SPORTS COLUMNIST: PETER JAKEY
It?s a family affair
Whether it?s on the road or at home, the Rogers City wrestling parents are about as supportive as they come. That certainly was evident at the Bill Barrett Memorial Tournament. While the event was Saturday, there were many hours of preparation leading up to the event, which made it a smooth operation, and it seemed as if nearly every parent, family member, fan, and former wrestlers, got involved.
It?s the family, within the family. There were grandparents selling raffle tickets and parents selling food at the concession stand. Even the siblings of some of the wrestlers were helping out.
HEAD COACH Pat Lamb knows he has a supportive group. Wrestling is one of those sports where everyone chips in, he said. ?Everything gets done in a timely manner, because we always have help,? said Lamb. The parents will tell you that they do it to show their appreciation and support for the wrestlers.
?There is a real devotion there,? said Ellen Keller, mother of freshman Scott Keller, who had one of his best matches of the season Saturday. Running a profitable concession stand is an example of how the parents lend their support. Not only do they try to sell the best products, but they want to get the best possible deals, because the proceeds go to help the wrestling program pay for travel, meals, and hotel rooms when they compete in tournaments downstate.
HERB RHODE, father of sophomore captain Chris Rhode, said his wife Carol are always looking for the ?cheapest things to buy.? ?You have to make as much money as you can,? said Herb. ?The boys work their hearts out.?
?We get nothing but compliments about our concession stand from opposing schools,? said Lamb. Carol said it takes a ?little preparation? but she wouldn?t miss it for the world. She?ll get to do it again when the Hurons host the individual district tournament in February.
?It shows the kids we?re behind them,? said Patti Christ, mother of sophomore heavyweight Joshua Christ. ?We all pitch in. There is never a loss of a parent.?
Senior Mackenzie Grulke?s grandmothers both enjoy doing their part. They were selling raffle tickets for a patriotic quilt, made of course by a parent, Jane Centala. ?It gets you involved,? said Diane Grulke. ?Year after year after year, the parents are wonderful,? said Lamb. ?For parents to put up with a wrestler anyway, with all the hard practices, and watching what they eat, and all the travel, our parents rise to the head of the table.
?It?s a big family environment, that?s what it takes,? said Herb Rhode.
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FORMER ROGERS CITY wrestler Preston Mertz, who placed second twice at the state individual finals for the Hurons, has changed his colors. Mertz was at the Bill Barrett Memorial Saturday as an assistant coach for Beal City High School. He serves as the head coach for the junior high. Attending Central Michigan University, and hoping to finish his studies in the next year, Mertz met former Cheboygan grappler Dean Jewett at school. Jewett, into his second season as Beal City?s head coach, asked Mertz to come on board.
Mertz missed wrestling, so it was an easy decision. He?s enjoying teaching some of the Huron wrestling techniques he?s learned over the years.
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WINNING THREE in a row: that?s nice. Getting back to .500, after losing four of your first five games: that?s a good feeling for Posen basketball fans. Defeating Mio for the first time in four years — by 29: that?s priceless. Nothing gives the folks in Posen more satisfaction than beating Mio, especially in basketball and football.
In my first article in mid-December, after Posen?s opening-season loss to DeTour, I said ?better nights ar
Beating Mio, and watching so many losses to the Bolts over the years, seemed too easy.
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I?M HAVING a ball in Dick Adair?s fantasy hockey league. I guess it doesn?t hurt to be in first place of 11 teams, but I?ve been getting extremely nervous the last two weeks. Of all people, the person who recruited me, Dick Adair of Rogers City, has trimmed a 26-point first-place lead to 12.
At the beginning of the season, an owner chooses 35 players and everyone picks the stars such as Federov, Forsberg, and Jagr, but it?s the sleeper picks that make the difference.
Dick and I have nearly the same team except for four players. On Monday his four outscored mine 5-0, taking the 17-point advantage to 12. It?s still too early to get worked up with three months of hockey left, but it?s been fun and nerve wrecking nonetheless.
