11 / 12
A couple months ago,
I wrote an article talking
about the expectations for
the Girls’ Basketball team.
Players and coaches alike
set high expectations, which
included winning the al-
ways prestigious, Golden
Ball, otherwise known as
the Girls’ Basketball State
Championship.
For the first time in Apple-
ton North’s history, and also
in the history of the city of
Appleton, a girls’ basketball
team brought home top prize
in the state.
However, not only did
the Lady Lightning win the
State Championship, they
did it in an undefeated, con-
vincing fashion.
It was an exciting thrill
ride to watch these ladies
accomplish their goals, see
them compete, and see them
beat some of the best teams
in the state.
“No one expected us to
go undefeated. We just fo-
cused on the game in front
of us, and playing to our po-
tential for the upcoming 36
minutes,” said junior Kari
Brekke
“I knew we had a great
team, but I didn’t expect us
to win every game. Each
practice we were focused on
what we could control,” said
senior Callie Pohlman.
“I knew there was a chance,
but we would have to stay
healthy and handle the teams
with poise and respect. Our
schedule is a beast and no
one plays a tougher one in
the FVA than us,” said Head
Coach Joe Russom.
Besides the state champi-
onship victory, players had
very different takes on their
favorite moments of the
year.
Brekke’s favorite mo-
ment was the victory against
cross-town rival Appleton
West in the sectional semi-
final game. “I don’t think I
have played in a louder at-
mosphere than that game.
Beating Appleton West in
that atmosphere was some-
thing that I will never for-
get,” Brekke said.
Sophomore Paige Scha-
bo’s favorite moment of
the year was when the team
went to Indiana and played
against two great girls’ bas-
ketball teams and won the
tournament. She later added
that her 23 points and 11
rebounds against Appleton
North’s arch-rival Horton-
ville was her favorite indi-
vidual performance this sea-
son.
Even though the girls had
a perfect season, there were
still many obstacles they had
to face in order to raise the
Golden Ball at the end of
the year. Some of these ob-
stacles could have cost the
girls a perfect season and
a state championship, but
their poise, hard work, and
dedication helped the girls
fight through and get to the
promised land.
“A huge obstacle we faced
was missing lay-ups. Our
whole team got into a funk,
but we worked before it cost
us in the long run. We spent
hours in practice fixing our
mistakes. If it wasn’t for
that, we may have never ac-
complished as much as we
did,” said Schabo.
Coach Russom had mul-
tiple takes on obstacles the
team faced. “Ego was one.
Ego is the enemy. We are
deep and talented.
There
are only so many minutes in
game and to keep everyone
happy and on the same goal
is a daunting task. The kids
and parents did a great job
of putting the team first. The
second obstacle was han-
dling energy vampires. Jeal-
ousy, naysayers, etc. were
all distractions that could
have sucked our energy and
focus away from the task at
hand. The kids, however,
handled it all with class and
poise by using as a motiva-
tional force instead allowing
the crabs to pull them down
to their level,” said Russom.
It was a huge season for
our Girls’ Basketball team,
arguably the best sports mo-
ment of the sports season.
This was a great moment for
the Appleton North commu-
nity because no one can take
away the fact that the 2016-
17 Appleton North Girls
basketball team are the state
champions.
SPORTS
Appleton, Wisconsin June 2017 Volume XXll
Issue VIII
Page 11
Lady Lightning become state champions: Season in review
By Kyle Hoffenbecker
The Lady Lightning celebrating their state championship as the buzzer sounds.
Photo courtesy of
Appleton Post-Crescent
Senior Callie Pohlman driving
in for a layup in the state
title game.
Photo courtesy of
Appleton Post-Crescent
Coach and players
reflect on favorite
season moments
NASSA, NASSA, NASSA.
If you have ever listened to the
announcements during I/E time,
you’ve probably heard this acro-
nym quite a few times.
NASSA stands for
North Acceleration,
Speed, Strength, and
Agility, and is a free
training program for
student athletes and
students alike look-
ing to stay fit during
the off season or in general. But
what is NASSA about? Why
should students join NASSA?
NASSA was started by Rob
Salm and was originally called
the Running Program. At first,
the program had very few par-
ticipants but since then, it has
grown to over 400 participants.
The increase in participants is
thanks to the coaches, who vol-
unteer their time to help with
NASSA. Mr. Bleck, who helps
run NASSA, said, “A lot of
times it’s still volunteered by
coaches. They get paid for some
[of the time], but it’s a
very small amount.”
Often athletes find
themselves coming to
stay in shape or improve
their performance for
their sport. Examples of
this are junior Marissa
Mullen and sophomore
Sophie Platten. “I participate
in NASSA because it is a great
training program to improve my
performance in my sport,” said
Mullen. Likewise, Platten said
she participates in NASSA so
she can stay in shape.
NASSA isn’t just about get-
ting in shape, it’s about injury
prevention. “If you don’t train
during the off season, it’s kind
of like not wearing your seatbelt
in the car. You put yourself at
risk for different injuries wheth-
er it’s a concussion or a knee
injury. Whatever it might be,
your injury risk goes up without
training,” said Bleck.
Also, NASSA is about mak-
ing new friends or bond with
your current teammates. “My
favorite part about NASSA is
that I got to meet a lot of new
people,” said Platten.
If you want information on
NASSA, you can either tune in
to the announcements, check out
the Twitter page for NASSA, or
head up to the weight room and
look at the information posted
there.
NASSA: Making friends and preventing injuries
After school program
focuses on more
than just sports
By Maddie Clark
Mr. Kevin Bleck
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SPARK
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3355 West College Avenue • Appleton, WI 54914 • tspaAppleton.com
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STUDENTS WILL
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FOR JUST $20
only at SPARK events
SPARK will be held monthly.
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to stay posted with new dates
for these events.
920.666.1066
“No one expected
us to go undefeated.
We just focused on
the game in front
of us, and playing
to our potential for
the upcoming 36
minutes.”
- Kari Brekke,
junior