Troy has their new Girls Basketball Coach.

Written Sunday June 7th at 4:00 PM

The Troy Colts have changed coaches.

The Colts named Julius Porter the new Girls Basketball Coach replacing Simon Bato who shockingly stepped down.

Porter was introduced to the players and parents last Saturday.

“We wanted to find a coach for all the right reasons and a coach who will make coming to Troy one of the most rewarding experiences in our student athletes lives. When we brought Julius in, I’ll just tell you that we felt his instant positive energy, his warm smile, and his genuine desire, and excitement to be at Troy” said Shane Hynes in a statement on Twitter.

Porter is well known especially from the Boys Basketball community. He played at Clarkston from 2005-2008. He was the junior varsity and varsity assistant coach for the Wolves while learning a lot from legendary coach Dan Fife. Porter does have a championship pedigree winning two State titles as an assistant.

What helps Porter is that he has a lot of proven experience coming back in Kendal Zeiter, Charlotte Soboka, Alyssa Matuza, Kayla Rutledge, Lauren Gumma, and Calen Knight. Troy has a solid sub varsity program coming up which should help ease in the transition.

The Colts lost a key standout in Athena Sampson to graduation last season.

Troy won 15 games under Bato in the 2019-2020 season.

One thing that has bothered the Colts is that they have lost to Utica in districts in back to back years. Troy fell to the Chieftains two years ago in the district finals and then last season in the pre-district where they had the top seed in the district.

Troy will be in the White this upcoming season along with Adams, Bloomfield Hills, Stoney Creek, and North Farmington. The Colts are expected to be one of the favorites for the division crown. The district hasn’t been announced yet but it's possible that Troy could see Utica again at some point.

Thoughts

I know Porter really well from his days at Clarkston when he coached junior varsity boys basketball however when I look at the hire there are questions and concerns.

Porter does have prior varsity coaching experience but not in girls basketball. He was an assistant at Clarkston learning from Fife. Also coaching in the girls game is very different than in the boys game. Perfect examples are Jeff Rubin, Mike Griffin, and Chris Manchester.

It's not impossible for a coach to successfully make the transition from the boys game to the girls game.

Another concern that I have is that there will be a transition period and there could be some struggle early on.

Program strength is something that I'm very curious with how Porter will handle that. Bato was very successful with program strength. Hynes feels optimistic that Porter can continue where Bato left off.

The other question is that is the Porter hire an upgrade over Bato??? This has the makings of a good hire but a lot of things have to go right in order to make this work.

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

My Podcast

https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/oaa-now-07-22-20

MHSAA releases new guidelines to get things started again.

Written Friday May 29th at 3:20 PM
Updated Monday June 1st at 6:00 PM

The MHSAA released their guidelines on Friday afternoon. The league’s guidelines are basically the same as the NFHS’s guidelines how to open up schools.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer lifted the "Stay at Home" order on Monday and allowed gatherings of more than 100 people and the MHSAA said that they will have more information on Tuesday regarding the restart.

The MHSAA has a three step plan to get things back up and running again with Step One is limiting gatherings to less than 10 people and outdoor recreation like walking, hiking, and running with social distancing guidelines followed. Step Two is that competition can return with lower risk sports while moderate risk sports can start practicing. Step Three means that moderate risk sports can start competition along with modified higher risk sports can start practicing. Higher risk sports can resume based on epidemiology data and experiences from other states and government or health department directives.

“The MHSAA and its Representative Council believe restarting school sports is essential to the physical and mental well-being of students and the guidelines outlined for schools today provide the “How” for schools to return to athletics when they receive the go ahead from state and county health officials” said Mark Uyl who is the MHSAA Executive Director.

The higher risk sports include football, boys lacrosse, competitive cheerleading, and wrestling.

The moderate risk sports will also be mentioned on why I question the guidelines include basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, hockey, girls lacrosse, gymnastics, bowling, tennis, swimming relays, high jump, long jump, seven on seven football, and pole vault. Although some of these sports which I think should be deemed in the low risk as I will bold them and thus see my reasonings why I question the guidelines.

The low risk sports include shot-put, discus, running, individual swimming events, powerlifting (weightlifting), skiing, golf, cross country, and sideline cheer.

The guidelines divided social distancing in three groups from essential to non-essential like players, coaches, officials, support staff, and administrators are deemed in tier one, Media is tier two, and fans along with venders are deemed in tier three.

School district administrators will determine which steps that their schools are operating based on the number of people allowed to gather by state medical rules and regulations.

The NFHS also recommended playing games against other schools that are in close proximity. The OAA has teams as north as Oxford, as east Stoney Creek, as west of Farmington, and to as south as Ferndale. Although for the northern OAA schools Davison, Lapeer, Romeo, and Grand Blanc are possible options. For the eastern OAA schools playing like Utica Eisenhower, Utica, Chippewa Valley, Macomb Dakota, Sterling Heights Stevenson, Sterling Heights, and Utica Ford are possible, and for the western OAA schools the Lakes Valley Conference schools are options, and for the southern OAA schools teams like Livonia Franklin, Novi, Northville, Livonia Stevenson, and Livonia Churchill are possible along with teams like Hazel Park, Clawson, Lamphere, Madison, Warren Fitzgerald, and Center Line are possible options as well. Could this recommendation force schools to review conference affiliation down the line??? It’s possible.

The guidelines also mention that there could be periodic school closures and teams that might have to isolate during the season due to possible outbreaks in the fall and winter although not proven that there could be a possible second wave.

It is possible that a vaccine and or treatment for the coronavirus disease 19 could be available between October and at the end of the year or in early 2021 based on the reports I’ve been hearing.

“We are thankful for our state government, state education, health departments, our medical partners and the NFHS for their guidance in the past few months and we will continue to follow and pass on these recommendations as we prepare our schools to bring back this part of student life that has been sorely missed” Uyl concluded.

Why I question the Guidelines???

I question in the guidelines why that basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, bowling, tennis, pole vault, high jump, long jump, and baseball are in the moderate risk category. I think these sports should be low risk because they don’t have a ton of physical contact. In my research, basketball is not deemed as a contact sport and there is evidence proving that. Also why are the medical experts saying that passing a ball can get you coronavirus disease 19??? until I see the evidence I’m not convinced of that. In volleyball, soccer, softball, tennis, and baseball social distancing can be achieved because they are spaced apart on the field or on the court. In volleyball there is a net that blocks both teams and that you can maintain distance, I’ve seen evidence and along with tennis. I don’t know why pole vault, and high jump are in the moderate risk, they can be cleaned periodically along with bowling but with long jump I severely disagree because that is a low risk no question there.

I get all the hygiene stuff but I think the guidelines are too strict and overprotective. I really question some things in the guidelines although medical experts have said that respiratory droplets are the main reason for concern but I really question that for several reasons. I have not seen any proof that multiple people touching a ball can cause coronavirus disease 19. Also there is evidence that sweat does not cause someone to get coronavirus disease 19. Until someone in the medical field not my friends or family tells me otherwise and provides me evidence of this, I remain skeptical.

Stay tuned to OAA Now on this developing story.

LO Cares Podcast from June 18th
https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/lo-cares-podcast0-6-18-20

MHSAA link
https://www.mhsaa.com/Portals/0/Documents/AD%20Forms/Guidance%205-29-20.pdf

Groves has their new Girls Basketball Coach.

Written Monday May 25th at 5:00 PM

The Falcons have their new Girls Basketball Coach.

Groves named Ant-Juan Simpkins as their new coach taking over for Jessica Wieseler whom stepped down after getting an increased role in teaching at Grosse Pointe.

Simpkins is a well-known name around Girls Basketball with his run and gun offense. He took River Rouge in one season to 18 wins and a district title. He also coaches the Michigan Storm AAU 2024 travel team.

The Falcons went 10-11 last season under Wieseler losing to Southfield Arts and Tech in the pre-districts.

“Coach Simpkins brings to us a wealth of knowledge in the world of basketball from past experiences as a high school head coach to experiences at a high level in the AAU circuit” said Groves Athletic Director Tom Flynn to Hometown Life’s Colin Gay.

Simpkins will have Kaitlyn Quinn, Rachel Sample, Destiny McCurdy, Loryn Middlebrooks, Peyton Blandford, Anaya Bracy-Robinson, and Alyssa Durrell all returning.

The Falcons will be in the Red next winter with the likes of Clarkston, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield, and Southfield Arts and Tech.

“I believe that he is going to be a great fit for our program and to get the best out of our girls. To compete in the Red, he gives us the best chance to compete with some of the best teams in the state” Flynn mentioned.

Thoughts

Program strength and longevity are major red flags when I look at this hire despite Simpkins success with the Michigan Storm AAU 2024 and at River Rouge but building up the sub-varsity programs are my major concerns with this hire.

If Simpkins can build a program, not just the varsity but the lower levels then it has a chance to be a great hire.

“I think we have a chance to win the OAA. I think we have a chance to win our district and I believe we can go far in the regionals as well with what we currently have” Simpkins said to Gay.

Simpkins in the interview to Gay believes that his new team has a chance to have a deep run in the postseason and in the league. However the Red will bring very tough challenges to Simpkins and his team with Clarkston, West Bloomfield, and Royal Oak whom have all had playoff success this past season along with Southfield Arts and Tech who has been a consistent state power. The Red is expected to be strong once again. Not to mention the possibly being in a district with Birmingham Marian is possible.

But it hasn’t deterred Simpkins lofty expectations.

“That is some of the expectations to be able to turn it around but not just in winning record but to start winning championships and I believe winning the OAA and winning the district is a start. I believe we can get that accomplished this year” Simpkins concluded.

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

Here is the article about the Simpkins hire from Hometown Life.

https://www.hometownlife.com/story/sports/high-school/birmingham/2020/05/25/simpkins-looks-turn-groves-girls-basketball-around-new-head-coach/5237891002/

My Podcast

https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/oaa-now-07-22-20