June 2012
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stormont-vail & cotton-o’neil
three levels of care Stormont-Vail HealthCare provides a variety of levels of care. If a medical need occurs when your primary care physician is not available, you have three options: Mild
The ClinicModerate at Walmart by Stormont-Vail Severe 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays Located inside the north Topeka Walmart and providing minor health services without an appointment for patients ages 18 months and older. Staffed by advanced practice nurses and a physician assistant.
Mild
Moderate
Cotton-O’Neil ExpressCare Severe With three locations in Topeka and one in Osage City, these urgent care clinics, complete with lab and X-ray services, are available to patients of all ages who need treatment for a minor illness or injury. You do not have to be a Cotton-O’Neil patient to be cared for at ExpressCare. ExpressCare – Croco: 2909 S.E. Walnut Dr. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends ExpressCare – Urish: 6725 S.W. 29th St. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends ExpressCare – North: 1130 N. Kansas Ave. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays ExpressCare – Osage City: 131 W. Market 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Stormont-Vail Emergency and Trauma Center Open 24 hours a day, every day, and designed for sudden, serious injury or illness. Located one block west of Eighth and Washburn.
Call Health Connections’ Ask-A-Nurse at (785) 354-5225 evenings and weekends for help finding the most appropriate level of care.
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stormontvail.org
MVPSportsMagazine.com
June 2012
Braden Dimick
contents & contributors
Tara Dimick
Publisher
Editor-in-Chief Rachel Lock
7 The Next Level
28 Coach Talk // John Tetuan
24 Inspirational Athlete // Matthew Taylor
In This Issue 4
Athletes in Action // Baseball & Softball
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Athletes in Action // Swimmming
On the Cover: Estefana Garcia and Julie Gonzales, Topeka High School; Peyton Michelski, Seaman High School; Taylor Stockebrand, Topeka West High School; Morgan Trupp, Shawnee Heights High School
Contributing Writers Lisa Loewen // Mark Elliott Account Executive Tara Dimick // 785.217.4836 Publishing Company E2 Communications, Inc. PO Box 67272 ▪ Topeka, KS 66667 785.217.4836 ▪ mvpeditor@gmail.com www.mvpsportsmagazine.com
Jenni Ponton
Photographer
Creative Director
MVP Sports Magazine is published by E2 Communications, Inc. Reproduction or use of this publication in any manner without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Every effort was made to ensure accuracy of the information in this publication as of press time. The publisher assumes no responsibility of any part for the content of any advertisement in this publication, including any errors and omissions there in. E2 Communications, Inc. makes no endorsement, representation or warranty regarding any goods or services advertised or listed in this publication. Listings and advertisements are provided by the subject companies. E2 Communications, Inc. shall not be responsible or liable for any inaccuracy, omission or infringement of any third party’s right therein, or for personal injury or any other damage or injury whatsoever. By placing an order for an advertisement, the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher against any claims relating to the advertisement.
June 2012
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athletes in action // BASEBALL & SOFTBALL
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3
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5
1. Ashley Johnson, JR, Topeka West 2. Miguel Roberts, SO, Highland Park 3. Jordan Haugen, JR, Shawnee Heights 4. Ashton Ketterman, JR, Topeka West 5.Derrick Burkhardt, SR, Highland Park
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June 2012
Push yourself again and again. don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds. - larry bird, legendary nba Player Push yourself to save for future life events. Don’t give an inch until you reach your savings goal. Begin your savings Plan for the imPortant things in your life By oPening a savings account toDay at caPital city Bank.
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the
NEXT LEVEL
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go! MVP showcases Shawnee County’s student-athletes that have signed letters of intent to play at the collegiate level.
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June 2012
June 2012
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washburn rural HIGH SCHOOL // 6 8
Trevor Baumgartner
Branden Dozier
Newman University Bowling
Butler County Community College Football
Abbey Breeding
Nick Gideon
Washburn University Softball
Sewanee: The University of the South Soccer
Cameron Chapman
Madeline Ginder
Washburn University Football
Kansas State University Dance
Skylar Curtis
Trevor Goforth
Washburn University Football
William Jewell College Football
Stephany Cushing
Eric Grossnickle
Hutchinson Community College Soccer
Highland Community College Football
Megan DeWerff
Haley Molden
Fort Hays State University Golf
University of Kansas Swimming
MVPSportsMagazine.com
June 2012
Jacob Morgan
Kellan Weathers
Colorado State University Cross Country
Butler County Community College Football
Meredith Owen
Meg Werner
Lindenwood University Track & Field
University of Kansas Dance
Not pictured:
Gwen Shepler Washburn University Tennis
Jeff Belaire Butler County Community College / Football
Tracey Darnall Garden City Community College / Football
Austin Shiney Baker University Soccer
Kelvin Fitzpatrick Fort Scott Community College / Football
Whitney Gifford Neosho Co. Community College / Volleyball
Dani Musselman Eric Smith, Jr. Butler County Community College Football
Washburn University / Volleyball
Allie Naill Hutchinson Community College / Soccer
Jared Whitten McPherson College / Basketball
Josh Sweet
Sarah Williams
Seward County Community College Basketball
Fort Scott Community College / Volleyball
Josh Woodward MidAmerica Nazaerene / Basketball June 2012
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topeka high HIGH SCHOOL // 6A 10
Morgan Bush
Tyus Jacob
Bethany College Softball
Butler County Community College Football
Krystal Corhn
DJ Johnson
Highland Community College Basketball & Track
Coppin State University Basketball
Ty Coultis
Jessica LaCount
Baker University Cross Country/Track
Independence Community College Soccer
Marcus Fillyaw
William Millhuff
Cloud County Community College Basketball
William Jewell College Swimming
Estefana Garcia
Evan Robinson
Allen County Community College Soccer
Washburn University Basketball
Julia Gonzales
Nicole Smith
Allen County Community College Soccer
Barton County Community College Softball
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June 2012
Margarita Torres Hutchinson Community College Soccer
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Myriah Valdivia Friends University Softball
Cedric Vinson Wichita State University Football
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Brianna Madden Bethany College Basketball
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Shane Ahrens William Jewell College / Swimming
Jasmine Benning Pratt Community College / Basketball
Collin Connor Emporia State University / Tennis
Andrew Dawson Neosho Co. Community College / Basketball
Alec Freeman Hutchinson Community College / Football
Davaun Stovall Independence Community College / Football
June 2012
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topeka west HIGH SCHOOL // 5A
Mark Bleich Ottawa University Soccer
Cloud County Community College Basketball
Raven Cameron
JaVeaughn Perry
Baker University Track & Field
Coffeyville Community College Football
Marie Fraise Coffeyville Community College Cheerleading
Laura Ruhnke Allen County Community College Cheerleading
Ashley Grant
Jill Siebert
Neosho County Community College Basketball
Bethel College Tennis
Jade Hartke
Taylor Stockebrand
St. Mary’s College Basketball
Keaton Heather Ottawa University Soccer
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Emeka Okoronkwo
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June 2012
Ottawa University Soccer
Lawrence Wallace III Coffeyville Community College Indoor Track & Field
shawnee heights HIGH SCHOOL // 5A
Not pictured:
Patrick McKinney
Kylee Kennedy
Hutchinson Community College / Football
University of Kansas Softball
Adolfo Perez Solis Allen Co.Community College / Soccer
Ryan Aguilar Fort Scott Community College Football
Ronnie “Bubba” McHenry Washburn University Golf
DeShay Berry Coffeyville Community College Football
DeVaughn Berry Coffeyville Community College Football
Bryce Buckner Fort Scott Community College Football
Tyson Holmes Wichita State University Track & Field: Javelin
June 2012
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shawnee heights HIGH SCHOOL // 5A 14
T.J. Perez
Gavyn Yetter
Highland Community College Baseball
Wichita State University Track & Field
Not pictured:
Kristi Renyer University of Central Missouri Bowling
Alyssa Keberlein Johnson Co. Community College / Dance
Kaley Hauschild Northwest Missouri State / Track & Field
Kelsey Warren Highland Community College / Cross Country
Tanna Terry
Maddie Williams
Fort Hays State University Golf
Washburn University / Dance
Tyler Willis Midland University / Wrestling
David Tidwell
Ellen Agnew
McPherson College Football
Ottawa University Tennis
Morgan Trupp
Mallory Diederich
Ottawa University Soccer
Fort Hays State University Soccer
Jake Weigel
MaKayla Greeve
McPherson College Soccer
Baker University Softball
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June 2012
seaman HIGH SCHOOL // 5A
Hailee Hanson
Samantha Minihan
Johnson County Community College Volleyball
Kansas Newman College Volleyball
Adam Heald
Britni Thoman
Bethany College Basketball
Newman University Bowling
Tanner Lantz
Jaycee Wells
Ottawa University Tennis
Emporia State University Track & Field
Tracy Lister
Not pictured:
Independence Community College Softball
Taylor Medlin Independence Community College Softball
Ramsey McCarter Fort Hays State University Cross Country
Peyton Michelski Butler Community College Basketball
June 2012
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“Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! Th won. And the magical things you can do with that ba
Pictured: Trevor Baumgartner, Abbey Breeding, Cameron Chapman, Stephany Cushing, Megan DeWerff, Nick Gideon, Trevor Goforth, Eric Grossnick Garcia, Julia Gonzales, Topeka High School; Mark Bleich, Raven Cameron, Marie Fraise, Keaton Heather, Emeka Okoronkwo, JaVeaughn Perry, Laura Moore, Calire Alexander, Hayden High School; Rebecca Holder, Jamie Pfannenstiel, Silver Lake High School; Beth Ledeboer, Ilona Miller, Shad Morris,
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June 2012
here are points to be scored. There are games to be all will make you the winning-est winner of all.�
- Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
kle, Haley Molden, Jacob Morgan, Meredith Owen, Gwen Shepler, Austin Shiney, Eric Smith, Josh Sweet, Kellan Weathers, Washburn Rural; Estefana Ruhnke, Topeka West High School; Jake Weigel, Shawnee Heights High School; Ramsey McCarter, Seaman High School; Brook LaRue, Patrick , Shannon Parr, Mark Smith, Matthew Taylor, Jessica Wehrli, Mandy Wilson, Mindy Wilson, Rossville High School June 2012
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Nicholas Caraway-Wakes
18
Butler County Community College Football
Hutchinson Community College Football Not pictured:
Marquis Montgomery
Shaun Banks
Hutchinson Community College Football
Ruth Cazier
Hutchinson Community College / Football Barton Co. Community College / Soccer
DeMarko Johnson Jarron Ogles
Highland Community College / Football
Butler County Community College Football
Jordan Robinson
Claire Alexander
Butler County Community College Football
University of Nebraska-Omaha Swimming
Tyler Ross
Brooke LaRue
Hutchinson Community College Football
College of William & Mary Golf
Shanise Brooks
Mary Lawlor
Seward County Community College Basketball
Benedictine College Cross Country/Track
MVPSportsMagazine.com
June 2012
hayden HIGH SCHOOL // 4A
highland park HIGH SCHOOL // 5A
Jaylen Jenkins
Zack Weekley
Avila University Football
Hutchinson Community College Football
Shayne Russell
Thomas Wittman
Highland Community College Football
Hutchinson Community College Football
Alex Schmidtberger
Katie Wolfe Emporia State University Soccer
Fort Hays State University Football Not pictured:
Carlee Seitz Washburn University Soccer
hayden HIGH SCHOOL // 4A
Patrick Moore
Brooke Gettler Colby Community College / Golf
Maura McGivern University of Tulsa / Volleyball
Jason Tetuan Collin Strobel Emporia State University Football
Kylie Watson Fort Hays State University Soccer
Emporia State University / Football
DID WE MISS YOU?
If you are a 2011-12 Senior from Shawnee County that has signed a letter of intent to play a college sport, send us your name, high school, college, the sport that you have signed to play, and a photograph to taradimick@gmail.com to be included in the July or August issue of MVP. continued on pg. 20 June 2012
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ROSSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL // 3A
Jessica Wehrli
Tabor College Softball
Neosho County Community College Volleyball
Ilona Miller
Mandy Wilson
Baker University Softball
Highland Community College Track & Field
Shad Morris
Mindy Wilson
Dodge City Community College Football
Fort Hays State University Track & Field
Shannon Parr
Kaci Campbell
Kansas State University Track & Field
Ottawa University Basketball
Mark Smith
Rebecca Holder
Dodge City Community College Football
Baker University Golf
Matthew Taylor
Jamie Pfannenstiel
Butler County Community College Football 20
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June 2012
Baker University Volleyball
SILVERLAKE HIGH SCHOOL // 3A
Beth Ledeboer
June 2012
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athletes in action // SWIMMING & TRACK
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1
3
5 1. Haley Molden, SR, Washburn Rural 2. Avery Simecka, SR, Washburn Rural 3. Duke Tibbs, JR, Topeka High and Xavier Harris, SO, Topeka High 4. Raianna Maples, SO, Topeka High 5. Caitlin Ungerer, JR, Washburn Rural High School 6. Shantell Hatcher, JR, Washburn Rural
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June 2012
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Get the Right Summer Program by Mike Flynn, MS ATC // Rebound Sports Performance Most schools have well-guided summer strength and conditioning programs. Whether you are working out at school, home, the gym or a training facility, a good summer program will have different components or training blocks that work together to deliver a great result for you:
Base Strength Squats, lunges, and pushing and pulling activities focus on basic core strength, upper and lower body stabilization, and flexibility.
Explosive Strength Box jumps, hurdle jumps and hang cleans focus on power, quickness, speed and flexibility.
Speed Development Sled work, sprint work, cone drills and foot-ladder drills focus on first-step quickness, acceleration, speed, lateral speed and agility, footwork, and flexibility.
Sport-Specific Conditioning Reaction work, competitive drills, and game-type situations get you ready to play the game. These components will train different energy systems to meet the demands of your sport. Keep them as sport-specific as possible for
the best result. If you are playing a fall sport, the majority of your time this summer should be spent on explosive strength and speed work followed by sport-specific conditioning. If your sport doesn’t start until the winter, spend the majority of your time this summer developing base strength followed by explosive strength. If you need some help designing the program that is right for you, get help from a professional with certification from the NATA, NSCA, or NASM. Make sure your summer activities are going to advance your skill level, as well as improve your fitness. You want to be in the best condition possible when your sport starts.
June 2012
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Inspirational Athlete:
THE POWER OF
SILENCE Matthew Taylor //// Rossville High School by lisa loewen
It’s Friday night. The crisp, fall air tingles with anticipation as the final quarter draws to a close. Coaches yell from the sidelines. Fans scream in the stands. As the huddle breaks, one player looks to the sidelines for final instructions. He isn’t looking at the coach. His eyes are locked on one person—an interpreter whose hands seem to be in constant motion. Matthew Taylor may be deaf, but his silent world is far from quiet. The Rossville High graduate plays almost every sport, has almost as many friends on Facebook as Ashton Kutcher,
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and has already signed to play football at Butler County Community College next year.
Creative Solutions Growing up, he didn’t have an interpreter for sports. He enlisted his mother’s help occasionally, but Matt often found himself trying to communicate with coaches or other players through hand gestures and body language. That challenge to communicate limited Matt’s ability to participate on certain teams. When he was in eighth grade, he really wanted to play quarterback. The coaches didn’t
June 2012
even want him to try out for that position because they didn’t think he would be able to call the plays or communicate in the huddle. Matt disagreed. Through his interpreter, Matt discussed with the coaches how they could overcome the challenges his deafness presented. Together they came up with the idea of using a wristband that listed the plays by number. Matt would point to a number on his wristband and his teammates would know what play to run. Once the coaches realized it wouldn’t be as bad as they imagined, they were willing to give it a try.
100% Attention Using a wristband, or learning hand signals to call plays seems easy enough from the outside looking in, but it requires focus and repetition to execute it flawlessly. Most players take for granted that they can hear the coach change a play or correct someone who is out of position. Matt can’t take anything for granted. He has to learn to constantly look to the sidelines to catch signals from the coach. He has to focus on his teammates and read their body language, and since he can’t hear the whistle, he has to be alert continued on pg. 26
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100 percent of the time. “If we didn’t have practice, when we got to a game we would have a lot of missteps,” Matt says through his interpreter, Rhonda Greening, “so we learned early on that we always had to practice, no matter what.”
Silent Challenges When Matt transferred from Topeka High to Rossville High his junior year, the coaches already knew what to expect. They had seen him play. They had spoken
Off the Field That athletic ability and his outgoing nature also helped him make new friends right away. “Thank goodness for technology,” coach Buhler says. “Everyone was texting him right from the start.” Since teenagers seem to be able to text faster than they talk, Matt fit right in. Even though he is popular, sometimes communication can still be a struggle. “I try to say people’s names to get their attention so they will look at me, but because I have
“I want people to treat me just like everyone else.” - Matthew Taylor, Senior // Rossville High School with his father about the best strategy to use to overcome the communication challenges. “To us, he was an athlete—period,” head football coach Steve Buhler says. `That didn’t mean it wasn’t sometimes a challenge. Last year, operating the offense out of a no huddle, the coaches and players used hand signals almost exclusively to call plays, so it was easier on Matt and the rest of the squad. This year, going back to the huddle complicated things a bit more. The athletes on the field are so used to communicating with Matt through body language and signs that they adjusted pretty quickly. Members of the coaching staff were the ones who had to be reminded that they needed Rhonda to communicate with Matt on the field. His athletic prowess speaks for itself. Being deaf, Matt can’t afford to lose his focus. Baseball players can hear the crack of the bat connecting with the ball to signal a hit. He has to watch the bat and the ball at all times or else his timing will be off to make the play. “When Matt plays he has to be focused all the times,” baseball coach Brett Cowdin says. “He pays attention all the time. That prepped him to have incredibly fast instincts. The way he runs bases and plays in the outfield is really impressive.”
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never heard sounds, it doesn’t come out very clear,” Matt says. “Communication is just hard. I can understand people’s body language and hand signals when I am playing sports, but it is much harder when I am just being a teenager in the hallway.” Rhonda goes everywhere with Matt to interpret for him when needed. She is with him in school, at all of his practices and games and pretty much any other time he needs. But sometimes Matt wants to communicate without her in the loop. “My friends talk to me by texting,” Matt says. “I have the interpreter, but sometimes, if it’s a private conversation, I don’t want it to have to come through an adult.” Several of his friends are learning sign language to be able to communicate more directly with Matt. For them, it is like learning to talk all over again, beginning with the basic ABCs.
Two Languages
Matt has overcome the challenges his deafness presents on the field and in with his peers, but the classroom can still be his adversary—especially English. Sign language incorporates body language, facial expression and a highly condensed form of English. The typical patterns used in English may make
June 2012
sense to people who hear, but it doesn’t really make sense in sign language. Sign doesn’t use any “ing” ending and the verb tenses are not the same as the spoken language. As a result, Matt’s writing doesn’t match that of hearing students. “I have been improving, Matt says. “My teacher here at Rossville has been helping me a lot this year.” That teacher just happens to be coach Buhler. His secret? Reading. A lot. Because Matt can’t hear or speak formal English, he has to learn to write it through mimicking what he reads. Matt also doesn’t understand sarcasm or statements that aren’t meant to be taken literally because he hasn’t ever heard them used before. Once, Buhler says, he told Matt not to ”let the door hit him in the butt on the way out.” Matt looked at him like he was crazy. Why would he let the door hit him in the butt?
The Future Matt is excited about playing football at Butler next year. But he admits he is a little nervous— not about how he will perform on the field, but about whether he will wake up in the morning for practice. “My mom always woke me up,” he says. “What if I don’t ‘hear’ my alarm?” He will also have to learn to work with a different interpreter. Rhonda has been with Matt since fifth grade, so they are like family. She goes to class with him, attends every practice and stands next to the coaches on the sidelines of every game running back and forth between the offense and defensive coaches as needed. She has been his “voice” for almost half his life. “I am going to miss Matt,” Rhonda says. “I wish I could go with him next year.” “Hey, that would be great,” Matt smirks. “You could wake me up.”
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COACH TALK MARK ELLIOTT of WIBW 580 AM SPORTSTALK TALKS WITH TOPEKA WEST’S HEAD FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL COACH AND HEAD COACH OF THE GOLDEN GIANTS, JOHN TETUAN. MARK ELLIOTT: First we have to start with the Tetuan family tree; every year at Hayden there is another one. Give us the family members of John Tetuan. JOHN TETUAN: There’s my dad, John Sr. and my mom, Theresa. I’m the oldest. Jesse is under me, then Jared, Jason and Jacob. ELLIOTT: You get to coach against your siblings, that must be interesting. TETUAN: In our family, everything is competitive, from playing board games on Christmas night to playing cards on the weekend; it can get pretty rough. We don’t like to lose. ELLIOTT: Let’s go back to your days at Hayden; a football, basketball and baseball star. Talk about your Hayden days and how important it was to you. TETUAN: I had great coaches while I was there. Tom Stringer, Ben Meseke and Brett Cowdin—playing for them, you saw what it takes to win and you knew what they expected of you as a player. They treated you like you were their son, taught you lessons when you needed to learn a lesson, picked you up when you needed to be picked up and patted you on the butt when you did a good job. ELLIOTT: How many state titles where you a part of while you were at Hayden? TETUAN:
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We won state in
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football in 1998. We won state in baseball in 1996 and 1997, and then took second in 1998 and 1999. ELLIOTT: After that great high school career, you head to Wichita State University and Gene Stephenson. What was it like at Wichita State? TETUAN: It was a learning process. My freshman year, I came out of high school being the number one pitcher. When I got to Wichita State, everyone was the number one pitcher or position player from wherever they came from. I only threw 15 innings my freshman year, and that was hard because I was used to being on the field. In college you play during the summer to earn your spot. I was the Jayhawk Pitcher of the Year that summer, and I came back my sophomore year and made the starting rotation at Wichita State. During my sophomore year, I took a football mentality onto the (baseball) field. Every time I did something wrong I just wanted to do it harder, but you can’t do that, you have to be relaxed. By my junior year I got things under control; I made AllAmerican and I got drafted. ELLIOTT: In 2002 you were the 9th round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies. Tell us about your minor league career. TETUAN: The biggest challenge was trying to balance the job part with the fun part. You’re playing a sport, but it’s a business and you don’t get days off. You have 13-14 hour bus
June 2012
rides, drive through the night, go straight to the ballpark, take a shower to wake up, eat a hotdog and head to practice before the game. It was hard to do the first couple of years because you don’t miss playing time for doing something wrong; they take it from your paycheck. ELLIOTT: You were 36th in the top 100 Shawnee County athletes, which means you’re pretty good. You were only eight behind me, so that is pretty impressive. That was a great list that the Topeka Capital-Journal put together. TETUAN: It brought pride to this area and made people aware that there is a lot of
and Junction City. And we’ve played pretty much every game close. You know I’m never going to be happy until we win the last game. But that’s the expectation that I’m holding the kids to and it doesn’t waiver; the kids know that. I think the biggest thing is building the kids’ confidence and teaching them how to win. There hasn’t been much winning around here lately. And that gets to a young kids mentally. ELLIOTT: Now you go from the Topeka West High School diamond to the Golden Giants. What are you looking forward to this summer?
“In our family, everything is competitive...We don’t like to lose.“ talent that has come from Shawnee County. ELLIOTT: Topeka West baseball program — has it made some strides during your time here? TETUAN: This will be my third year on the baseball staff and my second year as head coach. We’ve done quite a bit in three years. We beat Washburn Rural, Manhattan, Emporia,
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TETUAN: It’s a fun gig for me and I get to coach baseball for my summer job. It can be a grind for the players going from a college situation where they are playing four to five games a week to summer ball where it is pretty much like minor league baseball, where they play every day with an off day every eight days or so. We never know what we are going to get from year to year because we replace 25 of the 30 guys. We meet new kids and talk to college coaches all the time. ELLIOTT: Lake Shawnee, I grew up playing out there — the facilities are unbelievable. It also serves as the home of the Golden Giants. How has that helped? TETUAN: The Shawnee County Commissioners, John Knight and Randy Luebbe have been great to the Golden Giants. We get a lot of players because of that park. They get online and check out the field, and they are impressed. Not all the teams have the quality fields that Shawnee County offers. We’re pretty lucky to be where we are at. ELLIOTT: Being a great athlete you are used to have great suc-
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cess, and you’re trying to build that with the baseball program at Topeka West. Now you have the challenge of taking over a football program that back in the day had the likes of Frank Walton, Brady Pryor, Warren Seitz; I mean this was a pretty good football place. You now have to build that back. What made you take this job? How do you go about making strides? TETUAN: The same way I do in baseball, you set your expectations, you make sure the kids know them from day one and you don’t waiver from that. You don’t give the kids a way out. They have to be here and they have to buy into the system. You make sure that they know you care about them. June 2012
We have good kids. We’ll teach them the right way to play football, and to have physical and mental toughness. I think we also have to build the football community and build a family-type atmosphere with parents encouraging their kids to play football. ELLIOTT: Coaching is not about the Xs and Os, it is really about the attitudes and the effort. It’s a process. Topeka West is a process. But, it has to be a fun challenge for a guy like you. TETUAN: I love challenges and I set high expectations for myself just like I do for the kids. A coach wouldn’t take a job unless they thought they could succeed.
We have to believe in each other to function and build ownership in the program. That includes everybody: the Topeka West players, the coaches, the student-body, the parents and the community. We can get our kids to play better than their God-given talent if they believe in themselves and their teammates. That will create a successful program. ELLIOTT: John, thanks for the time, have a great summer and good luck in the fall.
SPOTTHESALT.COM
WHERE IS SODIUM HIDING?
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SIMPLE STEPS TO REDUCE SODIUM
June 2012
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St. Francis Health Center Presents
S
t. Francis Health Center in Topeka has joined with a national network of more than 100 hospitals to present Spirit of Women, a program dedicated
to helping women make positive changes for improving the health and wellness of themselves and their families. St. Francis Health Center is proud to be one of only three hospitals in Kansas providing this innovative and enjoyable health program.
Spirit of Women includes free health screenings, fun special events, good-health information, expanded services and exclusive offerings tailored for local women and their families.
To learn more, visit StFrancisTopeka.org/SpiritofWomen 32 MVPSportsMagazine.com June 2012