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SPORTS
May 2014
Experience is key White lines Mary Emington Staff Writer When the game is on the line and your team is down, the one thing that the team counts on and looks to are the seasoned players of the squad. They have been in the same situations before. They know how to pull together a team and how to get it done. The Kellogg Community Softball team has three such members: sophomores Samantha Freel (Sosa), Mackenzie Gibson, and Jacquelyn Harwood. Samantha Freel is originally from Onaway and played for Onaway High School. This year will mark Freel’s seventh year playing organized softball. As a center-fielder, Freel has to cover a lot of ground which makes catching pop flies one of her favorite things about softball. Her favorite memory from the season is throwing out a runner at home plate. Freel states about the softball season so far, “I think the season is going good. We just need to keep our heads in the game and play the game we are capable of playing.” One of Freel’s biggest inspirations is her high school lifting teacher, Earl Flynn. She says, “He has taught me to push myself no matter what the circumstance is.” Freel will attend Olivet College next fall. She will be studying early childhood development to become an elementary teacher. She will also continue her athletic career and play softball for the Comets. Joining Freel at Olivet College in the fall is fellow sophomore Jacquelyn Harwood. She plans to study business
management and continue her basketball career as a Comet. Harwood has also played seven years of organized softball. She attended Sault Area High School and is from Sault Ste. Marie. Harwood plays left field for the Lady Bruins. Her favorite part of softball is diving for balls in the outfield. Her favorite play came at the Siena Heights tournament against Davenport where Harwood dove for a ball. It popped out of her glove, but she caught it with her non-glove hand saving the play while knocking the wind out of her. Harwood advises her teammates for next year, “Have fun, play hard, and give it everything that you’ve got!” Harwood’s biggest inspirations are her parents Jerry Harwood and Heather Klever. All three sophomores will move on to be college athletes at the next level. Mackenzie Gibson will play hockey at St. Norbert’s College. It should be no surprise that her favorite professional athlete is none other than Joe Thornton, center for the San Hose Sharks of the NHL. She plans to continue her studies for prelaw while attending St. Norbert’s College. Gibson’s favorite quote is, “Wake up every day stronger then yesterday; face your fears and wipe away your tears.” She plays first base for the Lady Bruins. Her favorite part about softball is being outside and playing the game she loves. Gibson attended Rudyard High School and is from Kincheloe, Michigan and has played eight years of organized softball. The Lady Bruins are 12-15 through 27 games. They hope to finish strong in their season. Come the rough times in their season the Lady Bruins plan to look to their sophomores for inspiration and leadership. With their experience and guidance the Lady Bruins hope to be district and conference contenders.
Mary Emington Staff Writer Don’t touch the white line. Take three dribbles before a free throw. Do not say, “He’s got this kick” before the kick. Every sport has them, but not every athlete believes them. Rituals, superstitions, and curses all develop in athletics. Whether you are in the game, or just watching the game, most people have some belief that something they do or don’t do will influence the outcome or the play of a game. Curses are the worst sort of belief about a game. They can last for centuries; usually due to some bad decision or breaking of some sort of “code” of the game. One of the worst lasted for 86 years for the Boston Red Sox, a Major League Baseball team. The Red Sox owner traded one of the greatest pitchers and batters of all time in their arsenal, Babe Ruth, to the Yankees to invest in a Broadway play. The “curse of the Bambino” was broken in 2004 when the Red Sox finally won the World Series, 86 years after the trade. Curses are said to be almost impossible to break, and fans and athletes alike are prone to believe such tales. Superstitions are very similar to curses in that they pertain to bad luck. Athletes have been known to completely avoid streets to stadiums or arenas on game days if they lost a big contest on a day that they took the road before. Some athletes will not eat certain foods for the same reason. Although it may have just been that the food was unhealthy to begin with, some athletes will correlate that food with “bad luck.” Basketball players have been known to feel “off their game” if they do not make their first shot com-
ing into the gym on game day. Whether or not these superstitions have any real say in who wins or not, the athletes and fans pay attention to them. Rituals, on the other hand, are actions that an athlete does before a game, an at bat, a shot, a serve, or the like. It is the counter part of a superstition. It is to prevent bad luck or to bring about good luck sometimes to even get the athlete into a rhythm. Some players will wear a certain necklace for every game thinking that when they wear the necklace they are “in the zone” and ready to compete. Fans will even join in the fun, making the same meal for every game they watch, or pretend sneezing as a player shoots on the TV. For other athletes, they must listen to the same song before every game to get them “psyched” and ready to go. Serena Williams performs the same ritual for every tennis serve. She bounces her ball off her racket to the ground in a back and forth motion. This may seem insignificant and dull but this puts Serena into a particular mind-set creating a setting to repeat a daunting serve on command. Rituals, superstitions, and curses can create a somewhat stable ground for athletes in relatively unstable contests. With the high pace of games and the intensity surrounding matches, it gives both a fan and an athlete some peace to think that there is something they can do to improve their odds or to avoid so as to not worsen their odds. Comfort gives the player peace. But these aspects of the game can be harmful as well. If the ritual is not performed, the superstition obtained, and/or the curse maintained, the athlete already has a sense of loss. So be careful when choosing a ritual or superstition. It may just ruin or save the game. Don’t touch the white lines.
Choral Calendar 2014 May
Choral Series Event “Oh, What a Night!” An Italian Musical Celebration and Feast Friday, May 2 at 3, 5, and 7 pm Barista Blues Cafe, 91 Michigan Ave W., Battle Creek Advance tickets $15 for adults, $12.50 for seniors and students, $10 for children 5 ages and older. At door price is $20 per person. All funds raised will support the 2014 KCC choir tour of Italy. Tickets available in the Arts and Communication Department offices: Call (269) 965-4126 ext. 1 Spring Cabaret 2013, Choral Series Event Branch County Community Chorus Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 pm Tibbits Opera House — Coldwater — Free-will donation Cereal City Concert Band Spring Concert Saturday, May 3 at 7 pm Marshall High School Auditorium 701 N Marshall Ave — Marshall Special Community Event: 33rd Annual Community Prayer Breakfast Featured Choir, Kellogg Community College Choirs Tuesday, May 6, at 7 am Kellogg Arena 36 W. Hamblin Ave — Battle Creek
June
Kellogg Community College Choral Union European concert tour June 26 through July 2 Rome and the Amalfi Coast of Italy
Samantha Freel, Mackenzie Gibson and Jacquelin Harwood
photo by Mary Emington
The Spring 2014 Season Sponsor is Randall Foods, INC (Randall Beans) with additional support provided by Mrs. Eleanor R. & Robert A. DeVries.