It's 2024 and a new year of athletic achievement is ahead for Arlington, Blair and Fort Calhoun high schools.
Leading the way are the coaches — the men and women preparing Eagles, Bears and Pioneers for competition. Recently, a lot of them shared some of their favorite holiday stories and hopes for the next 12 months.
Arlington
AHS coaches shared several standout moments from holidays past with Enterprise Media Group.
Assistant wrestling and head baseball coach Tyler Stender recalled one Christmas trip to New York City where he enjoyed the sights, but also got a chance to watch his New England Patriots play on the road. There's also the story of his favorite gift, though.
“I got a new glove my first year of college for Christmas for my first college baseball season,” Stender said. “I was 18 at the time, but felt like a little kid opening it.”
Softball coach Janelle Lorsch received a pretty good gift growing up, too.
“As a child, I remember getting my first bat at Christmas,” she said. “I never thought I would get my own, and it was an awesome surprise.”
Basketball coach Tashia Wolf received a basketball hoop one year.
“It was so much better to walk out the door and shoot on a nice hoop instead of going to the park and having to use those awful metal hoops,” she said.
New Arlington track and field coach Kyle Buckingham's top holiday sports memory involves his brother.
“(He) and I would play tackle football in the snow all the time,” he said. “Literally one-on-one, and would just go at it.”
Jake Polk, the Eagles' hoops coach, played basketball in the snow with his brother, too.
“My brother and I would scoop the slushy snow off the driveway just to form our own layup lines and pretend to be the NBA players we are watching on TV that day,” he said, recalling the conversations they'd have. "'I'm Vince Carter. No, actually, I'll be Kevin Garnett.'”
While holiday breaks are apart of their work in Arlington schools, the coaches are still looking forward to what's to come in 2024 — in and out of competition.
“Another new year brings another year of possibilities,” Lorsch said. “I look forward to trying new things and having new adventures.”
Cross-country coach Michaela Curran, meanwhile, is looking forward to track season, but also “the possibility of traveling to Europe this summer!”
Polk, who just entered fatherhood in 2023, is looking forward to more memories.
“I'm most looking forward to watching our daughter Sienna grow and develop in 2024,” he said. “Before long, she will be crawling and then walking and we will wonder where the time went.”
Wolf said she's excited to watch her own daughters continue to grow up, but is also looking forward to the immediate future of her girls basketball team.
Said coach Doug Hart, “I'm looking forward to seeing what the Arlington wrestling teams can do in 2024.”
Blair
When asked, Blair High School softball coach Jennifer Fangmeier said she's living her best Christmas memories with her daughters right now.
“Watching my girls being gifted the staples from my childhood,” she answered. “The plastic tee and bat. The over the door basketball hoop. New shoes, gloves, soccer balls over the years, and seeing their true love is the best memory in the making.”
Her assistant coach, Krystal Macholan, experienced the same thing with her daughter, Taytum.
“I will never forget her expression or excitement when she got her first brand new softball bat of her very own,” she said.
Soccer coach Nick Hall, basketball coach Matt Aschoff and golf coach Rachel Brown have gotten their own share of good gifts.
“I remember getting Nintendo in 1988 and loved playing all the sports games — Double Dribble, Tecmo Bowl, Baseball Stars and GOAL to name a few,” Hall said.
“My brother got this basketball board game where there were hoops on the side, and the ball would roll around and land in a spot to shoot on the floor,” Aschoff recalled. “There were spring-loaded tabs on the side to try to shoot the ball. Played that a lot.”
Brown, meanwhile, received a SpongeBob SquarePants golf ball one year.
“I was obsessed with the show growing up and always loved my brother's Spongebob golf balls that he had,” she said. “So my dad found one of them lying around and gave it to me one year. I still have it, too!”
BHS football and track coach Bryan Soukup collected football cards growing up.
“My favorite sports-related Christmas gift every year was the complete set of Topps football cards,” he said. “I always enjoyed looking through the cards and putting them in a book. Dallas Cowboys players always in the front — my favorite team!”
Assistant wrestling coach and baseball coach John Roan gave a wrestlers' answer when asked about his holiday memories growing up.
“I always remember Christmas as being a time I could eat and not have to worry about making weight right away for a tournament,” he said. “It was nice because we always had the 2-pound allowance when we came back from break.”
Head wrestling coach Erich Warner and boys soccer coach Curt Scott, meanwhile, remember time with family.
“My grandma always loved watching football, and I enjoyed watching college and pro football games with her when I was a kid over the holidays,” Warner said.
Scott, meanwhile, enjoyed sleigh-riding and snowboarding with his family.
In 2024, though, the Bears' coaches are looking forward to even more good times.
Soukup said he's thankful for more time with his father, who had a major heart surgery recently. His sons will have big years ahead, too.
“I look forward to seeing Brady graduate from college and Bode graduate from high school in May, and watching each one of them have new adventures,” the coach said.
Roan's daughter Savanah is also a member of the Class of 2024.
“I am looking forward to watching my daughter compete in her final year as a senior at Blair,” he said. “I am completely taken aback that she will be graduating in less than five months.”
Crayton Macholan, Krystal's son, is graduating in May, too.
“The new year will bring a big change for the Macholan family. We'll send one off to college, which is a little scary, but so exciting for him,” she said. “I'm looking forward to seeing what great things he and all of his 2024 classmates will do. I've watched and cheered for them since they were little kindergarteners, and I couldn't be more excited for their futures.”
There's still plenty of sports ahead before BHS' graduation ceremony, though.
“I’m looking forward to coaching a great group of girls from senior to the freshman class,” Hall said of his soccer squad.
Scott, the boys' soccer coach, is excited, too.
“I’m looking forward to the excitement surrounding Blair High School’s soccer program — both boys and girls,” he said.
Brown's coaching job may be getting a little easier as the Bears no longer have to contend with weather all the time. They're getting a golf simulator.
“I am so excited for the kids to have that asset to help their game,” she said.
Warner, though, is just looking forward to the next two months with his wrestlers.
“I'm excited to continue to watch this team improve throughout the season and to see what they can accomplish,” he said. “It's been a fun group of kids to work with.”
Fort Calhoun
Fort Calhoun basketball coach TJ O'Connor used to spend Christmas Eve on the job.
“My father runs a sporting goods store and my brothers and I would go in and work Christmas Eve with him every year, and close up shop,” he said. “Miss those days.”
Baseball coach Roy Prauner has fond memories of Sports Pictionary with his family during the holidays, while coaches Mandy Taylor and Liz Sevcik have enjoyed game nights, too.
Taylor, FCHS' softball and track coach, played CATAN with a sibling growing up.
“My brother and I are both very competitive, and let's just say the board ended up on the floor and I might have cried,” she said, laughing at the thought.
Calhoun's volleyball coach, Sevcik, can relate.
“We played a lot of cards at Christmas at grandma's house,” she said. “I'm pretty sure that contributed to my competitive spirit as there was no going easy on the kids, and I always enjoyed beating my brother, who didn't handle losing well.”
Football coach Zach Byrd remembers Thanksgiving football games with his family, but also a very special football gift for Christmas. One year, he unwrapped a Randy Moss jersey.
“Pretty sure I wore it every day for a week straight,” he said.
Golf coach Dustin Humphrey got a good one, too.
“When I was young, I once received a Jerry Rice signed picture for Christmas, which was awesome,” he said.
Basketball coach Marty Plum didn't unwrap his favorite gift growing up, but he did get a lot of mileage out of it anyway.
“Around 1987 or so, my brother got a Michael Jordan basketball countdown basket,” he recalled. “In about four days, I had acquired it for myself and put it in my room. What's crazy is I still have it today, and I use it in my classroom for reviewing with my students the day before every test.”
The basket will have a use into 2024 and Fort Calhoun's coaches are looking forward to the new year. Plum said he wants to continue as a lifelong learner so he can grow as person.
“I've been blessed in so many ways, but I know that I've got a long ways to go to really be where I want to be, so I'm going to focus on that,” he said.
Byrd is still new to Fort Calhoun, so he wants to keep establishing himself in Washington County.
“I'm most looking forward to continuing to settle into our new adventure in life and, God-willing, finding a house to call home,” he said.
Sevcik, meanwhile, is looking forward to watching her young kids' sports journeys.
Humphrey's family added a little girl in 2023, too, and he hopes for continued health during the next 12 months. He's also looking forward to golf and “warmer temperatures,” though.
It's likely Taylor wouldn't mind a warm spring either as she's “excited to use our amazing new track and field facilities.”
Prauner kept his response simple, though. He's just excited for “baseball season” in 2024.
