Free Throws and Face Offs: Bouncing Back, with Chad Holmes

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Friday, free throws, face-offs,

face-offs, free throws, winter.

That's what we're talking about.

We're out of the fall, and man, Johnny,

we have the voice of face-offs and free throws,

and everything going on in that realm.

Chad Holmes out there taking it in

and telling us everything that's happening.

So Chad, fall sports are officially over.

And where we at?

What's going on?

I mean, we've got basketball, we've got hockey,

we've got wrestling, we've got, what is it?

Just give us the lay of the land.

We got a lot.

In fact, I was looking at the calendar

and it was exactly one month ago today

that we started the winter sports season,

and it is by far the busiest.

And it just feels like every night

there's something going on.

I think I was looking at my schedule.

Just this week was Monday and Tuesday

and Thursday and Friday and Saturday

and then, I mean, just exceptionally busy.

There's something going on almost every night

of the week right now.

And Johnny, though, you know,

little just pitch that out there.

Chad, you're also doing some play by play.

In fact, Johnny, you were listening to him a little,

what, a few weeks ago?

Oh, yeah.

I mean, you know, a big hockey fan and, you know,

coach and so I'm always kind of buckled down

with practices and games during the week.

But when I can on the Civic Media Network,

I can catch Chad calling the storm.

Right?

This is the central Wisconsin storm.

The defending state champs of women's hockey,

high school hockey there.

And I mean, Chad, I caught the season opener

hoping to catch more on the Civic Media.

But yeah, I've become a storm fan, Tim.

Not the kind of winter storm that keeps rolling in,

not lake effect kind, but the kind of,

the women hockey team that hits the ice,

defending their state championship title

and just crushing it so far this season, right?

I think they're second in the rankings right now

and just having a great start.

Yeah, exactly.

There's six and one so far this season,

right number two right now in the state,

the team that they beat in the state championship game

in March Bay area.

It's the co-op for Robin Bay.

The ice bear is exactly right.

The ice bear.

Yeah.

They're number one right now.

Last year was a thrilling state championship game

four to three went right down to the wire.

But just like last year, those two teams

appear to be off to really, really good starts.

I think for the storm, it's been, I don't call it surprising,

but they lost both their goal tenders from last year

and have a couple of freshmen that have stepped in

really nicely, lost their leading score.

They do have a number of their previous,

like second, third, fourth and fifth leading scores back.

Obviously to pick up the slack,

but it's really clicked in nicely

and it's been so far, so good

and looking forward to seeing them again on Saturday.

Nice.

Okay, Chad, I get a question that you can help me out

with the women's wrestling, girls' wrestling.

Weight classes and what are the weight classes?

I mean, how do we do this?

Cause, you know, I'm an old wrestler

and man, I spent way too many years hungry,

wearing plastic suits, jogging way too much

and then rolling ourselves up in wrestling mats

to then roast for a couple of hours just to make weight.

And I was just thinking about that, you know,

with, yeah, the girls' wrestling.

How do we, what, how does it happen?

Make, give us a sense.

Well, it's similar to the boys' action.

In fact, I was looking at the loss of West,

one of the schools that I cover on a regular basis

with many of the sports

and they do have a girls' wrestling team

and they had a meet last weekend over, you know, Claire

and they got the first place in this invitational tournament.

There were a number of schools

that were involved in that tournament

and I was looking at some of the results

and you got girls that are at the 107 pound weight class,

114, 132, 126.

I mean, they're basically the same,

same way that they do it on the boys side

and it's, you try to have as many of the weight divisions

filled as possible.

Cause I, in terms of wrestling

and I have to admit that I have not done a lot of wrestling

in my career on the area that I've kind of not been around

but I've, I've heard actually a neighboring radio station

here in Central Wisconsin do a little bit.

Often there will be, you know, some weight classes

that schools just don't have anyone.

I mean, it makes, that's one of the more difficult aspects

if you're able to have somebody in each of the weight divisions,

you have a pretty good opportunity of doing a good job

but I mean, I was looking at the girls for West and they,

they filled it pretty well.

I mean, and very impressed with the way

that the program has grown

and there's a real interest in it here

at our high school here in Bossa.

Hmm.

Well, Johnny, I know it's a hard curve, hard pivot,

this is it from, from Rocky,

but I just had that I was on my mind with, with,

with wrestling and just thinking about that.

And then I don't know, Chad, too,

just that concept that I was saying,

you know, in the 80s, the, the weight loss

and now, you know, just wrestling as, as a high school sport.

Is, is that still the culture in wrestling now?

Yeah, yeah, I'm talking about, like, like, like,

I mean, in, in, in, yeah, yeah, and incredibly,

Chad.

Yes.

I kind of missed the question there.

Um, what was the,

is there any kind of regulation towards really watching out

for high school kids, whether boys and girls wrestling

with that whole concept of, you know, cutting weight?

Because it, it was a sickness that, um, we just did

and I know it could not have been good for us.

I mean, my junior year in high school,

I was, you know, weighing in at, you know,

probably 140, close to 150 pounds naturally.

And I was wrestling at the 126 weight class, um, horrible.

Yeah, no, I, and, and obviously that is not the way to go.

You cannot do that.

They cannot try to have, uh, kids, you know,

lose five pounds to get to another weight division.

That just, uh, obviously that is the wrong way to go.

And, uh, in terms of, of how, say, the WIA, the state

organization that covers it, I don't know,

but I just know the people over that I've dealt with

and I've seen, they wouldn't do that.

And I understand that, I mean, maybe there's somebody out there,

but boy, I just don't think you can get away with that anymore.

I think there is a different mentality these days in terms of that.

And that is just the wrong way to go.

And especially with the girls, you cannot,

you cannot get away with that.

Not only in New York, so right now.

Yeah, I think that's a thing, thing of the past, Tim.

I think that's one of those moments he experienced it as a kid.

I certainly remember on some of my wrestling buddies,

you know, on their own, certainly not, you know, encouraged,

but doing some pretty, pretty weird stuff to not, you know,

to make weight.

Yeah.

And, uh, and I think that that's a relic of the past.

If it still exists, no bueno, you know, these,

these young athletes are working out.

They're eating clean, you know, they're staying as healthy as they can

to be at the weight that they weigh in at it.

And what we've learned in sports since, since those times is that,

that's not only healthier, it's actually more optimal for the sport

and for the athlete and the balance of that.

So it's a, you know, it's a still a relic of the past.

I think you were asking if it's still a problem.

Um, hopefully, you know, not much.

I, I don't see it certainly in high school sports.

Like we, like we did back in the late 80s or early 90s.

And, you know, um, you know, like, like we don't see athletes going

over to the sideline and lighten up the cigarette.

We don't know.

You know, kind of wait, those have, those have become sort of taboo aspects.

And so it's nice to, it's nice to see healthy or student athletes.

And, and that's a tribute to all the great people who are part of these programs,

right? Like it's, it's learners leading learners, right?

So even coaches, they're constantly learning new strategies, new health aspects

of it. Uh, you know, ways to, to bring the sport further and forward

and not at the expense or cost of the health of the athletes of the program.

So big, big hats off to all those coaches out there who continue to learn

and lead great programs.

Man, it's winter.

Winter sports are awesome.

Though I want to check in with Chad, Chad, just off the top of your head.

I mean, we started in on hockey a little bit, but also, whoo, who basketball season, baby.

What's happening in hoops?

Yeah, and it's actually very exciting around here in central Wisconsin,

because one of the comfort, the big, the big school conference in our part of the

state is the Wisconsin Valley Conference.

And I've been following it for decades because I actually went to school around

here. So it was around here, even before I went into the broadcasting aspect.

And in the Wisconsin Valley Conference on the boy side, I don't think we've had

as deep of a pool of quality teams as we start the season off,

as we do this year.

We have basically five teams that I think are all capable of making not only

deep runs within the conference and battling for a conference championship,

but also having the, the ability to make a deep run when the post season gets

wrong. We just had the first night of conference play last Friday.

And I did a game in Steven's point.

And again, Wastell West is one of the teams that we cover.

So I went down there to do that game and Steven's point coming into the season

was expected to be along with Marshfield, the team to beat in the Wisconsin Valley

Conference. And Wastell West had not beat them in 13 years.

They play home and home every year, place a year.

And they had not won since February of 2011.

And they went down to Steven's point and started the season off of the win.

And they were not considered one of the teams that was going to be in the,

in this big battle at the top.

You had Marshfield, Steven's point, Wastell East and DC Everest,

which is here in our area.

And then West made this big statement last, last week.

And you got five teams, I think, are just going to go at it and knock it

further off. And we'll see in the end, who ultimately wins this conference,

because I mean, literally there are five teams, I think that could ultimately

win that conference.

It makes it very exciting as we start this journey over the next couple of months.

Chad, what was that?

The excitement that you have, you know, maybe at the games is,

lots of people attending high school basketball.

I mean, what's what are the crowds like?

It's actually interesting because there was a, you know, I,

again, I've been doing this in this area for quite a while.

There's been a little bit of a dip a few years ago.

And only that time, just before COVID, COVID and just after it as well.

And in the last couple of years, I've seen it bounce back a little bit.

But I think there's a number of reasons why that we've seen.

I thought a little bit of a less of a connection with the folks coming out

and back back in the day here in Warsaw.

We had a newspaper that would cover high school sports on a daily basis.

You'd have features on teams and on players.

And with the changing media landscape, that kind of went away.

That, that aspect of it.

I think the connection kind of went away.

But I do think that they're, you know, in the post COVID era,

we see schools and we see organizations that are doing a little more

streaming of the game.

So there's maybe a little bit more of a connection there as well along with what

we do on the radio side.

But it's been, it's been a pleasant change.

The last maybe two, three years where I've seen it start to build again,

where we're getting better crowds and getting bigger excitement.

But because I just thought that the connection's gone away a little bit.

There's always this focus on the packers and the badgers and the brewers and all

this stuff and there's wonderful stories and wonderful ways to enjoy sports

and at a very, very reasonable price as well.

And I just think that in a lot of ways the media landscape changing took

away some of the knowledge that people had about the student athletes and the

teams that they see.

And I think that was causing a problem.

I think it's still causing a problem, be honest with you.

But again, I think that people are looking for ways to go out and be with

their friends, be with their neighbors at a reasonable price.

And I mean, high school sports is one of the best deals you're going to get.

Oh, I love that the way he's just pointed that out because, you know,

John, I'm thinking about this, right?

We talk about these, you know, the essential curriculars that are there,

the essential curriculars and the community aspect and how that brings people

together, it's, you know, a little bit sad to hear what Chad's talking about

that the media, in fact, you know, without covering this, it's creating this

kind of, you know, sense of what's more important.

Yeah, you know, big college, big pro.

And we're losing that community aspect.

If you are in a community and you love your sports, 608, 5, 5, 7, 8, 5, 7, 7,

that's the busted pencils mailbag.

You know, actually, yes, some comments, you know, how are the crowds in your

area for high school sports basketball wrestling?

Because what is it that we can do to bring those people together?

And you know, like you say, Chad, the cost, but maybe even more importantly than

the cost, it's, it's that connection to your community there.

And, and the neighbors and the friendships and, you know, just being there

in that space of, you know, cheering for your team, you know, and meeting

those people.

Well, last week, it was such a, a encouraging night.

It was a week ago, Tuesday.

It was a hockey game on a Tuesday night in December, early in the season,

Steven's point came to Washington.

It was packed.

Steven's point is the number one ranked team in the state in hockey in

Washington, West is always a team that's right there.

It's the big rivalry in the Wisconsin Valley Conference in hockey.

These have been the two best programs for a long time.

But again, I'd heard, hey, that's going to be a big crowd, be a big crowd.

It was a massive crowd.

I mean, every field there's area around the rank where you're standing.

It was 3D.

I mean, it was just a packed house.

It was a great game.

It was a four to three game.

I think I mentioned to you guys the last time I was on this tradition that

Steven's point has of sneaking in like a octopus or some sort of seafood frozen

seafood that they've done for the last number of years.

And I know that the athletic director and the folks at the, at the gate,

we're going to try to stop him this time around because at the time,

Steven's point would come to wasa the last four or five years.

They would toss the first time they would score.

Steven's point was scored and they would toss the frozen octopus or I don't know.

Some kind of seafood onto the ice.

It would, you know, they'd be frozen.

It would go into 1000 pieces or get at the ring out the sweeper.

And there'd be a delay in the game.

So they get the first west courts first.

And then Steven's point gets the, gets their equalizer and there it is again.

And these, I don't know how these kids do it.

But they keep sneaking it in even when the people are looking for it.

And it happened again.

But, but the whole, the whole atmosphere was fantastic.

It really was a big game atmosphere.

And it's heartwarming when you do see that where you have that, where, hey,

this is the big, this is the place to be on a Tuesday night.

And, and that was the feeling that last week.

Fascinating.

What a hockey tradition, not to encourage it to hockey fans everywhere.

That's, that's a thing they do, right?

And so that they're able to do it.

That they're able to, I mean, it's like, they keep doing it.

And if it's an octopus for our hockey fans out there,

it's a nod to the Detroit Red Wing tradition and the history of that.

And it's sort of become a thing.

Well, you know, Steven's, Steven's point man, they're, they're a wagon of a team.

So they're off to another great start.

It's so good.

Chad, where can we listen to civic media?

Some more hockey.

Give us a promo from what's coming up.

Well, I mean, I'm with you because my game was postponed this evening.

But, but if you download the civic media app,

the fourth station down is 98.9 WX, seal.

That's where you get a Wasa West hockey and Central Wisconsin storm hockey.

And I'll have the storm girl on Saturday against the Claire area.

And then next week is one of the great tournaments every year during the week

between Christmas and New Year's.

Eight of the best teams always get together over in Green Bay.

And they call it the showdown in Title Town.

And Wasa West is going to be part of it next Friday, Saturday,

and Sunday because New Year's and Christmas are on Wednesday this year.

Yeah, they're playing at Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

So Wasa West will be playing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

I'm going to go over there.

So next week between Christmas and New Year's will be having a lot of hockey.

But Saturday, the storm against Oakley area at 520 on the air at 520 Central time.

And again, on the civic media app, 98.9 WX, seal.

And then you can also go to WX, seal.f famine.

There's a schedule of all of our sports broadcasts right on the front page.

So you can check that out as well.

And if you want to catch some great hockey from the showdown in Title Town,

next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, going to be lots of hockey.

Chad, I love what you brought up in this episode of free throws and face offs.

And you know, we talk about it being more than just extra curriculars.

It's part of, you know, the essential curriculum.

But you mentioned to you, it's affordable.

And you know, as we get into things like NIL and college sports,

especially football and basketball being all over the place in influx,

this is truly amateur competitive sports.

It's like really fun to see families and community and schools get together and compete.

And hey, it's wintertime.

So let's get into those ranks.

Let's get into those gyms.

Let's go to wrestling matches.

Let's cheer for our local high schools.

Because this is really a lot for all these programs.

And it's a huge sense of community.

It's the stalwart of American democracy.

We're lucky to have you here with us, Chad.

We appreciate checking in and having this Friday segment with you.

Hey, folks, listen to the shows, man, you got, you got the storm.

That's my team.

They're going to make a run again.

So we're going to, we're going to hear them on Saturday.

And then maybe some folks will head up to Green Bay for the tournament.

We'll be checking back in with Chad for some results on that.

Oh, damn though.

Man, you know what they say?

It's time for a moment.

It is the citizenry rather than the government that is the ultimate source of power and the

locomotive that pulls the train of government in the direction of equality and justice.

Hey, thanks for listening to Busted Pencils.

It's fully-ledged education talk.

Don't forget to tune in tomorrow at 3 p.m. for the Saturday episode with Brian Gonzalez.

That's right.

You're going to love that stuff.

Listen, then right after that, to Chad Holmes call that storm game, everybody.

And don't forget, don't be late on Monday for your special class in session.

Folks, have a happy holiday.

Whatever it is, you celebrate.

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