Lake Country This Month

By Chris Bucher Freeman Staff TOWN OF MERTON — There's been no shortage of surreal experiences for Arrowhead senior offensive tackle Ben Bredeson. At the beginning of the month, the University of Michigan commit had "the greatest experience of his life" as he traveled to Orlan- do, Fla., to compete with the top prospects in the nation in the Under Ar mour All-American game. "Every day there was something new," Bredeson said. "Everything was fun. I was competing against the best players in the country day in and day out." Arriving Dec. 28 for the Jan. 2 game, Bredeson — the No. 58 recruit in the nation according to ESPN.com — spent the days prior practicing and show- casing his abilities in front of scouts and coaches. He said it was a grueling stretch, but one he took in stride and used to get better every day. "There's always a little pressure going against those guys," Bredeson said of the competition level. "You don't want to get beat, so you just play as hard as you can. I thought that I had a really good week." He was one of 90 players around the nation invited to compete in the annual game. One of Bredeson's team- mates on "Team Highlight," was defensive tackle Rashan Gary, the consensus No. 1 recruit in the nation according to ESPN and var- ious other organizations. Gary will be a teammate of Bredeson's again as he signed with Michigan. During practices, Bredes- on went against the physi- cal and agile Gary nearly every repetition. It was quite the battle every time and by the end of it, Bredes- on stood his ground. He said it was another experi- ence he relished. "I was against him every rep," Bredeson said. "The first day (of practice) he had my number. He beat me a lot the first day. But on the third day of practice, I was able to adjust and was blocking him a lot." With the prospect of the two going against each other in practice at Michi- gan being a real possibility, Bredeson said he had a few choice words for Gary. "I pulled him aside dur- ing practice and said I wouldn't bug him anymore during the week. But I told him we'd die to have him there (at Michigan)," Bre- deson said. "I told him he's a heck of a player and he had a big smile on his face. It's not my spot (to recruit Gary), but I just wanted to let him know that we'd love to have him." The coach of Team Armour was former NFL coach Steve Mariucci, while Bredeson's coach — the coach of Team High- light — was another former NFL coach and current ESPN analyst Her m Edwards. Being the influential character Edwards is, Bre- deson said he was excited to listen and learn from him. When the time finally came to meet Edwards, Bredeson had a feeling of awe. He added that he learned a lot of valuable life lessons from the former coach. "The first time I saw him it was surreal," Bredeson said. "It was kind of funny talking to him, that was a little different. Through the week having him as my coach, between hanging out and having conversations with him, it was pretty cool. "He had a bunch of good speeches for us and told us to take advantage of every day, don't waste a day." Bredeson said the suspen- sion of Texas Christian University quarterback Trevone Boykin that week for an off-field issue result- ed in Edwards preaching some very timely advice to the room full of the nation's top recruits. It's something Bredeson said he will keep in mind as he transitions to the college game. "He went off on a big speech about it that after- noon," Bredeson said. "He offered a lot of great wis- dom to us." In the game itself, Team Highlight rolled to a 27-0 victory against Team Ar mour and Bredeson shined. It was an experi- ence Bredeson said in September he was looking forward to. Now that it's over, he's confident and he's eagerly awaiting what's next. "I learned a ton from the O-line coaches that were there," Bredeson said. "I cleaned up some technique work and fine-tuned things. High school coaches teach you a lot of things, but the guys there broke things down even further and it makes a world of a differ- ence. "It really was the best week of my life. I learned a lot from it and I'm now I'd say I'm ready to go to Michi- gan." Email: cbucher@conleynet.com Page 4B • FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY February 2016 Edith I. Christian, CPA 262-646-2008 Don't Pay More Income Tax Than The Law Requires! INCOME TAXES DIETING FOR ACCURATE, STRESS-FREE PREPARATION OF THIS YEAR'S TAX RETURN, CALL OUR OFFICE FOR AN APPOINTMENT TODAY. INCOME TAXES DIETING 248130004 At least we can make one of these easier. www.EdithChristianCPA.net Serving the Milwaukee Metro Area By Chris Bucher Freeman Staff WAUKESHA — The WIAA is one step closer to realign- ing high school athletic con- ferences in the southeast Wisconsin area recently. At the Board of Control's meeting in Stevens Point, the committee voted unani- mously, 11-0, to move for- ward with the current pro- posal, dubbed the "Hauser Plan." The proposal keeps the Classic 8 Conference intact and adds Oconomowoc — a current member of the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference. Previous attempts to come to a consensus on a proper realignment plan have failed, with the board opting to modify the proposal until there was an agreement. Options have ranged from splitting up area conferences to create four, seven-team leagues, to leaving the for- mation up to administrators from 29 schools while the Woodland Conference kept the status quo. Now the plan — which also reformulates the Little Ten, Greater Metro and the North Shore Conferences — can receive its final approval at the WIAA's April 19 meet- ing. Schools have until March 7 to appeal the deci- sion. If approved without any modifications, the plan goes into effect in the 2017-18 school year. The vote comes in spite of conference relief adminis- trators from Waukesha South and Waukesha North had previously requested. "We're disappointed in what happened," South Ath- letic Director Dan Domach said. "Both (North Athletic Director) Brian (Schlei) and I have been doing a lot of things behind the scenes try- ing to get things to change." Domach said the vote tally took him by surprise, espe- cially because the requests for help hadn't been met. "It's just disappointing from a standpoint that we asked for relief and there were a number of other schools asking for relief," Domach said. "To put us into a conference with Oconomowoc; that doesn't give us relief, that only puts us further behind. Oconomowoc's at (an enroll- ment of) 1,646, and it's only going to get larger. "It doesn't even keep the status quo; it puts us in a worse position." South and North had requested to leave the Clas- sic 8 in large part due to a difference in demographics between the conference's eight member schools, which has effectively taken its toll on each school's ath- letic programs. "That's part of why I'm disappointed, I don't know that there was a clear rea- soning as to why some schools were realigned and some weren't," Schlei said. "(WIAA Associate Direc- tor) Deb Hauser asked us some questions; whether it's a district issue or the WIAA's responsibility to provide us relief I don't feel that was clearly explained to us." Schlei said he realized Domach and himself had work to do after the Dec. 4 meeting, which resulted in shelving a proposal that would've granted both of the school's relief. Even with the groundwork laid, he wasn't overly shocked at the outcome by the board — the gover ning body which is made up of 11 members, 10 being admin- istrators from high schools in Wisconsin and one being a member of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. "I had the feeling they were pretty set with the plan," Schlei said of the board. "Deb has communi- cated that's what she endorsed (the current pro- posal) and the Board of Control relied on her rec- ommendation." Oconomowoc to join the Classic 8? The inclusion of Oconomowoc in the Classic 8 is something Athletic Director Scott Raduka said he's been working diligent- ly at to achieve. He added he's embracing the oppor- tunity to join fellow Waukesha-area schools in the conference. "We've worked hard on our facilities, our numbers and participation; all of the things that go along with a good athletic pro- gram," Raduka said. "We feel we reached our goals for what we wanted and would love to be a part of a challenging conference like the Classic 8 and see how we fare." Raduka said he's opti- mistic that the plan will be approved in April, and if it is, he's overjoyed that his students will get to experi- ence a new challenge. He said the move would offer the student body a chance to for m rivalries with neighboring schools, which is something Oconomowoc has never really had the chance to do being a member of a sepa- rate conference. "We're extremely excited and yet a little apprehen- sive," Raduka said. "Increased competition is very good, but at the same time we've had a wonderful experience in the Wiscon- sin Little Ten." On his drive home from the meeting with neighbor- ing athletic directors, Raduka said he was reminded that this is the end of an era for the Little Ten. "I hadn't thought about it that way. It kind of made my stomach hurt a little," Raduka said. "We can't for- get about how many hun- dreds, thousands of ath- letes that have played in the Wisconsin Little Ten and have had a great expe- rience. It's something that should be honored and understood." The Little Ten is Wiscon- sin's longest-running con- ference, Raduka said, and it can be somber to break up something of that stature. Oconomowoc offered full support for the Hauser Plan and was one of 45 schools directly involved in discussions. During the meeting, representatives from schools weighed in on their thoughts of the Haus- er Plan and how it affects their school. Among them was Hamilton Athletic Director Mike Gosz, who spoke on behalf of 18 schools — including Oconomowoc. Those schools included all six other Classic 8 members outside of South, North and West and also Brook- field Central and East. Gosz stressed those schools' support for the Hauser Plan and each of their wishes to move for- ward with the current plan. "I'm not sure what hap- pened. We felt that we gave very good reasons as to why we need to be placed in a different conference," Domach said. "But at the same time, there's 44 other schools involved in confer- ence realignment and all 44 schools are trying to pro- tect each other and trying to protect their own school. We're trying to do the same thing." Other schools — such as Greendale and Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West — voiced their displeasure with the current proposal, saying it doesn't offer the requested relief schools are asking for. While it didn't alter any- thing in the end, Domach said it was nice to see other administrators understand his reasoning for the requested relief. "We had a chance to see a lot of schools basically say- ing that Waukesha really should get some help," Domach said. "The WIAA's Board of Control, I don't think they felt we needed help. But the other schools in the area went out of their way — as they went through their presenta- tions — to outline schools that need help and aren't being offered help, and we're two of them. A num- ber of them mentioned us by name and said we deserve to be helped, so that was nice of them to do that." Schlei agreed with Domach, saying "it was really nice to see a lot of surrounding schools voic- ing their concern for our position." Co-op sports an option? A possible solution to South and North's con- cerns of remaining in the Classic 8 was brought up by Hauser during the meet- ing. She said it may be appropriate for South and North to combine in some sports to become a co-op program, mainly football. Domach and Schlei both said they had never had realistic discussions of the co-op option before and it came as a surprise to them. "Deb mentioned that Waukesha could co-op in football and Brian and I were taken back by that. We never had those discus- sions before," Domach said. The next step for the two schools is to speak with Todd Gray, superintendent of schools in Waukesha, about the appeal process, Domach said. Also in the meeting, the board gave final support for Palmyra-Eagle to move from the Rock Valley Con- ference to the Trailways Conference for football only beginning in 2016 and for all sports in 2017. Email: cbucher@conleynet.com WIAA's Board of Control votes to approve realignment plan Classic 8 Conference would stay intact, add Oconomowoc if final approval given in April CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT CURRENT Classic 8 Conference Arrowhead — 2,257 students Catholic Memorial — 665 Kettle Moraine — 1,412 Mukwonago — 1,594 Muskego — 1,618 Waukesha North — 1,157 Waukesha South — 1,379 Waukesha West — 1,178 Greater Metro Conference Brookfield Central — 1,324 Brookfield East — 1,285 DSHA — 1,330 Hamilton — 1,434 Marquette — 2,166 Menomonee Falls — 1,376 Wauwatosa East — 1,139 West Allis Central — 1,431 West Allis Nathan Hale — 1,726 North Shore Conference Cedarburg — 1,160 Germantown — 1,399 Grafton — 747 Homestead — 1,282 Milwaukee Lutheran — 594 Nicolet — 1,036 Port Washington — 862 Whitefish Bay — 995 Wisconsin Little Ten Conference Beaver Dam — 1,085 Hartford — 1,410 Oconomowoc — 1,546 Slinger — 968 Watertown — 1,296 West Bend East — 1,163 West Bend West — 1,139 Wisconsin Lutheran — 727 Woodland Conference Brown Deer — 572 Cudahy — 733 Greendale — 937 Greenfield — 1,308 New Berlin Eisenhower — 848 New Berlin West — 813 Pewaukee — 812 Pius — 904 Shorewood — 658 South Milwaukee — 1,197 Wauwatosa West — 1,056 Whitnall — 793 PROPOSED/APPROVED Conference A Arrowhead — 2,257 Catholic Memorial — 665 Kettle Moraine — 1,412 Mukwonago — 1,594 Muskego — 1,618 Oconomowoc — 1,546 Waukesha North — 1,157 Waukesha South — 1,379 Waukesha West — 1,178 Conference B Brookfield Central — 1,324 Brookfield East — 1,285 DSHA — 1,330 Germantown — 1,399 Hamilton — 1,434 Marquette — 2,166 Menomonee Falls — 1,376 Wauwatosa East — 1,139 Wauwatosa West — 1,056 West Allis Nathan Hale — 1,726 Conference C Cedarburg — 1,160 Grafton — 747 Hartford — 1,410 Homestead — 1,282 Nicolet — 1,036 Port Washington — 862 Slinger — 968 West Bend East — 1,163 West Bend West — 1,139 Whitefish Bay — 995 Conference D Brown Deer — 572 Cudahy — 733 Greendale — 937 Greenfield — 1,308 Milwaukee Lutheran — 594 New Berlin Eisenhower — 848 New Berlin West — 813 Pewaukee — 812 Pius — 904 Shorewood — 658 South Milwaukee — 1,197 West Allis Central — 1,431 Whitnall — 793 Wisconsin Lutheran — 727 BADGER CONFERENCE Adds Beaver Dam and Watertown Arrowhead senior has greatest experience at Under Armour All-American Game Bredeson shines against elite competition Photo courtesy of Intersport Arrowhead senior Ben Bredeson sits in his locker prior to the Under Armour All-American Game on Jan. 2. His Team High- light beat Team Armour 27-0.

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