The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1094434
C-12 Wednesday, March 20, 2019 The Press-Dispatch EAST GIBSON NEWS Submit school news: Email: egnews@ pressdispatch.net Deadline: Noon on Friday Wood Memorial OAKLAND CITY ELEM. CALENDAR Mar. 20 – Yearbook sales begin. Mar. 25 -29 – Spring Break. MENU Thursday, March 21: Popcorn chicken bowl, cheese- burger, Italian salad with roll or PB&J; all served with sweet corn and applesauce. Friday, March 22: Pepperoni pizza, corndog, grilled chicken salad with roll or ham and cheese; all served with tots and mixed fruit. Monday, March 25: NO SCHOOL, Spring Break. Tuesday, March 26: NO SCHOOL, Spring Break. Wednesday, March 27: NO SCHOOL, Spring Break. Messmer, teacher and coach at Wood Memorial High School By Kenzie Rudolph Luke Messmer, a 2012 high school graduate of Southridge, and a college graduate of Purdue Univer- sity, now teaches Health and P.E. at Wood Memori- al. Messmer is also the head baseball coach for the Tro- jans. About a year and a half into college, Messmer changed his major from sports man- agement to education. His mom, an aunt, his grandma and great-grandma were all teachers, and he said that the switch was a good choice. Before teaching at Wood Memorial, Messmer was a fill-in teacher at both South- ridge and Heritage Hills. "It feels great to finally have a permanent spot," said Messmer. He teaches freshman Physical Education and Ad- vanced P.E. at Wood Memo- rial, along with freshman Health. The Advanced P.E. class consists of strength train- ing, speed training, agili- ty and flexibility. He tries to get athletes especially to take the class. When it comes to his Health classes, he said, "I think decision-making skills are most important. If I sit here and tell kids not to use tobacco or drink alcohol, it'll stop there. It won't be very effective. You really need to teach them the steps to de- cision-making...What steps can you take other than just saying no? " Messmer was the assistant baseball coach last year for the Trojans, alongside head coach Steve Killian, the ath- letic director at Wood Memo- rial. This year, Messmer took over as the head coach. Bo Daves, who teaches business classes at Wood Memorial, will assist Messmer with the team's pitchers and infield- ers. Kaleb Nossett, a Wood Memorial High school al- um, will help with the catch- ers and outfielders. Aaron Heichelbech, who teaches fifth grade at Oakland City Elementary, will assist the team's outfielders. Messmer said that he is excited to take the reigns this year. The Trojans are adding some changes to their base- ball team for the 2019 Spring season. Messmer said, "The main thing is just energy and a lot of extra time in the off sea- son and in the weight room, along with team trips to games to watch college base- ball so the kids can bond a bit more. I think there was a lack of connection within the team the last few years, not a lot of camaraderie." He wants to push the team as- pect of things. Numbers are low on most athletic teams at Wood Me- morial, so he has gotten cre- ative when it comes to trying to get athletes to come out. He said that he tells person- al stories about his time as an athlete and how playing multiple sports have bene- fited him. He also tells the students, who are worried about keeping their grades up, that they can all work to- gether to study and improve with study tables and tutor- ing-type activities. Mess- mer also said that he pushes students to try an addition- al sport to help keep them trained and in shape for their main sport. To fundraise for the base- ball team, assistant coach Daves came up with the idea to hold a slow-pitch softball tournament, which took place this past Saturday. The purpose of the tournament was to raise money to help mend the field and to bring the community together. "Coach Daves did a great job with that. I'm not a soft- ball guy...I thought we'd have four or five teams... but he had ten after just a couple of weeks," said Messmer. The Trojans will take the field for the first time this spring at home on Fri- day, April 5 against Eastern Greene at 5:30 p.m. Messmer added that he made the right choice in col- lege when switching to ed- ucation, and he added that being able to also coach is a huge plus. "I think my favor- ite part of my job is getting kids to accomplish things that they thought were unre- alistic whenever they started out, especially in a P.E. set- ting with physical challeng- es...nine weeks later, they accomplish it and think, 'He was right, maybe I should push myself.'" When he was studying sports management, Mess- mer said that he was only benefiting himself. "I was just out to get a job and wasn't going to impact anybody...I am really happy when I am helping to make someone else better." Luke Messmer. Kenzie Rudolph photo Cody Goodall, Reise Gray, Rachel Pollock, Maya Maybrey and Charyti Pitcher, Wood Me- morial dance team members, became JAMfest National champions this weekend in Louisville for the first time. Fifth grade band students at Barton Township Elementary school, Spencer Teeters and Noah Doerner. Kenzie Rudolph photo Band director Michael White leads fifth graders in band practice at Barton Township Elementary. Kenzie Rudolph photo Aiden Benefiel (with Talan Strickland behind him) uses his arms to balance while skating in Mrs. Powers' P.E. class. Kenzie Rudolph photo Mya Hudson skates with caution at Barton Township Elementary School for a fun P.E. class. Kenzie Rudolph photo Hattie Willis stretches out her arms for balance while skating in Mrs. Powers' P.E. class. Kenzie Rudolph photo A very happy Made- line Balentine enjoys a fun day in P.E. roller- skating. Kenzie Rudolph photo Kade Wiseman celebrates avoiding a rollerskating accident during a fun P.E. class at Barton last Wednesday. Kenzie Ru- dolph photo A cheesiest of the fifth graders, B.J. Heichelbech skates in P.E. class at Bar- ton Township Elementary school. Kenzie Rudolph photo Noah Doerner remains a good sport while he recovers from a skating mishap in P.E. class at Barton Township. Kenzie Rudolph photo Mylee Rhoden grins while rollerskating in P.E. class with fifth grade classmates at Barton. Ken- zie Rudolph photo Fifth grader Talan Strickland works to maintain balance while rollerskating in P.E. class. Kenzie Rudolph photo Noah Doerner, Ethan Kelley and Phenton Cond- er practice a piece for band at Barton Elementary. Kenzie Rudolph photo WMHS dance team becomes JAMfest national champions By Kenzie Rudolph Wood Memorial High School's dance team com- peted at JAMfest Nation- als at the International Convention Center in Lou- isville this past weekend for the first time, and they became 2019 champions. The team is coached by Nicole Price and Amanda Wilson. Price, the team's head coach, said, "It was something they have al- ways wanted to try, and I knew they could do it! Ma- ny schools around us com- pete, so we thought, 'why not us? '" The dance team con- sists of Reise Gray, captain, Cody Goodall, co-captain, Rachel Pollock, Maya May- brey and Charyti Pitcher. They competed in the var- sity-lyrical division and brought home the hard- ware. Winning that compe- tition gave them the invite to compete in the JAMfest U.S. national finals. Senior captain Gray said that they danced to a cover of the song River by Bishop Briggs. She explained that varsity lyrical means that their dance moves were based off of the song's lyr- ics. Price said that the team members are so very ex- cited, and added, "Just be- cause we are a small team doesn't mean we can't show what we can do." Barton Township Elementary