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Sports
Sports
By Patrick Browne
IRON RIVER/CRYSTAL FALLS — If you have been sensing some excitement in the area and weren’t quite sure what it was, look no further than the first day of practice for our area’s high school athletics teams.
The governing body of high school athletics, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) allowed high school teams to begin practice on Aug. 8. Seven of the teams which represent our community ran their first practices and the excitement of the players and coaches is palpable.
Ashlynn Kannich, a Forest Park senior volleyball player, summarized the first practice by stating, “We are excited. Having participated in camps over the summer, we look like a strong team and have a great attitude.” The energy in the Forest Park gymnasium was a clear indication the team is looking to defend last year’s district championships and give the Trojan community a reason to keep cheering.
“Last year we won the district championship, and we have eight returning players from that team,” stated Coach Bobbie Anderson. “Although we lost three seniors, we have nine girls who are really looking forward to the season.”
At West Iron, the volleyball numbers are strong with 16 girls on the varsity squad and 12 on the Junior Varsity. Calli Pellizer, a senior and four-year volleyball player for the Wykons stated, ‘Our goals this year are to win, stay positive and work as a team. We are working hard and hope to win more games this season.”
A strong girls tennis program at West Iron has senior Callista Bortolameolli excited for the year.
“We are hoping to win the Upper Peninsula Championship this year and we have a good chance as we came very close to winning last year.”
Although the team lost a number of its singles players to graduation, a strong work ethic and unmistakable energy accompanied the team as it took to the courts at Nelson Field.
Coach Joe Serbentas indicated a number of the girls took advantage of open court time this summer and believes his girls can be a strong contender again this year.
With abundant opportunities to participate, at both West Iron (football, cross country, girls tennis and girls volleyball) and Forest Park (football, cross country and girls volleyball), both schools encourage all students to participate.
Research is very strong that student athletes at the high school level do better in school, are more persistent problem solvers and develop skills of teamwork and cooperation. The overwhelming response by our area athletes when interviewed regarding their goal this season was to ‘have fun’. Payton Woollard, senior quarterback at Forest Park said it best, “Our goal this year is have fun and do good!”