Linden Athletics Monthly - February

A Message From The Athletic Director

As we near the end of the season for all of our winter sports, I think it is a perfect time to remind everyone why we partake in athletics. The memories, friendships, and lessons that our kids make and learn will last a life time. All too often we get caught up on winning and losing and not focusing on the important things in life. We all love to win, myself included, but I have to constantly remind myself it is much bigger than that. It is about being a good person, a good leader, a good teammate, a good citizen in our community. A few questions that I would like you to think about are as follows, regardless of what role you play for Linden Athletics.

Athletes - Do your actions makes your family proud? Do your teammates want to play with you? Are you proud of who you are as a person? Why or why not? Please don’t kid yourself, give yourself real answers. Remember, as leaders in the school there are individuals watching your every action and you influence more people than you think.

Coaches - Are you someone your athletes can look up to? Do you handle yourself with class before, during, and after competitions? What is your ultimate goal, to win or to teach life lessons to help teach our youth how to handle themselves when they become an adult? Ask yourself why you coach, because it is easy to lose site of why we do what we do in the middle of all of the emotions.

Parents - Do your actions at games make your kids proud? How do you respond at home or during the car ride home with your student after something didn't go well during a game? Are you a parent that people want to sit by, or someone that nobody can stand? What is more important to you, your kid winning a game, or your kid being a part of a team that they will remember forever? Again, don’t give yourself fake answers, really reflect on yourself and your own actions.

As one coach used to always say, "if you think I'm talking to you, I probably am". I ask these questions because as seasons go on, emotions run high and we tend to focus on the things in life that aren’t as important as others. Always remember to be a good person and do good for others, regardless of the negativity that may surround you! Please take a few minutes and read up on all of the positive going on in Linden Athletics!

Yours in Educational Athletics,

Pete Gleason

Athletic Director

Linden Community Schools

Randy Neuwirth has been involved in soccer for over 25 years as both a player and a coach. With more than a decade of coaching experience at the travel and high school levels, he has developed a strong foundation in player development and team leadership.

He prioritizes hard work and commitment, focusing on consistent improvement rather than just results. While winning is always a goal, his emphasis is on player growth, teamwork, and developing a competitive mindset that carries beyond the field.

Beyond tactical and technical coaching, Randy has been involved in strength and conditioning programs for over five years, specializing in speed and agility training. This background helps players build the physical foundation necessary for success in high-level competition.

Randy looks forward to bringing his experience, energy, and passion for the game to the Linden High School varsity soccer program.

Winter Scholar Athletes

We are thrilled to share some incredible achievements of our scholar-athletes who continue to make us proud both in the classroom and on the field. Their dedication, perseverance, and commitment to excellence truly embody the spirit of our community.

This year, our student-athletes have not only excelled in their respective sports but have also demonstrated outstanding academic achievements. They all have maintained at least a 3.5 GPA while balancing rigorous training schedules.

Go Eagles!!!!!!

This past month the LFLF Gymnastics team competed in their conference meet and won with a new team record of 144.325! This record has not been broken since the 2017-18 season!

There were lots of personal records achieved at this meet as well and the team counted scores of only 9.0 or better for both beam and floor.

Dayne Stucky of Lake Fenton had a great meet taking 2nd in the all around and scoring a 9.2 on beam and 8.85 on vault. Keira Sadler also of Lake Fenton wowed on the beam with a 9.525 and pulled a 9.1 on vault. Sadler placed 2nd in the all around for the division 1 category.

Sophia Markley of Fenton scored a 9.3 on floor taking second place. Markley also showed up in the vault and beam line up. Molly Dixon of Fenton was an all around contender. Dixon took first place with her 9.35 floor routine. She also scored a 9.0 on vault and a 9.3 on beam. Molly secured 3rd place in the all around. Clare Hunter of Fenton had personal bests on all 4 events and placed 3rd in the all around for division 1. Her 9.375 on floor and 9.25 on beam were stand outs.

From Linden, Alida Smith placed 3rd with her 8.9 on vault. Smith also pulled a 9.05 on floor and placed 6th. Mia Brown placed on beam with her 8.15 and competed on bar and floor as well. Also from Linden, Neveah Hatfield had a great vault day taking only 3.5 tenths in execution. Hatfield also competed on the bars. A truly amazing performance from the LFLF team! The team has senior night this Tuesday and is gearing up for the regional meet on March 1st.

Varsity Competitive Cheer had a great showing at the Perry Invitational where the girls took First Place. WOW....Great job girls!

We had 6 student-athletes competing at the Individual State Wrestling Championships this past weekend. The Linden grapplers also competed in the Elite 8 Team MHSAA Districts in Kalamazoo.

They are as follows

Josh Ezell - 6th place All-State

Tyler Sage - 7th place All-State

Lucas Lewandowski

Jordan Brennan

Luciano Luna

Adoniah Delgado

Great job to all athletes and coaches who were involved! Thank you for representing Linden well!!

Outstanding men!!!!!!!#LINDENEAGLEPRIDE

A BIG thank you to the parents that helped all season with concessions. To give of your time for the betterment of the Athletic Department is invaluable. The Linden Athletic Boosters is always looking for help. Please feel free to attend monthly meetings and see how you can assist our student athletes. Spring and Fall concession sign ups are coming soon. Thank you again for all you do.

Spring Coaches Contact Information

LHS Varsity Baseball - Tim Crow - tcrow@lindenschools.org

LHS JV Baseball - Logan Petit - ljp6000@yahoo.com

LMS 8th Grade Baseball - Megan Scollon mscollon@lindenschools.org

LMS 7th Grade Baseball - Tom Appleton - tater241999@gmail.com

LHS Boys Varsity Golf - Brad Tankersley - btankersley@lindenschools.org

LHS Boys JV Golf - Jon Aue - jaue@lindenschools.org

LHS Boys Lacrosse - Steve James - steve@thestainshop.com

LHS Boys JV Lacrosse - Eric Hindbaugh - chefdelux@charter.net

LHS Girls Varsity Soccer - Randy Neuwirth - rneuwi02@gmail.com

LHS Varsity Softball - Sean Darling - addingmachines@yahoo.com

LHS JV Softball - Randy Oryszczak - oryrandy@comcast.net

LMS 8th Grade Softball - Sean Jeric - jeric1204@charter.net

LMS 7th Grade Softball - Heather Crampton - hmcrampton@icloud.com

LMS 7th Grade Softball - Megan Oda - meganoda19@yahoo.com

LHS Track - Ben Cox - (Boys and Girls) - bcox@lindenschools.org

LMS Track -Nick Douglas - ndouglas@lindenschools.org

LMS Track - Eric Niestroy - eniestroy@lindenschools.org

As the season approaches quickly, please remember to register yourself or your student through FinalForms. The link is provided below. Even if you or your child has played a sport this year and their physical is already on file, please make sure they are registered for the spring sport they are going to play, otherwise their coach will not be able to see them on their try-out list. The sports offered are listed below.

Baseball

Boys Golf

Boys Lacrosse

Girls Lacrosse (Fenton Lead)

Girls Soccer

Softball

Track and Field

LMS - First day is March 17th - Practice times will be posted on the Athletic webpage the week prior.

Baseball

Softball

Track and Field

Varsity Girls Basketball -14-7 (Stripes Division Champs)

JV Girls Basketball - 8-9

Varsity Boys Basketball - 15-9 - 4th in FML Stripes

JV Boys Basketball - 15-3

Freshman Boys Basketball - 5-10

Competitive Cheer - Finished 8th in FML

Gymnastics - 11-2

Hockey -3-22

Wrestling - 45-1 (District, Regional and Team Qualifier)