The Signal » Sports

Going…going…??? Fort sluggers step to the plate in sectionals

adviser — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:32:22 +0000

The Fort Atkinson baseball team defeated Oregon 9-7 in their sectional match-up.

This win allows the Blackhawks to advance to the sectional final game at 5:00 on June 9 (today) at Riverside Park in Janesville playing either Milton or Oconomowoc!!!!!

For those who can’t make it to the game it will be on 106.5 FM.

Girls Softball plays in Sectionals today

adviser — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:27:59 +0000

The WIAA softball tournament shifts into high gear with sectional semifinals Wednesday at locations throughout the area, and the Madison.com coverage team will provide updates throughout the competition.

The games will determine the matchups for Friday’s sectional finals, the last stage before the state tournament June 17-19 at Goodman Diamond.

The Fort Atkinson Girls Softball team huddles and cheers each other on in action from earlier this season.

Division 2

Evansville sectional semifinal: Luke Briggs, in Evansville for the baseball sectional triple-header, will try to monitor the Brodhead-Fort Atkinson sectional semifinal softball game from 300 feet away. It could be a quick softball game with Brodhead ace Erika Stampfli, who had 21 strikeouts in a game this season, and Fort Atkinson’s Emilie Bakken, who has 44 career victories at Fort, going head-to-head.
Division 3

Amount of playing time questioned by athletes

martakotz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:58:10 +0000

At the beginning of every sports season, a student athlete must pay a $40 fee in order to participate in games and practices.
The only question is if every athlete gets enough playing time for hard work that they put in and the $40 participation fee they payed.
“I did pay that fee and on top of that all the other stuff; I had to pay for such as the new team shoes and knee pads. The bill really started to add up. So considering all the money we spent for the team and all the hard work I put in, it would have been nice for some more playing time. But through out the season I was really thinking about the $40 plus and the hard work that I contributed, and the playing time that went along with it,” Varsity Volleyball player Jessica McCulloch said.
It’s common to see Juniors or Seniors get upset over an underclassmen starting ahead of them, even under these equal stipulations.
When they’ve been playing the sport for longer and put in equal amount of time in, tensions can rise, or respect is showed for the underclassmen’s skill level and hard work to the sport.
“People weren’t always angry when I started over them, they sometimes got playing time at different positions. I felt I deserved every minute of my playing time because I went to every practice and put a lot of effort into each practice. I didn’t care if I would get my $40 worth of playing time, it’s not about that. I love playing football,” Varsity Football Quarterback Drew Dunkleberger said.
There have always been mixed emotions on this topic, which takes place in virtually all sports seasons.
Some athletes feel they would have handled this situation differently.
“I would have considered that each player payed their fee, in the games and every difficult practice. Also, if I was the coach I would have made every player earn their playing time like everyone else. So if a player was good, they would get more playing time than other people that are worse, goof off in practice, or even skip practice,” Freshman Football Player Adam Knox said.
While some players were discouraged about their amount of playing time; others felt it was the skills they had which determined their amount of playing time.
“I feel I got sufficient playing time for my skills. To put it nicely, I’m not the best player. I got ten to twenty minutes per game and that’s what I deserved,” JV Soccer Player Aaron Martin said.
One thing athletes seem to lose sight of, is that coaches are in games to win them, and not to put in every player on the team and make playing time equal.
That stage of competition was left by Middle School.
To earn a starting spot, or more playing time, it takes work and dedication to the sport.
Even when you’re not the best player on the team, being a part of the team can be a reward in itself.
Teamwork, dedication and various other aspects of being in a sport are all things that students will face now and through the remainder of their lives.
“Working together is important, because there is no ‘I’ in team. I like going out for a sport because it’s fun and we do lots of stuff together. And going places together, like camp, also helps,” Junior Victoria Smithyman said.

Girls’ basketball season opener

martakotz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:56:51 +0000

It is time to tip-off another season of girls’ basketball.
Fort Atkinson looks to improve upon its 4-17 record, which included just two wins in the highly-touted Badger South.
In attempt to turn around a program which has gone seven straight seasons without a winning record, Fort has brought in Scott Lastusky as the new head coach.
Lastusky replaces Jim Nyman, who coached the two previous seasons and finished with a 10-32 overall record.
“Coach Lastusky has a great passion for basketball and, more importantly, for players. I look forward to working with Coach Lastusky, along with the rest of the staff,” Assistant Coach Mike Hall said.
Lastusky has been involved since the moment he agreed to coach. Setting up pre-season open gyms, holding a mini camp and attending the girls’ summer league games are just a few examples of the dedication he brings to the program.
“He’s really giving us the opportunity to improve, and holding Saturday practices throughout the season will also help,” Senior Forward Niki Boos said.
In addition to Lastusky, Fort has brought in Mike Hall, Lance Riddell and Greg Riddell to fill the Varsity Assistant, Junior Varsity and Freshman coaching positions.
In bringing in Hall and Riddell, the program now has two of Fort’s most experienced coaches.
Hall coached the boys’ varsity team from 1997 until 2006 and is currently the defensive back coach for the football team.
He not only offers varsity coaching experience, but his post season experience, which includes a state tournament birth, will be key to the team’s playoff success.
Riddell, who also was a part of the coaching staff during the 2001-2002 season, was previously the boys junior varsity coach.
Riddell also has spent time coaching baseball and has the important role of coaching the freshman football team.
“I am looking forward to a fresh start this year and bringing in new coaches will definitely help that,” Senior Forward Niki Boos said.
Lastusky and his staff will have plenty of talent to work with, as the Varsity team returns three of the top five scorers from last season in Lexie Weigand (218 points), Marie Fitzgerald (88 points), and Boos (77 points).
In addition to this trio of players, there are hopes that Seniors: Ashley Boos, Courtney Lanza, Cassidy Lyons, Michelle White and Michelle Jacobson, are able pick up some of the scoring lost in Ralissa Nelson (245 points) and Jessie Truman (120 points).
“I think our team should do better than last year, and a goal I think we should set is to win over half our games. Finishing top in conference would be nice, but when your playing in the Badger-South, it’s always a tough game,” Boos said.
Only time will tell if this group of girls can bring Fort its first winning season since the 2002-2003 season.
“I believe the entire staff expects the girls to commit to playing with passion and to making our community proud of them on and off the court,” Hall said.
The ladies kick off their season on November 28th, when they travel to Lake Mills for a non-conference match-up. They face Jefferson County’s all-time scoring leader from last season, Denay Hering.

Behind the Scenes

martakotz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:55:07 +0000

Most people have never heard of the group that brings athletic events to local viewers, puts in hours of work, yet gets little recognition: Fort TV.
Fort TV is responsible for producing the content that is played on the public access channel, which allows people to view events they were unable to attend.
This member based group is advised by Mrs. Brokl and Mr. Hatlen, but has grown through all of the students’ hard work. Just four years ago Fort TV was made up of around ten members. Each member dedicates a certain amount of time to filming and editing.
“Our organization would be nowhere without our members,” Senior President Chris Scherer said.
Scherer is responsible for most of the technical aspects of the station.
“Chris has been in Fort TV all four years and has been very knowledgeable in the AV department since day one,” Advisor Sandy Brokl said.
Fort TV is very similar to the likes of PBS, in that they do not advertise for profit.
“The only income we receive is from donations and whatever we can get from the school district,” Scherer said.
This does not stop the School District from rewarding members with pay.
“It’s not a lot, but the experience gained by working on a television crew is priceless,” Scherer said.
Most people don’t realize all of the “behind the scenes” work that occurs in Fort TV. After the filming of the event, the members must import the video and program the final play out. The members must find time in their own schedules to get all of the work done. Scherer alone spends nearly three hours a day in the library to work strictly on Fort TV.
“The thing that people know is that there is no instruction manual or pre-designed system. It’s a system that has taken me all four years of high school to perfect,” Scherer said.
As this organization continues to grow in size, it will have to deal with a major loss as Scherer will be graduating this spring.
The organization will look to have someone step-up and to continue improving the system that Scherer created.
“Without this system and the dedicated club members we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Scherer said.

View from the Bench

martakotz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:54:25 +0000

Elizabeth Lambert, a junior soccer player from the University of New Mexico, recently took her aggressiveness a step too far in a game on Thursday, November 5th’s game against Brigham Young University.
A back punch, a soccer ball kicked to the face, and a ponytail yank, all led to Elizabeth Lambert being a nationally hated icon.
She earned the title of being the most hated female college soccer player by blogs and Facebook sites.
Her actions were inexcusable and uncalled for.
What she did to the BYU players was not necessary, and way to overly aggressive.
When looking at this situation on the reverse side of athletics (men’s sports, that is), I don’t believe this situation would be blown out of proportion like it is now.
Aggressive behavior defines men’s sports.
An elbow to the chest and other nonchalant moves are constant, both on the collegiate level and professional level.
Lambert obviously crossed the line. If she had been a man in men’s soccer, would she receive this much media attention?
Some of the biggest fights have happened in men’s sports: Pacer/fan outburst, Yankee/ Red Sox, and others. Fights in men’s sports make ESPN weekly.
The media craze over this has set back women’s sports even further.
Playing agressively alone sets you apart from most female athletes, in the HS setting anyway.
How will women ever earn respect in athletics, if they can’t play with intensity and emotion to that of men’s sports?
When you watch the videos more closely, you will notice an apparent and unnecessary elbow to the chest by the BYU player, followed by Lambert punching her in the back.
For the girl that got the ponytail yank, it’s easy to tell that her and Lambert had previous confrontations all throughout the match.
The player was laughing at her right before Lambert pulled her to the ground via ponytail. There were apparent signs all throughout the game that the BYU soccer players had been harassing and mocking her.
In these types of situations, it’s hard not to lose control, but losing control is not an option.
Analysts wondered why Lambert’s teammates weren’t more shocked by her actions.
When examining footage shot from the game, you will see both teams dishing it out back and forth. Lambert was just the first to cross the line.
She even apologized for her actions, and stated she let her emotions get the best of her in a heated situation.
Should she be banned from soccer permanently?
No. Unfortunately, she will never play with the same intense vigor she once had, which is something, I believe, is currently a lost cause in women’s sports.

One week of two-a-days: Boys’ basketball players react to Coach Mike Hintz’s demanding coaching techniques

martakotz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:52:59 +0000

New to the boys’ basketball program is not only the coach, but also his aggressive coaching style.
On Monday, November 16th, the boys’ basketball season began.
To start off their season, they spent the first week of it with practices in the morning before school began, from 6-7:20, and after school, for 2-3 hours.
Two-a-days is commonly associated with football. Coach Mike Hintz has taken this term to new heights in the 2009-2010 basketball season.
The weeks leading up to the season were filled with optional, yet recommended and insisted basketball open gyms, where players would partake in 2 hour, 5 days a week of conditioning and practicing.
A few of those nights were spent running the football hills in the back of the school.
“Our practices are pretty intense, we work on a lot of defense. Our coach preaches defense,” Junior T.J. Strom said.
To recover from a 1-19 season last year, boys’ basketball players seem to be accepting these new and intense workouts.
“I think it will benefit us in the long run. Were working on a lot of new stuff that we haven’t really done before. We’re getting a whole new defense and offense. Right now we have our tryout period, to show who can play what. I think it will help a lot, because it’s teaching us quite a bit, and were learning a ton of new things, so it should help us play with more intensity,” Strom said.
Last year, practices were only after school for 2-3 hours.
As the tryout week progresses, the guys will build up their strength and refresh their skills in order to be playing their full potential for game time.
“It’s hard getting up early to go to practice, and the practices can be physically demanding at times, but it’s making us better and I think it’s working for us,” Junior Zach Koch said.
Players will resume once-a-day practices after Thanksgiving vacation.

Team Spotlight

martakotz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:51:19 +0000

“I am very excited for this season. What more can a coach ask for than athletes with the desire to train!” Coach Frank Weiss said.
Open mat is hold after school for wrestlers, and is a time for practicing positions and handling.
Ten or more members showed up to these sessions prior to the start of the season.
Wrestling is an individual sport that takes a lot of training, time and effort.
“Wrestling isn’t an easy sport to just be part of. If you’re on the team just to be out for a sport or to get a varsity letter, you’re going to have a real difficult time making it through the season,” Assistant Coach Ryan Gerber said.
This year, the coaches have agreed that the members of the wrestling team are dedicated to this sport, by being successful and taking the program to new heights.
Going to camp and lifting weights during open mat all summer long, are some of the individuals choose to do.
“This could be the year that Fort really makes some noise in the tough Badger conference. I feel it could be one of the best teams I have seen in the last 10 years,” Assistant Coach Terry Kramer said.
Upperclassmen, but not many seniors will fill at least 12 of the 14 weights, with also a mixture of youth experience.
The wrestling team has a strong lower, which are light weights and mid weights and are progressing to have more of the upper weights which are heavier weights as well, according to coaches.
“If we progress well, I think we can finish in the top five in conference, win or finish in the top three in our regular season tournaments, and put 2-3 individuals in the Kohl Center (State Wrestling Meet) in February,” Kramer said.
Cody Foerster is one of the teams “star” players, with a sectional appearance last year, and a hopeful state appearance this year.
“In the past years he has proved to be a huge part of the team and is going to be that was this year as well. Also, Seth and Sean Staude, Brett Bowar, and comes later Kyle Young, Cory Schuerman, Drew Dunkleberger all returning Varsity wrestlers have all really committed themselves to improving in the off-season, helping to recruit better numbers, and have a lot of experience coming back,” Gerber said.
The Blackhawks must make up for the loss of last year’s state qualifier, Ryan Smith.
“I believe we definitely have a stronger commitment to the sport by a larger percentage of the team than in past years,” Kramer said.
Wrestlers have worked really hard to get were they are at according to the coaches.
More and increased competition for starting spots in the room is always a key.
If the practice room is more competitive, and the captains can spark more intensity, it can translate to more success in the competition.

Intramurals: Basketball or Dodgeball?

martakotz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:49:58 +0000

With few sports offered in the winter, a majority of the student body looks forward to playing intramural basketball during these cold months.
For these students, this year’s offering of intramurals may come to be a shock.
Due to the overwhelming popularity of dodgeball during homecoming week, a survey was handed out to students in the lunch lines recently asking which intramural league they would prefer.
“I organized the survey because it was something Dr. Zaspel asked me to do, based on the interest we have during homecoming week of the dodgeball tournament. The idea was to get more people involved as much as possible; it was an idea we were kicking around from last year,” Athletic Director Mark Pollex said. The school administration has decided to switch intramurals from basketball to dodgeball.
“If I went off the decision made by the students through the survey, it was overwhelmingly dodgeball. Because of that strong contingency of those students who still want to play basketball, I don’t want to lose them out; I want to be fair to them too,” Pollex said.
The decision was based primarily off of what the general student body would prefer for intramural sports, and was seen as a way to get a lot more people involved.
There has been an Intercounty Dodgeball League set in place. It includes Watertown, Jefferson and Johnson Creek. The games are set for three Saturdays, December 12, January 23, and February 27, at 7:30 pm. Most of these schools have been involved with this before.
“I know the students really enjoyed basketball, but there’s only a select group of students that like it, and we’d like to open it up to more people if we could. We still haven’t voted out the idea of having both, it’s just a matter of gym space, time, money, and officials,” Pollex said.
Many students, mainly upperclassmen who have played in intramural basketball before, are outraged with the decision.
“I feel that basketball is a more suitable intramural sport for FAHS, primarily because the students who indicated they would prefer dodgeball as an intramural sport are unlikely to participate, simply because of the nature of the voting system; students were asked to vote while standing in the lunch line. It is because of this I advocate students who are interested in intramural basketball, to boycott intramural dodgeball,” Junior Arjun Dhillon said.
For those still wishing to play basketball this winter, a boycott of dodgeball has been requested by certain upperclassmen.
“I am definitely on the side of basketball for intramural sports. Those who actually participate in intramurals, definitely would have voted for basketball. I say preserve the intramurals basketball tradition, and boycott dodgeball!” Junior Brennan Waller said.

Volleyball keeps up intensity at every level of play

adviser — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:40:47 +0000

Junior Varsity Girls Volleyball team is on a hot-streak with a record of 8-2 and two first place tournament plaques. Varsity Girls Volleyball also has also been competitive record of 7 – 4, along with a first place at the Luther Prep Invite.

Junior Varsity has a higher record by average, but the skill of the teams, considering the level of play and talent on the team, is surprisingly similar.

“I think we are successful because we work together, play together as a team and work hard to get where we are,” Freshman Varsity Volleyball Player Lauren Pfeifer said.

The coaching staff plays a key role in Varsity and Junior Varsity’s success.

Amy Spies took the position of head Varsity coach, and left JV without a coach.

David McKee, last seasons assistant JV coach, was promoted to JV coach for this years season.

“I think the main reason we are successful is because of our coach. He has taught us so much and made us become a better team,” Sophomore Melissa Stevenson said.

For warm ups every day JV and Varsity do stretching and then go into a drill. JV and Varsity have practice at the same time everyday except for Mondays, and either team will get out early if the coach feels that the team has practiced well enough to end practice early.

JV and Varsity tend to get along on and off of the court.

They hang out with each other on the off season, do camps together, and see each other in school.

On the court they are out there encouraging each other and helping a teammate if they do something wrong.

The important aspect of both teams is that they are able to put their differences aside on the court and play to win.

“The varsity has been so successful because we have so many talented, competitive players. They are also a hard working group, “ Coach Amy Spies said.

Before a game JV will get together after school and go out to eat and do homework.

This helped relieve some of the pressures through the day, and prepared them for the upcoming match.

All of that helps JV to bond because they are interacting with each other out of practice and games so it makes a stronger bond on the court.

The Junior Varsity is a motivated team, with most of the game being a mental battle. They spend time focusing on the match at hand, rather than doing a cheer between points.

When the teams are told to hit to a certain spot, it’s hit there.

There’s no complicated thought

process about their approach or swing, they just do it.

“Whoever comes ready to play on a given night can win. Volleyball is twenty percent physical, eighty percent mental,” JV Coach David Mckee said.

Varsity is a strong team on and off of the court.

Most of the players are in other sports together and have been in sports together for years so it helps with the chemistry on the court.

Varsity is considered an enthusiastic team. They cheer and yell and encourage each other.

“Varsity has a very talented team. They win because they are a team, not because we have the next Kerri Walsh who carries them the whole way,” said Coach David McKee.