Hockey

A pass across the ice from Linden senior Ian Crampton to senior Bobby Temple scores the winning goal for their team. On the ice, their celebration for one team; one family. Even though they continue their brothership off the ice, they part ways to their different high schools. Outside of the games, Crampton goes to LHS, while Temple attends Fenton.

“There is a rivalry between the schools; there are fun jabs and jokes toward one another when it comes to school pride,” hockey coach Will Dawson said. “However, growing up playing hockey they are use to playing with kids from different schools so the rivalry is set aside and everyone fights for the team regardless of which school they come from.”

Temple said that the tryouts for the team involved tough competition between all the competitors and that it is important to remember that it’s healthy competition, and not rivalry.

“I did not feel a sense of rivalry or pressure at tryouts,” sophomore Joe Loria said. “I’m on a spring league in Flint called the I-69 and so are a lot of the other boys on the team. I went into tryouts knowing the other kids from Linden, which helped calm my nerves and make me feel comfortable.”

Much like the relationships on the team, the fans and parents stress that no matter what school they are from, they support the team as a whole.

“Even though the kids come from different schools, the parents do not let this come between them,” Temple said. “The fans who come to support us cheer for the whole team. It does not matter whether they are from Linden or Fenton. The fans get to see their friends from the different schools, which seems like it would be fun.”

The hockey team was created in 2013 with players from both Fenton and Linden because both schools had enough members to support the program. Six of the 19 players are from Linden and 13 from Fenton. Their next game will be Feb. 10 at Pinckney Arctic Coliseum.

Ski

Watching them dodge gates mid-race, a spectator will notice the Fenton Tiger and the Linden Eagle appear on the backs of skiers’ jackets; Fenton and Linden have combined forces to form the ski team. The boys and girls compete separately at the ski meets, yet represent a whole team on and off the slopes.

Some skiers have said they feel as if they can tell each other anything because of all of the time they spend together. For example, when junior Annie Koester says “feel the nern, feel the nern” the whole team knows exactly what she is talking about.

“Our team is very tight-knit,” sophomore Parker Bundy said. “We all know each other well. We went up north on a team building trip to get to know the newcomers and strengthen our relationships more. We wanted to also get to know our coaches. To help us bond, we go out to dinner after every meet.”

After the ski team finishes the meets, they stop at a Wendy’s on the way home. The team spends time together by grabbing a bite to eat.

“Going to Wendy’s after the meets is truly one of our favorite things to do,” junior Lexi Scheer said. “Both the boys and girls take part in this because we all love hanging out together. Getting to know the team better is the whole point of bonding activities; these activities make our team stronger, which is the ultimate goal.”

Head coach Tim Hiscock was the first to lead a co-op Fenton and Linden ski team. He sometimes takes part in the team bonding activities, but mainly focuses on coaching the team and by maintaining a positive relationship with all the skiers.

“The first co-op team was in 2012, when Fenton and Linden merged together,” Hiscock said. “When I started in 2012, we were looking to increase numbers on the team. At that time, we had 13 total from Fenton and Linden; I believe only one was from Linden. This year, we have 29 student athletes on our team, with 27 from Fenton and two from Linden.”

Gymnastics

Freshman Morgan Smith turned to the left to talk to her teammates. She wanted to pump them up at their meet. Smith knows how to get the girls motivated due to the amount of time they have spent with one another in and out of the gym.

“I’m very close with the girls on the team,” Smith said. “Everyone’s very nice and supportive. We don’t only spend time with each other at practice and meets, but we do some other stuff not related to gymnastics. We are a close team that loves to hangout and do fun and simple things with each other.”

The team made blankets as a form of team bonding. The blankets are used on the bus rides to stay warm. They are also used at meets to keep themselves warm between the different events.

“Making the blankets was a great experience for the team, especially for the newcomers,” sophomore Carly Kozlowski said. “We all sat on the floor and helped each other tie the blankets together.”

Gymnastics coach Nancy Holden created the combined team in 2014 to ensure having enough participants. Creating the team is something that Holden has wanted to do for a while.

“I had talked about having a high school team for many years,” Holden said. “So as a group of girls from my youth program were getting ready to move onto high school, it seemed to be the right time to move forward with starting the high school team. All of the schools were very receptive to the idea.”

Holden said it’s important to know that athletes are not chosen for the team based on which school they come from, but on their individual ability.

“As new kids join the team, regardless of where they are from, we become one and work for the common goal,” Holden said. “A rivalry may be something you see with other sports, but in our gym we are one team. When we compete against other schools, we are represented as one: LFLF, Linden-Fenton-Lake Fenton.”