartan volleyball matches in Jenison Field House.

October is also marathon month in Detroit.

And former Free Press champion Nick Stanko is definitely a man on the run. Assistant editor Andrea Nelson tells us all about the area’s No. 1 runner, also the Haslett High girls cross country coach.

Another contributor with a history of helping athletes reach new levels of excellence is veteran trainer Steve Morgan of Maximum Athletic Performance. In the first in a series of pieces, he tells us about the value of plyometrics.

And in the latest installent of “Spartans Will,” we meet Lansing’s Mike Emerson, one of the funniest, most colorful musicians in Spartan Marching Band history. He’s making music fun today as the director of some excellent bands at Holt High.

Like almost everyone else you’ll meet this month, Emerson’s life has come full circle.

Maybe that’s what October is all about. H OCTOBER 2011

5

your shot

Send Us Your Photos! www.SportLansing.com Published photos will receive a poster commemorating Your Shot, courtesy of Capital Imaging.

Sailing The Dragon Mandy Bowler Jurkovic, flag catcher for team Draggin Ass, looks over at the competition after snagging the finish flag during DragonBoat Races in downtown Lansing on Labor Day weekend.

Photographed by DAVE TRUMPIE

Delvon Roe Is Done…But Not Forgotten

His locker was always closest to the door – and to the playing floor – at Breslin Center. For Delvon Roe, every moment was precious.

If you’d seen him hoop for St. Edward High in Lakewood, Ohio, you would’ve understood a bit better. Roe was one of the most talented players and most heralded athletes Tom Izzo has ever recruited.

When he finally said no to North Carolina and yes to Michigan State, Roy Williams was apoplectic. How could Roe do that? Didn’t he want to play in Final Fours?

He wanted to do that in the worst way imaginable. And that’s what Roe did, hiding a torn meniscus from MSU’s coaches and trainers so he could try again his sophomore season.

But after two Big Ten titles and nine NCAA Tournament wins in his first two years with the Spartans, it soon became clear that his best basketball memories were behind him.

Last year’s struggles were painful to watch, individually and collectively. As Roe became one of the Big Ten’s best defenders, a player no scorer was anxious to face, his grimace was unmistakable.

“I couldn’t be the player they wanted me to be,” Roe said of a practice schedule only Allen Iverson could love. “And it happened one too many times.”

After a tearful retirement announcement, something else was just as obvious. Roe’s best days – as an MSU graduate, an actor and a dad – are all in front of him.

If anyone has played with more pain in East Lansing, I’d love to buy him or her lunch. In the case of No. 10, now I can. A round of golf, too.

“In some ways, I thought this day would

Point Well-Taken Michigan State’s Delvon Roe persevered and did all that he could to help the Spartans reach two Final Fours.

8 OCTOBER 2011

never come,” Izzo said. “In other ways, every year we had to talk about it. But I’m not sure we’ve ever had anyone here any tougher than Delvon.”

Actually, the problems started in the first game of another aborted senior season. Izzo was there that night for a nationally televised prep matchup. And after a spectacular dunk, something was wrong.

Izzo saw Roe’s dad, “Big D,” at halftime and said his son didn’t have the usual jump. At about that time, Roe was being carried up a flight of stairs so he could help his team win a game with his passes.

Despite multiple surgeries on degenerative knees, Roe never said no. Not to the media, regardless of the outcome. And not to coaches and teammates who filled the basketball auditorium to pay their respects.

On second thought, that’s not quite true.

When MSU lost to Butler by a basket in the 2010 NCAA semifinals, Roe asked to come out after four minutes. The pain was just too great.

“That’s it! You’re done,” Izzo said.

But Roe had other ideas and pleaded, “You can’t do that to me!” He was right about that.

It wasn’t long before he was limping around, trying to help in any way he could.

He helped again in a strange way Thursday.

Roe’s decision to say no to the needles that drained both knees may soon be a blessing. His NBA dream was long gone. Now, the pain can finally go with it.

It hurt more than any surgical procedure when Roe finally told his teammates his decision.

When he said he wouldn’t be out there battling, he lost a battle with his tear ducts.

He’ll still be with them on the aircraft carrier on Nov. 11 when the Spartans face, naturally, No. 1 UNC. But he won’t be able to help defend a Tar Heel, Buckeye, Badger or Wolverine.

That personnel loss isn’t what made Izzo cry for one of his players for just the second time in 16 seasons. He thought about all

Photography MATTHEW MITCHELL/MSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

BY Jack Ebling

Roe’s sacrifices and was reminded that life isn’t always fair.

It was the same way he reacted when Mateen Cleaves suffered a stress fracture in 1999 after passing up a chance at pro ball.

But Cleaves has always been a good passer.

That was one of his best.

A few months later, Cleaves was back in the lineup, his team stronger for surviving his absence. And shortly after that, he was standing with Izzo on the winners platform in Indy, drenched in tears of joy.

Roe won’t have that shining moment. But he has had a lot of other good ones. Chances are, he’ll have a lot more. He’s already planning on two of them – Senior Day and Graduation Day. “Graduation is something my family has been big on,” Roe said. “They said, ‘You’ve got to graduate! You’ve got to graduate!’ One day the ball stops bouncing, and you need something to fall back on.”

In typical Roe fashion, he was worried about his decision seeming selfish. In reality, he endured more pain in a three-game trip to Maui last fall than most men will experience in a lifetime.

And if he isn’t there to block a shot or snare a rebound, it won’t be the worst thing that

has happened to the program. Though his leadership and experience will be missed, his minutes won’t be.

Derrick Nix, Adreian Payne, Alex Gauna, Branden Dawson and even Green will have more opportunities now. Their roles on the team will be more defined. And so will Roe’s.

A thespian-by-trade won’t have to hide

ounce of medicine I’ve taken,” Roe said. “That’s why you play the game, for the chance to win championships and get to the Final Four.”

No regrets. Just relief. A film role is already is hand. And when Senior Day rolls around next March, there won’t be a dry eye in the house. Funny, there’s a silver lining there, too.

When Roe bends over to kiss the floor, a

“It was all worth it – every needle and every ounce of medicine I’ve taken…that’s why you play the game, for the chance to win championships and get to the Final Four.”

DELVON ROE

his emotions. He can cheer when he wants and cry when he must. September 29 was one of those times.

“It was all worth it – every needle and every

tradition Shawn Respert began in 1995, he won’t be in pain with every pucker. He’ll be a Spartan Warrior at center court, right where he belongs. H

These are the stories you get each week from Jack Ebling on Spartan Tailgate Go to: www.michiganstate.247sports.com SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR THE BEST IN MSU FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL AND RECRUITING COVERAGE.

A Lot To Like Lound, Reister Look, Excel, Win Alike

BY DAVID HARNS

“We didn’t like each other.”

For fans of Mason volleyball, those are not the words you would think Kaleigh Lound would use to describe her volleyball teammate and fellow senior outside hitter, Hannah Reister.

“We bothered each other.”

What was it that changed their relationship?

The simple answer: volleyball did.

Both Reister and Lound made the varsity volleyball team during their freshman year. As 14- and 15- year-olds on a team filled with 17and 18-year olds, Lound and Reister realized they were in this together. So they turned to each other for support.

“Freshman year, we were the young ones on the team,” Lound said. “We clung to each other.”

And now?

“I love her to death, once we started playing volleyball,” Lound replied. “I’ll hang out with her any day of the week now.”

Four years later, the two right-handed hitters are the older players on the team, motivating and leading the younger players to be all that they can be. Captains of the team for the second consecutive year, they remember what it was like to be the young kids at practice, overwhelmed by the mental and physical aspects of the game that make prep volleyball such an elite athletic competition. And they do their best to lead by example.

“We set really high expectations for everyone else, especially in conditioning and in our daily drills,” said Reister. “Do this right. Get it done.

We know what our goal is, and we know what it takes to get there.”

Double Trouble Lound (2) and Reister (3) have put in the time to make it their time to star as seniors.

10 OCTOBER 2011

Two-For-One Mason High volleyball stars Kaleigh Lound (left) and Hannah Reister have grown up and grown tighter in four seasons with the Bulldogs varsity.

“We always try to motivate and push the other girls,” Lound said. “They always take it the right way because they know that we’re the leaders of the team and they try to follow in our footsteps as best they can. We try to lead by example.”

Mason head volleyball coach Elisa Zwick says that their strategy is working and the team has great chemistry. She thinks that this year’s team is poised to make a run at exceeding the success she had with her 2003 (regional finals) and 2006 (quarterfinals) Bulldog teams. And it all starts with the dynamic duo with the blond hair.

The 5’ 10” Lound has the best vertical jump on Mason’s team, consistently reaching the 9’10” mark. While Lound excels at soccer, basketball and track, she says that volleyball is her favorite of the four and is hopeful that she will be able to play volleyball on scholarship at Saginaw Valley State University next fall. Her coach said Lound is one of the most athletic kids she has ever coached, with speed and explosiveness that set her apart from the other players.

Photography DAVID HARNS

Bulldog fans who find themselves asking, “Was that Kaleigh? Or was that Hannah?” might be surprised to find out that this is one friendship that almost didn’t happen.

“It wasn’t anything personal,” Lound said.

“We just really didn’t care for each other.”

That’s the way it was back then, in the eighth grade.

Watching the Lady Bulldogs today, you certainly wouldn’t know it. As integral parts of this year’s Mason Bulldogs volleyball team, Lound and Reister can be seen at practice high-fiving and encouraging each other, smiling and laughing, co-leading this team while maintaining a close friendship off the court.

“Not just off the ground, but when she’s in the air, she’s extremely explosive,” Zwick said.

“She wants to work and wants to get better.”

Nicknamed “Banana” by her teammates, Reister gave up her early love of figure skating and turned volleyball into a year-round sport, driving to Grand Rapids three days per week to play club volleyball during the winter and the spring. Reister realizes that her 9’5” vertical jump will likely keep her as a back row player in college, but she hopes that her hard work and determination get her a spot on a team at Hope College, Olivet, Alma or Lansing Community College.

Having won a preseason tournament for the first time in their careers, Lound and Reister are excited for the upcoming season. They have realistic goals – to win their league and to win the district playoffs that Mason is hosting.

But they also challenge themselves and their teammates with a “stretch goal” by asking during drills and throughout practice: “Was that effort ‘state-champ worthy?’”

“I try to create an atmosphere and culture

that is positive and hard working,” Zwick said. “A lot of kids have lost that work ethic.

Teaching young women that it’s OK to be intense, it’s OK to have strong work ethic and to want to compete. Sometimes we don’t teach kids – especially girls – to be that way.”

The hard work didn’t start during official practices, though. Lound and Reister spent 2.5 hours each day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the summer doing strength and power exercises that incorporate explosive bounding, hopping and jumping drills, lunging up and down on wooden boxes and running up and down stairs for hours on end.

While the two can hardly be separated in real life, Zwick does so intentionally while they are on the court. In order to spread out the attack for the Bulldogs, Zwick always has Lound and Reister in separate rows, each one anchoring the front when they are there, attacking mostly from the left side.

While Lound’s attacks have a tighter trajectory which allows her to hit the middle

line, Reister takes great pleasure in hitting it down the line, something that isn’t typical in the high school game. Lound also likes to fake the big hit and tap it to an empty space on the court, a strategy that constantly keeps the defenders guessing what she’s going to do next.

Lound and Reister are “pepper partners” this year, constantly challenging each other as they go through warm-ups together, practicing their ball control. Since they have been on the volleyball court together for so long, they have developed a second nature when it comes to reflexes, reactions and reading each other on the court.

For Hannah and Kaleigh, it’s been a long journey from eighth grade to be sure. And volleyball has transformed them into great friends along the way. The next time you see Lound and Reister rise above the net and put the ball down on the other side, remember that their friendship took a while – and that hard work came before great play. H OCTOBER 2011

11

Team Time

Cathy George Builds MSU Volleyball Her Way

BY DAVID HARNS Success, By George MSU volleyball coach Cathy

“Everybody is working hard. That’s a given. What are you doing to make the person next to you work harder?”

Sounds like words you might hear at one of those motivational seminars that travel around the country.

“How do you impact this team in a positive way? If you’re doing nothing and you’re just status quo, you’re probably making us lose because you’re not bringing energy that will lift us up.”

Indeed, those words of advice might just apply to every situation you find yourself in.

Anybody that wants to be successful in life or at work or in a sport knows that they have to work hard. But as Michigan State University’s volleyball head coach Cathy George says: hard work is a given – your total value as a teammate is what you do to make those around you better.

Asked what she looks for in her volleyball recruits, George’s answer is very simple.

“We look for team players always,” she said.

“We’re looking for people who want to make everybody better and not just themselves.”

12 OCTOBER 2011

It’s clear that George knows what she’s talking about, having achieved victory 464 times as a collegiate volleyball head coach heading into the 2011 season and leading the Spartans to an excellent start. The skill and the athleticism in the players that she is looking for are a given at the collegiate level; without them you wouldn’t be on George’s radar. But it goes so much beyond that in order to be invited to be a part of the MSU volleyball team.

“Get involved in as many things as you can and try to become a great leader – try to understand what that means,” George said.

“Try to complete yourself as a person.”

So what if the vertical jump you have been working on allows you to spike the ball from 10 feet off the ground? The lady across the net can do the same thing. So what if your footwork is so quick that you can get to the ground and dig that attack mere inches before it hits the ground? Your competitor can

as well. George wants you – her current and prospective players – to focus on how to make your teammates better. What are you doing that makes the person next to you jump as high as they possibly can? In what way are you helping her dig better? Attack stronger?

Block tighter?

“Are you a responsible player? Are you accountable for what you add to the team?”

George asked. “Are you an addition or are you a subtraction? You could be somebody that makes the people around you worse or you could be somebody who makes people better.

It’s got to be about how are WE doing today?

How are WE going to attack this practice?”

George looks for specific traits in her recruits to complement the current players on the team.

Whether it is aggressiveness or leadership or tenacity or some other intangible skill, George knows she needs more than just players with superior volleyball skills to take her team to the next level.

To be great at life, remarkable at your job or tremendously successful on a sports team, it might be wise to follow her advice. H

Photography MATTHEW MITCHELL/MSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

George knows that it takes more than individual efforts to win at any level.

Legendary Ref Rich Weiler Returns With Rooting Interest

By Peter Morris

Among the spectators who fill Jenison Field House on Friday and Saturday fall evenings for MSU volleyball matches is a man who often worked there in the days when Earvin Johnson threw alley-oop passes to Gregory Kelser and Jud Heathcote stomped along the sidelines.

Rich Weiler, you see, was a Big Ten referee for 25 years and even called the 1979 Final Four semifinal that saw the Spartans trounce Penn, 101-67. Now, he comes back to Jenison for a very different reason – to proudly cheer on granddaughter Carli Weiler, senior co-captain of the Michigan State volleyball team.

Rich Weiler was an All-City basketball player at Chicago’s Hirsch High School but his playing days ended when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during the final year of World War II. After serving in the Pacific theatre, he returned to Chicago where he married, started a family and soon began refereeing Illinois High School Association games.

In 1964 he became part of the Big Ten officiating staff in both basketball and football, a dual assignment that made possible a unique accomplishment: Rich Weiler is the only official to call both a Final Four and a Rose Bowl.

14 OCTOBER 2011

Weiler’s other accomplishments could fill a book. He was selected to referee 17 NCAA basketball tournaments, five Final Fours, and the NCAA championship game in 1980. He earned the nickname “The Bookend Official” by calling both the game that started UCLA’s famous 88-game win streak and the loss that snapped it.

He refereed games in 47 states and in Japan. In the end, however, it was all made worthwhile by the people he met and the friendships that resulted.

Asked how he dealt with an irate coach, Rich

Photography chad weiler/matthew mitchell/mSu athletic communications

Older And Better

Weiler said that the most important thing is to show that you’re listening.

“When they’re upset, you can’t get upset back,” he said. “You have to listen and try to help them out.”

After letting them have their say, he’d generally respond with something like, “Coach, you might be right, I might have missed that call, but let me work and I’ll get better.” What could a coach say to a response that forthright?

Even legendary MSU coach Jud Heathcote, whose acerbic wit and trenchant one-liners are every bit as much a part of Spartan lore as his many coaching accomplishments, found it hard to stay mad.

Heathcote remembers Rich Weiler as “a referee who went out of his way to be friendly, and always had a smile on his face.” Then, never able to go long without a quip, he added, “Give my best to Rich and his seeing-eye dog.”

Weiler said that there was one sure way to tell whether a young official was going to be successful. It had nothing to do with their eyesight or knowledge of the rulebook; rather, he explains, any referee with rabbit ears for the inevitable insults will not be around for long.

That is also why Rich Weiler was able to keep refereeing for six decades.

During his long tenure as a referee and a parallel career as a Chicago firefighter, Rich Weiler and his wife Eve raised five children and welcomed thirteen grandchildren.

One of those was a granddaughter named Carli who played sports with such tenacity that the veteran referee became convinced, “If she’d have been a boy, she would be captain of the football team.”

But was there a sport suitable for a girl with a natural instinct for playing with reckless abandon? After trying basketball and softball, Carli settled on volleyball – thanks in no small part to the example of her maternal aunt, Therese Boyle-Niego, who won an NCAA championship at the University of the Pacific.

Volleyball is a sport of giants and Carli is of only average height. But back-row play is every bit as important as dominance of the net – a skilled, fearless defender can break the spirit of the opposing team’s best attackers with great digs that lead to a devastating counterattack.

That was where Carli was in her element. And by the end of her prep career, many college coaches were vying for her services.

In the end, Carli accepted a scholarship offer from Michigan State. After telling her parents and two younger siblings, she called her grandfather with the news. What was the old referee’s reaction?

“He was in tears, it was such a happy moment,” Carli said. “He knows so many Big

older and better

Ten coaches and referees and was so excited that he’d get to go back to the campuses and gyms where he has so many great memories.”

Over the last four seasons, Rich Weiler has done exactly that, traveling from his suburban Chicago home with son Chad and daughter-inlaw Mary to many familiar Big Ten venues.

He’s a fixture at Jenison Field House. And at one recent match the man who spent a quarter of a century being scrupulously impartial put his arm around the Sparty mascot and posed for a picture.

The veteran referee’s homespun philosophy has also had quite an influence on his granddaughter.

“My grandfather is a very warm-hearted person, who enjoys the simple things in life,” she said. “He loves going up to people and asking them random questions just so he can get to know them. What he would always tell me when I was growing up was to just to do your best because character is what matters.”

Was it ever awkward having a referee in the family? No, she says; it taught her at an early age “not to blame referees when something went wrong but just to focus on the things you

can control, such as your own performance.

You can’t let your happiness depend on things outside your control.”

Carli Weiler is now a senior MSU co-captain, along with outside hitter Jenilee Rathje, and the lessons she has learned have enabled her to thrive in that role.

“Carli has turned into a phenomenal leader,” says Spartan head coach Cathy George. “She has always had an outgoing personality but has really come into her own since becoming captain. It has really enhanced the way we play together. She has a contagious personality and is just a wonderful person who cares a lot about others.”

It sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Leadership, Carli adds, comes down to the “actions you choose to make when nobody is watching, the things you do in the off-season and behind the scenes.”

The role of the captains, in turn, is to bring everyone together and push themselves to be the best volleyball players and the best people they can be.

She is following in her grandfather’s footsteps in more ways than one. H

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18 OCTOBER 2011

NELSON

Best In The Long Run Haslett High cross country and track coach Nick Stanko knows of what he speaks.

See Nick run.

Photography DANE ROBISON

You probably have at some point.

Nicholas Stanko, a Haslett High teacher and coach and a two-time Michigan Runner of the Year, is definitely a man on the move.

He’s a Detroit Free Press Marathon champion and an Olympic hopeful. But Stanko is as excited about helping young runners develop as he is about being alone at the finish line.

“It’s a passion that a lot of people can’t appreciate,” Nick’s wife, Theresa, said. “It’s part of who he is. He’s a very focused, devoted and driven person. It’s a true love.”

Her husband attended Wyandotte Roosevelt High, where he began running in middle school to stay in shape – for wrestling. He never knew that running would be such an important part of his life more than two decades later.

“It’s so challenging to just push yourself and try to run faster and faster,” Stanko said.

“You don’t know what the end result will be, so it can be frustrating…but at the same time, it’s very exciting.”

Stanko became a full-time runner in high school. The more he ran, the better he became, and the more he fell in love with the sport. The University of Michigan soon came knocking on his door.

“Nick was a really, really good student,” former Wolverines head cross country coach Ron Warhurst said. “So, the combination of Michigan athletics and Michigan academics… it was right at the top of his list. We kind of fit into his profile, and he fit into our profile.”

Stanko became a Wolverine in 1999, joining a cross country team that included Nike recordsmasher Alan Webb and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis. Stanko said competing alongside such elite runners improved his technique and exposed him to a new world of competitiveness. Jumping from a small pond to a big one is never an easy task, and Stanko said it took him a few years to accept his role on a prominent team.

“It really takes years to make a jump,” Stanko said. “I didn’t see results I was pleased with until my fourth or fifth year of college. Every now and then, you have those great races that you’re really thankful for. Now, post-college, I know that I have to keep on sticking with it and every now and then have that great race that makes it worth it.”

It’s that maturity that earned Stanko the respect of his teammates and head coach.

After only his freshman year of college, Warhurst appointed him captain of the cross country team.

“The guys just totally respected him. They weren’t jealous or anything,” Warhurst said.

“They accepted that he had the qualities of being able to deal with them on an even-keel and a mature level. He also had the ability to come to me, and I could go to him. He has got a fantastic ability to deal with people.”

Stanko was respected both as a person and runner. He was a Penn Relays 10,000-meter Champion, an all-region cross country runner and an All-Big Ten 10k selection, appearing in several NCAA tournaments as a Wolverine.

When he wasn’t studying the art of running, he was studying art itself. Stanko said he definitely thinks there’s a relationship between his two passions that has helped him become successful in both.

“I think it’s been a huge help,” Stanko said.

“Obviously, training for running, there’s a lot of science behind it. But there’s a lot of art that needs to go into it, too.”

He’s been able to incorporate both into a career after graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ceramics and art history. Stanko earned his teacher’s certification in art education from Eastern Michigan University before taking a job in Haslett. He then went back to school and earned a Master’s in educational technology from Michigan State University.

But there aren’t any hard feelings.

“I have Michigan in me, Eastern Michigan in me, Michigan State in me…I definitely have a respect for all of them,” Stanko said.

Stanko is currently the art teacher, head cross

country coach and assistant track and field coach at Haslett. Between the community’s support, culture, dedication to the arts and active lifestyle, there’s no better place for Stanko to pursue his passions.

And it’s paying off.

For the first time in 39 years, Haslett’s cross country team won the Haslett Invitational under Stanko. His ability to share personal experiences and be living proof that hard work pays off make him an ideal coach and role model.

“It’s great motivation to show that if you work hard you can succeed and do great things like he does,” Haslett runner Megan Jacoabs said. “It’s a huge inspiration. He’s the best. I wouldn’t want anyone else coaching me.”

“He likes to lead by example,” Theresa Stanko said. “He’s a hard worker, so he expects his runners to be hard workers. The expectations are high, and I think that’s good. When you set the bar high, kids will try to achieve more.

If you set it low, then you’re expecting average, and we expect more than average.”

Stanko has high expectations but understands the ups and downs of running cross country.

He hopes sharing his experiences can help his runners when they face similar situations.

“In college I wasn’t the top guy,” Stanko said. “I had to go through a lot to get where I was. I have the experiences that things didn’t work out with running sometimes, so I can help the athletes I coach when things aren’t going well. I understand that not everyone is going to be at the same level, so I’m able to coach different levels of runners and help each kid improve.”

Stanko has a strong love for running and competing, but found a new type of appreciation for the sport as a coach.

“When I watch them race, I tell them it’s kind of like going to the movies for me,” Stanko said.

“It’s my source of energy. They are performing, and you can tell when a kid’s focused and really wants it. Just to see them focused and being in control of what they’re doing and believing in themselves is rewarding for both them and me.”

OCTOBER 2011

19

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Stanko is as much of a leader to his runners as he is to the students in his classroom.

During a time when many high school elective courses are being cut from schedules, Stanko thinks his class is irreplaceable.

“If you’re just focusing the school experience on academic classes, the kids aren’t balanced,” Stanko said. “When kids aren’t balanced they’re not enjoying it, and they’re not going to do as well in their academic classes. I just find that kids can come into the art room, let their hair down, relax and enjoy a different part of the learning process. They’re just so much better off each day, each week, for the whole year.”

Haslett’s students think just as highly of Stanko’s class as he does. Theresa said when they’re assigned to write about someone who has influenced them, Stanko always has multiple mentions because he supports his students as more than a coach and teacher.

“He’s guiding them to make good decisions, to be honest, to be straightforward, to do the right thing,” Theresa said. “These are all things that kids really want. They want those boundaries. I think they’re really lucky to have him. He’s a great role model.”

Others seem to agree. In November 2010, Stanko was recognized at the Foundation for Haslett Schools’ Inspiration Event, an honor for those who encourage the community to strive harder and give more through actions and words. Stanko said he was honored to be among such an outstanding group of people simply for being himself.

“It was pretty flattering to be put on the same level as a lot of the previous nominees that have been in the district,” Stanko said.

“You’re just doing normal things and people appreciate them. It makes all the time you put into it definitely worth it.”

“I’m proud of what he gives back to the community and what he’s able to give young people,” Theresa said. “A lot of young people don’t have that stable home, the consistency,

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and he provides that. It makes a difference.

Teachers make a difference, and coaches make a difference in the lives of young people.”

When he’s not working, Stanko continues to, well, work. That’s true whether he’s running twice a day, competing in races or chasing his 5-yearold daughter. Theresa joked that their daughter already has a scholarship offer to run at U-M. “Whatever her passion is, we’ll support that,” Stanko said. “She sees me run twice a day, so she’ll have a good sense of what it takes to be successful at it. She really likes music now, so as long as she has a passion and is happy, we’ll be happy.”

Meanwhile, Stanko will continue to do what makes him happy: run. Over the past decade he’s placed in the 25K USATF Championships and has qualified for the USA Olympic Marathon twice. He ran that race in 2007 and will run it again in January. Stanko said he enjoys competing at that elite level and will always strive to place higher.

The final stop would be the Olympics.

“That would pretty special,” Theresa said.

“It can’t be a bad thing. When you’re involved in sports, you dream of big things. And for those who make it, it’s really special. I hope he does. I hope he makes it.”

Stanko’s expectations for himself are just as high as those he sets for his runners. He’ll prepare himself fully for the USA Olympic Marathon. But in an unpredictable sport, all that matters is what happens at the starting line.

“Racing is kind of like a birthday present.

You never know what you’re going to get,” Stanko said. “You could step to the line, and it could be the worst birthday present ever. Or it could be the best. You’ve just got to go out there and try and see what you can get.

“It always changes. Nothing is set in stone.”

Especially not the Olympics.

But he has been good again this year. Let’s hope he gets a great present when he steps to the line in January. H

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Anastos, Miller Set Goals For MSU Hockey

BY NEIL KOEPKE

22 OCTOBER 2011

Thirty years ago, Tom Anastos and Kelly Miller started their college hockey careers at Michigan State, eager to contribute to the revival of the Spartan program.

Photography MATTHEW MITCHELL/MSu athletic communications

They were part of a talented freshman class that would quickly help revitalize MSU hockey and establish the program as a national power.

In four seasons, Anastos’ and Miller’s teams complied a record of 128-43-3, won four consecutive Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoff titles and played in four NCAA Tournaments and one Frozen Four .

After five straight losing seasons and sagging attendance from 1977-81, the Spartans were suddenly among college hockey’s elite. They won consistently and drew sellout crowds at Munn Ice Arena.

Now, Anastos and Miller, a pair of one-time versatile, hard-working forwards, are back together at MSU, leading a Spartan program that faces similar challenges to those faced when they arrived on campus in 1981.

In late March, Director of Athletics Mark Hollis shocked the college hockey world by hiring Anastos, the CCHA commissioner for the last 13 seasons, as the Spartans’ new coach.

Anastos, 48, had never been mentioned among possible candidates to replace the departed Rick Comley. And since he hadn’t coached at the college level since 1992 – when he served as a Spartan assistant under coach Ron Mason – the selection was widely criticized by fans and media.

Hollis admitted that it was an out-of-thebox hire but said he was intrigued by Anastos’ successful background in hockey and business.

Hollis said Anastos was the best person to rebuild and re-energize the program – by putting a winning, entertaining team on the ice and bringing back the fans.

Anastos saw himself as a search consultant initially. He was shocked when Hollis called and asked if he’d take the job.

“I thought he was kidding. He said, ‘No, I’m serious. I think you should consider it,’” Anastos said. “I’m always looking for a new challenge. I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, but I looked at as an opportunity that might never come along again.

“My dad died when he was 48, and it was a life-changing moment for me. He always talked about what he was going to do when he retired, but he never got there. You have to be responsible about the future. But that taught me that you have to live for the day.”

Mix in the opportunity to have a major impact on kids and the program and his love for MSU and the former Spartan right wing was on board with a stunning career change.

“This isn’t just about coaching a team. It’s trying to revitalize a program,’’ Anastos said.

“There are so many aspects involved – recruiting, player development, training, developing the season ticket component, spending time with donors and reaching out to the community.’’

Finally, Anastos gets to show his allegiance to his alma mater.

“As commissioner, you always had to worry about what colors you were wearing into a rink,”

Handling It Well Lansing native and MSU captain Kelly Miller has been a leader both as a player and a coach.

he said with a laugh. “Even my kids couldn’t wear Michigan State sweatshirts or t-shirts because I didn’t want to give anyone the wrong impression.

It felt great to put on an MSU shirt…finally.”

In May, Anastos hired his former teammate, Miller, 48, as an assistant coach and retained longtime MSU assistant Tom Newton and video coordinator Adam Nightingale, a former Spartan player. He added ex-MSU goaltender Mike Gilmore as a volunteer coach.

As soon as the staff was assembled, recruiting became the priority. Anastos and the assistants traveled all over the country to get a look at the best 14-17 year-old players, then welcomed numerous elite-level kids to campus.

OCTOBER 2011

23

home ice “Our message to these players is that we’re going to prepare them as hockey players and as people,’’ said Miller, who played in the NHL for 14 seasons and coached in the league as an assistant for 2 1/2 years. “The great thing about Michigan State is it really sells itself. It’s a great university with a great campus, and we have an outstanding support staff.

“Michigan State has a tradition of developing players who have gone on to play in the NHL and players who have been successful in the business world. The school has so much to offer, and we believe our program does, too.’’

Since winning the NCAA title in 2007 and playing in an NCAA Regional Final in 2008, the Spartans haven’t won a CCHA playoff game or reached the NCAA Tournament for three consecutive seasons.

MSU has been absent from the CCHA Championship in Detroit for the last four years.

No NCAA Championship program has gotten less of a bump from a final triumph than the Spartans did after Justin Abdelkader’s dramatic, decisive goal against Boston College. But it’s the new coaches’ job to change that.

“In interviews with our players, I see a team that is desperate to have some success but

doesn’t have a lot of confidence,’’ Anastos said.

“They’re looking for leadership. They want to be good. They want to win.

“As a staff, we’re very eager to get on the ice and see what we have as a group and what we need to do to get everyone to improve, to raise their level of play. We have a lot of seniors and juniors who seem to have a hunger to improve.’’

Anastos and Miller say the first few months of representing MSU Hockey have been exciting, rewarding and fun.

“We’re progressing in all areas. Just having some positive energy has made a big difference,’’ Anastos said. “We’ve built good relationships externally and internally. Recruiting is going very well. And the response from our hockey alumni has been very strong.

“I’ve had so many former players call or stop by the rink. They want to be a part of this program. Once you’re a Spartan, you’re always a Spartan. Whether you played in every game and were an All-American or you were on the fifth line and played in just a few games, you’re as much of a part of the program as anyone.

“Our former players still have great passion for the university and the hockey program.’’

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Anastos’ vision for Spartan hockey is to build a program that attracts the top players in Michigan, the U.S. and Canada, plays an entertaining, up-tempo style, is difficult to play against and each season competes for league and national championships.

“As a staff, we have a plan, and we’re going to follow it. It means staying patient and staying on course,’’ said Anastos, a head coach at Michigan-Dearborn for three seasons (1987-90) before a two-year stint as an assistant at MSU. “We want to bring in good players, good people, develop them and win games and play in a full building with a great atmosphere.’’

The plan is to upgrade Munn Arena and make it more attractive for players and prospects. A new weight room and dressing room, coaches’ offices and meeting rooms are on the horizon.

“We’ll do everything we can to make our program and team better each season, and our goals will be high,’’ the Dearborn native said. “But we have to stay patient and make good decisions.’’

Anastos had 70 goals and 73 assists for 143 points in 151 games as a Spartan. But he’s looking for a variety of talents from his players.

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And that’s exactly how he proceeded in putting together his coaching staff.

“I was wide open in looking at the best possible coaches, but you need the right fit. Like any business, you want to have complementary parts,’’ Anastos said. “Kelly Miller has always been passionate about MSU and the sport. I knew his work ethic and his value set.

“He has 14 years of NHL playing experience.

He has coached in the NHL and has a great background in the business world.’’

“Tom Newton has been here for 21 years.

He’s well-respected on campus. He has tremendous knowledge in how things run.

And he has the energy to do what we need to do with the program. It took me 7 minutes talking with Adam Nightingale to know that I wanted him to stay with the program.’’

Anastos said the staff brings different insights to the game and will challenge each other.

“These guys are hungry to do more and more,’’ he said. “You have to surround yourself with coaches who are willing to not agree with you and have strong opinions.’’

Miller grew up in Lansing and is one of 10 members of his famous family to play for the Spartans. He becomes the first Miller to coach at MSU. “It has been great so far, a lot of fun,’’ he said. “Not only am I doing something I love to do in coaching, I’m doing it at the university I love to be around. Coaching and being around a rink have always been my passion.’’

Miller had 82 goals and 82 assists for 164 points in 165 games as a Spartan and was an NCAA West first-team All-American in 1985. He also played 1 1/2 seasons with the New York Rangers and an additional 12 1/2 with the Washington Capitals.

Miller began coaching after his NHL playing career ended. He was a player-assistant with

Grand Rapids of the International Hockey League in 1999-2000. After one season with the Griffins, Miller took over as head coach of a Lansing junior team, the Capital City Pride of the North American Hockey League.

He spent a half-season with the Pride before joining the NHL’s Anaheim Mighty Ducks as an assistant coach. For the next two seasons, Miller was an assistant with the New York Islanders.

In 2003, Miller left coaching and returned to the Lansing area, where he has worked in commercial real estate and banking for eight years.

“I stepped out of hockey to keep my family in one place and be able to be there for my daughters’ busy years in school,’’ he said. “As much as I missed hockey, our family benefited.

And I was doing some worthwhile things in the business world with some great people. If I had to do it over again, I’d do it the same way.’’

Miller and his wife, Shelby, have three daughters – Taylor, 21, a senior at MSU; Chelsey, 19, a sophomore at MSU, and Ashton, 16, a sophomore at Okemos High. Taylor and Chelsey play soccer at MSU, while Ashton plays at Okemos.

“The timing is perfect to get back into hockey,’’ Miller said. “I’ve always been a student of the game and have kept up on what was going on in the hockey world. I knew that someday, when my kids were older, I’d try to jump back into hockey.

“Being away gave me a good viewpoint of the business world and the life lessons that it brings. And I can pass that along to our players. Not everyone can play in the NHL, and they have to be prepared for life after hockey.’’

Miller is confident the Spartans will be playing for conference and national titles in the near future.

“You need to attract the best players, and we believe this program can attract those kids. We expect to win our battles,’’ he said. “It won’t be easy. There are a lot of great programs out there.

There is no ‘best’ university, but there are great places to play. We have to convince the top players that Michigan State is the right fit for them.

“As a staff, I believe we’ll mesh very well. Tom Anastos is a great leader and knows so much about the game. Tom Newton is a fixture here and in college hockey. I believe I can bring some of the things I learned from playing and coaching in the NHL and from being an athlete here.

“We feel a great connection to all the players who ever played at Michigan State. We share their passion for the school and the program.” H

Spartan Vision Former Spartan winger Tom Anastos knows where he’s going as MSU’s new head coach.

Ride Of A Lifetime Ex-Spartan, Redskin Bobby Wilson Now Plays For CATA

BY STEVE GRINCZEL

Bobby Wilson was in the last place 14-year-old Jaquez Dunbar expected to see a former NFL first-round draft pick and Super Bowl champion.

What Jaquez left unsaid was, “What in the world is Wilson doing here?”

Wilson does have the big house with a fivestall garage on four acres abutting the Grand River in southwest Lansing. And he does have a Mercedes Benz S320 sedan and a Range Rover.

However, Wilson prefers to drive his Ford F-150 pickup to work. And the snazzy white cleats, which he wore while lunging at Cincinnati’s Boomer Esiason in his 1992 Pro Set football card, have been replaced with black, heavy-soled oxfords.

His hands still resemble 14-ounce boxing gloves and make his gargantuan size-19 Super Bowl XXVI ring look perfectly proportioned. But it has been years since Wilson used those meat hooks to wrestle a running back to the ground.

These days, they grip the steering wheel of a Capital Area Transportation Authority bus.

28 OCTOBER 2011

On this particular balmy Tuesday evening, Wilson is driving Route 14, which the computer-generated public-address system announces is bound for “North Grand River, Old Town, airport.” Wilson welcomed 28 passengers aboard for his first run from the CATA Transportation Center. It’s exactly 3.5 miles on Kalamazoo Street to Spartan Stadium, where Wilson starred for Michigan State as a juniorcollege transfer defensive tackle in 1989-90.

The sun will set and lightning will crackle during Wilson’s six-hour shift that ends at 10:30.

At a stop midway through of the first of his six runs, Jaquez and his two little sisters depart one-by-one through the front door. “Thank you,” “Thank you,” “Thank you,” they chirp before disappearing from the bus’ side-view mirror.

After retiring from the NFL in ’97, Wilson could have followed the path ex-athletes often

take in financial planning, insurance, car sales or any other profession that allows them and their employer to trade off their name, fame and associations. Wilson, 43, chose the anonymous blue-collar route because he wanted to, not because he had to.

“I love it, man,” he said. “I get the chance to be with the common folk pretty much, and that’s where it’s at. It takes some customerservice and counseling skills and all that. But I do get that 10-dollar question a lot – what are you doing driving a bus?”

Wilson earned the freedom to use his warm personality and engaging smile to their full potential by negotiating a long series of turns, roadblocks and detours.

He was a blue-chip prospect from Chicago Austin High School. But when academic deficiencies prevented Wilson from enrolling,

Photography DANE ROBISON

“I would think he had lots of money and lived in a big house or something,” said the suddenly wide-eyed football fan, craning his neck this way and that to get a better look at the powerful mass of man seated 10 feet away.

MSU head coach George Perles steered him to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, where he won first-team junior-college All-America honors after forcing eight fumbles in ’88.

Despite receiving scholarship offers from Nebraska and Oklahoma State, Wilson rewarded Perles for his persistence.

“I wanted to stay loyal to the people who were loyal to me,” Wilson said.

Michigan State won a share of the Big Ten title in ’90 thanks in part to Wilson’s 77 tackles and team-high five sacks. A secondteam all-conference pick, Wilson went to the Washington Redskins as the 17th overall selection in the ’91 NFL draft.

After agreeing to a lucrative contract with a $1 million signing bonus, Wilson made a strong impression as a rookie while recording a careerhigh 4.5 sacks in 16 games. He closed out the

season by splitting time at left tackle with ex-Detroit Lion Eric Williams in the Redskins’ 37-24 Super Bowl victory over Buffalo.

“I talked to him about it the night before the game,” Wilson recalls. “You know, this is the Super Bowl, so don’t hog all the minutes.”…1991, that was my year.”

His career continued to take shape until the injury bug struck him for the first time.

Wilson appeared in 12 games and started nine while logging a career-high 65 tackles in ’93. But his season was cut short when he underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back.

Wilson had nine starts in as many games in ’94, but the back problem flared up again. He isn’t given any credit for game time in ’95 while rehabilitating his back. And he was inactive in ’96 and ‘97. He shopped around for a new team,

but when doctors proposed an operation that would require an incision from his armpit to his waist, Wilson took stock of his situation.

“They wanted to go in from my side, and I didn’t want to be cut like that,” Wilson said. “But I was also to the point where I didn’t care what they had to do get me back on the field – just do it. The other side of it was they couldn’t promise me that the surgery would come out successful, and at that time my sons were young. It scared me to death to think that I wouldn’t be able to walk, or I’d be in a wheelchair. That was when I submitted my retirement.

“Being a first-rounder for the Washington Redskins, and they hadn’t had one for eight years, of course I tried to live up to expectations the best I could. But injuries know no names.

That’s the nature of the game.”

He’s aware that some Redskins Internet fan OCTOBER 2011

29

ride of a lifetime sites list him among the franchise’s Top 10 draft busts, but he shrugs it off.

“My whole thing is, I set out as a young kid with a goal and a dream, and I accomplished that goal and I lived that dream,” said Wilson, who left the game with 11 sacks. “I’m disappointed I had an injury that prevented me from being this big household name, but at the same time, I have to look at it and say, `I did well.’

“I took the good in stride, so I have to take the bad in stride. I hold onto the relationships I built.”

Having wisely managed his salary and bonuses – including two more to the tune of $800,000 each – in addition to drawing an NFL pension, Wilson began life as a retiree with his college sweetheart and wife, Crystal, and their three sons in the Washington suburb of Ashburn, Va. He started a couple of businesses, invested in real estate in Chicago and Mid-Michigan and coached a little on the side. Nevertheless, Wilson was getting restless. The Wilsons considered moving to Chicago to be near his family, but settled on Crystal’s hometown of Lansing and the stability it offers.

“Plus, my second dad, George Perles, lives here,” Wilson said.

After helping his oldest son, Bobby Jr., establish his own business, PRO Style Barber Shop on the corner of West Jolly and Pleasant Grove roads, Wilson started scanning the employment ads.

“I was into real estate and enjoying the retired life, but I got bored,” Wilson said. “So I was looking for something to do. If I didn’t find work, I definitely would have gone nuts.”

When Wilson heard CATA was hiring in January 2009, he applied just like any other job-hunter would and provided information about his NFL background only when asked.

Sandy Draggoo, CATA executive director and CEO, remembers doing a double-take when Wilson filled her in for the first time. But eventually, the novelty wore off.

“When he’d come into the room, you kind of go, `Oh yeah, you’re the football player,’ ” Draggoo said. “He just talks about it so easily and when he comes here, he takes that smile of his and that bigness of his, and he is a CATA

Chip Off The Ol’ Bob Wilson matches stances with son Marquies, a Holt High junior.

30 OCTOBER 2011

bus operator. What we weren’t sure about was whether he’d be content to be here, but he certainly seems to be. He has been a gem.”

Although Wilson’s circle of friends includes Redskins teammates like Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green and broadcaster Desmond Howard, he keeps a low profile with his riders. Some of the regulars know. Most don’t.

“He isn’t anything other than Bobby the bus driver,” Draggoo said.

That would be an understatement to those, like the heavily intoxicated woman he talked out of getting off the bus about five stops too soon, who count on Wilson to get them to where they need to go.

“I see a lot of people down on their luck,” he says. “You can lose everything in a split-second. I enjoy talking to people and hearing their stories.

I treat them all just like I would Darrell Green. It’s gratifying to get people home at night.”

His fellow drivers vouch for Wilson’s reluctance to impress anyone with what he used to do for a living.

“He doesn’t act like he’s a big deal, so he’s not,” Darren Hayward said.

Wilson, who wore No. 97 at MSU and No. 94 with the Redskins, is No. 2952 on CATA’s roster.

Pretense and Wilson are strangers, especially when he gets together with his old teammates and they ask what he’s doing these days.

Driving a bus has allowed Wilson to spend maximum time with his sons and assist them with their football careers. Tre, his middle son, is a 6-0, 265-pound freshman defensive tackle on the Grand Rapids Community College team and Marquies is a 6-1, 220-pound junior defensive end for Holt High.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than getting to know my three sons,” Wilson says. “I think both of them have a chance to play (collegiately).”

Wilson maintains a close relationship with the Spartans football team. And in 2007, Mark Dantonio’s first season as head coach, Wilson helped defensive line coach Ted Gill tutor the defensive tackles during training camp. He’ll watch a few home games from the sidelines this season and also occasionally pitches in during the football fantasy camp MSU puts on each summer.

Perles can count at least one physician, an elected official, and yes, successful financial advisors, among his former players, but he isn’t any happier for them than he is for Bobby Wilson.

“He was smart enough to take care of his finances so he can do what wants to do and not what he has to do,” Perles says. “There are a lot of guys out there who’d like to be in his shoes, doing something that maybe doesn’t have a lot of prestige to it, but they’d be happy. He’s way, way ahead of the game.” H

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AP-PLIED SCIENCE Plyometrics or Pliometrics “The Physical Equalizer”

By Steven A. Morgan

The word “Plyometrics or Pliometrics” for some of us conjure up memories of jumping up and down onto boxes during pre-season conditioning, for others it might be perceived as a new measurement within the metric system. A movement is considered plyometric when the muscles undergo a process called “stretch-shortening cycle (SSC)” all skeletal muscle (those muscles that are attached to bone) must elongate, pause, and then shorten to produce movement.

Whatever your athletic background may be you have undoubtedly been exposed to movements or exercises that have been plyometric. Dunking a basketball, sprinting for the end zone, hitting a tennis or golf ball, and throwing are just a few movements that utilize the SSC. In this article I will give a brief history of the origins of the word plyometric and why it is a valid and necessary training tool for athletes today.

HISTORY As early as 1885 scientist theorized that an athlete would be able to jump higher and faster if the athlete were to perform two successive jumps. The reason being is that the second jump would be higher than the first because of the stored elastic energy (lengthening the muscle) from the first jump is used in the second. This was the scientific beginning of the “stretch–shortening cycle” (SSC).

Later in the 1960s, the word “pliometric” was

given to a special form of training discovered by a Russian sport scientist named Dr. Verhoshanski.

Dr. Verhoshanski created several exercises and methods he labeled these exercises as ballistic training, shock method, and depth jumps in his earlier research. Fred Wilt, a track and field coach in the 1970s, changed the spelling here in the USA. Since that time it has been commonly referred to as “Plyometrics”, which means measurable increases.

T O D AY

GET’ER DONE I want to leave you with one plyometric exercise that I created 20 years ago. Try a sample and experience first hand the benefits of a little “nervous system training”. Please make sure that you begin slowly and always warm-up prior to doing any exercises.

Quick Taps – Start with feet shoulder-width apart and hands on your hips. Address the board or platform (square up), select one foot and lift it up and touch the top of the surface (up and down) with the ball of the foot, not the toes as fast as you can. The time is 20 seconds per side, count the reps (ex: 30-40-50 taps in :20 sec) record the numbers and track your improvement over six weeks. The score you are looking to achieve is 60 taps in twenty seconds!

Perform twice per week and watch your balance and quickness improve weekly!

TRAIN HARD AND SMART! H

Plyometric training has evolved into a system of drills and/or sport specific movements aimed at training the nervous system. The exercises are designed to enable a muscle to produce maximum force as quickly as possible.

While plyometrics were designed to improve athletic performance, anybody can do them as an addition to a regular strength program.

Currently used in Rehabilitation, Group Fitness

STEVEN A. MORGAN Originally from Lansing, MI, Steve is a graduate of Lansing Everett High School and Michigan State University. While at MSU Steve played for the Spartan baseball team as a pitcher.

It was during this time that he became interested in athletic performance based training.

As a former educator for Life Fitness International (equipment manufacturer, including Hammer Strength products) Steve has conducted strength and conditioning certification workshops and seminars in over 36 countries around the world. Steve has consulted with top tier teams and athletes about safely implementing solid year round plyometric programming.

Currently Steve is on staff as the Strength and Conditioning coach for GVSU Men’s and Women’s basketball programs. He is also the Director of Maximum Athletic Performance (MAP) in Lansing, and Grand Rapids, MI he can be reached @ 517.944.5100 or email morgan@maximumathleticperformance.us

32 OCTOBER 2011

classes, and of course sport specific programs everyone and anyone can benefit from doing plyometrics correctly.

Head Strength And Conditioning Coach Experience Mott Community College Men’s Basketball MSU Olympic Sports (Ten Sports-Big Ten) Springfield HealthPlex (Director US Olympic Testing And Training Center) NBA Philadelphia 76ers (Consultant) Aquinas College Women’s Basketball East Lansing H.S. Football Program St. Johns H.S. Football Program Grand Rapids Catholic Central H.S. Girls Basketball Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central H.S. Girls Volleyball Grand Valley State University Women’s Basketball Grand Valley State University Men’s Basketball

spartans will

Banding Together Always A Character, Emerson Now Builds It

Elementary school recess almost kept Mike Emerson from becoming the band director he is today.

In fifth grade, he was given a tough choice: band or recess. He chose recess.

One year later, he chose band. He hasn’t strayed from music since.

Emerson was born and raised in Lansing and played trombone in the Lansing Catholic High band. He knew at 18 years old that he wanted music to be his lifestyle. Emerson received several college band scholarship offers, but turned them down to go to Michigan State.

“I’m not sure I really had a choice,” Emerson said. “I was raised a Spartan through and through. I think now that it’s been 15 years, my dad has forgiven me.”

Emerson eventually received a band scholarship from MSU, but it was worth the wait.

Stepping on Spartan Stadium’s field for the first time was a priceless moment he still remembers.

“It was Graceland to Elvis,” Emerson said. “It was actually surprisingly natural because I knew

Still Making Music Emerson brings his MSU experience to the Holt High bands.

34 OCTOBER 2011

so much of what was expected and I knew so much tradition first-hand. But it was kind of surreal to look up at the seats for the first time.”

The best part of MSU’s marching band for Emerson was its culture. He said even if you didn’t know the person standing next to you, everyone was part of something special when they put on their marching band gear.

“You can be across campus on an October morning 500 feet away from someone and if you see them wearing a band jacket, they’ll wave at you,” Emerson said. “You have no idea who they are. But you share this bond, and there’s pride.”

If you’re a natural-born showman, you also share your boundless enthusiasm at games and special events, as Emerson did when asked to wreak havoc by then Associate Director of Athletics Mark Hollis.

“I had this knack for calling attention to myself,” said a self-professed class clown. “I regret it now. But I had all this confidence and was quick with a joke. I had enough football smarts to know when to stand up and scream.

I wanted to live the life.”

Hollis would bring him to golf tournaments to blow a drum major’s whistle in the middle of players’ backswings. One well-timed blast nearly gave then-A.D. Clarence Underwood a coronary.

“I thought he was going to charge me,” Emerson said. “He wasn’t real impressed.

Afterward, we had a good laugh.”

Emerson received a degree in music education from MSU, then took his first job as a band director at Gaylord High. He was there for three years before returning to the Lansing area to be the band director at Holt High.

During those years. Emerson also had time to earn a master’s degree in music education from the “school down the road.”

A Spartan through and through.

“You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Emerson joked.

At Holt, Emerson directs the marching band, ninth-grade band, concert band, symphonic band and jazz band. He said Holt has a great band

program that continues to grow and credits a talent-rich student body for much of its success.

Holt High was awarded “Best Band” in Lansing’s Silver Bells in the City parade and received honors at the Grand Ledge Marching Show.

But as in all areas of life, Emerson knows there’s always room for improvement.

“There’s still a long way to go,” Emerson said.

“It’s similar to the football team at Michigan State. There’s a lot of great things happening, but if you line up against Alabama you’re going to see you’re not the absolute top. So I’m going to keep that perspective. There’s always things to improve on.”

Emerson hopes to instill a sense of professionalism in his students. And when confronted with a clone of himself like rambunctious Rams bandsman Brian Thering, he tries to understand.

“I have a catch phrase, just as John Madden did with me at MSU: Time and place,” Emerson said. “There are a lot of emotional moments in doing something artistic. But it’s so rewarding internally, when the students perform something they couldn’t perform before, that’s noticeable, empirical progress.

It’s measureable. You can see and you witness progress as it’s happening.”

That progress is visible every year during Holt’s famous halftime light show _ this year on Oct. 21 when Grand Ledge visits.

Emerson’s predecessor, Tim Perry, came up with the idea. During halftime of a home football game, the marching band performs in the dark, covered in lights. When the field lights come on, the sixth, seventh and eighth graders are dispersed among the upperclassmen, playing along with the marching band.

“No matter how much stress there is from putting all those kids on the field, when the lights come on, I can’t help but smile,” Emerson said. “It’s a wonderful night that the students and community look forward to every year. It’s something everyone should see once.”

Maybe if he’d had an opportunity like that in elementary school, he would’ve reacted differently. But who can blame a fifth-grader for wanting recess? H

Photography Mike emerson

BY ANDREA NELSON

BEING A SPARTAN MEANS

COACHING HOOPS WITHOUT HAVING TO

JUMP THROUGH THEM! April 30, 2007 marked an important day of transition for Suzy Merchant. That’s when she was hired as head coach for the MSU women’s basketball program — the day she began her career as a Spartan.

It wasn’t easy, but four years later, she still loves her job.

“Basketball has taken me all over the country, but my heart has always been here,” Merchant said.

No matter where they’re destined to go, there’s sure to be a network of Spartans ready to cheer them on to victory and help with the transition.

“At some point, our players will graduate and face the realities and challenges of life after college,” Merchant said. “Sure, they have the skills to dribble the ball down the court and score points, but will they succeed after graduation when it’s time to hoof the pavement, put their degree to work and find a job or place to live?

There’s real power in our worldwide network of alumni. They’re doctors, nurses, lawyers, bankers, teachers, parents ... friends. On the court, they make a deafening noise and go stark raving mad to distract our opponent at the free-throw line. Off the court, they give us job leads, provide a helping hand, and recommend places to go and places to live.

In the game of basketball, just as in the game of life, we all dream of winning. The MSU network of alumni and friends gives us the advantage we need to succeed.

Shouldn’t you be part of it?”

My name is Suzy Merchant, and the MSU Alumni Association is my personal network ... for life!”

Join the MSU Alumni Association — your personal network ... for life.

finish line

A Mom’s Challenge Jordyn’s Gymnastics Journey Continues With Balance

Like mini-soldiers, the girls marched into the arena with confidence and pride. My stomach churned with pre-competition excitement I’d felt hundreds of times before my own athletic endeavors. I clenched my handful of good-luck charms tightly and prayed that my 7-year old daughter, Jordyn, would enjoy a positive outcome in her first gymnastics meet.

Little did I know that my life would never be the same, as the world of gymnastics would soon consume my entire family in an exciting, emotional journey, Though Jordyn didn’t receive a single medal, that first meet became the launching pad for a fast-paced progression through levels 5-10 of Junior Olympic gymnastics and into the world of Elite gymnastics by age 10.

Sibling Supporter Jordyn Wieber steps out of the spotlight to watch brother Ryan, her favorite player.

The ups and downs have been numerous.

The ups come with competing at her highest potential when it counts – during a big meet.

The downs are the disappointment of an untimely injury or a performance that didn’t meet expectations.

As the mother of four children who have been involved in a variety of sports over the past 20 36 OCTOBER 2011

years, I’ve found gymnastics to be the most brutal of all. A bad play in football can be forgotten 10 seconds later. The rest of the team can compensate for a player’s off day on the soccer field. But elite gymnasts typically compete just 3-5 times per year. That creates a long wait for another opportunity after a bad meet.

After a serious hamstring injury in 2009, Jordyn had to wait 14 months to compete again, all the while training 30 hours a week. Then, after an injury at the U.S. Championships in 2010 , it was seven months before she had the chance to compete again. Many gymnasts must live with that feeling of unfinished business for months and months as they heal from serious injuries. It’s easy to become discouraged or bitter during those times of disappointment.

The commitment to Jordyn’s gymnastics career created an unbalanced family dynamic that required us all to sacrifice. Since Jordyn’s training suffers when she misses more than two days of practice in a row, family vacations and even short weekends to the cottage required creative planning. Rather than the other children missing out, we often decided to split into two groups. One parent would vacation with the other children, and one would stay home with Jordyn so she could practice.

While some family and friends would question the lifestyle, we felt an obligation to support our child in the sport she loves with great passion. Not once has Jordyn ever considered quitting gymnastics. She has never wavered from her goal. It just felt right for our whole family to take this path with unconditional support and encouragement.

Fortunately, there were enough ups between the downs. With each goal came validation.

But each led to more expectation and more

pressure. It’s harder for a parent to deal with that pressure because we aren’t in control. The more I remind myself of that and to trust in my daughter, her coaches and God, the more I’m able to enjoy this whole experience.

Staying grounded is a top goal as the mother of an elite athlete. I am incredibly proud of what Jordyn has achieved, just as I am proud of what all my children accomplish. But I remind myself daily of the blessing to have a healthy child who can enjoy a gift that she was given and to grow as a person along the way.

While notoriety and attention is fun, it’s not what will ultimately matter. What matters is how the experience creates a confident individual who understands the importance of hard work and teamwork. Regardless of the sport or the level of competition, sports provide our children with an incredible opportunity for character building, work ethic development, improved physical health and, most of all, enjoyment.

As I write this, Jordyn is on a plane bound for Tokyo as a member of the U.S. World Championships team – an ultimate dream for her. And I’ll be there in the stands with the familiar stomach churning and a handful of good luck charms. Despite my effort to remain grounded and grateful for the experience, I may even wind up in a corner in a fetal position, sucking my thumb.

A reporter asked me the other day what I’d like for Jordyn in this World Championships.

My hope is for her to have the chance to be healthy and on top of her game at the right moment. I would love to see her have the meet of her life. Win or lose, it doesn’t matter as long as she can feel that she had the chance to perform to the best of her ability. Of course, that chance is determined by her ability to handle the pressure, her preparedness and a bit of luck – again, nothing in my control.

Whether it’s World Championships, a league championship or a regular weekend game, the real thrill is watching children enjoying the challenge, taking advantage of their health and ability. It’s seeing them come off the field with a smile on their face knowing that hard work will always pay off. H

Photography RITA WIEBER

BY RITA WIEBER

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