SJO pep band drummer Brad Champ plays while the band performs 'Hey Jude' during halftime at SJO's non-conference game against Unity at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on December 7, 2008. The Spartans fell 53-49 to the Rockets on the floor home to the Indiana Pacers. Unity's pep band also performed at the game in the facility now called Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Andrea Coursey, a four-year varsity starter at third base for the St. Joseph-Ogden softball team was recently recognized for her commitment to excellence with the Impact Award. Illinois State's annual academic excellence awards ceremony, The Reggies, was not held this fall due to the mitigation measures in place to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. Coursey, a Redbird softball player, and several other recipients of the awards sponsored by State Farm were announced Friday.
The Impact Award is given to the student-athlete that has a strong desire to make a difference in the lives of others around them and in the community. It recognizes individuals who posses exceptional leadership skills, a strong commitment to academics and engages in community service activities.
Coursey started in all 18 games she was available for the Redbirds this season shortened by the pandemic. She earned a MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention for the second-straight year and hit the team's first home run of the season in a 9-3 victory over USF in the Redbirds' season opener on Feburary 6. She enters her senior year having taken the field for ISU 101 times.
While at SJO she broke the state and school record for career RBIs in a season collecting 244 between 2014 and 2017. Coursey, who also played volleyball in high school, is tied for second in the all-time IHSA records for Most Grand Slam Home Runs in a season (3) and rose to #3 in prep softball history for the most RBIs in a single game. She pounded a pair of them back in May of 2015 during a non-conference game against Danville.
Academically, Coursey was four-year academic letterwinner, class valedictorian and was inducted into the National Honor Society.
By Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator
I love Elvis' song Blue Christmas, but I don't want to have one. In the best of times holiday blues strike most people. Now is the time to develop your plan for avoiding a blue holiday season and having a merry holiday one.
If you are missing a significant person in your life the blues are inevitable. You miss them sitting at your table. You miss them coming in your home. You are reminded of how much that person meant to you. Holiday shows don't often help. While some are festive, they often remind us of the voids we have in our lives. We don't always enjoy songs like I'll be home for Christmas because we know that often home is a past memory. Being reminded of the past is not always warm and fuzzy.
Social isolation will only make this year tougher. The best in life are the friends, family and positive relationships we have. Talking on the telephone, video chats, and good human relationship connections are important for your spirit.
Churches, groups, fraternal organizations and et cetera need to think about reaching out to people this season. Real, actual communication is the key. People don't need more Robocalls, more Facebook videos or mail to read. People need real human interaction and this may be the toughest December in our modern history to have this.
Sunday school classes, senior adult organizations, school organizations, classes, teams, should coordinate efforts to reach out to each other and to others. Letting others know you are thinking about them with positive reinforcement will be critical this holiday season.
Suicides occurs much too often during the holiday season. With Covid-19, unemployment and so many issues facing our planet, the environment for an upsurge of suicide is ripe. People can be saved from this by us all helping each other.
Make a holiday telephone list of people you are going to call often between now and January 1. You may call them every week. Or, it may be someone who needs a call every two or three days. Keep the calls brief. Often five or ten minutes will be a boost to someone. If you text message or video chat then commit to connecting with others with occasional chats and brief hellos.
One of the ways to boost your spirit is to be helpful. Who can you help this holiday? How can you help your local school? How can you help someone who is hurting more than you? How can you help a local human aid group or senior citizen's group?
You may know people who have lost loved ones. If you do, it helps to talk to others and say, "I know how you feel and what you are going through." There are people all around who may not be suffering as much as you. When you take your mind off yourself to help someone else, then you will find your load will be a little lighter and your spirit brighter.
The blues may sneak up on us this season. However, begin making your game plan now for overcoming and moving beyond them.
Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.
This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of PhotoNews Media. We welcome comments and views from our readers.
The Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation met this past Sunday and revised their plans for overseeing the 2020-21 season.
Originally, the organization had hoped to resume practice and competition for young wrestlers like those in the St. Joseph Youth Wrestling Club after the Christmas holiday this coming January. Looking at more realistic timetable to return to the mat, the IKWF tentatively announced plans to resume practices starting April 5, 2021.
"We are hopeful that all of the craziness that we have all experienced throughout this year will start to take a turn for the better, and that we will be able to have a season sometime early next year," head coach Billy Gallo said in a letter to parents on Facebook. "We understand that there will be conflicts with kids participating in other sports and other commitments, but we plan to still start with a season at that time. Again, maybe we will see some improvement with this pandemic via vaccination/treatment sooner than April, and we will be able to start before then."
Meanwhile, the club will continue work on the new facility in the former Jim Clingan Auction building north of the Interstate.
"We can't wait to get the wrestlers in there," Gallo said. "We appreciate all of your patience and understanding throughout all of this, and we will continue to send out any updates as we get them."
He also said that registration fees will be returned to those families who have paid and all registration information will be kept on file for when the program can resume. As soon as plans are solidified, the club plans to email to members in future as soon the can have weekly open gym nights.
The IKWF says there will be no sanctioned events during the 2020-21 IKWF season until the CDC and IDPH guidelines and policies change to allow such competitions. The organization expects members to follow the guidance and guidelines provided by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Clubs in violation of state and federal mandates were reminded in a release form organizing body that programs could face penalties by the IDPH and local health departments.
Members of the St. Joseph-Ogden Dance Team compete the IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals in January. Despite an excellent performance and a score of 76.88, the Spartans did not advance to Saturday's championship round after finishing in 21st place after the first day of Class 1A competition.
The Illinois High School Association met once again in a virtual meeting to discuss how to proceed as the state enters Tier 3 of the Governor JB Pritzker's Resurgence Mitigation plan. Thousands of Illinois high school athletes will have to wait just a little longer to make to break a school record, make three-point shots or earn that 15 second pin on the wrestling mat this winter.
Earlier today the prep sports association announced that all IHSA sports and activities will cease as of Friday, November 20, until the state's COVID-19 positivity returns to a level safe enough that the governor will return the state to Tier 1 of its pandemic response plan.
Below is the complete release from the IHSA.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for a special virtual meeting on Thursday, November 19, 2020, where the Board provided an update on winter sports.
To maintain compliance with the most recent mitigations issued by Governor Pritzker that take effect on November 20, the IHSA Board issued guidance to pause all IHSA winter sports and activities by November 20.
"All IHSA sports and activities will cease by November 20 for what we hope is a short-term pause," said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. "Given the rising COVID-19 cases in our state and region, we support the Governor’s mitigations and believe it is imperative for everyone in the state to do their part in following them so that we can return to high school sports participation as soon as possible."
St. Joseph-Ogden's Ella Armstrong lines up a shot from the free throw line back in February against Tuscola. Armstrong and the Spartans will not be piling up wins until maybe sometime in 2021.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
The Board will revisit the status of winter sports at their update discussion on December 2, and again at their regularly scheduled meeting on December 14 if necessary.
"Taking into account the current state mitigations, the Board believes that early to mid-December will be the most reasonable target to review the status of winter IHSA sports and activities," said Anderson. "The Board is sensitive to the scheduling difficulties these delays create for athletic directors and coaches. However, our experiences this summer and fall lead us to believe that setting arbitrary start dates hinders the process even more. We realize it may seem redundant, but we have to preach patience as we await more data and direction from the state. Despite the obstacles this unprecedented school year has presented, the Board’s vision to provide participation opportunities in all IHSA sports has not wavered."
The Board was steadfast in their desire to remind all athletes and athletic programs that adhering to the mitigations is vital to the hopes of safely playing high school sports in Illinois as soon as possible.
"I believe there is a misconception that IHSA and non-school athletic programs have an adversarial relationship," said Anderson. "In my time at the IHSA, I have not found that to be the case at all. More so, I think there is a mutual respect for the opportunities that each provide for athletes. IHSA schools have been exemplary in adhering to state regulations throughout this pandemic and we are calling upon non-school programs to hold themselves to that same standard. As school and non-school sports temporarily cease in Illinois, and throughout the Midwest, it is a great reminder that putting the health and safety of our fellow citizens at the forefront in the short-term will allow all levels of athletics to thrive in the long-term."
The Board provided the following participation clarifications to member schools:
Winter Season Start Date: Given the timing of the Governor’s new mitigations, November 16 will not be recognized as the start date of the winter season, regardless of whether winter sport teams conducted any official tryouts or practices. A new start date will be established for each sport once winter sports can be conducted again.
Conditioning & Weight Training: Conditioning and weight training before and after school are paused. Local schools will decide if conditioning and weight training programs that are a part of their academic curriculums continue or are ceased.
Open Gyms: Are paused and cannot be conducted at this time.
Outdoor Workouts: Outdoor workouts may be conducted in any sport in groups of 10 or less with masks and social distancing. Coaches are counted toward the 10. Use of sport-specific equipment is allowable with proper sanitizing practices.
One-on-One Skill Work: Per Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations and with school approval, one-on-one skill work between a coach and student-athlete is permitted for winter sports only, but is limited to one coach and one student-athlete per facility.
Activities: Practices and competitions may only be conducted virtually.
Non-School Participation: All sports organizations in the state, school or non-school, have been directed to abide by the Governor’s mitigations. IHSA coaches cannot organize non-school participation in any fashion. IHSA by-law 3.100 will be in effect once winter sport seasons begin following this pause.
The Impact Award is given to the student-athlete that has a strong desire to make a difference in the lives of others around them and in the community. It recognizes individuals who posses exceptional leadership skills, a strong commitment to academics and engages in community service activities.
Coursey started in all 18 games she was available for the Redbirds this season shortened by the pandemic. She earned a MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention for the second-straight year and hit the team's first home run of the season in a 9-3 victory over USF in the Redbirds' season opener on Feburary 6. She enters her senior year having taken the field for ISU 101 times.
While at SJO she broke the state and school record for career RBIs in a season collecting 244 between 2014 and 2017. Coursey, who also played volleyball in high school, is tied for second in the all-time IHSA records for Most Grand Slam Home Runs in a season (3) and rose to #3 in prep softball history for the most RBIs in a single game. She pounded a pair of them back in May of 2015 during a non-conference game against Danville.
Academically, Coursey was four-year academic letterwinner, class valedictorian and was inducted into the National Honor Society.
I love Elvis' song Blue Christmas, but I don't want to have one. In the best of times holiday blues strike most people. Now is the time to develop your plan for avoiding a blue holiday season and having a merry holiday one.
If you are missing a significant person in your life the blues are inevitable. You miss them sitting at your table. You miss them coming in your home. You are reminded of how much that person meant to you. Holiday shows don't often help. While some are festive, they often remind us of the voids we have in our lives. We don't always enjoy songs like I'll be home for Christmas because we know that often home is a past memory. Being reminded of the past is not always warm and fuzzy.
Social isolation will only make this year tougher. The best in life are the friends, family and positive relationships we have. Talking on the telephone, video chats, and good human relationship connections are important for your spirit.
Churches, groups, fraternal organizations and et cetera need to think about reaching out to people this season. Real, actual communication is the key. People don't need more Robocalls, more Facebook videos or mail to read. People need real human interaction and this may be the toughest December in our modern history to have this.
Sunday school classes, senior adult organizations, school organizations, classes, teams, should coordinate efforts to reach out to each other and to others. Letting others know you are thinking about them with positive reinforcement will be critical this holiday season.
Suicides occurs much too often during the holiday season. With Covid-19, unemployment and so many issues facing our planet, the environment for an upsurge of suicide is ripe. People can be saved from this by us all helping each other.
Make a holiday telephone list of people you are going to call often between now and January 1. You may call them every week. Or, it may be someone who needs a call every two or three days. Keep the calls brief. Often five or ten minutes will be a boost to someone. If you text message or video chat then commit to connecting with others with occasional chats and brief hellos.
One of the ways to boost your spirit is to be helpful. Who can you help this holiday? How can you help your local school? How can you help someone who is hurting more than you? How can you help a local human aid group or senior citizen's group?
You may know people who have lost loved ones. If you do, it helps to talk to others and say, "I know how you feel and what you are going through." There are people all around who may not be suffering as much as you. When you take your mind off yourself to help someone else, then you will find your load will be a little lighter and your spirit brighter.
The blues may sneak up on us this season. However, begin making your game plan now for overcoming and moving beyond them.
"We are hopeful that all of the craziness that we have all experienced throughout this year will start to take a turn for the better, and that we will be able to have a season sometime early next year," head coach Billy Gallo said in a letter to parents on Facebook. "We understand that there will be conflicts with kids participating in other sports and other commitments, but we plan to still start with a season at that time. Again, maybe we will see some improvement with this pandemic via vaccination/treatment sooner than April, and we will be able to start before then."
