Linden Athletics Monthly

There are some things in life that as much as we think we are in control, we realize we are not and there is nothing we can do about it. Mother Nature, for example is one of them. The spring season started off unlike any other I have been a part of in the past 10 years, but we have finally made it to May! Thank you to all the coaches, players, and families for being extremely flexible with practice times and locations as each and every program had to make adjustments throughout the month of April. It once again proved to me that we are extremely blessed to be a part of the Linden Community and how special the people are here, both students and parents alike.

There are a lot of really good things happening in the Athletic Department, both currently and improvements that are planned in the future. I want to thank everyone who has donated to our athletic fundraisers via Vertical Raise. This has given the coaches multiple options that they may not have had in the past due to lack of funds. We have some very big projects planned in the near future and that are coming strictly from our fundraised funds, and for that I will always be appreciative of this community and your support for athletics! We are in the process of making a much needed upgrade to the weight room while also adding a beautiful batting cage to our facility. This is just naming a few of the big purchases, but all of our coaches have worked extremely close with the Athletic Boosters in order to make improvements to their programs. We cannot thank you enough for your donations to make this all possible!

LHS started the spring season with 24 students on the eligibility list. Each week the list has decreased in size finishing the month with only 7 individuals either ineligible or on probation. I expect this list to continue to decrease as we continue through the spring season. I wanted to thank all teachers and coaches for holding their student athletes accountable in order for this to change!

Lastly, I know we stress academics and intelligence a lot in the school setting. One thing that can outweigh being smart is being kind. Continue to make good decisions on a daily basis and be nice to those around you, we never know when someone is having a bad day and you could be the one to change that.

Enjoy and Go Eagles!

Lance Belill

"The Linden Fenton Wolves Lacrosse season has been a wild ride. The varsity team has played more games to date than any team in the state and the JV team has the largest amount of players in Genesee County! Friday April 29th was a landmark evening for the program with both JV & Varsity boasting wins over rival Brandon/Holly and the Linden Youth Lacrosse program played at halftime of the varsity contest. The injury riddled varsity squad has fought back to a winning record in the metro league and is one win away from a second consecutive championship. The Wolves Lacrosse program prides itself on sportsmanship and respect for the game, officials and opponents. Our program and culture is building and it is being embraced by the community"! - Boys Varsity Lacrosse Coach Steve James

"The Varsity softball team has started where we left off last season. The 3 games have been lost by a total of 4 runs! After reaching the State Quarterfinals last year we started the season off with league games vs. Holly. We split 2 doubleheaders with Holly and continue to be in a tie with them for first place in The Flint Metro League. We moved on to Flushing where we outscored them 62-3 to win the 4 games. A very good Livonia Stevenson team then came to Linden for a double header where we won both ends of the double header. Haley Ludwig pitched a one hitter thru 6 innings. Haley had struck out 33 batters in 20 innings and had an ERA of 1.37 before she was injured in the Stevenson Game. Swartz Creek was swept in 4 straight as Mikayla Timm won all 4 games on the mound. Then Montrose visited Linden and the bats were hot in game one as we won 17-7. In the 2nd game Megan Widner, in her first Varsity start on the mound, was great. Montrose won in a 7th inning walkoff 2-1 over us. Olivia Burke has started out her junior season on fire, hitting .571 with 4 homers and 33 RBI. Not to be outdone Sophomore Ava Siegwald has started her high school career hitting .471 and leading the team with 6 home runs while driving in 20 runs. The team has scored 187 runs in 16 games. The pitching and defense, has been outstanding as the team has only allowed 40 runs in those 16 games. Mikayla Timm has led us on the mound with a 10-1 record while sporting an ERA of 2.97 and striking out 73 batters in 60 innings. See us vs. Fenton this week"!

"The JV Softball Team has started off 10-1 on the year. We opened with Clio, and handed them their only 2 losses of the year. In the opener Eva Opper pitched a complete game 3 hitter in a 5-1 win. We then beat a good Brighton team in the rain 11-5. The JV team has outscored their opponents 144-44 in 11 games and the defense played has been excellent. We have only committed 17 errors in 11 games"! - Softball Coach Sean Darling

Baseball

Varsity - 10-7

JV - 8-4-1

Freshman - 1-8

8th - 2-0

7th 0-2

Boys Golf

Varsity - 2-2

JV - 2-2

Boys Lacrosse

Varsity - 7-7

JV - 4-3

Girls Lacrosse

Varsity - 3-1

Girls Soccer

Varsity - 6-1-3

Softball

Varsity - 13-3

JV - 10-1

8th - 0-2

7th - 1-2-1

Track

LHS Boys - 1-3

LHS Girls - 3-1

LMS Boys - 1-1

LMS Girls - 1-1

This past month, 5 Linden athletes signed their National Letter of Intent to play their respective sport in college. This is always an awesome day for the Athletic Department as it proves that hard work and dedication do make dreams come true. The five athletes that signed are listed below with their sport and institution they are planning to attend. Best of luck with your future, Eagles!

Kennedy Hoose - Track and Field - Ferris State University

Alyson Kelly - Track and Field/Cross Country - Hope College

Ella LaMothe - Women's Golf - Olivet College

Haley Ludwig - Softball - Cleary University

Mikayla Timm - Softball - Lawrence Tech University

This list is created to show off the teams who have went a week (or multiple weeks) with no student-athletes on the eligibility list during spring season!

Varsity Softball - 4 weeks

JV Baseball - 2 weeks

Girls Track and Field - 2 weeks

Boys Varsity Golf - 2 weeks

Boys JV Golf - 2 weeks

Freshman Baseball - 1 week

For those that were not able to attend Coach Christensen's Meet the Coach Night, included are a few photos below from his presentation. We are very excited to have him at Linden and look forward to watching him build the boys basketball program.

Coach Christensen joins the Linden family coming from Brandon, where he coached JV the past four years. He is the founder/CEO of Michigan Youth Basketball and his Jr. NBA establishment has blown up to be the biggest in the Midwest and the 2nd biggest in the United States. His focus on relationship building, building the program from the youth up, and coaching for the right reasons were determining factors of him receiving the job. We are putting another quality human being in front of our athletes and that is what coaching is all about!

We will once again be offering sports physicals for athletes who attend Linden, Fenton, and Lake Fenton. Please see details below. All physicals dated before April 15, 2022 will not be accepted for the 2022-2023 school year per MHSAA rules. Thank you to our amazing trainer Katlyn Saunders for putting this together!

Date: Wednesday May 18, 2022

Where: Fenton High School (Cafeteria/Main Gym)

Who: Open to any Fenton, Lake Fenton, or Linden student-athlete entering the 6th - 12th grade Cost: $20/student (We are only able to accept cash or checks made payable to Fenton Area Public Schools)

Please review and complete ALL information in the form (link below) for each student you are registering. Physicals can not be performed without this paperwork completed. A confirmation email with additional instructions will be sent within several days of your submission. The confirmation email will provide additional information on completing/printing your physical form (via FinalForms) and sport registration for 2022-23 school year (via FinalForms).

https://forms.gle/Z22zQrvLUpomE6pX9

Should you have any questions or concerns please contact Katlyn Saunders @ ksaunders@lindenschools.org

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you on May 18th!!!

Sports registration is now open in FinalForms for the 2022-2023 school year for all students 7th-12th grade. This is very crucial for you to do before May 18th if your student athlete is getting a sports physical at Fenton High School. For current users, please login and follow the prompts to register now:

https://linden-mi.finalforms.com/

For new users, please create a new account following the process explained on our athletic website:

https://www.lindenschools.org/o/athletics/page/finalforms-parent-playbook

Important info when registering for next year:

• Select the sports and activities your student would like to participate in.
• While you can complete your forms now, your school/state may have additional or updated forms to sign closer to the summer.
• You can always come back and work in the current 2021-22 year anytime.

Leadership summit with Kyle Rachwal was an absolute home run. Kyle spoke on the traits it takes to be a leader -

* Integrity

* Confidence

* Sacrifice

* Mental Toughness

Kyle also talked about how these things have helped him reach his goals and help others both on and off the playing surface.

This message was given to athletes and community members from all ages and sports. We look forward to having another leadership summit in the near future. Thanks Kyle!

Email: lbelill@lindenschools.org
Website: https://www.lindenschools.org/o/athletics
Location: 7201 Silver Lake Road, Linden, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-0417
Twitter: @lindeneagles