One Team, One Dream!
One Team, One Dream!
October 2014
For the Love of the Game The Muskie Softball team brought its fall season to a close on a beautiful Saturday at MSOE on Oct. 11. The team had a long day ahead when it stepped onto the bus ready for game day! But, instead of their normal gold and navy bows that they tied in their hair, they had red ribbon with black letters and numbers hanging from their ponytails. When Coach Hailey Dreyer asked players why the ribbons were red, the girls responded that they were in support of North Central Texas College, a junior college in Texas whose softball team was involved in an accident that took the life of four members of the team. Sophomore Mikayla Hilton shares why these red ribbons were so important to the team: “My mom brought this tragedy to my attention. She asked me if I heard about the accident involving a college softball team and I hadn’t, so I looked it up online. I had no idea as to how bad the accident was and wanted to see if everyone was okay. I then proceeded to read that four college softball players were killed and 11 others were injured in Oklahoma after the bus they were riding in collided with a semi trailer truck. As I continued to read, it really hit home to me. We travel so often on a bus all of the time and the reality is that this could have happened to any team. The girls I play with on our team are family to me. I couldn’t imagine losing any one of them, let alone four of my teammates. In the article, it said, ‘Softball teams across the country wore red ribbons or marked NCTC on their uniforms to honor the young women.’ I decided that we could be a part of this. Something so simple as wearing ribbons to honor these four young women, that we share a love for…love for the game of softball.” The girls proudly wore these ribbons and also made some for the coaches in order to support and play for NCTC, which is what they will continue to do.
throughout the season.
Annual Halloween Party
The Muskies got together at Coach Dreyer’s house for their annual team-bonding Halloween Party. The night started off with Halloween-themed games, which included: races of balancing popsicle sticks with candy corn in their mouths; being wrapped in toilet paper mummies, and hiking toilet paper rolls into bins. They then got together for a big game of Kick the Pumpkin, usually known as Kick the Can. This spread across the street, with players hiding behind houses, cars, in bins and over fences. The game finale was a giant bracket of Four Square. The Muskies had two pool play rounds which resulted in one final championship round and one winner. After sprinting up and down streets, spinning around in toilet paper and hiding in buckets and behind cars, the Muskies were ready to fuel up on some pasta and dessert. Team bonding is a huge part of our culture as a Muskie and getting to spend time together off the field is just as important as the time we spend together on the field!
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Once a Muskie, always a Muskie!
Homecoming Recap Homecoming 2014 was a success! We had 21 alumni come back for this special occasion along with parents, families and friends. “We are so lucky to have such a rich tradition to build off of and we are excited to keep up the relationship,” said Coach Dreyer. Our alumni game had current Muskies battling past Muskies for bragging rights and the chance to showcase their skills. The current Muskies pulled out the win, though not without a strong fight from the Muskies of the past. “I believe we had graduates from each of the past four decades come out to the game…I think the ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, and 2010 classes were all represented,” said Stacey Remington, who bridges the gap between both sides as a former player and also as a current assistant coach for the Muskies. “It was great to see so many teammates come out to re-connect, support the current Muskies, and check out all of the great renovations that have taken place at the field. I remember the first year we played softball at Lakeland’s home facility, thanks to Coach Bouche getting us a field on campus. Coach Dreyer has done a great job of continuing to update the facility, as well as uniting different groups of alumni. It was a perfect day, despite the weather. We all had a great time playing and reminiscing, and I look forward to next year’s game as more and more alumni continue to come out to play!” After the game, all of the Muskies and their families got the chance to meet and great with each other at our tailgate. Although it was a rainy and gloomy day, the event was filled with lots of smiles and laughter as the past Muskies got to talk about what it was like when they played at Lakeland. We had such a fantastic group of players-both past and present-and their families.
Alumni Spotlight
Shawn Holzman - Class of 1993
Where are you residing now? After growing up in Brookfield, Illinois, I met my husband Mark, also a Muskie, and we moved all the way to Howards Grove, Wisconsin. :) Our oldest son Ashton, is a junior at Lakeland! Our youngest son Caleb, is a sophomore at Howards Grove High School. Profession? I teach 5th grade Language Arts at Howards Grove Middle School. I also coach 8th grade girls basketball. Favorite memory? It’s funny, I don’t remember with great detail the wins and losses. I just remember we were good. I remember Coach Tinkle arranging pregame steak sandwich meals at the Log Cabin. I loved catching for “Dewey” (Deb Reindl Gabriel) and Sarah Lesinksi DeGoey. Playing on any field that we could find was somewhat interesting...ranging from Elkhart Lake, to the Prof Row patch of grass, to the current Howards Grove softball field. I have a great memory of having a team sleep over and waking up to marker all over many teammates faces. I just really enjoyed playing with a great group of women,who enjoyed the game. Differences in the game today? First of all, the ball is yellow-we played with white balls. We also didn’t use the slap game consciously yet. Advice for current Muskies? Get involved. Meet and talk with as many people as you can. Take advantage of opportunities that come your way. Convocations may seem boring at times, but you’ll appreciate that you had the opportunity to be exposed to different speakers. Support your fellow Muskies. Go to games, cheer each other on. Don’t be rude on social media. That wasn’t a presence in our world, back in the day. There’s really never an excuse for being rude. Lift one another up, enjoy this time, it goes fast.
FOLLOW THE MUSKIES IN THE MEDIA! Lakeland College Muskie Softball
Instagram : LCMuskieSoftball
Twitter : @MuskieSballLC
October 2014
For the Love of the Game The Muskie Softball team brought its fall season to a close on a beautiful Saturday at MSOE on Oct. 11. The team had a long day ahead when it stepped onto the bus ready for game day! But, instead of their normal gold and navy bows that they tied in their hair, they had red ribbon with black letters and numbers hanging from their ponytails. When Coach Hailey Dreyer asked players why the ribbons were red, the girls responded that they were in support of North Central Texas College, a junior college in Texas whose softball team was involved in an accident that took the life of four members of the team. Sophomore Mikayla Hilton shares why these red ribbons were so important to the team: “My mom brought this tragedy to my attention. She asked me if I heard about the accident involving a college softball team and I hadn’t, so I looked it up online. I had no idea as to how bad the accident was and wanted to see if everyone was okay. I then proceeded to read that four college softball players were killed and 11 others were injured in Oklahoma after the bus they were riding in collided with a semi trailer truck. As I continued to read, it really hit home to me. We travel so often on a bus all of the time and the reality is that this could have happened to any team. The girls I play with on our team are family to me. I couldn’t imagine losing any one of them, let alone four of my teammates. In the article, it said, ‘Softball teams across the country wore red ribbons or marked NCTC on their uniforms to honor the young women.’ I decided that we could be a part of this. Something so simple as wearing ribbons to honor these four young women, that we share a love for…love for the game of softball.” The girls proudly wore these ribbons and also made some for the coaches in order to support and play for NCTC, which is what they will continue to do.
throughout the season.
Annual Halloween Party
The Muskies got together at Coach Dreyer’s house for their annual team-bonding Halloween Party. The night started off with Halloween-themed games, which included: races of balancing popsicle sticks with candy corn in their mouths; being wrapped in toilet paper mummies, and hiking toilet paper rolls into bins. They then got together for a big game of Kick the Pumpkin, usually known as Kick the Can. This spread across the street, with players hiding behind houses, cars, in bins and over fences. The game finale was a giant bracket of Four Square. The Muskies had two pool play rounds which resulted in one final championship round and one winner. After sprinting up and down streets, spinning around in toilet paper and hiding in buckets and behind cars, the Muskies were ready to fuel up on some pasta and dessert. Team bonding is a huge part of our culture as a Muskie and getting to spend time together off the field is just as important as the time we spend together on the field!
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Once a Muskie, always a Muskie!
Homecoming Recap Homecoming 2014 was a success! We had 21 alumni come back for this special occasion along with parents, families and friends. “We are so lucky to have such a rich tradition to build off of and we are excited to keep up the relationship,” said Coach Dreyer. Our alumni game had current Muskies battling past Muskies for bragging rights and the chance to showcase their skills. The current Muskies pulled out the win, though not without a strong fight from the Muskies of the past. “I believe we had graduates from each of the past four decades come out to the game…I think the ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, and 2010 classes were all represented,” said Stacey Remington, who bridges the gap between both sides as a former player and also as a current assistant coach for the Muskies. “It was great to see so many teammates come out to re-connect, support the current Muskies, and check out all of the great renovations that have taken place at the field. I remember the first year we played softball at Lakeland’s home facility, thanks to Coach Bouche getting us a field on campus. Coach Dreyer has done a great job of continuing to update the facility, as well as uniting different groups of alumni. It was a perfect day, despite the weather. We all had a great time playing and reminiscing, and I look forward to next year’s game as more and more alumni continue to come out to play!” After the game, all of the Muskies and their families got the chance to meet and great with each other at our tailgate. Although it was a rainy and gloomy day, the event was filled with lots of smiles and laughter as the past Muskies got to talk about what it was like when they played at Lakeland. We had such a fantastic group of players-both past and present-and their families.
Alumni Spotlight
Shawn Holzman - Class of 1993
Where are you residing now? After growing up in Brookfield, Illinois, I met my husband Mark, also a Muskie, and we moved all the way to Howards Grove, Wisconsin. :) Our oldest son Ashton, is a junior at Lakeland! Our youngest son Caleb, is a sophomore at Howards Grove High School. Profession? I teach 5th grade Language Arts at Howards Grove Middle School. I also coach 8th grade girls basketball. Favorite memory? It’s funny, I don’t remember with great detail the wins and losses. I just remember we were good. I remember Coach Tinkle arranging pregame steak sandwich meals at the Log Cabin. I loved catching for “Dewey” (Deb Reindl Gabriel) and Sarah Lesinksi DeGoey. Playing on any field that we could find was somewhat interesting...ranging from Elkhart Lake, to the Prof Row patch of grass, to the current Howards Grove softball field. I have a great memory of having a team sleep over and waking up to marker all over many teammates faces. I just really enjoyed playing with a great group of women,who enjoyed the game. Differences in the game today? First of all, the ball is yellow-we played with white balls. We also didn’t use the slap game consciously yet. Advice for current Muskies? Get involved. Meet and talk with as many people as you can. Take advantage of opportunities that come your way. Convocations may seem boring at times, but you’ll appreciate that you had the opportunity to be exposed to different speakers. Support your fellow Muskies. Go to games, cheer each other on. Don’t be rude on social media. That wasn’t a presence in our world, back in the day. There’s really never an excuse for being rude. Lift one another up, enjoy this time, it goes fast.
FOLLOW THE MUSKIES IN THE MEDIA! Lakeland College Muskie Softball
Instagram : LCMuskieSoftball
Twitter : @MuskieSballLC
