Lake Orion has their new Boys Basketball Coach.

Written Friday April 26th at 2:00 PM

The Lake Orion Dragons have a new Boys Basketball coach and it’s a familiar name to the OAA.

Lake Orion Athletic Director Chris Bell named Pontiac coach Joel Schroeder to the same position replacing Jim Manzo who guided the program on two stints, one from 2000 until 2008 and then from 2015 until last season.

Schroeder who was at Pontiac for three seasons led the Phoenix to an 18-2 regular season record along with a district championship run. The Phoenix fell to New Haven in the regional final and finish 22-3 overall last season.

Bell said in a press release that Schroeder was the perfect fit for the program going forward. “His years of successful coaching experience, his ability to build a championship program, and his ability to work positively with high school athletes make Coach Schroeder a tremendous fit for Lake Orion High School.”

The Dragons went 13-9 overall last season with was tied for second in the Red (finished 12-8 in the regular season.) Lake Orion returns several key players who saw a ton of playing time in Drew Van Heck, Dylan Boegihemier, Cameron Sutton, Isiah Harris, and Jack Cummins to go along with a Junior Varsity that has some talent moving up.

Thoughts.

I think there is a lot to prove here on both sides.

For Schroeder coaching in the Red with a proven group and if he can get the players to buy in. He has never been in the Red. If the players and Schroeder are on the same page with this brutal schedule then who knows. The challenge for Schroeder will be is can he build the program the same way that Manzo did.

For the players having a new coach, adjusting to his system, and most of the players in the program has played Pontiac when they were in the Blue. It’s going to take an adjustment period for them to adapt to his system.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/oaa-now-04-29-19

Follow-up from The Dragons Insider
https://saginawbay.blogspot.com/2019/04/written-sunday-april-28th-at-1030-pm.html

The Article from MIPrepZone's Scott Burnstein.
https://www.theoaklandpress.com/sports/miprepzone/prep-notebook-schroeder-leaving-pontiac-to-take-over-at-lake/article_e223e368-6a12-11e9-91ae-7b8dfd15b76f.html

Here is the Press Release from Lake Orion Athletic Director, Chris Bell.
https://lodragonsports.com/2019/04/26/joel-schroeder-named-boys-head-varsity-basketball-coach/

Volleyball, Wrestling, and Basketball Divisions Released for the 2019-2020 School Year.

Written Tuesday April 16th at 7:10 PM
Updated Monday July 8th at 4:45 PM

Hello to everyone here are the divisions that were released not too long ago with several schools confirming that the divisions are set on their schedule stars.

Here are the divisions for volleyball, wrestling, and basketball along with a little insight on early ideas where each team are at.

Volleyball

Blue:

Royal Oak

Southfield Arts and Tech

Ferndale

Oak Park

Pontiac

White:

Seaholm

Bloomfield Hills

Troy Athens

Avondale

Rochester

Farmington

North Farmington

Berkley

Red:

Lake Orion

Clarkston

Oxford

Stoney Creek

Adams

West Bloomfield

Troy

Groves

Thoughts on Each Division: Volleyball went to an eight-eight-five format.

In the Blue the early favorite has to be Royal Oak. The Ravens have a new coach in Ciara Schultz and some talent returning but Southfield Arts and Tech should be a player as well for coach Alisha Love. Ferndale could be a player in this division as well. Oak Park and Pontiac will have struggles this season. This division will be won by Royal Oak or the Warriors.

In the White the early favorite has to be Bloomfield Hills because of talent. If the Blackhawks can get on the same page with coach Larry Wyatt then this team will be a force to watch but never count out Seaholm. The Maples are well coached under the Gambone family (Jason and Heather.) North Farmington looks to be the wildcard as they have a new coach in former Harrison coach Michael Love and some talent coming back. Rochester has a ton of experience back for coach Kirk Gibbs. Troy Athens should be better this season along with Avondale. Berkley could struggle playing in this division.

In the Red this will be a tough division, the early favorite has to be Stoney Creek. The Cougars have a lot of talent returning and are well coached under coach Ross Talbott. Clarkston under coach Kelly Pinner has a ton of talent also returning as well. Keep an eye on the defending State Champions Lake Orion, the Dragons lost a ton of talent but they have some players waiting in the wings for coach Tony Scavarda. Troy has some talent back for coach Tom Vigilant. Groves under second year coach Jessica Prepolec and West Bloomfield have experience coming back but moving up to the league's top division will be a challenge for both teams. Adams has a ton of talent back for new coach Terry Baughman. Oxford should be better this season in coach Brian Kim’s third season.

Girls Basketball

Blue:

Berkley

Rochester

Farmington

Oak Park

Pontiac

Ferndale

Seaholm

White:

Avondale

Adams

Troy

Oxford

Lake Orion

Troy Athens

North Farmington

Red:

Southfield Arts and Tech

Clarkston

Bloomfield Hills

Stoney Creek

West Bloomfield

Royal Oak

Groves

Thoughts on Each Division: Girls Basketball went to a seven-seven-seven format.

In the Blue, the early favorite has to be Berkley. The Bears have a strong nucleus back for coach Kirk Carolan. Rochester will have their fourth coach in four seasons heading into next year with Bill Thurston taking over the team. Seaholm has some talent back for coach Chris Manchester. Pontiac is a wildcard as coach Christopher Wright’s team will be a team to watch along with Farmington. The Falcons have a boatload of talent returning for coach Laura Guzman. Ferndale has their fourth coach in four seasons as Devin Pettaway takes over the Eagles. Oak Park could be in line for a long season again.

In the White, this will be a very competitive division as all seven teams have chances to have great seasons. The early favorite has to be Avondale with the talent they have back for coach Bob Lees but you can’t count out Adams, Oxford, Lake Orion, North Farmington, or Troy. Troy Athens will also be a player too. You can’t count out teams that are well coached under Shay Lewis, Rachel Bryer, Bob Brydges, Jeff Simpson, Simon Bato, or Stacie Klumpp.

In the Red, the early favorite is Southfield Arts and Tech because of who they have returning for coach Michelle Marshall. The Warriors were in the State Final last season losing to Saginaw Hertiage where some weaknesses were exposed in that game. West Bloomfield has nearly everyone back from a team that won the White last season for coach Bert Mosley. Clarkston has nearly everyone back as well for coach John Weyer. Stoney Creek will be an interesting team to keep an eye on next season for coach Kellen James. Bloomfield Hills is in the same boat for coach Jeff Rubin. Groves could struggle for coach Jessica Wiesler. Royal Oak lost a ton of talent from last season will have some questions next season for coach Brian Sopota.

Boys Basketball

Blue:

Avondale

Rochester

Troy Athens

Berkley

Seaholm

Royal Oak

Pontiac

White:

Farmington

Adams

Groves

Southfield Arts and Tech

Oxford

Stoney Creek

Troy

Red:

Clarkston

North Farmington

Lake Orion

Bloomfield Hills

Oak Park

West Bloomfield

Ferndale

Thoughts on Each Division: This is a seven-seven-seven format.

In the Blue, the early favorite has to be Troy Athens. The Red Hawks have a lot coming back for coach Dave Scott but don’t count out Berkley. The Bears are loaded for coach Joe Sermo. Rochester will be an interesting team to watch for coach Vance Kirkwood as they had a solid JV and Freshman group coming up. Seaholm has a ton of experience back for coach Mike DeGeeter. Pontiac lost a ton of talent and is in complete rebuilding mode. Royal Oak still has some questions heading into next season for coach Aaron Smith’s team.

In the White, the early favorite has to be Troy. The Colts are well coached under Gary Fralick and has their top player back and two transfers from Adams come into the fold but questions loom in the interior.  Farmington will challenge for the White crown this season. The Falcons have a ton of talent back for coach Terrance Porter. Groves has a ton of talent back for coach Benny White. Southfield Arts and Tech will have some questions next season for coach Darryl Buchannan. Oxford loses a ton of talent but they are well coached under Steve Laidlaw. Stoney Creek has a strong junior class coming up ready to make an impact for coach Steve Norgrove. Adams has had a tough offseason, losing three players to transfer along with their head coach. The Highlanders will look to grow under first year coach Jaret Thomas.

In the Red, the early favorite is Clarkston. The Wolves have their top players back for coach Tim Waslik. Oak Park also has a ton of talent back for coach Bobby Thompson. Ferndale comes up two divisions and features four Division One caliber players for coach Juan Rickman. Bloomfield Hills has their top shooters back for coach Phil Kurajian. North Farmington has nearly everyone returning for coach Todd Negoshian. West Bloomfield has some talent back for coach Jeremy Dehna. Lake Orion will be very young for new coach Joel Schroeder but they have a ton of questions they will need to answer.

Wrestling

Blue:

Avondale

Pontiac

North Farmington

Troy Athens

Royal Oak

Berkley

Ferndale

White:

Bloomfield Hills

Farmington

Southfield Arts and Tech

Troy

Groves

Stoney Creek

West Bloomfield

Red:

Oxford

Clarkston

Adams

Rochester

Seaholm

Lake Orion

Thoughts on Each Division: This is a six-seven-seven format.

In the Blue, the early favorite has to be Avondale although Royal Oak and Pontiac will have strong says who wins this division. The Yellow Jackets who moved down from the White looks to me have the most depth right now in the ring.

In the White, the early favorite has to be Bloomfield Hills although Troy, Stoney Creek, West Bloomfield, and Southfield Arts and Tech will have strong says.

In the Red, the early favorite is Clarkston although Oxford will have a strong say. Adams is a darkhorse contender. Lake Orion, Seaholm, and Rochester will battle in the cellar.

Here is the podcast from the Local Voice.
https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/oaa-now-042219

Pontiac has their new Varsity Football Coach.

Written Tuesday April 16th at 9:45 AM

The Pontiac Phoenix have found their next football coach.

Citing a very accurate source, the Phoenix have named Ken Wade to be the next Varsity Football coach replacing Charles Talley. Wade will be the school's fourth coach in six seasons.

Wade is the third new head coach that will compete in the Blue this upcoming season joining Jon Herstein at North Farmington and Corey Bell at Avondale.

Wade has coached youth football at Pontiac and worked with former North Farmington football coach Bob Chiesa when they were at Waterford Mott for several years.

Wade met his team last week according to the accurate source.

Wade will have a really tough task turning a Phoenix program that went 1-8 last season and has been 5-48 since 2012.

Thoughts

Wade has local ties working with the youth football program so he knows this team and area real well. If given the time he can turn this program around but as mentioned it will be a struggle to turn Pontiac around.

Rome wasn't built overnight and that's what the Phoenix program needs right now is stability and time to let them grow and develop.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

Here is the Podcast from the Local Voice
https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/oaa-now-042219

Volleyball Coaching Changes.

Written Sunday April 14th at 11:25 PM

We do have some Volleyball coaching changes to talk about with one coach named at Royal Oak and another at North Farmington while another has departed Adams.

Harding Departs Adams.

The Adams Highlanders are now looking for a new Volleyball coach as coach Bridgette Harding has stepped down as confirmed by the Oakland Schools Website.

The job was posted as of April 8^th.

Adams will be in the Red next season which will make the job that much harder.

Harding was at Adams since 2015 and has oversaw the team that grew and won the White crown in 2017. It will be interesting who coaches them next season. The Highlanders will be a team to watch in the White as they look to rebound from a tough season.

Royal Oak has their New Head Coach.

The Royal Oak Ravens will have a new Volleyball coach next fall. The Ravens have named Ciara Schultz to take over the program replacing Emily Burwinkle whom was at Royal Oak for two seasons.

Schultz was a setter at Oakland University and brings a ton of volleyball knowledge to a team that has been improving but hasn’t made that next step up as of yet.

The Ravens lost to Groves in the district semifinal last season.

It will be interesting to see what Schultz brings to Royal Oak this upcoming season. The Ravens will compete in the Blue which will be interesting to keep an eye on. If Royal Oak can buy in to Schultz’s system then the Ravens could be a team to watch for.

North Farmington has their New Head Coach.

The Raiders have a new head coach in Michael Love. Love takes over for Kat Hall who was at North Farmington since 2016.

Love coached at Harrison until the school closed this year. He has joined football coach Jon Herstein who changed from the Harrison green and gold to the Raiders brown and yellow.

North Farmington is expected to be one of the top contenders in the White this season joining the likes of Bloomfield Hills and Seaholm.

It will also be interesting how Love will get the returning girls who know Hall's system and adjust to his system and how he operates.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on these developing stories.