Denton Ryan Head Coach Dave Henigan and players celebrate state title
There are certain perks that come with being the head coach of any sport. Denton Ryan head football coach Dave Henigan got to experience that this week when Jostens representative Justin Ray showed up at his house with Henigan's new bling and a sneak peek at Denton Ryan football's UIL Texas State Championship ring. Henigan shared a video of the ice on Twitter Monday evening:
One perk to being the head coach......early delivery.
Look what showed up at my house today. @JostensJRay
👀👀🔥🔥#ONE pic.twitter.com/TdV0gEsrdY
— Dave Henigan (@DaveHenigan) March 8, 2021
In the comments of Henigan's tweet, Ray shared photos of the head coach modeling the ring with the hashtag "#HomeOfChampions".
#HomeOfChampions 😎 pic.twitter.com/K1XvKOzrKz
— Justin Ray (@JostensJRay) March 9, 2021
It's safe to say that the Ryan Raiders have a nice little piece of swag on the way in the near future. The team earned the ring and the state title back in January with a 59-14 victory over Cedar Park in the Class 5A Division I matchup.
Highland Park is no stranger to being in headlines due to having great athletic programs. This season, the Scots soccer squad is determined to be another one of those great headlines, but even more than that- they are determined to have an exceptional season on the pitch! VYPE DFW takes a dive into what has been happening so far for the team and what fans can expect out of Scots soccer this season!
Last season, the Scots posted an incredible, undefeated district record. Highland Park went 12-0-2 in district play en route to playoffs. The Scots defeated the likes of Crandall, North Forney, Stephenville, Mesquite Poteet, and more during regular season play. Through the playoffs, the Scots fell to Corsicana and ended the season with a 16-3-4 overall record.
This season the Scots are back at being at the top of the game. The squad started the season off with a 2-1 victory over Newman Smith before posting another victory over Dallas Conrad. With only one tie so far this season, the Scots have a 4-2-1 overall record. With a fast-paced offense and a strong defense, Highland Park has already outscored their opponents 17-8 on the season so far.
Junior Jake Whitehurst currently leads the Scots in scoring with four goals in six games played. Senior Lucas Guevara Batta and freshman Jack O'Grady both have two goals apiece this season as well. With such strong athletes ready to keep the fast-paced nature of the Scots going, fans can expect Highland Park to make a strong push for a deep playoff run.
With the season complete, many players deserved to be listed on the VYPE DFW Private School Volleyball Player of the Year Fan Poll. After all was said and done, though, only one player could sit at the top- per fan votes. The winner of the fan poll was none other than Fort Worth Christian's very own senior libero Chaeli Haupert. VYPE DFW had a chance to catch up with Haupert in an exclusive interview following her accomplishment.
To read the full interview become a VYPE Insider today!
When you are a part of a team that you love, it's easy to make many memories with your friends and teammates. For Haupert, her favorite memory was from her senior season. "Our first district win against Prince of Peace Christian School this season [was my favorite memory with my school]," Haupert began. "We came back from a two-set deficit and won in five. Both of my grandparents had traveled down to see it, so it was super important to me that they got to see us win."
That moment as well as the support of her family throughout her high school career has meant everything to Haupert; she would say this has been the secret of her success. "My parents have been to every single game since I was little and without their support, I wouldn't be where I am now." With the support of her family driving her to be the best that she can be at any given moment, Haupert was definitely able to have a successful career for Fort Worth Christian. During her senior season, Haupert recorded 77 aces with a 2.16 serve rating; she also recorded 335 3-passes as well as 586 digs.
With the ability to be great and a team that also stays focused, many fans might wonder what the secret to Fort Worth Christian's success has been. "In my opinion, our team's success came from our shared love of the game," Haupert said. "Each and every one of us love the game of volleyball and we all wanted to get better."
In order to accomplish goals, a dedicated sense of focus is required for athletes. Sometimes- especially during the offseason- it's easy to fall out of step and become unfocused. For Haupert, though, staying focused was key. "During the off-season, I like to stay focused by continuing to play club and sand volleyball," Haupert told VYPE. "I'll usually either do private training or just go out and play sand casually with my friends." With great focus and the ability to stay in shape during the off-season, Haupert came into each of her high school seasons with a great mindset: "stay positive and learn from my mistakes in order to move on." With the right mindset, Haupert feels that her biggest accomplishment this season was being named First Team All-State and Defensive Player of the Year.
As any athlete does, Haupert had many goals for herself and the team this season. "My individual goal for this season was to help my team get to the state tournament. I wanted to be a prominent member of the team and be noticeable on the court," Haupert said. "My team goal for this season was to go undefeated in district. I was super proud of us- we went 12-0 and became district champs!"
Although Haupert is not committed to any college volleyball programs, she is still looking for the right fit. "I am looking for a competitive program with a strong culture and relationships; one that has a balance between athletics and academics," Haupert said. She plans on majoring in kinesiology or pre-med.
VYPE DFW was also able to catch up with Fort Worth Christian varsity volleyball coach Heather Breeding who had many great things to say about her time coaching Haupert. "Chaeli is the most energetic player I have ever coached! She has two speeds- fast and faster," said coach Breeding. "She will raise the level of play in practice or in a game by her absolute commitment to the play in the moment. She will even run herself into the wall or the stands in order to chase down a ball. She works harder than anyone else to perfect her game. I have never seen anyone that loves this game more than Chaeli! She has big dreams packaged in such a small body and it has been a true joy coaching her these last two years."
What is your favorite professional sports team?
"Minnesota Wild."
Who do you look up to as an athlete?
"My dad. He was an athlete when he was my age and he has taught me a lot through my years of playing sports."
With a successful high school volleyball career behind her, Lindzi Thomas has capped off her time at Sanger by being voted as the VYPE DFW Public School Volleyball Player of the Year. VYPE DFW was able to catch up with the senior after her accomplishment with an exclusive interview.
To read the interview with Lindzi Thomas, become a VYPE Insider today!
In 110 matches played for Sanger, Thomas recorded 68 aces with an 88.8 serving percentage. She tallied 960 kills on 3,109 attempts for a .133 hitting percentage and 30.9 kill percentage in her career. Thomas also recorded 62 total blocks, 390 assists, and 859 digs. With such a successful career at Sanger, Thomas was given the opportunity to play at the next level and committed to play for Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.
There's no doubt that a successful career allows an athlete to build many memories that they will cherish. For Thomas, this is the case. "One of my favorite memories definitely has to be when we went to Little Elm beach and played in the sand the whole day and spent time with the team."
When someone is good at what they do, plenty of people want to know what the secret to their success is. For Thomas, it comes down to not allowing things to effect her. "I stayed consistent with workouts and making sure to not let anything get in my way for being the best that I can be," she told VYPE. Headed into her senior season, she used that to help her frame her mindset as well. "My mindset has always been: be better than you were before," Thomas said. "You can always be bettering yourself each day- no matter what it is that you are bettering."
As far as the team's success? It boils down to being able to rely on each other according to Thomas. "Honestly, our success came from one another. We all kept each other accountable and we always made sure we were doing what was going to make us better as a team. Also, we were the 'underdogs' in most cases and that just fueled our energy to be the best we can be even more."
Another way athletes are able to be successful is by using the off-season to stay focused. For Thomas, this looks a lot like her everyday life of staying ready and putting in the time to be sure she is physically fit to continue to play. "I stay focused in the off season by putting in the work not only in athletics, but going to the gym and staying constant," Thomas started. "Not only working in the gym, but making sure my health and wellness is also in check to be prepared for the upcoming season."
With new seasons comes new goals and with new goals there are things to look forward to accomplishing. For Thomas, her senior year was filled with goals. "The goals that I set for myself this season were to succeed beyond everyone's expectations," Thomas explained. "Not only that, but I wanted to better myself in anyway possible in order to be ready for the next level."
"This year was [the team's] second year playing together with this squad. I honestly had very high expectations and we definitely fulfilled those expectations," Thomas told VYPE about the goals the team had this season. "Every day we worked extremely hard to be the best team that we could be and we were the best team that we could be. I was extremely blessed to be a part of such a great team as well as to go as far as I did with them.
At the end of her school year, Thomas will head to Rhode Island where she will play volleyball for Johnson and Wales University. "I picked their program because of their success and their willingness to be great," said Thomas. "I will be far from home, but with a program like this as well as the wonderful people and coaches I am going to be with, I know it will be amazing."
Thomas plans to major in criminal justice during her time at Johnson and Wales University.
VYPE was also able to catch up with Coach Scott Montgomery who had a lot of really great things to say about Thomas and her time with Sanger. "Lindzi is the kind of player that every coach loves having on their team," coach Montgomery started. "She has been a captain for two years and leads both with her words and example. She is always encouraging and trying to lift her teammates up. Whenever there was a timeout to try to fix something, she always punctuated anything I said with: 'we've got this,' or 'we're fine.'"
Aside from being encouraging to her teammates, Thomas is well-known for having incredible work ethic says coach Montgomery. "When the world shut down in March of 2020, Lindzi continued to find ways to work out.. at her home, going to the local park, wherever she could go to workout. When the students returned to their computers in May of 2020, there was a noticeable difference in her physique. Once we were able to start practicing together again- it showed on the court."
Adding to the praise of Thomas, her athleticism, and her dedication, coach Montgomery noted that most people would not pick Thomas out as the player who has led the team in kills over the last two seasons as she is only 5-foot-6, but it doesn't take long to see that she is the athlete on the court that stands out. "She is an intelligent hitter who doesn't get flustered," Montgomery added. "She was a full-time setter as a junior and split time between setting and defense on the back row as a senior."
"As you can tell, I could go on and on about Lindzi," said Montgomery. "Her ability, her attitude, her willingness to change based on whatever the team needs in that specific moment, etc. I feel blessed to have been able to coach her and I am excited for her moving forward."
Who is your professional sports team?
"I would probably have to say the Dallas Cowboys."
Who do you look up to as an athlete?
"As a player, I look up to my coaches that have made me the player I am today. I also look up to Lexi Sun from the Nebraska volleyball team. I have watched her for so long and I thrive to be like her."
If you could go to dinner with anyone (dead or alive) who would it be? What would you hope to talk about?
"I picked my grandma Charlie because she passed away before she got to see the person that I am today. I would love to see her and hopefully she would be proud of who I became."
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