Random Takes Tuesday

Random Notes
Tuesday (9/21/10)

Apologies for the tardiness in blog updates recently. IHSSN updates were held off until Sunday night, due to a trip to Chicago over the weekend. Listened into the Dave Matthews Band concert at Wrigley Field from the comfort of the Goose Island patio across the street.

United High School Inaugural Hall of Fame Class
The inaugural Hall of Fame class at United High School will be inducted this Friday at halftime of the United/Ridgewood football game. United High School consists of the former Alexis, Monmouth Warren, and Yorkwood high schools. The initial consolidation of Alexis and Warren formed the school in 2004. That year, the Red Storm football team won the Class 1A state championship. That team will be inducted into the Class of 2010. Individuals being enshrined will be Anna Damos (athlete), Greg McGraw (athlete), Barb Bohan (coach), and Ben McIntosh (coach).

Congrats to West Prairie Volleyball Coach Teri Paul
West Prairie Cyclones volleyball coach Teri Paul won her 700th career match over the weekend at the Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival. The winning match was a (25-19, 25-20) decision over Eureka. Paul's coaching career began in 1982, guiding the Colchester Indians (Colchester is now apart of the West Prairie district). She has posted (11) 30-win seasons in her career, and has 9 trips to the state finals, including trophy finishes in five of them.

Football Milestone Reached: Bill Mitz Wins 200th Football Game
Algonquin Jacobs football coach Bill Mitz won his 200th football game as a head coach last Thursday. The Golden Eagles downed Grayslake Central (24-7) to give Mitz the milestone on his home field. It was Jacobs' home opener. In passing through Algonquin over the weekend, a billboard read: "First Home Football Game 9/16. Don't Mitz It." The team is now (3-1) on the season.

Basketball Update
Call me crazy, but I have turned focus from football and volleyball, to a mish-mash of the latter two sports, with basketball. Questionnaires started getting sent out to boy's and girl's basketball coaches last week. IHSSN is about halfway through the email list for coaches around the state. If you have not yet received a questionnaire, you can expedite the process by sending me an email at beauspencer82@hotmail.com. The first basketball previews will be written and published online (www.ihssn.net) this week.

Coaches Polls
Due to the success of the coaches polls last year in Class 1A & 2A girl's basketball, IHSSN has expanded the polls to all classes for both genders. An email will be sent out to coaches in the coming weeks to gauge interest. The basketball coaches polls are open to ANY head coach and assistant coach in the state. Please email beauspencer82@hotmail.com, if interested. Those that confirm voting status, will be added to the coaches poll mailing list. The preseason voting will open in mid-to-late October.

Volleyball Broadcast
The first IHSSN fall broadcast will take place next Tuesday. The volleyball broadcast will feature two of the top programs in small-school volleyball. Illini Central travels to Hartsburg-Emden. The broadcast will be available online at www.ihssn.net, through our audio broadcast partner, Network1Sports (www.network1sports.com). Hartem athletic director Rodney Knuppel was instrumental in organizing this broadcast. The hopes are to bring more volleyball broadcasts on IHSSN as we continue through the 2010 season, and approach the regionals.