A 59-14 win over Lake Erie back on Nov. 15 put the Huskies at 9-1 on the season, only the fourth time in the program’s 92-year history that the team has earned nine wins. The Huskies tied for second in the GLIAC standings alongside Ohio Dominican and fell just one game behind Ferris State for the GLIAC North title. Despite not seizing the conference, the win over Lake Erie gave Tech a chance to earn a NCAA playoff berth.

On Nov. 16, the NCAA playoff brackets were announced, and the Huskies celebrated as they earned only the second NCAA playoff berth in school history. The Huskies took the No. 3 seed in Super Region Four and were set to contend against the Rams of Angelo State at Sherman Field in the first round game on Nov. 22. Other GLIAC teams to make the playoffs included Ferris State, who earned the No. 1 seed, and Ohio Dominican, who seized the No. 5 seed.

Michigan Tech’s last playoff appearance was back in 2004. That year, the Huskies earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye but then fell to North Dakota in the second round game at Sherman Field.

Angelo State University, a team from San Angelo, Texas, is a member of the Lone Star Conference. This year, the Rams went 5-2 in their conference and 8-2 on the season, which included two conference game victories to make it to the NCAA playoffs. Going into the game, the Huskies knew Angelo State’s powerhouse offense, which averaged nearly 42 points per game on the season, was going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Playoff day came and went, but the results didn’t turn in favor of the Huskies. Tech got off to an early lead, up as much as 21-0 in the second quarter, and held the ball for nearly three-quarters of the game, but missed opportunities and mistakes proved costly. The Rams were able to rally back and took the game 42-41.

Senior running back Charlie Leffingwell put Tech up 7-0 after running the ball in ten yards with just over four minutes left in the first quarter. He was a key player in the game, earning 208 of Tech’s 228 rushing yards. Leffingwell would run in two more touchdowns throughout the game. He earned his second touchdown in the second quarter to put the Huskies up 21-0, and a third touchdown came in the third to put Tech up 35-21.

Wide receiver Brandon Cowie was another key player for Michigan Tech. The sophomore earned two touchdowns for the Huskies, receiving passes from senior quarterback Tyler Scarlett on both occasions. Cowie’s first touchdown put Tech up 14-0 in the first with just under two minutes left in the quarter. His second was Tech’s final scoring play of the game. Cowie’s 35-yard catch capped off a 66-yard drive, but senior kicker Garrett Mead’s extra point attempt hit the upright, leaving the Huskies up 41-28 with 8:40 to go in the game.

The Rams scored on their next two possessions following the Cowie touchdown. With 5:42 left in the game, Angelo State’s Ryan Byrd rushed for two yards to cap off a nine-play, 65-yard drive, bringing the score to within six points.

A strong defensive effort by Angelo State held the Huskies to a gain of just five yards upon turning the ball over. After Tech was forced to punt, the Rams’ next drive started at the 50-yard line, and all it took was one play to take the lead. Kyle Washington’s 50-yard pass was complete to Talon Smith, putting Angelo State up 42-41 with 3:31 left on the clock.

The Huskies’ next and final chance to retake the lead came down to a field goal attempt with three seconds left in the game. Mead posted two game-winning field goals throughout the season, but unfortunately for the Huskies, that was not replicated. His 26-yard field goal attempt missed just wide of the upright. Angelo State ran down the final three seconds for the win.

A one-point loss in an NCAA playoff game is without a doubt a bitter way to cap off the season, especially for the 19 seniors who played their final game for Tech. Having that said, making the NCAA playoffs for the second time in program history and earning nine regular season wins for the fourth time in program history is certainly a feat which should not be overlooked.

In addition, a handful of players on this year’s team were recognized with All-GLIAC accolades. Defensive lineman Nelson Wienke, cornerback DeShawn Nelson and left guard Frank Vruwink were named to the All-GLIAC First Team. Wienke was also named GLIAC Defensive Lineman of the Year. Cowie, Leffingwell, Scarlett, linebacker Paul Kuoppala and center Bruce Tebelman made the All-GLIAC Second Team.

The season may not have ended with a desirable outcome, but this football team posted the best season of Michigan Tech Football in a decade. The Huskies will look to build on this success and carry their momentum into 2015. Until next year, football fans.

This series concludes by focusing on two of the arenas that the Michigan Tech Huskies compete in, Sherman Field and the John J. MacInnes Ice Arena.

For over 60 years, the football team competed at Hubbell Field. However, in 1981 it dedicated its new stadium, which was then called, very originally, MTU Stadium. Fortunately in 1988, the stadium was given a proper name in memory of Donald Sherman.

Born in Battle Creek, Mich., the standout high school athlete attended Wabash College in Crawfordville, Ind., and also played on the football team. Sherman’s athletic success followed him there as he was named to the All-Indiana Football Team and was a captain in his senior season.

His life journey eventually brought him up to Michigan Tech in 1929, where he filled the role of both basketball coach and assistant athletic director. After serving in this capacity for a few years, he was promoted to athletic director in 1936.

As athletic director, Sherman focused on strengthening the school’s four varsity sports it had at the time, football, basketball, track and hockey. These sports were doing so well that he was able to start three new programs to the school, as boxing, tennis and skiing were adding during his tenure.

A favorite of non-varsity athletes was added during his time too. Sherman initiated and developed the first intramural sports programs that Michigan Tech ever had.

Sherman did more than just athletics though. He was also a full professor of economics and a member of the Houghton village council, as well as being deeply involved in the Winter Carnival festivities every year.

Unfortunately, Sherman’s time was cut short at Tech as he died in 1946 of a heart attack following a game of handball. Due to the massive contributions that Sherman made during his time with the school, he was inducted into the school’s Athletics’ Hall of Fame in 1985.

Another man that helped Huskies’ athletics take a big step forward is John James MacInnes, who is forever immortalized as the name of the school’s hockey arena.

Born in Toronto in 1925, this Canadian hopped the border to play goalie for the University of Michigan, where between the pipes he helped lead the Wolverines to a pair of league titles and a third place finish at the 1950 NCAA championships.

Following his collegiate experience, MacInnes hopped around on some National Hockey League farm teams, including stints with the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings before returning to Ann Arbor as the director of the Ann Arbor Amateur Hockey League. In 1956, when a college in Houghton offered him a job as their head hockey coach, he waved the Lower Peninsula good-bye and headed north.

In the 26 seasons that would follow, MacInnes would become one of the most successful NCAA men’s hockey coaches in history putting together a record of 555 wins, 295 losses, and 39 draws. During this time, he also led his teams to three national championships and seven Western Collegiate Hockey Association titles. The Spencer Penrose Award, which is given to the top coach in Division 1 hockey, was awarded to him during this period due to his campaigns in 1969-70 and 1975-76 and he was named the WCHA Coach of the Year six times.

Another award that was bestowed upon MacInnes was the Lester Patrick Trophy, which is presented by the NHL and USA Hockey to honor a recipient’s contribution to ice hockey in the United States. With all the awards and trophies that MacInnes received over his lifetime, it is only fitting that one should be named after him too. This is the case with the trophy that is awarded to the winning team of the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament each year.

With all his contributions and accomplishments for Michigan Tech hockey, MacInnes was inducted into not only the school’s athletics’ Hall of Fame in 1984, but has also been enshrined in the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame since 1972.

So when it comes to the athletics at Michigan Tech, a big tip of the hat should be offered to two men that helped to not only build the programs that play in the arenas that are named after them, but helped build up the reputation that has put Michigan Tech on the map.

About 5,000,000 Americans require blood transfusions each year. The American Red Cross works hard to provide these, but relies on donors to supply the resources to do so. Around the holidays, the amount of donations drop, hindering the aid the association can give.

Holiday festivities, travel and seasonal illness all cause a lack in the blood donations victims desperately need. Those associated with American Red Cross, including Marc Sutton, traveling Donor Recruitment Representative in Green Bay, Wisc. are publicly expressing the call for citizen help.

“During the holidays, the goal is to get people aware of the need…. Based on their medication history and medical conditions, only 38 percent of donors are eligible. Of that, only about 5 percent donate,” said Sutton.

Specifically, the donation process takes one pint of blood from each donor. Blood products are categorized into three parts which include plasma, platelets, and double red blood cells. After shipping, the recipient acquires whichever blood product that matches to his or her need.

“Typically, plasma is given to those with large volume blood loss, red blood cells to those with clotting disorders, and platelets to help organ transplants,” explained Sutton. After the blood is tested and separated, each component can only last for only a certain amount of time.

Plasma can freeze up to one year, red blood cells will last 42 days and platelets will last only last five days. Between the gaps of steady blood donations, American Red Cross must make sure previous donations will last long enough for hospitals to keep up with patient blood need.

Michigan Tech provides two bloods drives per year. One in September during Orientation week and another in March hosted by fraternities and sororities. The blood donated travels to help others at the time of need.

Sutton emphasizes the impact drives can make on the surrounding areas. He explains how a high school student from Wisconsin had been battling Leukemia and needed 52 blood products to replace his blood loss during treatment. Due to the success of local blood drives, the blood transfusion was also a success.

“There are a lot of misconceptions on who can or can’t donate. Some think ‘I’m too old or I can’t because I’m diabetic,’ Just come to a blood drive and ask, because restrictions change year to year,” said Sutton.

Donation clinics will accept people who have not donated in the past 56 days, are at least 17-years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and are overall in good health. Each donation can help save three lives and hospitals would appreciate donations during the donation-scarce holiday months.

Michigan Tech was one of 10 universities challenged to log the most outdoor activity within an eight week time frame. Starting Sept. 27, activities could be logged at oncampuschallenge.org and points were then awarded to their respective schools. The challenge was open to students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members.

The grand prize is a campus wide celebration and some outdoor gear for the number one university. This was awarded to the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University with a total of 162,880 points on November 22 when the challenge ended. Second place was taken by yours truly, Michigan Tech, with 48,910 points.

The other schools placed in the following order, starting with third place: California State University-Long Beach, George Mason University, James Madison University, University of Central Florida, University of Iowa, Appalachian State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Spelman College.

From each school, an individual was selected to be The Most Outdoorsy Person and five people from the entire competition tied for the title of The Outsider of the Year. Michigan Tech was represented by two of these five, namely Nathan Miller and Vincent McClain, with 2850 points each. These individuals will receive an internship with the Outdoor Foundation and head-to-toe outfitting from The North Face.

Throughout the competition, there was a variety of activities sponsored by the Outdoor Adventure Program, WHSA, Outdoor Venture Crew, IRHC and Paintball Club to encourage outdoor activity. This included a free adventure bandana for current students, bike repair clinics, a photo competition and more. Local businesses also joined the adventure; Downwind Sports, Cross Country Sports and Amy J’s Pasty offered the bandanas to members of the community.

Outdoor Nation issued this challenge to get kids active. According to their website, “The average person spends eight hours a day in front of a screen and only minutes outdoors, and 1 out of every 3 young people is obese or overweight in America.” In today’s world of technology and advanced communication, taking time away from the screen can be hard to do.

This competition was purposed to encourage students to at least venture out of their regular routines. Students at Tech love being active and getting outdoors when they can. Who can blame them when they have the wonderful Keweenaw as their backyard? Tech trails and OAP are great resources that are easily accessible to students and open the way for a wide range of outdoor possibilities.

The OAP, created in 2006 with support from alumni Charles and Patricia Nelson from the class of 1936, began in the lower level of the MUB. The OAP moved to its new, specialized location in 2010.  What started as a way to provide students with the necessary tools to take advantage of the outside world has transformed into another major reason for prospective students to come to Michigan Tech. The program has grown in the past few years due to the support of administration, students and all the grassroots efforts to provide low cost equipment rentals and trips for students.

“College students have the power to change the world. This challenge is about school communities and student bodies joining together to try and get the most people outside and active,” said Outdoor Nation. There will be more challenges from Outdoor Nation, and Michigan Tech has the possibility of being chosen to compete again. The important part is to enjoy the natural world. Get outside on a hiking or biking path, make use of the snow and learn to ski or try out snowboarding and remember to capture the memories with a camera.

This is the first installment of a series covering prestigious scholarships offered to a wide variety of majors. Every other week a scholarship will be chosen for which there is still enough time left to apply. Details of how to apply and information about the reasons why the scholarships are important will be discussed in the article.

This week’s featured scholarship is the Department of Defense [DoD] SMART scholarship, which stands for Science Mathematics and Research for Transformation scholarship. Applications are accepted during the month of September.

The program was first put in effect in 2005 in hopes of addressing the growing gap between the United States and the rest of the world in STEM fields. It creates an environment for students accepted into the program to excel in their studies and alleviate monetary struggle.

Like many national scholarships in this series the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, older than 18, be in good standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher, and pursuing a STEM degree. Requirements more specific to SMART are the ability to work for the DoD and hold a security clearance, and willingness to accept post-graduate employment in the DoD.

If these requirements are met, the applicant may fill out an extensive application form. Areas like academic background, area of study, goals, research interests, volunteer work, leadership and others will be covered. After the application is submitted it will be reviewed by a panel of researchers at accredited DoD laboratories. This is the first phase and will match students with laboratories that are interested in their specific set of skills. Once this is complete a second application will be made and the final recipients will be decided.

Once in the program SMART scholars receive full tuition and related fees, minus meal plans and housing, a stipend of $25,000 – $38,000, a paid summer internship, a health insurance allowance, a book allowance, a personal mentor and employment placement upon graduation. After receiving the scholarship for the first time there is no need to apply for additional years, the scholarship will continue each year until graduation. However, if recipients wish to go on to a Master’s or Doctoral program they may simply apply for a second time and ask their sponsoring laboratory for permission to pursue a higher degree.

A few tips from current students/organizers:

“Many students can get caught up in the idea of getting money out of the program, and end up writing most of the essays about how they could use it or how it would benefit their education”, says Kaila Pietila, Michigan Tech’s on campus DoD representative. “The main thing they want to see is that you are looking to improve yourself, you show potential, and you want to work in a research field.”

“For the application process it really helps if you find a lab that you want to work for and gear the entire application towards them”, says Andrew Groeneveld, current MTU SMART recipient and Civil Engineering Major. “Make sure to use some of the wordage that they use on their sites to describe what they do.”

The SMART scholarship is a prestigious scholarship that has the ability to kick-start a career. Anyone who is part of a STEM field and is genuinely interested in a research field should consider applying.

Since 2012, Zipcars have been active on campus for students, faculty and members of the community to use. Michigan Tech now has three cars that are located at various places on campus.

Shur, a silver Ford Escape with 4WD, lives by Daniel Heights. Crowell, Shur’s identical twin, resides behind Wadsworth Hall. Finally, Coovert is a blue Ford Focus Hatchback who lives on Hubble Street.

In order to use the cars, people 18 and older need to make an account with Zipcar. The account involves a $25 annual fee and requires a driver’s license number. For Canadian licenses, a driving record must be faxed to Zipcar. There is an option to try out this service for 30 days and if the customer isn’t impressed, the membership fee will be refunded. All other fees, for example using a Zipcar, will not be refunded.

The rates for the Zipcars start at $7.50 per hour and $69 per day.  These rates include gas, comprehensive insurance and 180 miles of driving per day. Once registered, members can reserve a Zipcar online or even from their mobile device. Reservations can be made for as short as one hour or as long as seven days.

“We have found since the arrival on campus that the program has gained strong membership and the cars have been well utilized, enough so that we added a third vehicle to our Zipcar fleet.  We currently have over 300 members that utilize the vehicles on campus by the hour or day,” said Angela Kolehmainen, manager of Transportation Services and liaison between Michigan Tech and Zipcar.

Zipcars can be found throughout the country and are offered as an alternative to traditional car rental or ownership. For those living on campus, paying a small fee in exchange for the responsibilities of actually owning a car could be much more convenient. For others, they already have their cars with them. In any situation, Zipcars offer a way for all those in the Houghton area to travel and access cars that are snow savvy.

After the departure of Pheonix Copley due to his contract signing with the Washington Capitals, the starting goaltending situation for Michigan Tech Hockey was labeled with a big question mark.

The opportunity was there and instantly seized by the Caledonia, Ontario, native Jamie Phillips. To start off his junior year in his career with the Huskies, Phillips posted 10 straight wins with two shutouts, setting a university record for most consecutive wins and all the while maintaining a top-five spot in the national rankings of best Division I goaltenders.

Twice this season already, Phillips has been named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week. He boasts a 1.42 goals against average and a 0.950 save percentage through 12 consecutive starts.

The Winnipeg Jets prospect remains calm and humble through all the praise and expectations placed upon him, stating, “Hockey is just a game, and we play it for fun. So I don’t really think about that.”

Upon being asked if there’s more pressure now that the team is ranked among the top in the nation, he responded, “No, not at all. We’re a good team. There’s a little pressure, but I don’t really feel it. I believe in our team’s abilities.”

While Phillips clearly takes his position seriously, he has added some fun to his game, most noticeably in his helmet design which pays tribute to the fans and the surrounding Keweenaw Peninsula.

On one side, there’s a miner and a photo of the Quincy Mine, paying tribute to the historic industry that created the Keweenaw culture. On the other side, there’s the Husky logo. Running down the middle are the Mitch’s Misfits stripes, because, as he puts it, “We have some of the best fans in college hockey.” Printed on the chin is part of the ever so “Tech-y” exdx chant that the Misfits have stapled into their repertoire of cheers. Also down the middle are some snowflakes, which are there for very obvious reasons.

On another part of the helmet, there’s a group of kids playing pond hockey since “that’s how most of us started our hockey careers and how the love of the game grows,” as Phillips put it.

On the back plate is a photo of the Upper Peninsula, the popular internet meme “doge” and a cancer ribbon in support of Phillips’ mother.

Many goaltenders have their own personal rituals and superstitions that they practice before and even during each game they play in. Patrick Roy was famous for never skating over any ice lines; he would always step over them. Similar to Marc Andre Fleury, Phillips will “give the pipes a shout out if they make a big save.” Aside from that, Phillips also practices the same routine every game, and it starts before arriving at the rink.

Since he was about 17 years old, he’d listen to the same songs in the same order through every step of the game-prepping process, including the drive or bus ride to the rink and while getting dressed in the locker room.

Phillips explains the process as mental preparedness tactic. “If you doing something again and again, hopefully the brain and body are able to make a connection and know that it’s game time.”

Now at age 21, the star goaltender surely has his superstitions working in his favor, even for starting down the goaltender’s path at a later age.

Yes, unlike many other premier goalies who start as early as seven or eight years of age, Phillips started his career when he was 12. Since then, he has received opportunities to play through house leagues, AAA and junior hockey in Ontario, which led him to his current home at Michigan Tech.

After the series against Minnesota State, Phillips is now 10-2-0 on the season in the WCHA and ranks third among all goaltenders in Division I hockey.

Many were wondering when the hot streak would end for the dominant Michigan Tech Huskies, if it would at all.

Two weekends ago, the Mavericks of Minnesota State ended the streak on Friday with a 2-1 victory over the Huskies. Tech had a 1-0 lead that came from an Alex Petan goal in the second period. That lead would last until halfway into the third period when MSU scored, and only 24 seconds later they would strike home the game-winner.

The story of Saturday night’s game was more of the same. Tech again held a 1-0 lead that they would never regain once the Mavericks got on the board. Goals came from Alex Petan once again and then on the power play from Malcom Gould late in the third. That’s all that the Huskies could show for their efforts, as they went down for a second straight game in a 3-2 loss.

As a result of the two losses, Tech dropped to No. 5 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and to No. 6 in the USCHO poll.

Although many of the Huskies’ fans are upset at the ending of the streak, the losses came from a very good Minnesota State team. The Mavericks were always battling back and forth last year with Ferris State for the number one spot in the WCHA, were consistently ranked in the USCHO poll and were picked this year to win the WCHA. Often overshadowed by the likes of bigger schools in the state like Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth, the Mavericks are undoubtedly a force in NCAA Division I hockey.

Jamie Phillips performed well throughout the weekend and again gave the Huskies team in front of him a chance to win. He came up big in many situations, but it wasn’t enough to carry the team to victory.

Michigan Tech missed on all three power play opportunities they had in Friday’s game and connected with one out of six chances on Saturday. Scoring consistency with the man-advantage is something Tech is working on, and when that consistency improves, the team will be even less likely to lose games.

Although the consistency on the man-advantage came in the form of not converting while on the power play, as the Huskies went 0-10 all weekend against the Chargers, the Huskies more than doubled their shots each night and came away with the sweep.

Friday’s game in Alabama saw goals from Dylan Steman and Alex Gillies in the first period, Shane Hanna with the game winner in the second and the empty netter by Cliff Watson late in the third, leading to a final score of 4-2. The Huskies outshot UAH 34-14 throughout the game, a trend now common for this Tech Hockey team which has shown to consistently beat their opponents in possession.

Saturday’s game was much of the same story with goals from Tanner Kero, Walker Hyland, Alex Petan, Malcom Gould and Blake Hietala in a 5-2 victory. The Huskies outshot Alabama Huntsville 37-15 that night, improving their record to 12-2-0.

After roughly 2000 miles of driving across the country and back, the team will have a few days off, as well as a weekend bye. They will be preparing for the arrival of Minnesota Duluth when they host the Bulldogs for an inter-conference series on Dec. 12 and 13.

The Michigan Tech Men’s Basketball team started their season off with a win against rival Minnesota Duluth this past Saturday, Nov. 22. The game marked the beginning of the standard season for the Huskies, who now have a promising record of 3-0 after picking up two wins at the Southwest Minnesota State University Classic on Nov. 28 and 29.

Assistant Coach Josh Buettner commented on the Huskies’ record after the Duluth game: “Very early in the season it is good to be 1-0. It’s always good to learn while getting a win instead of a loss.  We still have a long ways to go to get our offense where it needs to be, but we have high hopes for the season.”

The first half of the game was led by Minnesota with a five point lead against the Huskies. MTU retaliated in the second half of the competition, however, leading the point scoring with a total of 29 points as opposed to Duluth’s 22 points.

Some statistics of the match include the Huskies obtaining 55.6 percent of free throws made while Minnesota made 61.5 percent. Tech led the number of rebounds at the net with 33 where Duluth acquired only 28 of theirs. The Huskies also beat their opponents in number of three-points made with a 47.8 percent success rate. Duluth only succeeded in 30 percent of their three-point shots attempted.

In the aftermath of the game, MTU narrowly overtook Duluth with a nail-biting ending and a final score of 60 to 58. Players Ben Stelzer and Luke Heller led their team in point scoring with a point tally of 28 and 10, respectively.

“Ben Stelzer played like the preseason player of the year.  He really kept us in the game in the first half when the offense was struggling and led us with 28 points in the game. Troy Hecht did a great job defensively on their leading scorer, and Jordan Chartier did a great job running the team from the point guard position,” stated Coach Buettner when asked about the best players of the night.

The Michigan Tech Basketball Men’s Basketball team will be playing the University of Malone in Ohio on Dec. 4 at 8:00 p.m.

The Michigan Tech Figure Skating Club is trying to bring figure skating to the Tech community, and despite being a new club on campus, they are taking big steps towards that goal. “We want to show people that you can continue skating in college, especially because programs aren’t pushed as heavily in high school,” said Melanie Talaga, second-year president of the club.

The club was founded just four years ago by Rosanna Chopp, who wanted to continue to skate and show that you could continue to skate into college. Talaga has been with the club since its inception, making her a good choice for the position of president. It started with more community members than Tech students, but more students have been getting involved, including three new freshmen this year.

The club has stuck with their roots, always trying to stay in the public eye and staying very involved with the local figure skating community. One of the biggest ways they stay involved is through the Copper Country Skating Academy’s Spring Ice Show, which the team is invited to every year. The club does a performance for it, which this year will fall on March 21 and 22.

There is a fundraiser that the club puts on at the CCSA Ice Show where they will paint and do the hair of the participants in the ice show. “The parents really appreciate it, and we have fun talking to the younger skaters about opportunities in college,” said Talaga.

The club also hosts a Halloween Ice Party for the local community. They decorate the ice arena and host games and contests for kids on the ice. “We have a lot of fun doing the ice party,” said Talaga. “The kids always seem to love dressing up and skating around.”

Fundraising is another way the club stays active. They are working on a t-shirt fundraiser to help raise money to compete more. “Skating is expensive, and we have to save up to make it to our next competition,” said Talaga. They haven’t been to one in a while because of the cost to attend, but the club has been working hard to rectify that.

The club meets once a week on ice and once every other week off ice. They are always looking to make improvements for its members, including the recent hiring of a skating coach for newer skaters. Some people in the past have wanted more instruction from the club, and they made it happen.

This club keeps a great standing with the community and is making great strides in their goal of making it possible to continue skating into college. Hopefully this freshmen class can keep them going in the years to come.