Every year, the end of the winter sports season marks the turning point of the annual schedule.
The bulk of the school year has been completed, it’s beginning to slowly warm up after a dreary winter, and for seniors, spring break, prom, and graduation feel as if they are only moments away.
As we attempt to rush into to the spring and summer let us pause for a moment and reminisce on these last few months.
In 2008-09 we were extremely fortunate to witness one of the most successful overall Seaholm sports seasons in the history of the school.
The boys’ basketball team as usual, and this year deservedly so, stole the spotlight with a run to the district championship game only to fall short to Pontiac Northern.
This was a game that you didn’t want to end; a game that was more than intense from whistle to whistle, and a game that brought out the best in both sides. Either team could’ve easily walked away victorious and no one would’ve been surprised, but in the end someone had to win.
A game like this, in terms of intensity, pressure, and emotion can be classified as one of the great sporting events that Seaholm has ever partaken in.
The Seaholm players gave everything they had and represented our school better than anyone could’ve asked for. We as members of this school should be more than thankful for the job they did.
Looking back, this season was filled with great moments and successful teams in places other than on the hardwood.
The varsity hockey team took home a surprise district title with a 4-1 victory over Troy Athens, while senior wrestler Mike Steltenkamp qualified for the Division 2 state meet and tied the Seaholm record for career wins.
The Boys Swimming & Diving team took 6th place overall in the Division 2 championships, with strong contributions from junior Alex Wood and sophomore Nick Wyllie.
The Birmingham Unified Gymnastics team took 3rd at the OAA League meet, while Andriana Vetor of the Birmingham Unified Skating team is the state champion in Pre-Gold dance.
On the slopes both the men’s and women’s ski teams took 2nd place at the regional meet, while the teams took 2nd and 1st respectively at their league meets.
Adam Fenton, Mitch Kessel, Jeremy Altman, and Ryan Miner all signed on to play football at the next level.
The efforts of the teams and their players were exceptional and represented everything that Seaholm intends to stand for.
The stereotype exists that Birmingham kids don’t support their sports teams and don’t care because they have “better” things to do. Well, the 100+ students that made the trip to Andover attempted to change popular opinion as they did everything in their power to help their team achieve success.
It was a great feeling to witness the students support the team and get behind their classmates in the manner in which they did.
Often times we find ourselves in the midst of harsh condemnation and criticism from parents, students, onlookers trashing the coaches, players, athletic department.
Because of this negativity, students begin to expect failure; it becomes unusual to expect people to attend events in support of the teams.
Regardless of the level of optimism though, let’s be realistic, a team needs some level of success in order to drown out the negativity.
This year boasted an unprecedented combination of both success and support that lead to one of the most memorable athletic seasons in Seaholm history.
