Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / BONUS: Michigan State Meet featuring Jeremy Annen from Coopersville Public HS

Transcript

BONUS: Michigan State Meet featuring Jeremy Annen from Coopersville Public HS · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

• 0:00
  It's bonus time here on the Gill Connections podcast.
• 0:03
  In an effort to increase communication, empathy and
• 0:06
  understanding around the country, we're going to be
• 0:08
  running a new episode every day interviewing a coach, a high
• 0:12
  school coach from every state, and yes, even you, Washington,
• 0:16
  DC with explaining how the state qualifying system works in their
• 0:21
  state. We'll be talking with a local
• 0:23
  state expert on how many classes, private versus public
• 0:27
  schools, what events and what is the process?
• 0:30
  Is it areas, districts, regionals, state meet?
• 0:34
  Is it a descending order list? Are there fun things that you do
• 0:38
  a little differently? Like maybe you, I don't know,
• 0:41
  maybe you do double points for relays looking at you Texas.
• 0:45
  And then we're also going to get to the bottom of is it the state
• 0:48
  meet or do you qualify for states?
• 0:50
  So check us out every day here in April and May of 2024 as we
• 0:54
  run through each state with a local state expert.
• 0:57
  So let's get started right now. All right.
• 1:10
  Thanks for joining us here on this amazing series.
• 1:12
  Having a absolute blast learning around states all around the
• 1:16
  country, even you, Washington, DC And we're going real close to
• 1:20
  our home. Actually, we're going just
• 1:21
  north. We're going to Michigan.
• 1:22
  Help me welcome from Coopersville Public High School.
• 1:24
  Mr. Jeremy Annan. Jeremy, how are you today?
• 1:27
  Great. Thank you for having me.
• 1:29
  I'm really excited to do this. Awesome.
• 1:31
  Well thank you. We're so grateful for all of our
• 1:33
  volunteers. You know it's 51 volunteers
• 1:35
  stepping up doing something a little bit nerve wracking.
• 1:37
  You're representing your whole state here.
• 1:39
  We won't hold you to everything. But just so grateful for you
• 1:43
  stepping up here for for this great state.
• 1:46
  Why don't we, why don't we start with kind of a 30,000 foot level
• 1:49
  32nd introduction of you. Tell us how long you've coached
• 1:52
  in Michigan, maybe some accolades and kind of give us
• 1:54
  some some St. Cred for you there.
• 1:57
  Sure. I've been a head track coach at
• 2:01
  Coopersville High School since the spring of 1999.
• 2:06
  That was my first fall, and 98 was my first year teaching at
• 2:09
  Coopersville High School. So this is my 26th year at
• 2:13
  Coopersville. I did take a couple of years off
• 2:16
  because we have a teenage son that was busy with basketball,
• 2:19
  but he's also running for me now and it has been.
• 2:27
  An absolute amazing ride to coach and teach and work and
• 2:32
  live in Coopersville, Michigan. I grew up in a small town and I
• 2:37
  fell into this position and it has been nothing but positive
• 2:40
  for 26 years. We've won our league several
• 2:43
  times. We've been competitive at the
• 2:45
  regional level, we've had state qualifiers, competitors, placers
• 2:50
  and champs for a long time and it is just.
• 2:53
  Just a great place to be. Absolute great place.
• 2:57
  Well, bravo to you and thank you for being a track coach.
• 2:59
  You know we can't do what we do without people like you.
• 3:02
  So very grateful for you. All right, let's get into
• 3:05
  Michigan. Let's start with some states
• 3:08
  where we're finding out not many, but some states have a
• 3:11
  separate organizing body and separate path for public schools
• 3:15
  and a separate one for private schools.
• 3:17
  What do we do in Michigan? Separate all together.
• 3:19
  How we doing this? We're a free for all.
• 3:22
  Currently we have 4 divisions in the in.
• 3:26
  Every sport except for football has four divisions.
• 3:30
  All the schools that offer each sport divided by 4:00 and then
• 3:35
  you compete against all the schools that are in that
• 3:39
  division at the state level and possibly the regional level.
• 3:44
  The leagues are split up differently, but.
• 3:47
  Yeah. We're we're going to compete
• 3:49
  against private public and it's just based on size and it will
• 3:56
  continue to be based on size. So let's talk about those
• 3:59
  divisions. You said we have 4.
• 4:01
  What do we call them? A AA, ABCD Division One,
• 4:04
  Division two? No, we're just simple in
• 4:07
  Michigan we moved away from the ABCDOI think probably my.
• 4:15
  First or second year coaching to divisions 123 and four and it's
• 4:20
  I know you're going to ask the size of each division, but it's
• 4:23
  going to, it's slides based on offerings of track any given
• 4:28
  year in the MHSA continues to add sports.
• 4:31
  So it continues to fluctuate. Is D1 the larger enrollment
• 4:36
  schools in D4 smaller? Yes, got it.
• 4:39
  All right, so let's talk about how we get to our state meet.
• 4:44
  You know, all across the country, we call them
• 4:46
  divisionals, area sectionals are all different names here.
• 4:49
  What's our first round in Michigan?
• 4:52
  There's only one round in Michigan and it's Regionals.
• 4:56
  You you send your top two kids unless you have extra qualifiers
• 5:03
  for Regionals to Regionals. And then the top two kids at
• 5:07
  Regionals, unless there are more than two kids that meet the
• 5:11
  regional qualifying standard for state, move on to state if they
• 5:17
  can follow that. Let's let's start with on
• 5:20
  Regionals. How many can I as a school,
• 5:23
  enter into Regionals? So traditionally, historically
• 5:28
  it's two per events. Not not not relays.
• 5:33
  Because we run a one day regional in Michigan, there's
• 5:36
  lots of points of contention, but we won't get into that right
• 5:38
  now. But we run a one day regional.
• 5:41
  We start around noon with pole vault and we run straight
• 5:44
  through our traditional schedule of track, which is not the same
• 5:48
  in every state and doesn't matter what the weather's like.
• 5:53
  And the top two kids sometimes are highly ranked when they head
• 5:57
  to state, sometimes they're not. It just depends on the weather.
• 6:02
  So if I have 4 stud 100 meter runners, I can only enter two.
• 6:07
  My other two are going to figure out relays 200.
• 6:10
  What other events? Only two, no matter what.
• 6:13
  Nope, those those are the extra regional qualifiers as well.
• 6:16
  Because my team has qualified multiple shop putters and discus
• 6:20
  throwers the last few years. They've met the qualifying
• 6:23
  standard for regionals to compete, and then they might
• 6:26
  have a big performance at regionals and qualify for state
• 6:29
  as well. So we've had.
• 6:32
  Schools in our regions, you know, win the region with two
• 6:36
  events because they score so many highly and a couple of
• 6:39
  events. So I can so I'm guaranteed to in
• 6:42
  each event. But there is a standard into
• 6:45
  regional, so if I do have those four amazing 100 meter runners,
• 6:49
  I can get it as long as they meet the standard, the time
• 6:51
  standard for distance or height standard.
• 6:54
  Yep, that's correct. OK.
• 6:56
  And now you said it's a one day meet, so now talk to us about
• 6:59
  those entries into regionals. How do I qualify for state?
• 7:02
  What place or time do I need to get?
• 7:05
  Yeah. So to get to state in Michigan,
• 7:07
  currently you have to place in the top two at regionals or meet
• 7:14
  the qualifying standard for state.
• 7:18
  And so in some events you'll get just two.
• 7:22
  I'm trying to think off the top of my head, usually the hurdle
• 7:25
  events. Distance events historically
• 7:29
  have been more than two because you'll have more than two kids
• 7:33
  meet the state qualifying time and that's another discussion as
• 7:39
  well what the state qualifying time and where it comes from.
• 7:42
  And that's also evolved over time.
• 7:44
  So it's not always super clear where that's coming from, but
• 7:48
  usually it's the one of the last qualifiers at state the previous
• 7:52
  year and then they give extra qualifiers at at regionals to
• 7:55
  get to State. So top two I'm automatically
• 7:58
  going to state in my individual events or my relays.
• 8:01
  And then there is this set time. So if 5th place, so 3rd, 4th and
• 8:05
  5th all beat this distance or time, they are also going to the
• 8:09
  state meet. Yeah, we've had regionals where
• 8:11
  we've had, I want to say 9 or 10 kids make it in like a distance
• 8:16
  event, a two mile, a mile relays.
• 8:21
  You don't usually get more than five or six, but.
• 8:23
  There have been two mile relay. I think sometimes you'll see
• 8:27
  because we're in a very competitive regional.
• 8:29
  I would argue the last three years we've had the best
• 8:32
  division, two regional in the state and it's comprised of our
• 8:34
  league, lucky for me. So yeah, the more competitive
• 8:39
  regional, the more kids you usually get in and that's good
• 8:42
  because that allows in case there is a competitive region.
• 8:45
  And so this great Smiler, they end up third, well only top 2GO
• 8:50
  and it's not your fault where you live or where everybody else
• 8:52
  lives. So you still get an opportunity
• 8:54
  to go to state based on these qualifying times.
• 8:56
  I like that. That's very good.
• 8:58
  So talk, talk to us about the state meet, the state meet
• 9:00
  weekend is it? What kind of venue are we at
• 9:02
  college, a high school venue? Are all four divisions the same
• 9:06
  weekend and same place? Do we rotate?
• 9:09
  How do we do in the state meet itself?
• 9:13
  So the state meet is also a one day meet.
• 9:17
  And another point of contention, but I get it and it takes place
• 9:24
  on the 1st Saturday of June every year and it has been Oh
• 9:34
  well 26 years ago. It was on the east side of the
• 9:37
  state of Michigan and it was the last time I was on the east side
• 9:39
  of Michigan. The West side of Michigan has
• 9:42
  just been so tracked. Blessed for so long with just
• 9:47
  all the events. And so for whatever reason, we
• 9:51
  have some unbelievable venues in Western Michigan.
• 9:55
  Caledonia High School, the Zeeland High School.
• 9:58
  Putting on the state track meet is just unreal.
• 10:00
  They have parking, they're easily accessible, the right off
• 10:04
  of 96. It's been at Forest till the
• 10:07
  Eastern the last couple of years and they run it all on a day.
• 10:13
  And we usually start prelims, I want to say, at 9 field events
• 10:17
  around 9 and we're done around. Well, depending on the weather,
• 10:24
  we're done around 4:00 or 5:00 with the entire shebang, all
• 10:27
  four divisions, boys and girls at one, OK?
• 10:31
  One division at different venues, so boys and girls,
• 10:34
  Division two at one place, boys and girls Division, One at
• 10:38
  another, but all in the Grand Rapids area.
• 10:41
  OK Yeah. I was wondering how in the world
• 10:42
  you got basically eight track beats in one day.
• 10:46
  I was like, man, we need a life lesson on those officials and
• 10:49
  meet management. That's amazing.
• 10:50
  So we are doing 4 different venues.
• 10:54
  Division One will have its own facility, Division Two will have
• 10:56
  its own facility, but we are doing them all in the Grand
• 10:59
  Rapids area. So it's kind of state me to
• 11:01
  Palooza there in Grand Rapids. Oh yeah, yeah, that weekend is a
• 11:04
  busy weekend, I mean. It's busy in the spring, It's
• 11:07
  always busy in Grand Rapids. It's an unbelievable city to
• 11:09
  live near around and but but it has just been deemed that we are
• 11:16
  where they're going to have the state track meets and I know we
• 11:19
  appreciate it. As coaches, could we travel for
• 11:21
  everything else? If if it's always in Grand
• 11:23
  Rapids, is Division One always at the same school in division
• 11:26
  two and three four or is there a like a a group of four different
• 11:30
  facilities there in Grand Rapids that kind of rotates them?
• 11:33
  That's a good question. I'm not as familiar with
• 11:35
  Division One, but I do know that Rockford and E Kentwood almost
• 11:39
  always host Division One and E Kentwood is an unbelievable
• 11:44
  Division One program. If you saw their kids, they're
• 11:47
  like a college track team. They're so good, Rockford very
• 11:50
  similar. And then Division Two Zealand
• 11:52
  has hosted it. It's just about they try and
• 11:55
  have the best facilities. And it takes so many people to
• 11:59
  run that meet, over 100 people to put together a good state
• 12:02
  track meet. We get a DS from all over the
• 12:05
  area, helping out coaches, former coaches, so many, so many
• 12:09
  great people that work those events that we do.
• 12:13
  It is a rotation, but it's been a lot of the same schools doing
• 12:17
  it because they do such a good job with it.
• 12:20
  You know, track and field is one of the most inclusive sports out
• 12:23
  there. It is the most inclusive sport
• 12:25
  out there. A lot of states are adding
• 12:27
  adaptive, unified wheelchair events to the state Meet series,
• 12:30
  Anything like that in Michigan. Very.
• 12:34
  Division two I can only speak to because I'm at that meet every
• 12:37
  year and it's the same day. Minimal and and I am not Privy
• 12:46
  to conversations. About how they go about which
• 12:50
  events are going to include, but we've had sprints and throws I
• 12:57
  think so far at our Division Two state track.
• 13:01
  Awesome. That's great to hear you.
• 13:02
  I didn't think about that. Yeah, You've never been to
• 13:03
  Division One, Division Three or Division Four because it's going
• 13:06
  on at the exact same time. Exactly.
• 13:09
  All right, so we have 4 divisions, SO4 boys teams are
• 13:13
  winning a state title and four girls teams are winning a state
• 13:15
  title. And that means all these
• 13:16
  individual events, someone's winning a state title.
• 13:18
  Do we do any kind of meet up champs where maybe a week later
• 13:23
  we gather, you know, the top 200 meter sprinters in each one of
• 13:26
  those divisions and have the, you know, air quotes, the true
• 13:28
  state champion, anything like that?
• 13:32
  That's a great question to the so we used to have the Midwest
• 13:37
  meet of Champions and you're probably had have heard of that
• 13:41
  it was more of an Interstate meet and now they've changed
• 13:47
  that track and field has become so finicky the last 1520 years
• 13:52
  the way we prep our kids and. From from throws to jumps to
• 13:56
  everyone, minimal participation with maximum output on meet days
• 14:02
  and more training, which I'm in favor of too.
• 14:06
  But but we miss out on seeing who really is, you know the best
• 14:12
  in Michigan. We we but we have we have
• 14:17
  athletic.net which is just amazing for comparing because
• 14:20
  that's all the kids do. What?
• 14:22
  And the coaches do too. I'm not going to lie.
• 14:24
  I'm on it every day in the spring and sometimes in the
• 14:26
  fall. But we don't.
• 14:28
  We hit. We do have a meet in Michigan,
• 14:31
  but it's not always the best kids showing up.
• 14:34
  It's a lot of the best throwers and jumpers, sometimes the best
• 14:39
  sprinters, but not always because by then they're into
• 14:42
  football prep or they're into track, you know, college prep.
• 14:45
  So we don't get to see them all against each other.
• 14:48
  All right, let's talk about your events.
• 14:50
  Let's see if you do anything unique in regards to the rest of
• 14:52
  the country. We can assume you're doing the
• 14:55
  124 and 800 for sure in the mile two mile area.
• 15:00
  Are you doing the mile two, mile 1632, the fifteen 3000?
• 15:04
  What are you doing in there in the Mile Two mile area?
• 15:06
  We're 16132 hundred state, it's the most common.
• 15:10
  We're doing 110 high hurdles and 100 high hurdles for boys and
• 15:13
  girls. Yep, we're we're doing 300
• 15:16
  hurdles. Yes, all right.
• 15:18
  And relays, we're doing the four by one and four by four for
• 15:20
  sure, because if you're not doing those, you're not really
• 15:22
  doing track and field any other relays.
• 15:26
  So it's funny, I just learned recently I didn't realize all
• 15:30
  the states are not running four by two and four by eight.
• 15:32
  And I don't think it's a track meet if you don't have four by
• 15:36
  two and four by eight. We have, we start our meets with
• 15:39
  field events and half an hour later we run the four by eight.
• 15:42
  And I know that's different than some states.
• 15:47
  Thinking on that we are if if you're a a traditionalist track
• 15:52
  traditionalist. We are not a Sprint friendly
• 15:54
  meet layout. It's hard to run kids in four
• 15:57
  sprints but I do and and if you want to win sometimes your studs
• 16:01
  have to have to burn and we oh we're the four by two is the, I
• 16:07
  don't know 4th or 5th event. I know the order of events.
• 16:09
  I'm just thinking out loud. So we run 4/4 relays every
• 16:14
  single meet. No medley relays anything like
• 16:17
  that. Just the the, the the four, the
• 16:19
  two most common, four by one and four by four of course, four by
• 16:22
  two and four by 8. Not, not 100% adoption, but we
• 16:25
  do have it in Michigan. Yeah, yeah, we don't have any
• 16:28
  medleys. We always save our medleys for
• 16:31
  invitationals, which is funny. We did, we, you know, we we
• 16:34
  don't see them in in in big meets and regionals and league
• 16:37
  meets. But all of a sudden we'll go to
• 16:39
  an Invitational and we're like, here, here's the distance
• 16:41
  medley, here's the Sprint medley.
• 16:43
  Short or long Sprint medley. Shuttle hurdles.
• 16:46
  I don't know if you have those in other states, but that's a
• 16:48
  riot to run that. It's my favorite event in the
• 16:51
  whole world, so I am very good. I'm very keen on that one.
• 16:54
  All right, let's go to the field events.
• 16:55
  We're doing long jump and triple jump for boys and girls.
• 16:59
  No, the only long jump, triple jump was discussed a long time
• 17:03
  ago when I was in high school. They talked about getting rid of
• 17:06
  pole vault because it's so technical and dangerous, but
• 17:09
  they never made the move so, so no triple jump for boys or
• 17:13
  girls. No.
• 17:16
  All right. Shopping and discus.
• 17:18
  Yes, pole vault and high jump. Yep, that's it.
• 17:21
  Anything else? No Javelin, multi eyes.
• 17:24
  Some states after the state meet, we'll do an unofficial
• 17:28
  state meet. Have Tathlon, Decathlon, Hammer,
• 17:30
  Javelin, anything like that? No, we have.
• 17:34
  We have the Meyer State Games that take place in Rockford in
• 17:38
  the middle of the summer and we have a lot of kids and parents
• 17:41
  and masters. Who participate in extra events,
• 17:45
  which is really really a cool meet where they might do things
• 17:50
  like javelin or hammer or wait even.
• 17:53
  But but nothing. Nothing the MHSAA has adopted
• 17:56
  yet. Awesome, Jeremy, Before we get
• 17:58
  on to a couple of fun questions, anything that we missed,
• 18:01
  anything we should have added or asked about uniqueness there in
• 18:04
  the Michigan Outdoor High School track and field season?
• 18:09
  You know, I think that. We have the toughest season to
• 18:13
  compete in for track and field. And I'm sure you've heard this
• 18:16
  if you've talked to or you will when you hear coaches in the
• 18:19
  Northeast. Because we start the second week
• 18:23
  of March and we're done the first week of June and we get
• 18:26
  spring break, which is literally a break.
• 18:30
  There's not many kids doing anything but working on their
• 18:33
  tans for a week and we come back to lead meets as soon as we get
• 18:37
  back and. And and there's and so it's it's
• 18:42
  a it's a great spring every year whether you're super competitive
• 18:46
  or you're focusing on individual kids versus team stuff but the
• 18:51
  the weather is a huge factor for Michigan in the spring.
• 18:55
  You know you could be 80 the first week and you could be 45
• 18:58
  the first meet. The heck of a thing and it's a
• 19:01
  it's a great thing. I I I love it.
• 19:03
  I'm freezing and and. And sweating in the same day at
• 19:07
  at track and field meets in Michigan.
• 19:09
  Tough kids and tough coaches come out of Michigan.
• 19:11
  I know that for an absolute fact.
• 19:14
  All right, Jeremy, let's settle. Maybe a little debate, little
• 19:17
  argument here, at least in your culture, your area, your team.
• 19:21
  What do you when you're talking about going to state?
• 19:23
  Are you qualifying for State? Are you qualifying for states?
• 19:26
  Are you just qualifying for the State meet?
• 19:28
  How do you guys say it? State or State meet every time.
• 19:32
  No state, no plural. Some of our kids are starting to
• 19:35
  say states with our football team who who won last week.
• 19:39
  But it's new. They're social media, changing
• 19:43
  things, the way kids talk and what they hear from other
• 19:45
  states. And I'm like, no, is this not
• 19:47
  states? This is the state or the state
• 19:49
  meet every single time, especially for you guys, 'cause
• 19:52
  you're in your own venue for it. So it's not like you can say
• 19:54
  states, 'cause there's other divisions.
• 19:56
  We're only going to the Division two state meet.
• 19:58
  That's it. I love it.
• 20:00
  Jeremy, you've been great. You've been a great sport for us
• 20:01
  here representing Michigan. So I'm going to give you a
• 20:03
  little bit of a reward. I'm going to give you a magic
• 20:06
  wand if you can change one thing and only one thing to make
• 20:11
  Michigan High School track and field better, what might that
• 20:14
  be? It's the one thing that I've I
• 20:17
  think is coming. Kids need to be able to qualify
• 20:21
  like they do in college, putting the state regional as the only
• 20:27
  qualifier for the state meet. If you have a bad day and I have
• 20:32
  had kids who are the best in the state, you have one bad day and
• 20:37
  you don't get to go to state. It's an absolute disservice.
• 20:41
  And the argument is, well, we don't have qualified people who
• 20:47
  measure or who time, or well we do.
• 20:49
  Everyone runs FAT now, and everyone knows how to run a
• 20:53
  measuring tape. And within a couple of inches,
• 20:57
  you know if your state qualifier in the discus for per southeast
• 21:00
  is 150 foot and you got 170 foot thrower and that boy or girl has
• 21:05
  thrown that all season consistently, that kid should be
• 21:08
  at the state meet competing with the best kids in the state.
• 21:11
  And I think we're there. I think we're at the threshold
• 21:14
  of that change. It might make the state meet a
• 21:17
  little busier, but it's a long day anyways and and it's a lot
• 21:21
  of fun to see kids compete in that meet rather than miss out
• 21:24
  on it. Because of one day or one ring
• 21:27
  or one call, you know, kids get nervous.
• 21:29
  I get it. But that's that's the change
• 21:32
  that I think is coming, I've been told, but also needs to
• 21:35
  happen because it it's everything we do is about kids
• 21:38
  and what's best for kids and that's that's a thing for track
• 21:41
  and field that would change so much.
• 21:43
  We're right about the halfway point of this 51 state including
• 21:47
  UDC journey and that has been the common theme of how do we
• 21:51
  get our best athletes at the state meet.
• 21:54
  Let it happen, you know if you fall start or what not at that
• 21:56
  that's it's, it's over to the state meet, but how do we get
• 21:59
  them to the state meet? So I appreciate that very much.
• 22:02
  Jeremy, thank you so much man. I am so grateful for your
• 22:05
  leadership and helping us understand and learn more about
• 22:07
  Michigan outdoor track and field man.
• 22:09
  Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
• 22:11
  What a riot to be able to do this.
• 22:13
  Thank you very much. Absolutely, my pleasure.