GIRLS HOCKEY HAS WORK AHEAD.(Sports) - The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

Two days before WIAA schools spent part of their annual meeting taking up the issue of finding additional winter sports for girls, Madison Edgewood did something about it by adding girls hockey.

The decision announced last week fits the private school's profile as one that likes to set itself apart and the move will probably blaze a trail others will follow. However, it's clear that there is plenty of work to be done before the Edgewood girls can drop the puck this fall.

Besides finding a coach, the Crusaders must find a facility in which to play and practice and teams to fill their schedule. But Edgewood president Tom Shipley doesn't sound too worried.

``We'll probably try to play in one of the local rinks,'' Shipley said, naming Hartmeyer Ice Arena in Madison and the Eagles Nest in Verona. ``I don't know how extensive the schedule will be. Since it will be a club sport the first year or so, we'll look to get games wherever we can get them.

``We'll have to be creative.''

Leola-Frederick runner receives invite to Howard Wood Relays special race. - American News (Aberdeen, SD)

Byline: Deb Smith

May 3--The 83rd edition of the Howard Wood Relays starts Friday afternoon in Sioux Falls with the college men's hammer throw and ends on Saturday night with the high school boys' 1,600-meter relay.

More than 3,000 middle school, high school, college and university athletes will participate in the two-day meet, which started back on May 4, 1923.

The field events start Friday at 1:30 p.m. The high school events contested on Friday are the girls' high jump, pole vault and shot put along with the boys' long jump.

The running schedule on the first day starts at 1 p.m. with preliminaries in the sprints and some relays.

A special event, the boys' 200-meter dash, is slated for 8:25 p.m. It is an event by invitation only and includes six South Dakota sprinters and two from Minnesota. The entries are Andrew Johnson of Rapid City Central, Corbin Kratovil of Bennett County, Jarrett Klinger of Pierre, Chas DeMers of Winner, Jerrell Hancock of Anoka, Minn., George Dudley of Hopkins, Minn., Brock Bills of Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Tyrel Kool of Yankton.

Klinger was named the outstanding athlete at an indoor track and field meet earlier this season at the Barnett Center. He is currently ranked first in Class AA in the 100-meter dash (10.79 seconds) and the 200 dash (:22.47).

Activity begins early on Saturday at Howard Wood Field. The action begins at 8 a.m. and the final event is slated for 9:10 p.m.

The special event for girls will be an 800-run at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday. Leola-Frederick's Mikayla Barondeau is one of the eight invited athletes from four states.

Other runners are Jessica Engel of Sturgis; Olivia Johnson of Okoboji, Iowa; Krista Eckert of Sioux Falls Roosevelt; Laura Roesler of Fargo, N.D.; Allison Eckert of Sioux Falls Roosevelt; Nikki Swenson of Lac Qui Parle Valley (Dawson-Boyd, Minn.); and Amy Reuter of Brookings.

'I'm really excited,' said Barondeau, a junior. 'I watched one (special event) two years ago and thought it would be really neat, but I didn't think I would actually be in it.'

This week, Barondeau holds the fastest time in Class A in the 1,600-meter run at 5:33.34 and the second fastest 800 run at 2:25.71.

'I prefer the 800. It's not too long but not too short. The 400 is too fast and the mile is getting long. The 800 is right in between and I like it,' said Barondeau, who has been doing more biking and pool workouts this spring because of problems with tendonitis.

Several of the Class AA runners rank among the state's leaders in the 800 including Allison Eckert with a 2:16.0 and Krista Eckert at 2:18.86. Reuter has posted a time of 2:20.9 in the 800 run.

'I hope to get a personal best time,' said Barondeau, who ran a 2:22 last year at state. 'It will definitely be a challenge.'

To follow the meet online, log on to the Web site www.dakotarelays.com.

ATHLETE NUMBERS INCREASE NATIONALLY: The number of high school boys and girls participating in athletics has increased nationally and reached record numbers.

In its annual participation survey the National Federation of State High School Associations reported that the number of athletes in sports rose for the 17th consecutive year in 2005-06. Nationally, more than 7 million people are involved in high school sports.

The number of female athletes (2,953,355) set an all-time record and the number of males (4,367,442) is the second highest ever.

The sports that grew in numbers the most in that year were competitive cheer for girls and 11-man football for boys. South Dakota added competitive cheer and dance as interscholastic sports for the 2007-08 season and several schools including Aberdeen Central will field teams beginning in the fall.

According to the number of schools offering them, the top three most popular sports for girls and boys are basically the same: basketball, outdoor track and field, and baseball/softball. The fourth most offered sports were football for boys and volleyball for girls.

In the total number of players, 11-man football led the way for boys with more than 1 million. The top sport for girls was basketball with 450,000.

In addition to cheer and dance, another sport that has been on the rise is soccer. It ranks sixth on a list of the most offered sport for girls and seventh for boys. In the number of athletes, soccer is the fifth highest for both girls and boys.

--Sports writer Deb Smith and NFHS News

BROOKINGS SELECTS BOYS' BASKETBALL COACH: Travis Engebretson has been named the head boys' basketball coach at Brookings High School.

A graduate of Huron University, Engebretson takes over from Gary Thomas who was named to a vice-principal job at Brookings. Engebretson, who served as the Bobcat sophomore or junior varsity coach the last nine seasons, played baseball and football at Huron University.

Engebretson credits his college coach Fred Paulson and the Brookings coaches for teaching him coaching lessons. He plans to build the Bobcat program beginning at the middle school level.

Tim Lease, who was the head boys' basketball coach at Onamia, Minn., was added to the basketball staff. Engebretson will maintain his football and track coaching duties.

--Sports writer Deb Smith

To see more of the American News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.aberdeennews.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Sporting chance.(TEAM BUILDING)(Frank Deford speaks in Ohio)(Brief article) - Inside Business

Sports Illustrated columnist and sports writing legend Frank Deford loves sports, but isn't blind to the economics, greed and corruption of the industry that seems to become more pervasive every year. Little League World Series, anyone?

A journalist for more than 40 years, author of 14 books and a weekly commentator on National Public Radio, Deford delivered his trademark thinking man's sports fan viewpoint to The Town Hall of Cleveland in October with a theme he's explored throughout his career: 'Sports: The Hype and the Hypocrisy.'

'Why should athletes get [college] scholarships and a piano player shouldn't?' Deford asked the receptive audience of hundreds of business executives, educators, as well as high school and college students in the Ohio Theatre. '... It serves to foster a more anti-intellectual atmosphere.'

Although Deford gibed college athletics for its shameless corporate and booster profiteering, he did praise schools for sharing the wealth by adding more women's teams.

'That team experience carries over throughout life,' Deford says. 'Boys learn to take care of each other on a team early on,' adding more team-oriented school sports for girls and women will help them 'catch up in the workplace' later in life.

Although there are benefits, Deford worries about the trend of female student athletes who descend into the same bad grades, behavior and sports obsession of their male counterparts.

Frances Boden, 79, popular teacher in Campbell and Los Gatos. - San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, CA)

Byline: Sue Chenoweth

Jan. 26--For three decades, Frances Boden shared her endless energy with students at San Tomas Elementary School in Campbell and later Rolling Hills Middle School in Los Gatos. Among her first students was Candice Lawson Leigh, a fifth-grader at San Tomas when Ms. Boden began teaching there in 1956. 'Fran created such a positive atmosphere in her classroom,' Leigh said. 'She expected a lot from her students and, by golly, she got it.' The popular teacher also scored points for her cars. 'Fran always had the coolest car in the faculty parking lot,' Leigh said, naming a Morris Minor, street rod, Thunderbird, custom-painted pickup and Honda motorcycle. At home in Los Gatos, Ms. Boden drove a tractor. Ms. Boden asked that no services be held after she died. On Jan. 10, she suffered a heart attack and died at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. Several of her closest friends plan to honor the Epicurean with a private dinner. An open gathering closer to what would have been Ms. Boden's 80th birthday may take place in the spring.

She was born May 27, 1927, in San Jose and grew up on her family's prune, apricot and walnut ranch in the Edenvale area. By the time she entered San Jose State, Ms. Boden had become an avid hunter and savvy horse trader. Ms. Boden graduated in 1951 and taught school in Freedom for a short time before heading to Hawaii on a teachers exchange. It was there she met longtime companion Gerd Salmonson, a teacher from Sweden, and competed with a championship outrigger rowing team. 'There was never a dull moment in Fran's life,' said Melissa Greer, whose mother was a colleague and close friend of Ms. Boden's. 'Fran traveled the world.' She loved the arts so much that she often treated her students to theater and opera performances. 'Phantom of the Opera' was Ms. Boden's favorite, Salmonson said. Ms. Boden routinely bought books to help motivate students to read. Once, she treated the class to a rodeo at the Cow Palace, Leigh said. Because there was nothing much besides the monkey bars in the way of sports for girls, Ms. Boden organized a girls softball and basketball league. For uniforms, they wore men's sleeveless ribbed undershirts over their school clothes, Leigh said. For transportation, the girls piled in the back of Ms. Boden's pickup. Ms. Boden didn't slow down in 1982 when she retired. She continued tending her vegetable garden, which also produced pumpkins and Christmas trees every season, showing her champion German shorthair, Jake, and hosting parties with live entertainment.

But when the 49ers were playing, -- forget it, Greer said. 'Fran did not want to be disturbed.' Ms. Boden related to every student, Leigh said, including a troubled boy who decided he'd had enough of school one day and bolted out the door. 'Fran chased right after him, leaping over mud puddles on the playground to catch him,' Leigh said. Ms. Boden returned with the boy and a bloody lip, then excused the class early. The next morning, he was back -- and not begrudgingly, Leigh said. By the end of the year, the boy was chosen 'Most Improved Student.' FRANCES LEE BODEN Born: May 27, 1927, in San Jose

Died: Jan. 10, 2007, in San Jose Survived by: Her companion, Gerd Salmonson of Los Gatos, and a sister, Jane Holloway of San Jose.

Memorial: Ms. Boden preferred that contributions be sent to an animal rights or children's literacy organization. For more obituaries go to www. mercurynews.com/ obituaries/.

Copyright (c) 2007, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

News.

MAHWAH SCHOOLS IMPROVING DESPITE CUTS - The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
12-11-1991
MAHWAH SCHOOLS IMPROVING DESPITE CUTS
Date: 12-11-1991, Wednesday
Section: NORTHWEST BERGEN YOUR TOWN RECORD
Edition: 3 Star

Editor, The Record:

As an outspoken citizen who has been concerned with Mahwah's
educational system for 10 years, I was honored by the voters to be
elected to the Board of Education in 1990. I knew the task ahead would
not be easy: Any change in education is a slow process, and there were
years of complacency that had to be overcome.

The economic climate throughout the country is unstable and we in
Mahwah have not been spared. Now, more than ever, public bodies must be
responsive, open, and honest to the community in which they serve, and
must respond to misleading information and half-truths written by
defeated former board members for the purpose of negating the present
board's efforts at responsible leadership.

Yes, like many towns, Mahwah had a defeated budget. However,
despite removal of nearly $1 million from that budget, Mahwah's
schoolchildren have a new reading program, new computers to enhance more
programs, and a new superintendent who is responsive to improving
education.

Yes, class size has increased (we no longer have sections of 12 and
15 students per class). Yes, we have instituted a small fee for freshman
sports that has enabled us to add additional freshman sports for girls,
thereby creating a balance in offerings for boys and girls.

Yes, we have instituted a small maintenance fee for students who
use school-owned musical instruments instead of renting their
instruments from an outside company. This fee offsets some of the costs
for repairs.

Note also that both these fees are waived in some cases of
financial hardship.

Yes, all of these items address what the board is doing now, but
what are the plans for the future? One only has to read the papers to
note that science and math education throughout the country has failed
our children. We in Mahwah have followed the studies of the National
Science Foundation and will be instituting an integrated science
curriculum in the high school for all ninth-graders.

This program is an exciting and challenging new approach to the
teaching of science and will put Mahwah at the leading edge of teaching
for the 21st century. Furthermore, we are adding a calculus course to
the high school curriculum in addition to our existing
advanced-placement calculus course. Thus the AP course will more
adequately address the needs of the advanced math student, while the
average math student will have an additional math course available for
further study.

Yes, we have discussed the possibility of a new phone system to
replace an inadequate and highly inefficient system that presently
exists. However, the board decided that the phone issue will be
addressed during the next budget preparation, provided that savings are
achieved to offset the cost of implementation. Yes, as residents of
Mahwah can see, the Board of Education has taken its job most seriously
and is striving to provide the best educational experiences for the
children during a period of national economic uncertainty. I urge
residents truly interested in knowing how the Board of Education is
operating to attend meetings and learn the facts firsthand.

BARBARA BURGHARDT
Mahwah

Keywords: MAHWAH. SCHOOL. EDUCATION. BUDGET

Copyright 1991 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.

Willetta Brown, 82, advocated girls' sports; She was a teacher and coach in what is now Roseville Area High School.(NEWS)(Obituary) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: Ben Cohen; Staff Writer

In a different era, Willetta (Pinkie) Brown of Kasota, Minn., might have been a headline name on the sports pages. But when she played tennis, basketball and volleyball, there wasn't much in the way of organized sports for girls and young women.

Brown worked to change that, helping to bring interscholastic sports to Minnesota girls. She died last Thursday at her home. She was 82.

Brown taught physical education and coached girls' basketball, track and volleyball at Alexander Ramsey High School (now Roseville Area High School) from 1952 to 1985.

She was inducted into the Minnesota State High School League's Hall of Fame in 1993. 'She was a terrific coach and teacher as well as an organizer,' said Paul Busch, a retired teacher and coach. She also could play a variety of sports. 'Had women's athletics been around when she was in high school, she would have been an unbelievable athlete,' Busch said.

He added that she had a bit of a temper, especially toward those who were rude to her student athletes simply because they were girls.

For many years, Brown held workshops to teach girls' coaches, and she volunteered on committees and boards that supported girl athletes, said Ruth Engebritson, a retired Alexander Ramsey teacher and coach.

Brown, a 1945 graduate of the former Mankato Teachers College, served on the Minnesota State High School League's Women's Advisory Committee in 1969, and was a founding member of the Minnesota Coaches Association for Girls Sports.

ADKINS NEARS END OF COACHING CAREER - Post-Tribune (IN)

PHOTOBernita Adkins will conclude her 25 years as a girls' basketball coach at the end of Portage's season. During the 1962-63 season, she coached seven sports at Portage. (Post-Tribune photo by Dave Bartman)

THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED VERSION.

Don't begrudge Bernita Adkins a flashback or two Tuesday night when her Portage girls' basketball team plays Valparaiso at Portage High School. It will be the last sectional hurrah for Adkins, the only basketball coach Portage's girls have ever known. Poor health hastened her retirement from coaching, but there's no doubt where her heart is.

'When I made the decision over Christmas vacation, I cried for 24 hours,' she said. 'I did a lot of soul searching. I knew it wasn't fair to my health or to the kids. I missed four games this season, that's more than in all my previous years'

The sobs became contagious. Her players cried after she told them earlier this month that she was quitting.

Adkins, 53, was hospitalized early in the season for an ulcerated colon. Her doctor said the condition was brought about by the stresses associated with years of coaching.

As Adkins watches her squad play Valparaiso Tuesday, her thoughts might drift back 25 years when she picked up her first whistle. Also greeting her was an assortment of indifferent and chauvinistic attitudes.

In the 1962-63 season, Adkins coached golf, field hockey, basketball, track and field, swimming, badminton, and volleyball. For all this, she received a yearly stipend of $250.

'We'd go somewhere and play basketball, then put up the nets and play volleyball,' recalls Adkins. 'We called it a sportsday. Our principal was against interscholastic sports for girls.

'People don't realize what we went through when we first started. Parents drove, I drove. We sold candy and candles to pay for uniforms and officials.'

Adkins knew griping wouldn't help.

'If I complained, they'd say 'you didn't have to do it' so I just kept my mouth shut. The girls needed something and they were quite thankful they had the opportunity.'

The options for girls changed dramatically in the mid 70's as the growing women's movement helped spur the passage of Title IX, a federal law which mandates equal educational opportunities in the classroom and on the athletic field.

Reaping the biggest benefit was girls' basketball which suddenly gained first-string status and a glitzy state tournament.

Adkins took her undefeated Indians as far the semistate during the tournament's inaugural season in 1976-77. Her team was ousted by the eventual state runner-up, East Chicago Roosevelt. Adkins has a 220-95 record, but her teams haven't won a sectional since.

Five players from her first tournament team are now coaching basketball at varying levels. They are: Linda Radivan, Donna DeVries, Peggy Voss, Cheryl Kovalow and Karen Arwood.

Since then, Adkins has witnessed astonishing changes in skills and abilities.

'I think the squad I have right now would beat them,' Adkins says about her current team which has a 12-6 record. 'So much has changed. There are bigger and stronger people. Weight work has played a role, and the girls are better shooters.'

In all her years of coaching, Adkins has never received a technical foul.

'If I could blow my stack, I probably wouldn't be having these problems. I'm not a yeller or a screamer.'

Adkins' squad would like nothing better than to present her with a sectional title as a going away present. First, the Indians will have to survive their sectional opener against Valparaiso, which beat them 52-48 on Jan. 17.