Best Wisconsin High School Basketball Teams since 2000

This is a topic that stems from me watching some of the best regular season basketball I have ever seen in this state yesterday. Watching Brookfield Central beat the #2 team in Division 2 by 25 points and doing so handily while also seeing the quote unquote Game of the Year with Sussex Hamilton vs. Nicolet. The star power in this state may never have been higher and this was evident yesterday as these 3 teams just blew me away. That makes for the conversation to see where these teams rank compared to previous top teams from this state since 2000. Now I do want to warn you that teams that I have seen with my own eyes may be advantaged in these rankings but again these are just my opinions on the top teams this state has seen in recent years.

Honorable Mentions: Wauwatosa East (26-1) 2008 Division 1 State Champions, DePere (25-3) 2011 Division 1 runner-up (lost title game in 3 OT), Onalaska (27-1) 2012 Division 2 State Champions, Appleton Xavier (28-0) undefeated Division 3 State Champions, Oshkosh North (27-1) 2018 Division 1 State Champions, Manitowac Roncalli for their 7 State appearances since 2005, and the 2011 Grafton Black Hawks for stopping a 69 game conference losing streak against eventual Division 2 State Champions Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes.

Alright back to the rankings. I did not take multiple teams from 1 school for this as I choose what I thought was the best team from a certain school since 2000. That way Germantown, SPASH, etc. eat up all the rankings.

Alright so I couldn't decide with just a top 10 so we will go with the top 11 and count down.

11. Racine St. Catherine's (25-2) 2009 Division 3 State Champions. I chose the 2009 team over the undefeated team from 2005 mainly because I saw them play and again was very impressed with how good they were defensively. They also had two future college players who could score in Steve McWhorter and Jake Thomas. McWhorter was an athlete that the smaller schools could not compete with.

10. Randolph (26-0) 2004 Division 4 State Champions. Complain what you may that they were in Division 4 but this was the best of the Randolph run as they won titles from 2002-2005. The '04 Randolph team was led by 6'11" senior Greg Stiemsma (later played at Wisconsin and in the NBA) and 6' 7" junior Ryan Tillema (later played at UWM). This size and ability to shoot would be tough for any team to defend and Randolph during the season went and beat bigger basketball schools such as Madison Edgewood and Monroe.

9- La Crosse Aquinas (25-1) 2011 Division 3 State Champions. While this team did not have the full on star power that some of these other teams had, they were led by 2 very players. Mike Conway was not a scholarship player but he was a very solid high school basketball player who could hit the open shot which was perfect since he had one of the best High School passers I have ever seen in Bronson Koenig. Koenig's feel for the game and ability to pass and score was very difficult for any school to stop. While he went on to play at Wisconsin he was a top recruit offered by Duke and North Carolina.

8. New Berlin West (26-0) 2000 Division 2 undefeated State Champions. I remember watching this team because my cousin was going to New Berlin West. They were ginormous. As a 7 year old watching them on TV playing at the Kohl Center, I just remember thinking they are huge. They started 6' 10", 6' 8", and 6' 5" with no starter smaller than 6' 2". They were led by two future college players in the Chappell brothers (Jason played at Madison). That size alone made them difficult covers in the state at that time.

7. Oshkosh West (26-0) 2006 undefeated Division 1 State Champions. While this team does not impress you with any names other than future Badger role player, Tim Jarmusz, this was a team that I remember watching and just admiring the way they played basketball. Being led by Lance Randall they played methodical basketball and played very strong defense on their way to beating a star-studed Madison Memorial team in the championship game 52-40. 

6. Milwaukee King (26-0) 2002-2003 Division 1 undefeated State Champions. This King team was not filled with star power like the Milwaukee Vincent teams of the early 2000's but being led by Jim Gosz you knew they would get after you defensively. They were led by Dupree Fletcher who went on to play at Evansville than UW-Whitewater. They won their 3 games at the State Tournament by scores of 55-48, 39-27, and winning the Championship against a Brian Butch led Appleton West team 57-46.

5. Madison Memorial (26-1) 2009 Division 1 State Champions. This Madison Memorial team was chosen over the 2005 team with Wesley Matthews and a young Keaton Nankivil because this 2009 team was stronger, deeper and had more star power. Led by future Golden Eagle, Vander Blue and Tennessee Volunteer, Jeronne Maymon, this team was athletic, strong and could shoot. Then you add a Cleveland State, Providence and Western Kentucky future point guard in Junior Lombomba (who by the way best name ever announced at the State Tournament) and this Spartan team was very difficult to stop. 

4- Whitefish Bay Dominican (27-1) 2012 Division 4 State Champions. I chose the first team of Dominican's 4 straight years of State Championships. This 2012 team had two of the best kids to ever come through that school in Duane Wilson (future Golden Eagle) and Diamond Stone (future Maryland Terrapin). It's amazing to think that these 2 did not even lead their team in scoring as future South Dakota School of Mines player, Jamall Taylor led this team in scoring. 3 different types of scoring weapons and players that can affect the game in multiple ways. 

3. Milwaukee Vincent (25-2) 2000-2001 Division 1 State Champions. This team was led by five future college players that made their name inside and outside of the state. At this time Vincent was on quite the run as they had won State Championships in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001. I chose the 2001 team as the best due to all the star power they had. Maurice "Boo" Wade (who later played at Wisconsin and Marquette) was not even the best player on his team and neither was a young Carl Landry (later played at Purdue. This team was carried by Boo Wade's cousin, Dejuante Wade (later played at UWGB) and Deonte Tatum (Played at Hawaii) who was the MVP at the State Tournament in 2001. This team was also joined by Greg Brown who in 2002 won Mr. Basketball over Steve Novak. This Vincent team finished 11th in the country and was something to be reckoned with.

2- SPASH (26-0) 2016 undefeated Division 1 State Champions. If you want to talk about a team with star-power that played unselfish basketball, this SPASH team has to be near the top of the list. They were so fun to watch with so many weapons on the court including future Badger Trevor Anderson and future Golden Eagles in Sam and Joey Hauser. SPASH ran through the state this year in the middle of their 3 year run as Division 1 State Champs. At state in 2016 they beat their competition by scores of 75-48 and 89-64. 

1- Germantown (28-0) 2013 undefeated Division 1 State Champions. This was by far the toughest decision on this list choosing between their 2012 team led by Seniors Zak Showalter and Josh Mongan or the 2013 team led by transfer Lamonte Bearden. I went with the 2013 team as Luke Fisher (Indiana Hoosier) was a much different and better player in '13 and Lamonte Bearden provided something that this team did not have previously. He was the quickest player on the court every night with the ability to dish and hit deep 3's as he did at state in 2013. The 2013 team won their games at state by scores of 80-60 and 57-28. This 2013 team also had future South Dakota State players in Evan Wesenburg and Jake Showalter along with D2 player Jon Averkamp. Combining 5 college players with the assertiveness of Coach Steve Showalter, this Germantown team was arguably the best this state has seen since 2000.

Now last night I watched 3 teams who I think could potentially end up on this list but we will see if they can live up to the hype. Brookfield Central always has 5 guys on the court who can score including 4 future college players and they move the ball like the SPASH and Germantown teams. Sussex Hamilton has the #1 sophomore in the country and he lived up to the hype and can carry any team he is on to stardom. Nicolet as everyone knows has all the talent in the world with 3 Power 5 college players including the #4 junior in the country who dropped a triple double last night. Only time will tell if they can leave their mark as one of the best teams this state has ever seen.

I will leave a highlight from one of the most impressive dunks I have ever seen at State from the 2012 Germantown team. They knew how to set the tone early in the game including their students chanting "Thanks for practice" at tip off against Grafton in 2010.

Learning in the Classroom

My last blog post talked about the power of student choice and some things I was trying in my classroom. This blog post I want to focus on one of the reasons why I started this blog and that was to broadcast all the amazing things that go in in a classroom over the course of a year.

This past week if you would have came into my classroom you would have seen something you may not be used to. I almost gave up my role as a teacher and the students guided their own learning. I was there to help facilitate and guide some of their learning but it was all student initiated. While I was not giving direct instruction every day it was amazing how tired I would be after these days as well. The students working throughout the room asked such great questions and really wanted to discover their own learning. This was the true definition of flipping your classroom and allowing the students to lead the learning.

The students at the end of the week completed a survey for me and all 48 of my students said that they enjoyed this type of learning more than taking notes or reading a book. Can I blame them? They were excited that they were able to learn about what they want and that they could learn at their own pace. I also allowed the students different options to present their information to the class. Some did a skit, some made a poster, some made a Google Slides presentation, and some made a video. It was such a powerful week for me as an educator as I got to see the students truly enjoy learning and strive for more.

I have now asked my students what they want to learn about our next unit which is water. Some of the questions the students created once again were amazing and will continue to guide the learning that goes on in our classroom. The students also in math solved various real-world problems all week and below is some pictures of student work and engagement. I have also included a link to more photos so you can see the true engagement in our classroom last week.

Photos from my classroom this week. 

Student Choice in Education

Student choice is a topic and idea in education that can sometimes be hard to come to grips with. Of course it sounds good to have students be a part of their learning but to truly allow them to have say in what they learn and what is covered in the classroom is a whole other issue. 

Our education system has always and to this day is designed by curriculum companies giving teachers the information to instruct and ways to pass this information to the students. You will rarely if ever find a curriculum that asks the students what they want to learn and to base your instruction around that. However through some work being done at my school and some personal research, I am continuing to try different ways to incorporate students ideas into our daily classroom instruction. 

It started by having one of my team members sharing a reflection sheet that she was going to use on an assessment in her classroom. I took it and gave it to my students as well. It asked the students to grade themselves and then explain why they gave themselves that grade. The students were surprisingly very honest and knew what to grade themselves because they knew how confident they were in their skills. They also were able to describe why they were not necessarily as confident in one skill compared to the other. To me this was true student involvement in their learning. I am now able to use these reflections as a guiding tool in my classroom and will instruct students and what specific skills they need based on their reflections. Below are some specific examples of students assessing their skills on either standard algorithm multiplication or solving for volume using the equation Length x Width x Height.

Now while I did feel that this was one step forward to incorporating student choice in my classroom, I saw something on Twitter the day before break that challenged me to do more. The article was titled, "Taking the Manage out of Classroom Management" and it really challenged you to incorporate your students ideas into your classroom. So I decided let's give this a shot. 

I showed the students a Ted Talk about a 12 year old who asked one simple science question that turned into her and other students being the youngest published scientists in the world. This prompted the students to come up with one topic or question they want to discover about in science. It was amazing to see some of their questions. They were things I would have never even thought of. Some examples were:

• What is the physical limit of our body?
• Why do our hands get sweaty when were nervous?
• How do our reactions react?
• Why do we need more inventions when they pollute our earth?
• Ocean levels and temperature
• What are possible planets to live on?

These were just some of the examples that my students came up with. Now I am challenged with what to do as an educator? Do I go back to my curriculum and instruct students with what the curriculum says or do I embrace this student choice and let them discover and solve their own real-world questions? I think I know what the students would rather do and what I think is more beneficial to their learning. Why not let them discover their answers and tie the curriculum into what they discover? That is true authentic learning that is based on #StudentChoice. 

  

The story of the 2010 State Grafton Baseball Team

As I think about blog ideas and things to share just recently I ran into a parent of one of my baseball teammates and then I found myself again bringing up this story to a friend. After seeing the parent who is now battling cancer, I remembered just how short life can be and that is the driving force for this blog post.

After going 9-43 in my first two years of Varsity baseball, we all had high hopes for the 2010 season, little did we know what we would accomplish. There was a solid group of us who had played with and against each other through Grafton Little League and on Varsity as Freshman, Sophomores, and Juniors. The class of 2010 and 2011 were two groups of kids who loved baseball and worked and wanted to change the face of Grafton Baseball. While we were young players on Varsity we had to take our lumps but as we said at the end of the 2009 season, next year "We are going to state".

We all put in our work in the off-season and we were finally gearing up to play some spring baseball and get ready for the season we were all waiting for. Then something changed on the night of March 12th. I will never forget that night. I remember coming home from a friends house that night and staying up later than I usually do. I still woke up early like I typically do and then I got a phone call at 8:15 that Saturday morning the 13th. Mattie Malkowski, a friend and teammate was in a car accident the night before and was in serious condition at the hospital. He battled for about 7 weeks before passing away on April 30th, 2010 from injuries in the accident caused by a drunk driver. That day, April 30th I will never forget the mood around the school and the community for the coming weeks. It was a very difficult and trying time for everyone who knew Mattie. And our season we all had been looking forward to since our Little League days was to start in just 2 weeks.

It was amazing to see how our team, school, and community all came together after this tragedy. A huge credit to the Durst family and the Malkowski family for the fundraiser of "I Hit for Matt" T-shirts. That shirt and motto became our rally cry for the season and something that you could not go a day without seeing that shirt in the Grafton community. It was truly amazing to see the Little League, School District and community just absolutely embrace this family and fundraiser. To this day you still see the "I hit for Matt" T-shirts in the community and it just reminds me of the special season we were about to have.

We started the season all excited and still a little struck that we were about to take the field without our friend and left-fielder. We decided to embrace the situation we were put in and come together as a family to do all we could to honor our teammate every day. Mattie was always someone who played with a fun, passion and enjoyed the game of baseball so that is what we tried to do every day. We started the conference season with a record of 4-1 and were off to a great start with our one loss coming to a strong Muskego team. Now the true battle was about to start and that was the North Shore Conference. We knew if we wanted to change Grafton Baseball this is when it would be done.

We started the conference season with a nice win against our rival Port Washington. Next was the powerhouse Nicolet Knights and they showed us how good they were by run ruling us. Our next 2 conference games is when our season changed. Conor Fisk, who was drafted this same week by the Milwaukee Brewers, proved to be our workhorse as he put up a 1 hitter against Cedarburg who we beat 2-0. Then the next week, he went 8 innings allowing 1 run against power Homestead as we pulled out a 5-1 extra inning victory. I remember getting off the bus that night and all of us were like we can really do this, this is our season. That was the changing point of the season for us as we had a solid season where we took 3rd in the difficult North Shore Conference with 4 of our losses coming against Nicolet and traditional power West Bend West. We finished with a 18-9 record during the regular season and we were ready to start our journey to state.

We beat Port in our first playoff game fairly handily and got a nice draw when Brown Deer upset Cedarburg in the first round. We were going to sectionals having to win 2 games in 1 day which turned out to be 2 days because of a rain delay and we were able to save our Ace, Conor Fisk, for the Sectional Final. One of Mattie's best friends on the team, Dylan Mayer threw the game of his life in the sectional semi-final as we beat Brown Deer 4-2. That setup a matchup with the number 1 team in the area and the offensive power, Nicolet. They were averaging over 8 runs a game and Conor Fisk did not disappoint and shut them out as we scored a 1-0 victory over Nicolet to head to state for the first time since 1983.

There are 3 moments from that game that always stick out and I will never forget. The first was in the bottom of the 6th inning, Nicolet had bases loaded with 1 out and a good hitter at the plate. He grounded back to Conor who threw home, to Skyler Bohn and then to first, Dylan Mayer for a 1-2-3 douple play to get out of the inning. I remember running into the dugout from that inning and jumping up and hitting an assistant coach and in the dugout that inning I remember thinking, we are going to do this! My next moment that I will never forget is as we are in the field in the last inning, I had a great view from 3rd base of all the Grafton fans who came to support us. I remember just looking at the crowd with all their "I hit for Matt" shirts and them chanting "Hit for Matt" as we fought for the last out. There may not be a better picture in my life. Then when Conor struck out the last hitter it was like it happened in slow motion. The pitch, waiting for the ump to make the call, then just swarming Conor, throwing my glove in the air and dog piling on the field! What a moment it was!

We had officially accomplished the goal that Mattie had set out for us the previous season, to get to state! That journey and season was so special. We carried him with us to every game and practice. At every BP, you would see our whole team wearing "I hit for Matt" shirts no matter how many games we had that week. We kept his jersey in our dugout, we went out to left field before and after every game to hit the "MM" sign that was put up and we all gave his mom a hug before and after every game.

It was an emotional season but it was a season that us 20 players, coaches, family, friends and Grafton community will never forget. To be able to bring Grafton Baseball to a state tournament after years of losing seasons was something that people thought would never happen and for it to happen 2 after losing a teammate, made it that much more special!

To all my teammates, coaches, friends and family who were a part of that journey, Thank you! And lastly to the Malkowski family, we will never forget Mattie and this story will always live on!

Fundraiser for Mattie's Field of Dreams

Role Models

I laid in bed last night just thinking about all the positive role models I have had in my life. It started with thinking about how fortunate I was to have 3 amazing Varsity coaches in High School and from there my mind just kept going.

I am going to pause for a second and just really begin to think about what is a role model? This is something that I ask my students every year and maybe I don't ask it enough. The typical response is a parent or grandparent and not to say that they are not role models but what defines everyone who we view as a role model? For me every time I hear a student explain a role model or someone they look up to, it is someone who cares about them! Whether it be at home, at school, at church, in sports, in extra-curricular's or just a friendly face, a role model can almost always be defined as someone who cares about you and will push you to be the best that you can be.

Back to my mind racing. It all started with me thinking about how awesome it was to see a co-worker and the local Varsity Girls soccer coach at a youth girls soccer game that night. Not only was he supporting his students but also his future players, that is a role model! That got me thinking about my 3 varsity coaches I had in High School. Each of them brought something different to the table but were 3 of the most influential people in my life.

• Soccer Coach, Don Arnold: One of the most demanding but fair coaches I had, he always expected us to do things the right way and we knew not to step outside of the right way to play the game. #HeartPassionDesire
• Basketball Coach, Kevin McKenna: One of the most intense coaches I had, but he showed me so much trust and willingness to listen to any thoughts or ideas I had. He always respected me as a point guard and trusted what I saw on the court. 
• Baseball Coach, Brian Durst: "Respect the Game". When I think of Coach Durst, that is what comes to mind every time. He has helped me so much as a player, coach and person that I can just summarize it as Respect Life. 

While these 3 coaches were phenomenal and huge role models in my life I would be mistaken if I didn't  mention some of their assistant coaches because they had just as big of an impact on me! Some other coaches who stick out are James Johnson (Soccer- "I got jokes"), Wycklendt, Finn, Myles for baseball and I cannot forget my father. While all my coaches demanded and expected a lot from me, I am not sure anyone taught me more about every sport (other than soccer) and how to play the game than my father and for that I am truly thankful!

While these are coaches who I immediately thought of as role models, the role models in my life go far beyond athletics. While in bed I thought of so many others who have positively impacted my life but one story stood out. I thought of the lady who bought me M&M's at every softball game at Kennedy as a little kid and then one final "Big Bag" of M&M's when I graduated high school. How cool is that, just the act of buying a 5 and 6 year old kid M&M's was something that stuck with me to this day. This story along with so many others have provided me with hundreds of role models in my life, so Thank you to all the role models that I have had in my life!

So who is your role model? What defines your role model? And lastly are you a role model for someone? What can you do to help someone close to you?

The video I will leave you with today was shown to me in my class today as the students suggested this song for Tuesday Tunes. I had never heard of it before but it was so cool to see the WHOLE class singing and enjoying this song, it didn't matter if it was an athlete, a smart kid, a kid with challenges, or just an average student, everyone in my room was enjoying this song, so why not share!

Twitter in Education?!?

The last week or so I have witnessed the power of Twitter and just some of the possibilities through one social media outlet. One of my goals through not only this blog but some other avenues is been to try and spread positive things and thoughts that are either in my life or around me. I truly believe Twitter has brought me many connections and moments in just the last week that are hard to come by.

First, last week I participated in a baseball coaches chat (#ABCAChat). Not only is this a great place to gain knowledge from thousands of coaches around the county, it is a very inviting chat! In just the last 2 chats I have connected with other coaches from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Texas and California. One of the coolest moments for me was through the chat and sharing ideas, the head softball coach from UW-Eau Claire liked and commented on one of my Tweets. This actually brought back a connection that I had in college as we reconnected from a time when we participated in a bible study together in Eau Claire. How awesome is that? Reconnecting with someone from college through a Twitter Baseball Coaches Chat!

While that connection was awesome and I have been welcomed by so many other coaches across the country and have been encouraged to and will attend my first ABCA Clinic this January in Dallas, Tx, I have felt my role with Twitter is just getting started! This past week at school, I hosted 4 different PD opportunities with our staff about Twitter. It was so encouraging and motivational for me to see so many staff members embrace the idea of Twitter and come interested in trying something they thought they would never use! It does not matter whether you a millennial or a dinosaur, the educational opportunities on Twitter are endless!

This last week alone, I have found 24 exit ticket questions that I can use in my classroom and shared a Investigative social studies website for teachers and students. That does not include all the other awesome ideas and articles I have found on topics such as Standards Based grading, #MathChat, or #SciChat. In addition to all these great resources on Twitter, our staff at TJ has begun to embrace Twitter and we are sharing so much of all the great things that are happening in our classroom everyday! Please go on Twitter and follow @TJMSPride and search the #TJMSLearning. Our staff is working hard on finding positive resources to help in their classrooms while also sharing all the wonderful learning occurring in our classrooms daily!

Once again I will leave you with a video just to reinforce the idea of how powerful Twitter can be in Education!

Brewers NLCS Roster and Playoff Predictions

As long as I can remember I have been very superstitious around the game of baseball. I don't know what it is about baseball that brings out so many superstitions but it is a part of the game and has been for years. That being said, I am sticking to my roster and playoff predictions for each round as it worked out in the NLDS for the Brewers! Even though a lot of my predictions were incorrect, the Brewers won the series and moved on!

The Brewers will have more tough decisions to make now having to worry about a 7 game series instead of a 5 game series. It will be interesting to see how the Brewers line up their pitching against the aces of Kershaw, Ryu and Buehler from the Dodgers. But I will give it a shot and support my claims once again for the Brewers roster and the League Championship Predictions. I will start with my locks once again:

• Catchers: Manny Pina, Erik Kratz
• 1st Base: Jesus Aguilar
• 2nd Base: Jonathan Schoop, Hernan Perez
• Shortstop: Orlando Arcia
• 3rd Base: Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw
• Outfield: Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich
• Starting Pitchers: Jholys Chacin, Wade Miley
• Relief Pitchers: Corey Knebel, Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress, Joakim Soria, Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff

This scenario puts us at 11 position players and 8 "out-getters" as Craig Counsell would call them. Leaving us with 6 positions to fill once again. 

• Keon Broxton- I think the Brewers need to keep Keon once again just because he is their one guy off the bench they can use to pinch run and can also be used as a defensive replacement
• Curtis Granderson- Counsell needs to have a lefty bat to come off the bench. I think his experience will now give him the spot over the red-hot Domingo Santana. 
• Gio Gonzalez- I believe with a longer series will provide at least 1 start for the Brewers in this 7 game series. 
• Xavier Cedeno- I was shocked he did not make the roster in the NLDS, I imagine with the lefties in the Dodgers order, he would be on the roster in the NLCS
• Junior Guerra- I believe he has thrown well enough in relief appearances in September and he can provide you early to mid innings in a bullpen game, that Counsell will keep him around again. 
• My last spot will go to...
• Zach Davies, I think Davies provides you stuff that is more successful against Dodgers hitters than Freddy Peralta. I would rather go soft with change-ups and curveballs then trying to challenge the Dodger order with Peralta fastballs. 

I will once again state these are just my thoughts and opinions and really don't mean anything in the grand scheme of things as long as the Brewers move on to the World Series! 

On top of my League Championship predictions, I am going to provide my expected pitching matchups in the NLCS because I think that is more of a game than anything right now for the Brewers. 

NLCS: 

1. Game 1 in Milwaukee : Kershaw vs. Chacin
2. Game 2 in Milwaukee: Ryu vs. Woodruff and bullpen game for the Crew since they have a travel day after
3. Game 3 in LA: Buehler vs. Miley
4. Game 4 in LA: Hill vs. Gio Gonzalez
5. Game 5 in LA: Kershaw vs. Chacin
6. Game 6 in Milwaukee: Ryu vs. Bullpen- and the Brewers win the series in 6!

ALCS: 

1. Astros beat the Red Sox in 7 games

I will leave you with Brewer highlights from the last week! Hopefully there are more highlights next week! Go Crew!

A day of Professional Development...

These words, A day of Professional Development, can sometimes make us flinch or grimace. Whether you are in education, business, trade job or customer service, a day of professional development and meetings tend to be ideas and practices that we do not look forward to. I always try to look at things through a positive lens and after a day of professional development, I thought I would share my story about how the professional development we had today inspired me.

When we are talking about Professional Development (PD) let's develop what the true intention of these days are. I think a lot of PD days are designed to give us new ideas, inspire us to look at things differently or provide reassurance on what is already occurring in our classroom. Today provided me with so many AHA moments that relate to so many different educational practices.

First through discussion on re-assessment and grading practices, it reassured me the idea that all students learn at different paces and we as educators have to embrace this idea! Our goal as educators should be to help ALL students learn the content needed no matter at what pace or in what direction. Then we need to assess the students on their academic ability and not their ability to sit still and do what is told. How many of us adults learn in various ways, models, and environments? I know throughout this day of PD I was constantly up and moving and taking cues and discovering my own learning different than my co-workers. Does that mean that I did not learn or did not gain knowledge? We have to embrace students different learning abilities and styles in order to best help them explain their thinking!

This PD also inspired me to go further with my thinking and challenged my thoughts on what my classroom looks like and how I instruct in my classroom. Through small breakout sessions and large group discussions, it was very cool to see how other teachers use so many different tools to help reach their students. Again is that not the point of PD, to share and bounce ideas off of each other on what we can do differently to best help our students!

I was also able to reflect on my practices while providing self-motivation to try new things and challenge my thinking on certain topics and ideas. Now that is what I call a powerful PD! So once again I could just focus on the negatives of it is another meeting, or another initiative, but who is that helping? If you are able to take a step back and take one positive from a day of PD that can lead you to a whole new world of growth!

I will leave you with a clip from one of my favorite movies that our PD leader, Garth Larson, showed today. He asked, "How does this clip relate to education?" So I am going to ask how does this clip relate to education and or your job or your life? Their are so many parallels between Baseball and life.

Brewers NLDS Roster and Playoff Predictions

As an avid baseball fan I had to create a post about the most exciting time of the year in America's Pastime. The month of October is a part of baseball that only 10 exclusive fan bases get to celebrate every year and is part of the reason why I think baseball playoffs are so exciting, it is so exclusive. As Brewer, Cubs and many other fan bases can tell you it can take years to make the playoffs, win a division, get to a World Series or win the World Series. That being said this piece will provide insight to who I personally think the Brewers will have on their 25 man roster for the NLDS along with my unprofessional judgement on how the playoffs will play out.

One of the unique problems that the Brewers have coming into the playoffs is limiting their roster to 25 guys. I have never experienced a team who for better or worse is so deep and has so many decisions to make on their playoff roster as the Brewers have legitimately used 35 guys in the month of September to help them win the Division. So to get started here are my locks for the Brewers 25 man NLDS roster:

• Catchers: Manny Pina, Erik Kratz
• 1st Base: Jesus Aguilar
• 2nd Base: Jonathan Schoop, Hernan Perez
• Shortstop: Orlando Arcia
• 3rd Base: Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw
• Outfield: Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich
• Starting Pitchers: Jholys Chacin, Wade Miley
• Relief Pitchers: Corey Knebel, Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress, Joakim Soria, Xavier Cedeno, Corbin Burnes

This puts the Brewers at 11 position players and 8 pitchers for a total of 19 players, leaving 6 spots open. Part of the thought process for the rest of the roster could depend on who the Brewers are facing and the match-ups the Brewers front office thinks they can take advantage of on the mound. But I will just go ahead and make the case for who I think will round out the roster and why:

• Domingo Santana: Has gone 8-18 (.444 avg.) since being called up in September and has provided consistent quality at-bats all month and provided a huge pinch hit against the Cubs to help win the division.
• Keon Broxton: While Santana will provide an offensive spark off the bench, Broxton will provide defense and 1 true speed threat for the Brewers off the bench.
• Gio Gonzalez: I believe will be the Brewers 3rd starter for the NLDS as the Brewers will lean on his post-season experience. I believe he will start game 2 for the Brewers. 
• Brandon Woodruff: Will provide the Brewers with a long-reliever in the NLDS as I believe they will try and get by with 3 starters and thus Woodruff could throw some critical innings. 
• Zach Davies: If the Brewers do end up using a 4th starter in the NLDS, I would think Davies would be the man as it appears the Brewers have lost faith in Chase Anderson
• The last and final spot I believe will go to....
• Dan Jennings: I believe the Brewers will keep the lefty who has struggled lately as a situational lefty. Both the Rockies and Cubs lineup has some big lefties in it and if Hader is unavailable for a game because he went 2 innings the night before, I believe they will want to have Jennings available along with Cedeno. 

Again these are just my opinions and thoughts based on what I have seen and expect the Brewers to go with for the NLDS. In this situation I think the one big name left off is Curtis Granderson but I think as we have seen the last couple days, Santana and Broxton provide more at this point than Granderson does. All that being said, I don't care who is on the playoff roster as long as the Brewers are moving on to the NLCS!

Here are my predictions for the two wild card games and the Divisional rounds:

NL Wildcard: Cubs over the Rockies: Lester throws another gem in the post-season

AL Wildcard: A's over the Yankees: Severino struggles again and the Moneyball A's transcend baseball with winning a 1-game playoff with a bullpen game!

ALDS: 

1. Astros take down the Indians in 5 games. I love both these teams but I think the starting pitching of the Astros and the deep lineup will be too much
2. Red Sox beat the A's in 4 games. The Red Sox offense will not slow down and prove to be too much for an A's team without the best staff. 

NLDS:

1. Dodgers sweep the Braves in 3 games. Experience and their recent surge will continue as the Dodgers roll into the NLCS. 
2. The Brewers beat the Cubs in 5 games. I believe the deeper lineup and deeper pen will prove pivotal over a team with more post-season experience and the Brewers move on to the NLCS!

I will leave you all with this: The Brewers reenacting one of the best baseball movies of all time! 

Go Brewers!!!

The Power of a Community and a Fundraiser (Mel's Pig Roast)

For those of you from the Ozaukee County area, many of you have heard of Mel's Pig Roast or Mel's Charities. To those who haven't, please check out the link to Mel's Charities and what they are all about!

To give a little backstory it all started with one of my all time favorite coaches (Blaine Bergman, I would share my favorite story of him on here, but not sure if it would be appropriate!). It started as a couple of guys doing a small pig roast to raise some money for a family friend who passed away and had a daughter with special needs who participated in Special Olympics. Ever since that year in 1999, the Pig Roast has continued to grow and grow to what it is today.

Mel's Pig Roast has grown into Mel's Charities where they host or help with over 10 events a year. Everything they do is for other people in the local community. Since 1999 they have donated over $850,000 to the local community. From a couple of guys raising some money with a small pig roast to raising money for various communities and various efforts!

Just some of the highlights include donations to Special Olympics, local scholarships at High Schools in remembrance of those who passed away too young, and local human service organizations. The beauty of Mel's Charities is that all the money raised goes straight back to the local community! As Mel would say, "You can't make this stuff up". The stories of donations and people willing to drop anything to help out Mel's Charities is what truly makes a community great, and an organization like Mel's truly special. To go to a Mel's event and listen to him speak is truly amazing and inspiring. To just hear some of the amazing stories he has to tell about people going out of their way to help his organization or others around them is something that is so special.

Whether it is just going to the Grafton Farmer's Market every Thursday to see a Friend and have a tasty pork sandwich or if you go to one of Mel's events, you will truly be struck by his presence and overall mission! I am proud to say that I have enjoyed various Mel's Charities events and contributed to their great mission! As one of my friends once said, "Once Mel gets his name on something, things always get done".

To Mel's Charities and their 20th anniversary, Ozaukee County salutes you for all your work! 

Quality World... Everyone has a Story

As I was reflecting on what to do my next blog on, I came across an awesome blog from one of my mentors, Coach Durst. His blog was about a beginning of the year activity in his classroom where the students reflect on their type of learning and create a Superhero. Reading his blog post allowed me to reflect on what I have done at the beginning of the year with the students in my classroom and that brought me to an activity that I have thoroughly enjoyed in my first 2 years.

Now before I get to much into this activity, I must give credit to one of my college professors, Jerry Worley, for this activity. Even us college "cherubs" as he called us, got to enjoy this activity and it allowed for some deep reflection. The point of this activity is really to try and get to know your students at a deep level and what is really behind their "story". We all know that every student has a story and the more we get to know about what makes that student tick, the more success we can have when working with them throughout the year.

This activity, the Quality World, seems very simple but what really draws me to it, is the individuality and freedom that this activity allows. The objective of this activity is to have the students create their own Quality World. Their Quality World can include pictures, words, phrases, quotes, motto's they live by, things they value, anything they deem important in their life. Like I said one of the very unique things with this activity is the direction it can be taken. Students can create a world where what's inside the circle is what they value and the outside can be things that try to bring them down. They can use illustrations, words, dividers, whatever they want to really tell their own story. Below are some pictures of some of the Quality World's that were created in my classroom this year along with my personal one that I show them every year.

As you can see through these various examples this simple activity provides students to really share what is important to them and allows them to use their own creativity to tell their story.

So as I reflect back on the first month of the school year and the goal of this blog, I looked back at wanting to share the positives that go in the classroom everyday. This is a very unique opportunity to allow students at their own level to create something that they value and is important to them and it is now my job to spread the innovative thoughts and ideas from these amazing students!

Officiating... Play the Game

I have debated writing a blog about this since last Sunday and the Clay Matthews hit. Then this week another hit on the Quarterback via Clay Matthews is being debated by thousands across the country. I felt it was perfect timing for a post about why I believe in never blaming an official, ref, or umpire.

Anyone who has ever played a sport with me or has been coached by me, knows I take sports seriously and do anything I can to help my team win. That being said I have always lived and abided by the motto that "you worry about what you can control" when playing sports. It is something that I preach to all athletes I coach in any sport. The game can be hard enough and mentally challenging that you should never give yourself one more thing to worry about. Why would you worry about balls and strikes when you can be thinking about setting up the hitter on the next pitch? Why would you complain about a foul when the team is shooting 2 free throws instead of setting up your next possession with your team? If as an athlete you focus on what you can control and the next play or pitch, you will be better off then having your mind focused on a call that gave you a negative emotion.

Another reason I do not believe in complaining with an official is they make mistakes just like players. A common phrase I tell my baseball players is "when you hit 1.000 and don't make an out, then you can complain about a call." Think about it, as a player in the game of baseball you are successful if you get a hit in 3 out of 10 at bats. If an umpire gets 8 out of 10 calls right, he is considered to be a failure and costed the team the game. I would much rather be correct 8 out of 10 times then 3 out of 10. Now I know this is a difficult comparison but the point is that no player is perfect and we cannot expect umpires, officials or referees to be perfect either.

Now I know officiating can be an easy scape goat for players, coaches and fans, but ultimately it is the players and coaches who decide a game. They are making hundreds of plays throughout the course of the game that could impact the game in a positive manner. Never blame an official without looking at the mistakes you made during the game. Focus on what you can control and change what you can to help your team win the next game! You cannot change a call!

Now did today's Clay Matthews hit cause the Packers to lose or was it the defense allowing big plays leading to 28 points in the first half? Or was it the Packers not converting on some easy opportunities offensively (dropped passes)? I think the Packers will go back and look at what they can do differently as players and coaches, not how the official will call the game.

Control the controllables!

D'Cota Dixon on what playing the game really means

NL MVP?!?! Yelich or Baez?!?

This post is being completely driven by one of the most outstanding baseball seasons I have ever been able to follow day in and day out. Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers has put on a spectacular season day in and day out.

What has really drawn me to Christian Yelich has been his consistency throughout the year. He is a true 5-tool player (Contact, Power, Speed, Defense, Arm) who is at least above average in each of these categories. This is what makes him a pleasure to watch every day. Yelich has played in 134 out of the Brewers 150 games thus far this year. This includes him being out for a week-2 week stretch during the middle of the year with an injury. Take away that stretch and Yelich has essentially played every day during the grueling 162 game season of Major League Baseball. Taking that into account makes it that more amazing that he is able to affect the game in 5 different ways day in and day out.

Now I understand Javy Baez is also probably as close or even more of a 5-tool player than Christian Yelich and Javy is very fun to watch but I think there are some specific numbers that favor Yelich over Baez for the NL MVP. Here are a couple important statistics that lean towards Yelich. The first is Yelich OBP (On-base percentage) is .381 compared to Baez .328. Next is their OPS, (on-base plus slugging percentage) Yelich- .937 and Baez- .891. These two values I believe show you the true offensive value of Yelich. He is getting on base nearly 60 points higher than Baez which I believe contributes to him being a more complete all around hitter as he hits for a high average and takes his walks and as his OPS states he also hits his fair share of extra base hits. Their stolen base totals are similar as Yelich is at 19 and Baez at 21. Offensively speaking I believe the edge has to go to Yelich as he just proved by reaching base 30 games in a row, he does not take a game off and gets on base more than Baez by limiting his strikeouts. Baez has 20 more strikeouts than Yelich this year.

Defensively is where I believe the strongest case for Baez can be made as he is one of the most instinctual defenders I have ever seen at various positions. Baez could truly be a gold glove winner at 3 different positions on the infield any year. While Christian Yelich could be a gold glove winner at 2 different outfield positions, I have to give the natural defensive ability edge to Baez.

All that being said, the consistency and what he has meant to his team, I believe Christian Yelich is the NL MVP this season. You also have to take into account the tear he has been on in the 2nd half of the season as he has hit 20 home runs since the All-Star break, carrying the Brewers to a playoff berth. While they both have put up legit splits and numbers (Yelich- .314/31/89, Baez- .294/32/103) Christian Yelich is currently at bat to become the 3rd player ever to hit for the cycle twice in a season.

I will leave you with this article I read at the beginning of the year. I guess Ryan Braun did tell the truth for once when he said at Spring Training, Yelich has what it takes to become an MVP.

AND SURE ENOUGH YELICH GETS HIS 2ND CYCLE OF THE SEASON! I BELIEVE THE MVP CASE IS CLOSED!

School Testing?!?

As the beginning of the school year starts I have found myself giving the students more testing than ever before. This tends to have a negative connotation to it but I think it is important to really look at the testing and the purpose of it. We all grew up taking quizzes and tests in content areas and I would say the number of these assessments have gone down in recent years. We all took college placement tests, ACT or SAT, along with State sanctioned tests while we were in school, so is testing really new and that different?

Testing has adapted for sure as technology continues to change the face of education. I would have never thought that while taking a nationally-normed assessment that students would have game breaks on the same system they are taking the test (I wish we had that when I was a kid). Speaking from personal experience as a student who struggled with test taking and was intimidated taking State tests, if I would have had game breaks and taken the tests on the friendly (gamified) systems that students are today, I may have enjoyed or looked forward to these tests!

As educators we also have to embrace the testing and all the amazing data we can gain from it. It provides us with so much descriptive data that we can use to help our students throughout the year. Being able to identify specific skills, standards or ideas that students understand or don't allows us to really tailor our instruction towards what is most important and what the students really need. Why provide basic skill instruction when everyone in your class already has that skill? Move ahead and challenge those students with skills or standards that may be more advanced or provide them with more critical thinking activities. The data and information we get as educators from these assessments is truly amazing and we have to identify that and use it to tailor our instruction towards our student needs!

The last part is include these students in their test data. Allow them to see what skills they have and what they need to work on. Allow them to set goals for themselves based on what they need to improve on! Is a student going to be more willing to learn and work if they are told what to do or if they can see the progress they make and they can pick what they need to work on?

I will leave you with a story from my classroom this week. We have been doing a lot of testing in various subject areas but we did this math challenge activity after testing one day. This was not a simple activity and was very thought provoking and challenging for a lot of the students. But even after a day of testing they were fully engaged and loved this math challenge. They embraced the challenge and wanted to solve it various ways! The authenticity of their engagement and enjoyment of this activity was truly an awesome sight to see.  So did this testing drain them out or did it provide stamina and a willingness to try new things? I guess it's how you look at it.

Description of the activity from above 4-4's.

The Power of Sports

As the NFL season begins on this wonderful September weekend it had me thinking WHY are sports so ingrained in our society. The month of September is one of my favorites along with March just because of sports. September includes September (playoff push) baseball, the start of College Football and the start of the NFL.

If you think about the last 2 days there has been 14 NFL games where the NFL average stadium holds around 65,000 people, and 30 MLB games where the average stadium holds about 42,000 people. This does not include all of the NCAA Football games around the country from every level such as D1 to D3 and JUCO. Not to mention you have had the start of High School football and all the local people who enjoy Friday Nigh High School Football. Just this weekend alone it is safe to say hundreds of thousands if not millions of people have attended a sporting event (myself included). So WHY?

Well as I sit and watch the Brewers today, I can't help but relate the feelings of their game against the Giants to life. In college I once did a speech on how the game of baseball has impacted me and how much it is related to life (and for this posts sake I will say the game of life). The Brewers are losing to the Giants in the 6th inning while they are in a playoff push and feelings are down as they cannot get a runner on base for 15 straight batters, but how quick things change. A walk, lazy single and then the emotions get started. A perennial Cy Young (best pitcher) award candidate is pitching against the Brewers and throws up and in on Ryan Braun twice, eventually hitting him. This sparks the Brewers bench to clear, thoughts and opinions to be shared between players and eventually resulting in the cool-mannered Craig Counsell and Wade Miley to be ejected. And after all of this it brings up the bat of Jonathan Schoop (Brewer fans not confident) but he steps up and hits a grand slam sending 40,000 people at the game and thousands others into a frenzy (including me running around my apartment). The Brewers hang on to win during this playoff push and thoughts and feelings are good. Just like life, sports drag our emotions up and down daily. I truly believe the emotions that sports brings out of us is one of the main reasons that society is so drawn to sports. To go back to my college speech, the game of baseball is won and loss by controlling something so small (the ball) and while curveballs may be thrown, errors may be had, it's how you respond and the game of baseball (life) will always be there.

Take away the emotions, I think millions of people are drawn to sports because it is in our natural ability to be competitive. Sports allow us to be competitive while also being active and using teamwork to achieve a common goal. This satisfies so many internal needs for us personally, socially and it is how we were raised. Whether it is in school, athletics, music, dramas, we are always being competitive with others or ourselves to be the best that we can be. Our inner thoughts and feelings strive towards that feeling of accomplishment and achievement and sports allows us to enjoy these feelings with millions of people from around the world.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and during this crazy month of September it is hard not to be entrenched in the world of sports. So just sit back and enjoy all the moments and stories that happen before us.

I will leave you with one of my favorite sports stories because it relates to the emotions of baseball and life while also having that satisfaction of achievement in the end!

The Chicken Runs at Midnight Video

The Chicken Runs at Midnight Story

The Why to being a Teacher and Coach

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has reached out with positive thoughts and comments on my first blog post! One of the things I want to accomplish through this blog is I want my thoughts, actions and what I encounter daily in the classroom and on the field to reach others! I think there are so many great things that students do today whether it is athletically, academically or socially that we do not hear about and we need to do a better job of sharing this! (Check out this great organization LifeVest!)

That being said, this brings me to the why I am a teacher and coach. Ever since I was in Middle School I remember wanting to help and reach out to those who are younger or less fortunate. Whether it was through Church mission trips, youth sport camps or babysitting, I always enjoyed being around and helping others. So as I think back to why I got into education, I think I have had a passion for it for a long time and a lot of that stems from the values and practices that were ingrained in me through my parents. Whether it was my mom inviting me to work with some of her students with Special Needs or my dad always looking out for what is best for everyone in the Grafton Little League, helping others was just part of how I grew up.

This brings me to what has occurred in our classroom the first two days of the school year. Every day these students amaze me and to see their willingness to share ideas and experiences with each other is truly inspirational. Today in our classroom I did an activity where students had to "cross the line" if the statement was true. The activity statements varied from things such as "If you like fruity pebbles", to more personal such as "have you been bullied" and "have you ever intentionally hurt someone". There were some more general and personal questions but the students participated willingly and truly enjoyed the activity and did not want to stop! During our discussion after one student made the statement, "I enjoyed this activity because I looked at myself and things I have done and questioned things that I would have never thought about before. This activity challenged my thoughts." This was a 10 year old who made this profound statement and reflection based on a simple "get to know your classmates activity". This moment in our classroom was a true moment of learning and WHY I got into education.

The last thing I will leave you with today is to continue to spread kindness and spread the great things going on around you! Whether you are intrigued to now start a blog, join Twitter and create a professional learning network, or pick up trash on the side walk, continue to spread kindness and positive things that are going on in this world!

This video is something that I shared in our classroom today and we had a great discussion around as well. But I will let you create your own discussion around this video.

Beginning of a New School Year and Journey- Every Kid needs a Champion

I have just started this blog as I want to share my story, thoughts, reflections, and anything else that comes to my mind in the future. This blog will contain some education stories, reflections on sports, and just how lifelong learning can impact your life. Please feel free to read, share and spread this blog to anyone who you think may have an interest in one or all of my blogs. 

As I prepare for another school year, it is time to reflect on how my education has impacted me and how I have got to where I am today.

School and education is one of the craziest and most influential parts of our lives. I truly believe this is why I am an educator and coach today. To be able to have a positive impact on new students lives every year is something that cannot be done in every occupation. While there are heroes throughout the world who work with people every day I could not imagine being in a more rewarding profession.

Every year when a new school year starts I always think back to my school days at St. Paul's for 4K in Grafton, Woodview and Grafton Elementary, John Long Middle School, Grafton High School and finally University Wisconsin- Eau Claire. There are so many educators who have made a positive impact on me in my life whether it is my Elementary school gym teacher saying, "CJ the DJ" every time I saw him or my High School Social Studies teacher giving me a newspaper every morning. As I think back to all the teachers I have had and all the great times I have had, what always sticks out to me is the relationships that were formed with those teachers. While I am sure I learned plenty throughout my education, what I vividly remember is those special relationships and moments with various teachers. Here are just some of the many teachers that had a positive impact on my life:

• Mr. Maronde (music teacher- who broadcasted my March Madness picks on the school announcements)
• Mrs. Moline (Kindergarten- she always knew me as the sports reporter)
• Ms. Cox (3/4th grade teacher, later became Mrs. Heinz, sorry Mr. Kehoe I didn't grow old enough, fast enough)
• Mr. Kehoe (Elem. gym teacher for always calling me "CJ the DJ".)
• Mr. Peacy (6th grade- for awarding me the Most Complaints in a Year Award- I still don't get it!!)
• Mr. Trottier (7th grade and basketball coach)
• Mr. Durst (HS English and Baseball coach- not sure there is anyone who has impacted my life more as a player, student, and person)
• Mr. Gajewski- (HS Social Studies- For giving me a newspaper everyday in HS and beginning an interest in reading for me, because I could finally read what I wanted to!)
• Dr. Stephens- (UWEC SPED- For being my advisor and pushing me to challenge myself and not be afraid of any situations)
• Dr. Pappalia- (UWEC SPED- For believing in me as an educator and pushing me to be better!)
• Dr. Battalio- (UWEC SPED/ELEM- For helping me survive Scotland with 16 girls!)

These are just a few of the educators who have positively impacted my life and as you see what they did for me goes beyond the content they taught, they created a positive personal relationship with me! That is my goal every year to reach and care about each one of my students. If my students can remember one positive moment or one action for the next 25 years of their life, I would have impacted their life and I know they have left my classroom with at least one special memory. 

While more and more is asked of educators and we continue to embrace the challenge, it all comes back to relationships. I hope that for this next school year and for however long I am teaching I can impact my students in a positive way, and that they will always remember me as someone who had a positive impact on their life!

Here is a little video about the impact of teaching that I will leave you with- Every Kid needs a Champion