MVP: Shawnee County High School Sports Magazine - February 2013

HOLDING NOTHING BACK Shawnee Heights Wrestling

February 2013

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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 an advanced nurse practitioner or 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.

At each ExpressCare clinic, a physician is available to treat adult and pediatric patients, whether you are a Cotton-O’Neil patient or not.

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.

stormontvail.org

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contents

22 Building

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Ashton Bigger Profile on Seaman Standout Bowler

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Holding Nothing Back Coach Chad Parks shares what makes Shawnee Heights Wrestling a consistent powerhouse

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tradition—

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Athletes in Action // Wrestling Coach Talk Mark Elliott talks with Topeka High’s Shanna Perine and Topeka West’s Rick Bloomquist

one stroke at a time 16

Athletes in Action // Basketball

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Building Tradition: One Stroke at a Time Two swim teams in very different stages of building their programs

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Coaching as a Team Husband and wife swim coaches, Jeff and Patty Handley

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Athletes in Action // Swimming

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Made In Shawnee County JB Bauersfeld gets the scoop on former Highland Park standout and current international basketball player, Kyle Weems

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contributors Contributors

THIS ISSUE

Publishers Braden and Tara Dimick

On the Cover: 2012-13 Shawnee Heights High School Coaches, Wrestlers and Managers. See full roster on page 11.

Editor-in-Chief Tara Dimick Photographer Rachel Lock

LAST ISSUE

Creative Director Jenni Ponton Contributing Writers J.B. Bauersfeld Mark Elliott Lisa Loewen Chad Parks Account Executive Tara Dimick 785.217.4836 On the Cover: O’Shai Clark, Highland Park High School

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Ashton Bigger Seaman High School // Junior 222 Average at West Ridge Lanes Bowled 300 November 19, 2011 & November 10, 2012 Bowled over 800 January 26, 2012 (Score: 810) & November 10, 2012 (Score: 844) Ranks as 1 of the top 5 youth in the nation by bowling 844 First Team All-City Bowling – Freshman Year First Team All-City Bowling – Sophomore Year First Team All State – Sophomore Year 1st Place – City Top 10 Tournament in 2011 2nd Place – City Top 10 Tournament in 2012 1st Place – Heart of America Tournament Twice 1st Place – Division 1 Championship at Kansas City Open Youth Scholarship Tournament October 2012 6th Place – 2012 5A Regional Meet Summer 2012 Qualified for the Junior Gold Championships in Indianapolis against youth from all over the USA, Canada, Mexico and Europe Named by Bowlers Journal International Magazine, Summer 2012, as one of the top 30 high school prospects in the nation

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Holding Not Left to right: Frank Crosson, Chad Parks, Jeff Albers, and Derek Holly

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thing Back

by Chad Parks, Shawnee Heights High School Head Wrestling Coach

Shawnee Heights High School Head Wrestling Coach Chad Parks shares with MVP Magazine what makes the Shawnee Heights Wrestling Team a consistent powerhouse.

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We have created a culture for the Shawnee Heights Wrestling Team. This is a culture of heart, hard work, and taking care of business. We have written a creed that our wrestlers memorize and say as a team at the end of each practice and before each competition. Our team creed sums up the culture we have created and continue to build upon.

Shawnee Heights Team Creed I AM A SHAWNEE HEIGHTS WRESTLER STRONGER, FASTER, AND BETTER THAN AVERAGE TODAY I WILL WORK WITH ALL MY HEART TO IMPROVE AND PERFECT MY SPORT WHEN I STEP ON THE MAT, I’LL HOLD NOTHING BACK…HOKA HEY! I AM A SHAWNEE HEIGHTS WRESTLER AND THIS IS MY DECREE TO ALWAYS WAH-SKON AND TCOB!

Hoka Hey I am an American Indian and have incorporated a couple of words into our creed that mean a lot to our team culture. Hoka Hey is a Lakota word and in essence means “charge and give it everything” when going into battle. Lakota Warriors would say this going into battle, but only after they had done everything to prepare mentally, physically, and spiritually. Thankfully

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our battles are only on the mat, but I want our guys to go into matches with that warrior spirit and to give it everything on the mats.

team as well. Our goal is to get the wrestlers to do their best in everything… family life, school, social life, and sports.

Wah-skon

TCOB is our team motto and it means Take Care Of Business!

One of my coaches and I both wrestled at perennial JUCO wrestling powerhouse Labette Community College. Coach Jody Thompson of Labette instilled TCOB in all of his wres-

The word Wah-skon is Osage and means “do your best”. My Dad is a National Hall of Fame wrestling coach and always used this word with his teams in Oklahoma. I love the meaning and so we use it with our

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TCOB

tlers. People from all around see TCOB and know it’s Labette wrestling. The culture at Labette is all about Taking Care of Business in every area of life and that’s what we try to bring to Shawnee Heights Wrestling. If these wrestlers learn anything while in our program, it will be to TCOB.

Shawnee Heights Wrestlers Aldo Bernard, FR Mathias Dahlman, JR Justin Dyer, SR Dylan Flesher, FR Mason Gifford, SO Talin Golightley, SR Carter Hall, SO Marshal Hall, SR Trace Henault, FR Shane Herl, SR Cameron Hicks, SO Tristin Hogan, SO Jacob Holston, FR Coach Chad Parks

Samuel Holston, SR Trevor Kallenberger, FR

Mental and Physical Challenge Along with culture, we run practices like a college wrestling program in a lot of ways. The athletes at our school know this and respect it. The people that come out for our team are individuals that want to challenge themselves to get better, stronger, and tougher mentally and physically.

Win or lose on the mats, people that make it four years in our program will improve and walk away having learned many valuable life lessons.

Coach Jeff Albers

Mentor Leadership The coaching staff of

Shawnee Heights HS Wrestling builds relationships with our athletes. We know that in building relationships, we will get an opportunity to mentor our athletes. The goal is to teach them to be good wrestlers and even better people.

We also want to create leaders out of our wrestlers.

Wrestling and winning matches is awesome, but there is always a time limit on how long you get to compete in wrestling: high school, college, Olympics, etc. When our athletes finish wrestling, we want them to have built-in skill sets that will help them succeed in life.

Excitement We believe wrestling should be exciting and that is how we will grow our sport. So, we do everything possible to make our style of wrestling and our program exciting. Our dual meets include wrestlers coming out of a tunnel, team music, walk-out music, and sometimes we bring in live performances.

We often throw tee shirts to the crowd after a win and try to get the crowd involved.

Many people don’t understand wrestling until they have been around it for a while.

So we give them something exciting to watch and to bring them back time and again. The hope is to turn these people into Shawnee Heights wrestling fans and just wrestling fans in general.

February 2013

Robert Kooser, SR Jessica Manderino, SO Nick Meck, SR Shannon Meck, SR Andrew Miller, SO Garrett Morris, JR Dalton Mulligan, SR Michael Newman, SR Pete Owens, FR Emmanuel Parker, JR Benjamin Pollack, JR Sean Rochford, SO Alan Smith, SO Kristopher Steenbock, SO Benjamin Taliaferro, SR Mitchell Thurber, FR Tyson Toelkes, JR Caleb Walker, SO Damon Ward, FR Trevor Wathke, JR Tristan Weaver, FR Jacob Yaws, SR Brett Yeagley, FR Blake Younger, SO Wrestling Managers Kayra Bernard, SR Bailey Burchett, SO Isabel Holden, SR Chelsea Newman, JR Cassidy Renolds, SR Ashtyn Walker, JR Courtney White, SR

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athletes in action // WRESTLING

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1. Will Geary, Topeka High, SR 2. Tristan Butler, Topeka West, SO 3. Zach Campbell, Topeka West, SO 4. Mason Dean, Highland Park, SR 5. James Beine, Topeka High, SO 6. Luis Perez, Topeka High, JR

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Text ‘Pepsi’ to 25328 for ways to get free Pepsi!

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COACH TALK Mark Elliott WIBW 580 AM SportsTalk Silver Lake High School Graduate ELLIOTT: Let’s get started with your high school and college background, before coaching.

BLOOMQUIST: A lot of people don’t know this but I’m a Burlingame High School grad.

The nucleus of my coaching probably comes from the little town of Burlingame with a small-town work ethic that was evolved back in the 70’s.

I graduated there (Burlingame High School) in 1972 and went to Allen County Community College and played basketball and baseball. I went on to Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS.

Mark Elliott talks with Shanna Perine, Topeka High’s head coach of the girls basketball team, and Rick Bloomquist, Topeka West High School’s new head coach of the boys basketball team. Each shares their story as Elliott showcases their background and their focus as coaches.

PERINE: I started out at Lyons High School. I played basketball for two years there, and then transferred after the basketball season. I moved in with my best friend at the time and her family, and went to and graduated from Hutchinson High.

I moved because of basketball, which it’s interesting that I became a coach because one of the reasons I left was that I didn’t like the coach. So kind of an odd situation for me because I think it’d upset me as a coach, but I’m glad that I did (transfer). I don’t think I’d ever have been recruited if I was at Lyons High School.

I graduated in 1994, and I was

Topeka West Boys Basketball Coach Rick Bloomquist

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the only person that Emporia State University recruited that year, so it was a little interesting being the only freshman.

After the first six games of my freshman season, I started every game until I graduated—124 games in a row, which kind of makes you proud.

ELLIOTT: So when did you decide that you wanted to be a coach?

BLOOMQUIST: Looking back at it, I really enjoyed my interaction with my high school coaches and I enjoyed the coaching aspect. My junior college coach at Allen County is probably

the guy that made me decide I wanted to be a basketball coach.

PERINE: I was in high school when knew I wanted to be a coach. I always had the knack for motivating. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, and I enjoy being around kids.

ELLIOTT: What are the positives and negatives of the schools you coach for?

BLOOMQUIST: I thought when I came in I’d be facing a lot of attitude problems, but I don’t think we have attitude problems, I think we have attitude adjustments.

And obviously we haven’t won a game yet, but the positive aspect of this is I’m seeing little victories. I’m loving coaching these kids. They’re so receptive and coachable, and hungry to do well.

Right now they just don’t have the basketball IQ, so we’re just trying to learn the true fundamentals of the game.

The administrators are letting me coach, and the parents are supportive.

PERINE: I think in the positive category I would say that I get to coach really athletic kids, I mean some unbelievable kids. I get to see them grow athletically, but more importantly, I get to see them grow as people.

They come to me and think, “I don’t know you, you probably haven’t even played basketball.”

I have to tell them, “Yeah, I did play basketball, I was actually pretty good. I didn’t come from a great family. I can relate to

you. I had a single parent. I had multiple step-dads and I saw things I shouldn’t have seen.”

So I think I can make them better people, and I like that. I also like the fact that if they are athletic enough, I can get them to see something else besides Topeka.

ELLIOTT: What would be the difference between when you two were growing up and playing sports and the kids today?

BLOOMQUIST: Well one, I think we have too much parental interference. There was a time as a kid in Burlingame when I remember going home and complaining about a coach and my mother set me straight.

She backed me up against the wall and said “Don’t you ever talk about a coach like that again. One, they’re your coach, two they’re an adult. You don’t ever disrespect an adult, you’re a kid.”

My biggest pet peeve is calling this the Topeka West men’s basketball team. We are not a men’s basketball team, we are boys. Sometimes I think we’re trying to let these kids grow up too fast and trying to make them something they’re not, instead of letting them be what they are.

PERINE: I think a big thing with kids today is getting them to communicate. I can’t get them to talk on defense. I don’t know what they talk about at home, they probably text their mom when she’s across the room.

ELLIOTT: Maybe if you just took your phone into a huddle during a timeout and you texted them your instructions…

PERINE: Maybe that would work! (laughs) ELLIOTT: When I was a kid I learned the game by going and playing pick-up games and we had to learn to play because no one was telling us how to do it. Now it seems like everybody is so

over-coached that they don’t understand the game. Would that be fair to say?

BLOOMQUIST: Obviously they don’t understand why we do what we do. We have a rule where we make the first easy pass, but they don’t understand what the first easy pass is. The basketball IQ is so different because of television.

I’ve got a picture of Bobby Knight in my office and when the kids come in and see it they think it’s my dad. (laughs) PERINE: Absolutely. When I was a kid we didn’t have cell phones and video games, well we had an Atari, but what are you going to do? Go outside.

A lot of kids here just want to play one sport. They think that’s the way that the world works. I think that’s a big school mentality that we need to try to get over. I tell the kids that college coaches want athletes. I think if you’re on the same level as a kid that they’re recruiting that also plays volleyball and runs track, they’re taking that kid. I try and encourage my kids to play volleyball, do something. I don’t want to have pre-conditioning workouts. I want them in cross country or playing volleyball. I think that has changed a lot with kids.

ELLIOTT: So what makes you love coaching?

BLOOMQUIST: It’s for the love of the game. I didn’t get into coaching because I wanted to coach certain kids, I just wanted to coach.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me why I haven’t gone on to the college level or gone on to this and that. I was destined to be a high school coach.

Like any teacher, I love when that light bulb clicks on in for a student, and when I can see five collective light bulbs click on at the same time, it’s really fun.

I enjoy my job; I don’t labor to come to school.

PERINE: You have to love the game. I grew up loving it and I just always have. You also

Topeka High Girls Basketball Coach Shanna Perine have to love the kids. I’ve seen coaches where it’s not about the kids, it’s about basketball and the coach, and they’re not teaching them anything then.

I want (my players) to remember me like I remember my coaches, “Man, I hated her then, but I really like her now. She really taught me something.”

ELLIOTT: So if there was one thing down the road that you would want your players to take away from playing for you, what would it be?

BLOOMQUIST: The most important thing is learning how to be self-motivated and selfdisciplined. The best athletes are self-motivated. I think that’s a hard thing to teach, not only as a coach, but as a parent.

February 2013

I think the most important thing team-wise, whether it be a job or athletics, is discipline.

Getting along with people and putting that discipline aspect together to make a cohesive team.

PERINE: I tell my kids that I am the proudest when people would say, “She makes people around her better.” It’s not always about basketball.

Basketball is great, but do you make people around you better people?

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Rick Bloomquist Shanna Perine Boys Basketball Head Coach Topeka West High School

Girls Basketball Head Coach Topeka High School

ELLIOTT: After coaching at Emporia High School, you retired.

Now you’re back. So, why did you take an early retirement?

ELLIOTT: So fifth year at Topeka High, I would think it’s a little different from Rock Creek to Topeka High. Would that be fair to say?

BLOOMQUIST: Well there were a lot of personal issues that went on with my son and my wife as far as health issues. I thought maybe it was time to do something different, and the business world was intriguing.

I’ll tell you this right now, I have a whole lot more respect for insurance agents that I’ve ever had in my life (laughs). I learned so much working for American Family. But the itch to coach was always there. So, I took the time off, and then Topeka West opened up and here I am.

ELLIOTT: So how’d you end up at Topeka West?

BLOOMQUIST: Well I’ve always been a competitor. I like to compete, I like to build. I like the challenge of trying to do something that somebody says can’t be done. It’s kind of a mirrored situation of when I went to Emporia. My peers would say “you can’t win at Emporia; it’s a wrestling and football town. It’s a coaching graveyard.” The more that they told me I couldn’t win at Emporia, the more competitive I got. And it’s not that anyone ever told me, I think people just assumed you couldn’t win at Topeka West.

I was more intrigued with the job after I talked with Beau Huscher (Topeka West Athletic Director). His enthusiasm really started to make me enthused about trying this over again.

The other thing that’s intriguing is that I think Topeka is a mecca of basketball talent. I really believe that. Whether you talk about Highland Park or Topeka High, they always have athletes. I used to come into the Topeka West gym and would walk out of there wondering how the heck I won playing against the athletes that they had.

PERINE: Yeah, I think I’ve coached all the different realms of kids.

From city kids at Shawnee Heights to rural kids who couldn’t make it to summer workouts because they were working on the farm; to where I’m at right now, where I have kids who can’t come to summer workouts because they’re babysitting their brothers and sisters or they have to have a job. So I’ve definitely had all types of kids from all socio-economic statuses.

ELLIOTT: So at Topeka High you have some of the smartest, and the not so smart. You have the rich, and the not so rich.

PERINE: Yeah, and it’s great, because when you leave this place and you go into the work force you’ve seen all sorts of people.

Coaching-wise it makes it a little more difficult because you always have to worry about team chemistry, which is huge. Most of the time I have the athletes to do it, but I have to try to help kids coming from all different types of worlds to believe in each other.

ELLIOTT: What are your challenges at Topeka High?

PERINE: Well obviously the chemistry thing is the biggest challenge.

Then you have the challenge of what’s going on at home, because a lot of these kids don’t want to tell you.

Grade-wise, most of my kids are good students, but I do a lot of motivating as far as, “Get to class and do what you’re supposed to be doing. Represent something besides just yourself.”

A lot of my players have a hard time thinking of themselves as a basketball player and that when they are late to class it affects all of us. That’s the stuff we struggle with the most, just being responsible for your actions and recognizing that you represent all of us.

ELLIOTT: So what does the future hold for Shanna Perine?

PERINE: I like moving around because I like the new. I don’t like the same old, same old. But at Topeka High, it’s never the same old, same old, so I like it here.

I think an ideal job would be to be an athletic director and be able to coach, because basketball is something that I love to do, and it would be hard for someone to take that away from me.

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athletes in action // BASKETBALL

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3 1. Eddie Hunt, Highland Park, JR & Malik Stanley, Shawnee Heights, SO 2. O’Shai Clark, Highland Park, SR; Tevin Downing, Shawnee Heights, JR 3. Patrick Glover, Highland Park, SR; Shaffee Carr, Highland Park, JR; Jovan Barksdale, Shawnee Heights, JR; Braeson Sester, Shawnee Heights, JR 4. Jahmal McMurrary, Highland Park, JR

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Call Jeff Taylor@ 785-339-5333 or 1-800-262-9725

February February 2013 2013

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athletes in action // BASKETBALL

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1. Raianna Maples, Topeka High, JR 2. Jasmine Martindale, Topeka High, SR 3. Mandy Madden, Topeka High, JR 4. Whitney Brooks, Topeka High, SR 5. Adrianna Henderson, Topeka High, FR

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Building tradition— one stroke at a time

by Lisa Loewen

“Step up. Take your Mark…” Silence fills the room as the swimmers wait for the beep that will signal the start of the race. Swim caps on. Goggles in place. Muscles tighten, preparing for the plunge off of the block into the blue water. The horn blares as eight bodies enter the lanes with a splash. No matter if the team is large or small, once a swimmer dives off the blocks and hits the water, it’s every man for himself, working to achieve that end goal—first hand on the wall.

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WRHS Swim and Dive 2012-13 Freshman: Kemper Ball Jacob Gardner Oh Byung Kwon Jonathon Lawton Jackson Ramshaw James Wu Sophomores: Alex Aguilar Josh Campbell Juan Carlos John Fritsch Eli Garcia Engsean Lee Jacob Leenerts Cody Loewen Michael Prekopy Nick Taylor

Washburn Rural High School Swim Team

Making a Splash ////////////////// In the past few years, the Washburn Rural swim team has dominated the water both individually and as a team. Its sheer size (45 student-athletes) gives it a competitive advantage because the team can fill every event.

Each swimmer/diver contrib-

can contribute to team wins as they learn new skills, strokes and dives.

Managing the logistics of a team the size of Washburn Rural comes with its own challenges. “It takes much longer to plan and enter 40-60 swimmers in a meet

our presence with authority,” Handley said. “Our team cheer is super loud and very cool.”

He also values the increased support of the swim parents. Volunteering to host a team dinner takes on a whole new meaning with

"With our large numbers, we announce our presence with authority."

- Jeff Handley, WRHS Swim Coach utes to the team points no matter if he comes in 1st or 8th in an event. And with so many swimmers to choose from, it takes the pressure off of some of the experienced club swimmers.

Having watched his swim program transition from a relatively small team to the giant it is today, Washburn Rural coach Jeff Handley attributes the growth in the sport of swimming to not only a strong local club program, but also to the fact that inexperienced swimmers understand that they

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when they can all potentially swim/dive in four events,” Handley said. Coordinating transportation requires two buses instead of a van, and just keeping track of everyone becomes an episode of "Mission Impossible." “Honestly, it would be easier if we cut and kept a smaller squad,” Handley said, “but that just doesn’t seem right.”

While a sizable swim team has the obvious competitive advantage, Handley appreciates some of the more obscure benefits. “With our large numbers, we announce

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45 teenage boys who each eat the equivalent of three grown men.

But what Handley finds the most rewarding about his massive team is that multiple personalities create multiple levels of team camaraderie, cooperation with each other, and opportunities for leadership to develop.

“It is great to be a large group all wearing blue as we enter a swim venue,” Handley said. “The water is blue, and our mascot is the Blues.

It is hard to explain, but it all just seems to fit.”

Juniors: Nick Badsky, Patrick Ball Brad Ballou Trey Barr Bryan Hahn Craig Haug Jacob Heaney Cody Newcomb Daniel Rodriguez Seniors: Cody Bruggemeyer Eric Coffman Trent Greene James Hishmeh Trevor King Chandler Klamm Ryan Marcy Evan Matthews Bobby Moege Cade Ramos, Cameron Schwartzkoff Karson Slattery Manager: Allison Vlach Halsey Handley

S h aw n ee Heights H i gh Sc h oo l Sw i m T e am

taking the plunge ////////////////////////// With only six boys on the Shawnee Height’s swimming and diving team (five swimmers and one diver), this new squad to the pool looks to prove that size doesn’t matter.

Two juniors, three sophomores and one freshman make up this small, but enthusiastic team.

on-on-one time with the coaches. “As coaches, we can catch more of the little things that can get missed when coaching a bigger group,” Wagers said.

Unfortunately, being a small team has its drawbacks as well.

Because swim teams are scored as a collective unit at swim

the boys from going out for the team.

Wagers credits the swimmers and their families for making this team a reality. “Without the hard work, support and determination of their families, Shawnee Heights would not have a swim team,” Wagers

starts to get pretty high. “From a school stand point, you want to see that there is a good interest before you to start spending money on a sport that may or may not be there the following year,” Wagers said.

Shawnee Heights swimming and diving isn’t planning on dis-

"Without the hard work, support and determination of their families, Shawnee Heights would not have a swim team."

- Zachary Wagers, SHHS Swim & Dive Coach Swim and Dive Coach Zachary Wagers (coached by Jeff Handley when he was at Hayden) faces the unique challenge of coaching two different teams at the same time, serving as the head coach for the Topeka West swimming and diving program as well as Shawnee Heights. I am excited to be able to help both schools build their teams into respectable programs,” Wagers said.

Although the swimmers come from two different schools and two separate teams, at practice they act as one unit. When it comes to meets however, each team competes and represents its respective school.

Wagers suggests the biggest advantage to having a small team is that athletes get more

meets, smaller teams have difficulty competing with larger teams for overall team standing because they can’t fill all of the events. “Even if individually our swimmers get first place in all of their events, with our numbers, we will never be able to get into the top three with overall team standings,” Wagers said.

Shawnee Heights introduced a women’s swimming team last year and finally garnered enough interest to start a men’s team this year. “We had a good showing of about 12 boys at the preseason meeting,” Swim Coach Zachary Wagers said, “but we only ended up with half that number on the team.

Wagers said the cost associated with participating on the swim team prohibited a few of

said. “They all have put in long hours with fundraising to make this team possible.”

According to Wagers, the biggest obstacle a brand new swim and dive team faces is the funding. The sport of swimming and diving can be expensive for a school. Unlike other sports where a team can simply practice on an empty field, a swim team has to have access to a pool to practice in. And local pool space is becoming limited due to the growth of the sport. As of now, only two local facilities allow for diving—Capitol Federal Natatorium at Hummer Sports Park and Washburn University. Add in the cost for coaches, specialized equipment for training, the expense of travel to and from meets and the price tag February 2013

appearing any time soon. Wagers hopes to see the team double its numbers next year, and evolve into a powerhouse swim team in the next five years. “I can see this team having strong numbers of 20 to 30 swimmers, three to five divers, and giving Washburn Rural and other schools a run for their money,” Wagers said.

SHHS Swim and Dive 2012-13: Freshman: Jaret Rangel Sophomores: Trevor Langer Kevin McGowan Gage Welborn Juniors: Sage Cavazos Nick Latimer MVPSportsMagazine.com

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MVPSportsMagazine.com February 2013

Coaching as a Team Jeff & Patty Handley

Washburn Rural High School // Swim Coaches

by Lisa Loewen For husband and wife coaching team, Jeff and Patty Handley, the pool is like their second home. They actually met on the same pool deck in 1985 that they coach on today. “I remember exactly where I was standing when she walked into the pool area,” Jeff recalls. They still celebrate their anniversary every December at the pool.

Individually, Jeff and Patty bring a significant amount of experience to the sport. Jeff was a champion diver and Patty a champion swimmer.

Together, they are a coaching force to be reckoned with.

“We can’t do it without each other’s strengths and talents,” Patty says. “We in turn make a great team.” Jeff is the motivator, Patty the stroke technician and strategist.

of giving up coaching so he could spend more time with his girls. But the girls were the ones who insisted he continue coaching because, to them, the time at the pool was the best family time they could ask for.

In fact, the Handley girls hope to take over coaching the team when their parents retire.

That family atmosphere that the Handleys bring to the pool encompasses the boys as well.

“We truly care about every one of the swimmers and divers on the team as if they were our own children,” Jeff says like a proud father.

As with every family, sometimes disagreements pop up.

Whether it is about what equipment to use, how to organize practice or simply how to refocus 45 rambunctious

“We truly care about every one of the swimmers and divers on the team as if they were our own children.”

- Jeff Handley, WRHS Swim Coach For the past 20 years, this coaching duo has been influencing swimmers and divers both in and out of the pool.

“We use our sport to teach the boys character, respect between each other, integrity, honesty, discipline and time management,” Jeff says.

“Hopefully they can see that in the example we set.”

That example is found not only in their interaction with each other, but also with their children. The Handley’s two daughters grew up at the pool and helped manage the swim team over the years. At times Jeff toyed with the idea February 2013

teenagers, if the Handleys disagree on something, they walk off and work it out privately so the boys aren’t even aware of a dispute. But those times are few and far between. “We don’t have time to disagree,” Patty says, “because we have too many kids to manage and too much that has to get done.”

Jeff and Patty see their relationship as representative of what a swim and dive team should look like. “Divers are part of swimmers and swimmers are part of divers,” Jeff says. “Our relationship mirrors that notion.”

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athletes in action // SWIMMING

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1. Ryan France, Hayden, SR 2. Nick Latimer, Shawnee Heights, JR 3. Craig Haug, Washburn Rural, JR 4. Matthew Gatchet, Hayden, FR 5. Argenis Artega, Topeka High, SO 6. Evan Matthews, Washburn Rural, SR

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MADE IN SHAWNEE COUNTY: Kyle Weems by: JB Bauersfeld, WIBW-TV Sports Anchor and Highland Park High School Graduate Kyle Weems was an All-State selection at Highland Park High School and helped lead the Scots to an undefeated season (25-0) in 2007, starting a string of three straight 5A state championships. After high school, Weems went to Missouri State University, where he was named the Larry Bird Missouri Valley Player of the Year his junior season. Currently, Weems plays professionally for Telekom Baskets Bonn, the top league in Germany.

JB BAUERSFELD (JB): How is life since moving to Germany?

KLYE WEEMS (KW): Man, life has been really good. I’m just enjoying my first professional experience. It’s kind of similar to the Missouri Valley, how anybody can beat anybody on any given night. I’m just excited to be healthy; and happy to be playing well.

JB: How would you compare the talent level in your league to the DI level in the US? KW: It’s similar, but things here are really structured. Guys here are really smart. Pretty much everybody that’s on the floor can shoot the three. It’s really, really good competition. I’d say 90 percent of the (American) guys over here, have played at the Division I level. I think that speaks volumes about our league.

JB: Other than getting paid to play basketball, what’s your favorite part of living over there?

KW: Just seeing new things. It’s

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a little bit different going into the grocery store and not being able to read what anything is; but luckily, Germany is really Americanized. There’s Burger King here. There’s McDonald’s, Subway and KFC. JB: Do you have a favorite German food?

KW: Schnitzel. It tastes like chicken fried steak with a little gravy on it; with a side of, they call it pommes, but it’s French fries.

JB: So a glorified chicken fried steak?

KW: Pretty much.

JB: Have your goals changed at all? Do you still want to get into the NBA, or can you see yourself being happy there for another 5, 10, 15 years?

KW: I think it’s a little bit of both.

I’m not going to say that I’m not satisfied by being here, cause I’m in a really good situation.

Ultimately, my goal is to make a life for my family, whenever I decide to start a family; and for my parents, who made so many sacrifices, to make their lives a little bit easier financially.

I also play for the love, but everyone who plays professional sports wants to make the most amount of money that they can.

My goal is to have my money go up each-and-every year. If that’s the NBA, that’d be absolutely great; but if I had to come to Europe for 10-plus years, I’m not opposed to that.

JB: How is life different now that basketball is your career

instead of an extracurricular activity?

KW: This is what I do. Now, I have to hone in more on taking care of my body, staying in shape, and doing the right things. That’s something that I’ve always prided myself on anyways. (Now), I’m just trying to really redefine that.

I think each-and-every day, “Wow I’m really living out my dream.”

JB: Looking back, what was a defining moment for you at Highland Park?

KW: I don’t really know if there’s just one, there’s so many.

The love and support I got from Coach (Ken) Darting, your dad (Jim Bauersfeld), Coach (Aaron) Terry, Coach (Michael) Calhoun, (Rafeal) Posey; I don’t know if you can put that into words.

That’s something I’ll forever cherish.

I’d say the defining moment for me was my freshman year.

There was a time when I didn’t really play in two or three straight freshman games; a couple minutes maybe. I was really down on myself. Coach Darting and Calhoun would get on me, and Coach Bauersfeld would give me little talks here and there. Next thing I know, a flip just switched. My mindset changed and I started really focusing in on what they were saying.

I can remember playing well towards the end of the freshman (season) and getting called up to a JV game. I hit four three’s in the second quarter and they’re telling me “put your top on.” Next, I’m suiting up for

the varsity game, I get in and hit a shot in THAT game and from then on, it was kind of like a dream was slowly-but-surely becoming a reality.

JB: How do you hope people remember you 10, 20, 30 years from now?

KW: I just want them to remember me as somebody who gave it (his) all every time (he) got on the court, and most of all, a winner.

Lamont (Austin) didn’t care if he was the leading scorer; I didn’t care if I was the leading scorer; Rico (Richardson), Tywan (Modupe), Adrian (Herrera), Willie (Ramsdell), nobody really cared. The love and respect the (Highland Park team) had was just priceless and it’s something that I’ll cherish forever. I really think that Highland Park basketball is still family.

photo by the-stanford.org MVPSportsMagazine.com February 2013

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GET YOUR DANCE ON!

February 23, 2013 Join St. Francis Health Center for its Second Annual Day of Dance.

We’ll offer great music, fun dancing, educational talks, healthy food options and wellness screenings. Bring your handbags to shop with our business partners too!

Time: 9 a.m. - noon

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Location: Sunflower Ballroom Capitol Plaza Hotel Maner Conference Center 1717 SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka

To Register: Call 888-365-0440 Pre-registration is required!

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Web: stfrancistopeka.org/spirit

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