Author: Adam Reed

Warhawks Bounce Back in Critical Conference Win

The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday, defeating the UW-River Falls Falcons behind an aggressive defense at Kachel Gymnasium on Senior Day.
The Warhawks pressured the Falcons from start to finish defensively, forcing 17 turnovers in the first half. The defense held River Falls to 18 points in the first half and 19 in the second, cruising to the win by a final score of 57-37.

For the complete box score, please click here.

UW-River Falls’ leading scorer Taylor Kargee gave her team the early lead with the first basket of the game, but after senior guard Reilly Stewart answered with a three-pointer at the other end, the Warhawks never trailed again.
“I tried to take it just like any other game,” Stewart said. “Obviously it’s a special day. Just to be in the program for four years and going out there and representing all of the players that have played in the past, and playing for my coaches and teammates…It’s a fun day and I’m glad we got the ‘W.”
Stewart paced the team on offense, tallying 11 points, 8 of which came in the first half. Freshman Becky Raeder and Junior Brooke Trewyn also scored in double figures, adding 11 and 10 points respectively.
Trewyn pulled down 11 rebounds in the contest, adding another double-double to her list of accomplishments this year. The junior leads the team this year in scoring and rebounds, and is second in steals and assists.
“We played with a little more passion tonight knowing that it was Senior Night and Play4Kay,” Trewyn said. “We all played together and did it for our seniors.”
The athletes all wore pink during the game in order to raise money and awareness for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The charity began in 2007, and is aimed at working towards putting an end to cancer, especially those affecting women.

Freshman Olivia Freckman stuffed the stat sheet with contributions on both ends of the floor for the Warhawks. She finished the game with eight points, three assists, four blocks and a pair of steals.

Junior guard Malia Smith was a big reason for the Warhawks success on defense. She grabbed seven steals in 27 minutes played. Smith was efficient at the other end of the floor, never missing a shot from the field or the foul line.
Senior guard Hannah Pignato led the way for River Falls with 13 points, four rebounds and a steal. She was also perfect from the foul line, making all four of her attempts.
But the Falcons struggled to find answers for the Warhawks full-court pressure. Kargee picked up two early fouls which kept her out most of the first half and the team struggled shooting the ball, averaging under 30 percent from the field.
With the win, the Warhawks improve to 19-4 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The team is second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference behind the UW-Oshkosh Titans who are 21-2 overall and 11-1 in conference. They will have a chance to close the gap on Wednesday night, when they face the Titans in Oshkosh at 7 pm.

Check out the complete schedule by clicking here.

Jobs Encourages Class of 2005 to “Follow Their Heart”

Apple Inc. co-founder and chief executive officer Steve Jobs told students to “find what they love” in his commencement speech at Stanford University on June 12.

Delivering his keynote address to a crowd of about 20,000 people gathered at Stanford Stadium, Jobs shared some of the lessons he had learned in a lifetime of ups and downs.

Adopted at birth, Jobs explained the pressures he felt from a young age to be successful. He spoke about the importance his biological mother had placed on higher education, and how he wound up finding success in spite of never finishing his degree.

Jobs recalled dropping out from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and the struggles he encountered afterward. He credited his decision to drop out in helping him find his way, and encouraged graduates to stay true to what they love and trust things will work out for the best.

“You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future,” Jobs said. “Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.”

The example of his college years was reflected in his personal examples about his career at Apple as well. Jobs expressed his bewilderment at being fired in 1985 from the company he helped to found.

John Sculley had been hired to help take the company into the future in April of 1983, and it soon became evident to Jobs their visions for the company did not align. A power struggle ensued, and as Jobs puts it, he found himself, “out…and very publicly out.”

Just as was the case with his college career, Jobs eventually found his way, and said he would have missed out on so many of the blessings in his life if he had never faced such unfortunate circumstances.

Jobs eventually returned to Apple when they purchased his new venture, NeXT Inc., in 1997. During this time away from Apple, Jobs was married to his wife Laurene, and also co-founded Pixar Animation Studios, which he called, “the most successful animation studio in the world.”

All of this would have never happened if he had not been fired, he said.

“Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick,” Jobs said. “Don’t lose faith…You’ve got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers.”

He went on to explain the importance of refusing to settle in life, telling students how great work can only be achieved when you find something you truly love to do.

“As with all matters of the heart, you will know when you find it,” Jobs said. “Like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

Jobs also shared his thoughts about death, and gave students a few parting thoughts to inspire them into the next chapter of their life.

He spoke of a cancer scare a year ago in which he expected the worst, only to find the type of cancer he had was treatable through surgery. Jobs told students his brush with death helped him to realize how important it is in facilitating change.

Apologizing to students for being, “so dramatic,” Jobs told students the newness they have now will soon fade, and stressed the need for them to stay true to themselves.

Jobs concluded his speech by remembering the parting words from the back cover of an issue of The Whole Earth Catalog, a magazine Jobs described as “Google in paperback form.” The publication stopped publishing regular editions in 1972, but left an undeniable imprint on the young entrepreneur’s mind.

“It was their farewell message as they signed off, Jobs said.  “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.”

Warhawk Volleyball Continues Dominance at Home

By Adam Reed

The No. 11 ranked UW-Whitewater volleyball team (19-5 overall) stretched its win streak to four on Friday, defeating visiting Coe College (Iowa) in straight sets to remain undefeated at home this year.

An early lead for the Warhawks disappeared towards the end of the first set, and the Kohawks took their first lead at 16-15. Two straight kills from senior outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer put the Warhawks back on top for good, winning the set by a final score of 25-20.

The Warhawks battled back from an early deficit in the second set, finishing on a 7-0 run to win 25-14. The team’s momentum continued in the third, jumping out to a 3-0 lead and clinching the match with a 25-12 win.

“Whitewater is a super power and this is something we expect in front of a big, energetic crowd,” Coe College head coach DeAnn Woodin said. “That’s a great team, and we aren’t there yet.”

UW-Whitewater held the advantage over their opponent in every major statistical category in the win, including kills, errors, hitting percentage, service aces, assists and blocks.

Pfeifer led the way on offense for the Warhawks, with a team-best ten kills. Pfeifer was one of four players who had at least seven kills on the night, including junior Courtney Wagner (8) and freshmen hitters Ashton Doll (7) and Alexandra Bialo (7).

“It’s anybody’s game on any given day,” Pfeifer said. “People are confident on this team. They [the freshmen] come from being the stars [on their high school team] and now they aren’t stars, but we always have each other’s back and it is fun to see how it comes together.”

Pfeifer also tied freshman defensive specialist Elizabeth Tworek for the team lead in digs with nine, and sophomore libero Brittany Robinson and senior setter Staci Hasler added eight each. Hasler’s 27 assists on the night led the team by a wide margin.

Five different players scored a service ace for the Warhawks in the win, Pfeifer and Robinson leading the way with two each. The Kohawks managed just one ace on the night.

12 different players saw action for the Warhawks during the match. The bench contributed two assists, 12 kills, 12 digs, three blocks and two service aces.

“Our bench is what holds us together,” Hasler said. “When we are in situations on the court when we are lost and we don’t know what to do, we just turn to our bench and they literally save us from so many situations.”

In addition to notching a fourth-straight win, the Warhawks took some time before and after the game to support UW-Whitewater baseball player Justin Wegner, who was diagnosed with cancer in June. The team sold $5 bracelets before the game to raise money for Wegner, and held a serving competition following the match for all those who purchased one.

Next up on the schedule, the Warhawks go on the road to face UW-Platteville at 7 p.m. Wednesday, before returning home to host the Dig Panici Classic on October 21-22.

Coach Wins Award for Winning Hearts and Minds

Tony DeMatteo has won several awards as a football coach,  in a career spanning more than 50 years. This year he received an award which means more to him than all the rest — a reward for making an impact on his athletes.

By Adam Reed

Somers High School (New York) head coach Tony DeMatteo, this year’s recipient of the American Football Coaches Foundation Power of Influence Award, believes coaches have a great responsibility to impact society.

DeMatteo thinks winning is important. He’s won over 300 games as a high school coach, and is the winningest coach in New York state Division I football history.

But for DeMatteo, his influence on his players is not a means to help him win. Rather, winning is a means to help him influence his players.

“I think you have to be successful,” DeMatteo said. “If you’re not successful you’re going to be out there coaching by yourself. But winning at all costs? Never.”

DeMatteo began coaching as a graduate assistant for Bridgeport University (New York) in 1964, and went on to coach Roosevelt High School (New York) for 30 years. He moved to Somers in 2000, and is still coaching there today.

DeMatteo, his philosophies and the game itself have all changed over his 47 years as a head coach. He credits this wealth of experience in helping him to identify what is truly valuable.

“I know that I can influence kids to do the right thing and become a good person. So if I’m affecting 50 people, and they affect 100, and those 100 affect another 100, then I have really affected society and that’s the way I think about coaching.”

One of the ways in which he influences players is through his mentoring program. DeMatteo started the program in 1993 after losing a top prospect due to hazing.

After the program was up and running, the young man returned to the football field. His name was Jimmy Kennedy, and he remains the only NFL player DeMatteo has ever coached.

There were over 1.1 million young people playing football in the United States in 2015 according to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations. That’s 1.1 million opportunities for football coaches to make an impact.

Not only is football a great way of reaching a large number of young people because of the sheer number of participants, it’s also effective because coaches “teach them what they like” as DeMatteo puts it.

“Kids like sports which means coaches are going to connect with their players,” DeMatteo says. “I take it on as a tremendous responsibility. It’s necessary that I win to get my message to them.”

Winning is important. DeMatteo will be the first to tell you how it must be stressed if you want to be successful. However, in order to have the best chance to have the biggest impact on society, he believes it cannot and should not be at the top of a coach’s priority list.

Journalists: The Modern Superhero

By Adam Reed

Most people don’t think of journalists as superheroes. When you think of a superhero, you probably think of someone with special powers who puts on a crazy costume and fights injustice. However, the lifestyle of a superhero and the lifestyle of a journalist may not be as vastly different as you may think.

Consider one of the most famous superheroes of all time, Superman. It’s no coincidence he chose a career as a journalist. Back when the original Superman television show aired in the 1950’s, the narrator would explain how Superman stood for truth, justice and the American way as part of the opening for every show. The things Superman was a symbol for publicly happened to be a perfect summary of the motivations for his alter-ego, Clark Kent, the intrepid reporter for the Daily Planet.

Clark Kent may be an imaginary character, but he should remind those who are pursuing a career in journalism, just what it is they stand for. Journalists today have an obligation to bring truth and justice to a world filled with lies, illusion and inequality. There is no greater “super-power” a journalist could ask for than the power to impart knowledge to those who need it.

Protecting the American way of life doesn’t have the luxury of an alien savior from another planet. It will have to rely on the incorruptible character of a group of normal human beings. Superman may get all the credit for saving the world, but here’s to the real hero of the story, the simple farm boy from Kansas who was unafraid to stand up for what he believed in. Doing so is much more impressive than shooting lasers out of your eyes, and it is exactly what the world needs today.