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Stormont-Vail HealthCare has achieved Magnet® recognition once again as part of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. The ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program recognizes health care organizations that demonstrate excellence in patient care. Magnet recognition is the highest national honor for patient care excellence, serving as the gold standard for nursing practice.
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CONTRIBUTORS Publisher & Editor Tara Dimick brock falley sr, hayden
Matt Mohan Jr, hayden
Photographer Rachel Lock Designer David Vincent Contributing Writers Melissa Brunner Mark Elliott Account Executive Tara Dimick 785.217.4836 Subscriptions 785.217.4836 or taradimick@gmail.com
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braden lee beal sr, washburn rural
steven amrein Sr, hayden
andrew beckler jr, washburn rural
CORRECTION
Ugh!! We hate mistakes, but we made a big one The Silver Lake Lady Eagles Softball team was the 2013 3A State CHAMPIONS (not Runner-up) - Apologies to the team!!! SO SORRY for the mistake - You guys rock it and we know it! 4 | MVPSportsMagazine.com | MAY 2014
zach wurtz jr, hayden
lukas mccalla SO, washburn rural
mason wages sr, seaman
john wright Sr, washburn rural
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Coach Talk With Mark Elliott
Mark interviews Washburn Rural Head Softball Coach Brenda Holaday. Mark Elliott WIBW 580 AM SportsTalk Silver Lake High School Graduate ELLIOTT: From Jackson Heights to K-State. How did you end up at K-State? HOLADAY: There was a stop in between there. I went to Highland Community College to play basketball for a year. That year, Highland started a softball program and they were kind of recruiting people to play. My background in softball had been playing on some women’s teams in
Topeka. I played for 7UP. My mom is one of eight children and there are six girls in the family. Most of her sisters made up a team, and I got to play with them. So I thought I’d try out for the Highland softball team. That year we went to the JUCO regionals and K-State was there and recruited me. I started my sophomore year at K-State playing softball. I have a lot of kids that have gone on to play college ball, and there’s good and there’s bad in college ball. So even though the program (at K-State) was sort of on bumpy terms—three different coaches in three years—the experience that I gained was really valuable and serves me everyday in what I do now; so, I think it was all for a reason.
ELLIOTT: So after K-State it was off to Alma Wabaunsee, 10 years as the basketball coach. Part of the MidEast League, it doesn’t get much better. The Mid-East League is so much better than the Centennial League. Brenda, it’s not even close. Silver Lake, Rossville, St. Mary’s— that’s not really true, but the MidEast League is a heck of a league. HOLADAY: It really is. I graduated from K-State in May and had a job at Alma Wabaunsee. I was teaching English, Journalism, Speech and Photography. I had six preps in a seven-period day and I thought it was great.
ELLIOTT: The softball program at K-State ended mid-80s, is there any chance that they’ll get softball back?
It was a 3A school, about 200-225 kids. They had had some tough years in basketball, so in some ways it was a perfect storm for me because the expectations were probably pretty low.
HOLADAY: I would love nothing more than for that to happen. I’ve joked to people that that’s going to be my hurrah as I get out of coaching—my mission is going to be to try to get softball back at K-State.
My internal expectations were pretty high, I think anybody who comes fresh out of college as a college athlete you kind of think you know everything. But the kids worked so hard, they would run through a brick wall for you. We built that program up and went to state four or five years while I was out there. I learned a lot about myself, I learned a lot about coaching.
I don’t know everything that’s entailed in that but I think it’s a 22 | MVPSportsMagazine.com | MAY 2014
shame that Kansas State doesn’t have it. I think there are very talented players to pull from in our state. I would hope that it would be looked at.
were 1-44 that’s an easy group to follow. 44-1, state champions and a runner-up are not easy. But you had been with the team. Did that make the transition a little smoother? HOLADAY: It did, you know the kids and the kids know you. I was certainly more prepared to step in than I would have been right out of college.
Sometimes I feel really sorry for those kids that had me the first few years; you’re still kind of feeding your own ego, and it takes you a few years in coaching to figure out that it’s really not about you anymore and it’s about the kids. Sometimes that’s hard to do when you’ve been treated in some ways like a Division 1 athlete you get pretty full of yourself. I was really interested in counseling at a bigger school where you weren’t necessarily punching lunch tickets as a counselor, you really get to be a counselor. One of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my professional life was to leave Alma Wabaunsee. I felt like I was leaving a whole family of kids that I had helped raise in some way. ELLIOTT: When you took over at WRHS, you took over a group that had gone 44-1 in two years. If they
I think one of the real advantages of being at a place like Washburn Rural is that in our softball program the expectations are always high. You can look at that as a negative or a positive, but for the most part it’s been positive because the kids expect to be successful, the parents expect to be successful, the coaches expect to be successful. Nobody expects that to happen without a lot of commitment and work. I think first and foremost, in my program, it starts with the parents. The kids start playing this game at a very young age, and it takes time and it takes money and a lot of energy and a lot of effort. And parents have been willing to do that for their kids. So when they get to my program they’ve already invested years into being a player.
accolades aside for the good of the team. Because of that, we’ve been able to have really good teams. Sometimes it’s meant that a kid that’s spent their entire life playing shortstop is willing to become a left fielder to become part of your team. That sounds like an easy thing to do, but in our world that’s full of egos, I’m just really blessed here to have kids that come in and do anything I ask them to do. ELLIOTT: Coach Bordewick for volleyball and basketball, he says that the girls are committed. It’s the same thing that you’re saying. What makes Rural girls so committed and so competitive? HOLADAY: First, I will say it starts with the parents. We don’t give our parents enough credit. All we read about are the bad situations, but it starts out here with good parenting. Kids come in and they’re respectful and they have a good work ethic and they’re committed to what they’re doing. Those are all lessons that are taught at home. The second thing is a little more specific to softball. Before I took over the program, JV practiced on one field and varsity practiced on another field. I was just a big believer that the best way to build continuity in a program was for the younger kids to see exactly the way we want them to practice. I know in a lot of big schools that’s not
Sometimes you look at a record and you think, “Wow, they must have just had tremendous talent,” and we have had some really really good talent out here. But it’s all self-made talent. They weren’t born great softball players; they’ve had to work hard to be great softball players. I believe that talent is just talent. It’s what you do with that talent, and these kids are so willing to put their personal MAY 2014 | MVPSportsMagazine.com | 23
the case. They (varsity) want their own field, doing their own thing. A freshman kid comes in and they’ve played the game at one pace and they’re watching a kid who’s ready to go off and play college ball at another pace. How do we get from point A to point B? Well you put them out there everyday with each other. It’s not just taking balls, they’re learning things about life. They’re learning how to approach the day. They’re learning about how to treat teammates. They’re learning so many lessons that freshman don’t know when they come in. Growing as a coach, I’ve realized that some of the best lessons that kids learn are not from the head coach. They’re from the other kids. If your system is set up right and you train your kids the right way and you allow them to grow and become leaders and share with the other kids that are coming up behind them, you can have that continuity in your program even when talent goes up and down. ELLIOTT: Eight straight trips to the 6A state tournament. Last year you were runner-up; state champions in ‘08. This is another team that I’m sure you’re expecting greatness from. Probably about time to get another state title… HOLADAY: We always aim for a state title, and we always will as long as I’m coaching here because that’s what the kids want. That’s what I want for them. Last year we graduated five seniors, four who are playing college ball--two at the D2 level and two at the D1 level. But we always get great kids. The commitment level is there and the work ethic is there, and it’s my job to help build that into something special. Thankfully, this year we’ve got four seniors, three of which have played since they were freshman. Our pitcher, 24 | MVPSportsMagazine.com | MAY 2014
catcher, and third baseman have all signed to play D2 ball. They’ll be playing against each other at Emporia State and Washburn. They’ll be our anchors of what we’re going to be able to do. This year’s team will not be like last years team. No two teams are alike. But what we have going for us is about half the kids were right there a year ago. They know how close they were, and they’re motivated and inspired to get back into that situation. As much heartache as you can feel when you come up short and you’re not a state champion, you’re still in a place that about any other kid would give anything to be in and you try not to lose sight of that. While everybody wants to finish on top, there are many many kids who dedicate lots of hours to sports who never get
to experience a state tournament. Our kids don’t understand that. This group, and many before them, has never exited our program without walking off of a state tournament diamond. We want them to see it as challenge and opportunity, and to enjoy the moment. Because in the end, it’s not the medal that you hang in some little closet, you walk away with the experience. So what we’re going to be doing in May, we’re going to be doing everything we can to enjoy every day, to enjoy the experience, to enjoy the opportunity, to win and hope that they get to experience that state tournament again. ELLIOTT: Good luck. HOLADAY: Thank you.
MAY 2014 | MVPSportsMagazine.com | 25
On the soccer pitch that is life, circumstances often dictate that you bend your approach to the goal. One minute, Jessica Ortega was running down the field in a fall tournament, honing the skills she hoped would elevate her to first-team all-state honors in spring. The next, she heard a noise that would have the Topeka High School senior re-evaluating how she would remain involved in the game during her final year of high school. THE INJURY The date was November 2, 2013. "I was in a game and it was very uneven ground," Jessica recalls. "My knee went one way and the rest of me went another. I heard it pop." Jessica tried to keep going. She said it wasn't really pain that she felt, she just wasn't able to put any pressure on her knee. Her step-dad coach, Topeka High assistant Derek Snook, made her sit on the bench. Two days later, an MRI would confirm that Jessica had torn her ACL. She suffered the same injury her freshman year of high school, but this one, during her senior year, was harder to swallow. "I was more mad at myself that I let it happen," Jessica said. "I felt like I got too relaxed and not aware of what I was doing. I felt like, if I was paying more attention, it wouldn't have happened." THE REHAB Which brings us to the first bend in Jessica's road to scoring her goals. A second team all-state player her junior year, Jessica hoped to make first-team her senior year. But doctors will not clear her for competition until June, so Jessica is now focused on getting strong for college. She had already committed to Hutchinson Community College before her injury. "My college coach has been very supportive," she said. "It was kind of a
Jessica was featured on the May 2013 cover of MVP Magazine
relief because I know where I'm going and I didn't have to worry about (whether colleges still would be interested)." That does not mean she's taking it easy. Since surgery on December 2, Jessica attends physical therapy twice a week. She's learned the importance of warm-ups, and does a lot of squats, strength-training and balance exercises. She remembers the first time she was allowed to run. It was only five minutes - a far cry from an 80-minute soccer match. She felt pain in her knee and her therapist made her stop.
THE SENIOR SEASON It's that dedication that leads to the next bend in Jessica's journey and, perhaps, the hardest for her to follow. If she couldn't be on the field for her senior season, could she even be around the team? The answer, unequivocally, was yes. After all, she's been playing the sport since she was four years old. "For as long as I've played, it's really hard for me to stay away from it, so I have to be involved in some way," Jessica said. "A lot of the girls, I've grown up with and being around them makes it easier. I like helping now coaching because it's a good feeling getting it right." Snook says it wasn't easy at first, but, the more that younger players sought her out for advice, the more comfortable Jessica has become in her new role. He also believes that, in the
THE LASTING LESSONS For as much as Jessica has learned about the game, both daughter and father have learned a lot about themselves. Snook has raised Jessica since she was 15 months old and coached her her entire career. After all those years, and all those moments, to have injury take away these final games together makes Snook emotional. "It's still tough," he said. "Knowing I'm out there every day at practice and she's not. Not having her out there and me screaming and yelling at her, then getting a hug after the game. I'm going to miss that." But for all they lost to injury, they gained something more - a renewed appreciation for the game, for each other and for all that Jessica can achieve.
"I was really, really scared because I thought I messed something up where it didn't heal right and I have to start over again," she said. Fortunately, it was just a slight bump in the road. They tried again after another week of rest, and Jessica says her knee held up just fine. It's that persistence that inspires Snook. "I've seen some people that, they get a bad injury and think that's it, I don't want to go through the pain of rehab," he said. "She had her goals. She has the fight and the will to prove to herself that she's strong enough to get through this and reach this goal. To see her working as hard as she is to get back to doing what she wants to do— that inspires me."
end, it will be a positive for her when she returns to the pitch. "She sees the game. She sits down and watches the game. It's made her a smarter player," he said. "The best teacher is the game, rather than the coach," Jessica agrees. "When you sit down and watch a game, you learn a lot more than actually playing. My IQ of the game got a lot better."
"With her work ethic, the sky's the limit," Snook said. "She inspires me to get up and go to work." "Everyone can learn something new. There's always more to know," Jessica said. "When it first happened, I felt like six months would be forever. It shows I am capable of doing it and starting over. I am stronger than what it seems." mvp
MAY 2014 | MVPSportsMagazine.com | 27
MVP Insider
Leveling the Playing Field
Profile on Martin Lane, Owner of Midwest Laser Leveling
Rossville Track Team Home to Four Foreign Exchange Students
Svea Martens, JR
Track Events: 100, 200, 4x100 From: Germany Sports Played at Home: Riding Horses Enjoys Most About U.S.: Food, school spirit, American lifestyle, the country, trips with host family. Surprised By: Everything is so much different than I thought.
Johanna Borles, JR
Track Events: 100, 200, 4x100, 4x400
From: Germany Sports Played at Home: Basketball, Track, Hockey and Soccer Enjoys Most About U.S.: New friends and host family. Surprised By: How many people do sports.
Caio Martins, JR
Jonathan Renner, JR
Track Events: Track Events: 4x100, Shot put, 100, Javelin Discus, Javelin From: Germany From: Brazil Sports Played Sports Played at Home: Volleyball and at Home: Soccer, Brazilian Soccer Jiu-jitsu, Sand Enjoys Most Volleyball About U.S.: The food and Enjoys Most people. About U.S.: How easy life is. Surprised By: How small the Surprised By: How effortlessly school is. I fit in here.
Years at HPHS: 11 Loves about HPHS: "The family atmosphere." Superhero: "Wonder Woman... to be able to help everyone."
Behind The Scenes Profile Monica Augusto
Highland Park High School
Athletic Director's Secretary and Cheer Coach
Best memory at HPHS: “So many over the years. I enjoy seeing so many students who were here as freshman become something in society.” "Monica Augusto is the hardest working woman in the world.”
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- Dr. Beryl New, Principal Highland Park High School
Ever wonder how a field is smooth, flat and at the correct degree? The answer is laser leveling. How does laser leveling work? The laser transmitter that mounts on top of a tripod emits a beam of light over the work area, set to whatever percentage of slope is needed for that particular project. This beam of light communicates with the electronic receiver that is mounted on the box blade, which is pulled by a tractor. The box blade automatically adjusts up and down as the tractor drives across the area to be laser graded. For example: a soccer field would be ready for laser grading after all the grass is removed and soil is rototilled. As the tractor and box blade drives across the bumpy soccer field, the box blade will cut the high areas and deposit that material into the low areas. After all the highs are cut, and the lows are filled, the field is done and ready for grass installation. Why is laser leveling necessary? Laser leveling has many benefits, including: • Provides a smooth and safe playing surface. • Provides proper surface drainage after a heavy rain. • Eliminates low areas that will puddle and damage the grass. • Eliminates high areas that are difficult to irrigate properly.
MAY 2014 | MVPSportsMagazine.com | 29
Athletes in action
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Silver Lake Softball
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Photos by Brad Shaffer
1. So. madison wegner & SR. Ashley Womack 2. Jr. Allison Christy 3. Jr. Megan Deiter 4. Sr. Ashlyn Lane 5. SR. Ashley Womack, Sr. Morgan athon & Sr. Kallie Fischer 6. So. Madison Wegner 7. sr. Kallie Fischer 8. Jr. Joel Long 9. sO. Jessica Moore 10. Sr. Raianna Maples 11. JR. Sarah Eckart
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Topeka high Track, Swimming & Softball
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Photos by Craig Strever
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