Maryville wrestling coach speaks out on resignation, district remains quiet

This article was published in the Feb. 28 edition of the Northwest Missourian as well as published on nwmissourinews.com

When the Maryville wrestling team took to the mats in Columbia, Missouri for the Class 2 state wrestling tournament at Mizzou Arena Feb 14-16, the Spoofhounds were without their core of coaches.

The Maryville R-II Board of Education accepted the immediate resignation of Maryville wrestling coach Kody Koster during its Feb. 20 meeting after suspending him and assistant coach Riley Klein, barring the duo from attending the state tournament.

The incident resulting in Koster and Klien’s suspension took place while the Spoofhounds were competing at the Class 2 District 14 tournament in Excelsior Springs Feb. 8-9

Koster told the Maryville Forum that Klein went to get alcohol for the two of them when the student-athletes were at the pool.

“During the time when we were swimming, Riley went and grabbed a six-pack of Busch Light,” Koster said to The Forum. “He asked me what I wanted. I’m not a big beer drinker so I said, ‘Just get me a little bottle of whiskey, and I’ll have a nightcap.’”

After swimming, the team then went to Dairy Queen for dinner. Koster made it clear there was no consumption of alcohol before or during the trip to dinner.

Before the two coaches started drinking, they surveyed the students’ rooms making sure all athletes were present. When the coaches came upon the one female room, with one female manager and one female wrestler, the manager was on a phone call and the female wrestler went and waited in the coaches’ room for her roommate’s phone call to end, according to The Forum.

“She came into our room for about 20 minutes, and she might have seen something. I don’t think she did, but she might have,” Koster said to The Forum. “She never confronted us about anything. (Superintendent Becky Albrecht, Assistant Superintendent Steve Klotz, and Activities Director Mat Beu) said because we had let her into the room and we had alcohol in there, that was kind of the biggest deal.”

Koster made it clear to The Forum that, by his evaluation, the students were never put into danger of any sort by him or his staff.

“There was no endangerment to the kids at all with us doing that,” Koster said. “It just bugs me because they don’t hold the same standard to everybody. … But we were guilty before we even got to say that we were not guilty. They took the parent’s side before they even wanted to hear our side of the story.”

When the ‘Hounds arrived back in Maryville, sophomore wrestler Connor Weiss said some athletes were called in for interviews in regards to the event to determine the punishment.

“A few people had to give statements,” Weiss said. “We talked about it as a team after school and kinda just felt terrible.”

When the news came out that Koster and Klein would be suspended for state, Weiss said the team was disappointed by the decision.

“All of us wrestlers were pretty down about it because we were really close to them,” Weiss said. “We all know it wasn’t like they were wasted, they just had a few drinks while we were already in bed, and then after that, they went to bed.”

The way the school district handled this event surprised Koster. He explained to The Forum he thought coaches were allowed to do what he did.

“I asked them, ‘I thought all the coaches did this?’” Koster said to The Forum. “It was just something that coaches did. I hear about other coaches going to the bars all the time. … This was just relaxing in the room, watching a movie and having a few drinks. They said, ‘Yeah, we understand the culture, and we know what happened, but for you guys, a parent turned you in so it makes it a little bit different.’”

Koster declined to elaborate on the interview with The Forum to The Missourian.

“There’s not much more of a story then what’s on The Forum,” Koster said to the Missourian when asked for additional comments. “The only thing I might add would be a little bit about the program. I would have liked to thank the wrestling team for a wonderful two years and for all the hard work they gave me.”

Junior state qualifier Gaven Grey-Walker said he could tell the suspension weighed on the wrestlers during the tournament.

“I definitely think it was in the mind of some of the wrestlers,” Grey-Walker said. “I get why they had to be suspended, but I didn’t like how the school had to suspend them right before state instead of waiting till after. A coaching change is never ideal before the biggest meet of the year.”

With the state tournament quickly following the suspension of Koster and Klein, Maryville turned to former coach and National Wrestling Hall of Famer Joe Drake to take the reigns of the program.

“We know it was still the wrong decision in the end, but we just wish it went another way,” Weiss said of the suspension. “Coach Drake was amazing as well. Props to him for taking time out of his life to put us in the best situation for state.”

Beu declined to comment on the situation and deferred to Albrecht for questions on personnel matters.

Albrecht acknowledged The Forum’s article regarding the matter but declined to comment on the situation.

The Spoofhounds are now tasked with finding a wrestling coach for the third time since the retirement of Drake in 2014.

Men’s culture remains strong

This article was published in the Feb. 1 edition of the Northwest Missourian as well as published on nwmissourinews.com

Before the era of coach Ben McCollum, one legendary coach laid the foundation which built the Northwest men’s basketball program.

Coach Steve Tappmeyer stood on the Northwest sidelines for 19 years with his trademark green towel around his shoulder.

A recent inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Tappmeyer won three MIAA titles, three MIAA postseason titles and appeared in the playoffs nine times in his tenure. Along with those achievements, Tappmeyer holds the Northwest record for coaching wins and total games coached as a Bearcat. During the Tappmeyer regime, Northwest found its way to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.

A student of the program, McCollum hasn’t missed a step since replacing Tappmeyer in 2009. In his ninth year as coach, McCollum has won five MIAA titles, along with two MIAA postseason titles, and brought Bearcat basketball to the pinnacle of Division II with the program’s first national championship. McCollum explained the trail to the top was blazed by Tappmeyer.

“It says a lot about Coach Tapp,” McCollum said. “He wanted somebody from this program to take over the program he essentially built, and it was important to him that I got the job and continued with the culture that he had already established. I think that says a lot about how good of a leader he is.”

Tappmeyer coached the Bearcats to a 372-185 total record while he was at the helm, recording 17 winning seasons. McCollum said the culture can start to fade sooner than you will see on the court.

“I think you lose your culture a lot earlier than you start to lose games,” McCollum said. “It starts to slip, and you don’t realize it because you keep winning games. We’ve always tried to focus on that, and it’s still difficult because it’s daily. There are no real answers; it’s just continuing to get better. There’s no secret recipe. It’s not exciting, and it’s not sexy, for lack of a better term.”

A part of the legendary culture at Northwest is the great atmosphere at Bearcat Arena. As of late, the Bearcats have won 46 straight games and haven’t lost in the friendly confines since 2015. Junior Dray Starzl explained that Bearcat Nation brings the intensity to the games at home.

“Whenever we play at home, it’s great to have the fans behind us,” Starzl said. “We do try and bring out energy every game, but it does help to have a full house and helps us get going right at the start for warm-ups. We like to see people there, and we like to play well in front of them.”

Starzl was a redshirt freshman the last time Northwest dropped a game to a visitor in Maryville and hasn’t seen a loss in Bearcat Arena since he’s stepped on the floor. All that being said, Starzl said the dominance on the home court starts in practice.

“Every day, we try and get to practice 10 minutes early and get the energy up,” Starzl said. “If one of the younger guys isn’t here 10 minutes early, we harp on them, tell them to make sure they do better and keep that culture when the freshman next year come in.”

With the players taking accountability in the program, McCollum explained he can take a back seat, and let the other people he’s surrounded himself with shine.

“I think the key to being a good coach is understanding you’re not that important,” McCollum said. “Once you realize you aren’t that important, you become that important. You become a considerably better leader because you understand all these other people have these strengths, but you need to highlight their strengths.”

Northwest men’s basketball team continued its winning ways this past weekend as they topped in-state rival Missouri Western for the eleventh straight time.

After Saturday’s game, McCollum said hunger is hard to find for a team that has already eaten, but he said this week’s encouragement is simple.

“Just continuing to get better,” McCollum said. “I keep it pretty simple, the process part of it. Hopefully, they see the heightened awareness they had against Hays, and I felt like we did against Western. We need to continue that. Monday, I made a few of them have heightened awareness in practice. Had to use a little fear as motivation.”

The No. 6 team in Division II now directs its attention to its two games this week in Lincoln University (11-10, 5-7 MIAA) and Lindenwood (14-7, 6-6 MIAA), but what was on McCollum’s mind during the weekly press conference was one thing: culture.

Jersey Junkies: Inside look at Bearcat football gear room

This article was published in the Jan. 18 edition of the Northwest Missourian as well as published on nwmissourinews.com

Before the Northwest football team steps foot on Mel Tjeerdsma Field, a Bearcat graduate and his team make sure the home team looks a notch above the competition.

A graduate of Blue Springs South High School, football equipment manager Tucker Peve went through graduation last spring from Northwest and is now a graduate assistant for the football program.

From military appreciation to senior day, Peve has created a new uniform combination each week for the Bearcats to sport. Aside from the classic green-on-green combination, the Bearcats never wore the same uniform combination twice this year and Peve explained it’s their goal not to.

“We tried to add it up one time and it was well over 100 (combinations),” Peve said. “We pride ourselves on being the Oregon (783,360 possible combinations according to oregonlive.com) of Division II, we try to never wear the same thing twice.”

Peve’s combinations have been nationally recognized on ESPN programs like SportsCenter and College Gameday.

“That was good for the university,” Peve said. “Anything you see on national TV with the Bearcat brand is awesome to see.”

After stumbling upon the job, Peve explained his job as “the closest you can get to the sport without actually playing.” He expressed his love for what he does, and how it will be a career for him one day.”

Away from Maryville, Peve was an intern for the Baltimore Ravens and helps the Kansas City Chiefs with training camp and game day equipment needs. Along with his internships, he assisted with the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl with the Chiefs’ equipment staff

Peve and his team of student assistants take care of everything the football team possibly needs equipment-wise including laundry, field setup and packing for road games.

“It’s really a team effort,” Peve said. “What you see on social media and see the flash is really a cool side to Northwest football, but behind the scenes, there’s a lot of effort that goes into having that finished product on the field. It’s a lot of legwork, but it’s awesome to see it come to fruition on the field.”

During football visit days, the mannequins decked out in the latest on-field Bearcat equipment draw eyes from recruits and even bystanders as they are passing by. Junior cornerback Anthony Lane explained the work that Peve and the equipment staff do at Northwest caught his eye and was a major draw to the program.

“It was a big factor,” Lane said. “Kids want to play with swagger; if you have that swagger on the field, it makes you feel good. I think equipment was very big in coming here, especially being from Florida.”

Visiting a school with as many uniform combinations such as Northwest can be overwhelming, but Lane explained how he was excited when he came through to see all of the different possibilities.

Even in the offseason, Peve’s work never stops. From passing out jerseys for upcoming spring practices to putting in new cabinets in the equipment room, Peve’s job is truly never over.

“Once you’ve mastered the big picture you can get down to the details and that’s how you separate yourself,” Peve said. “We’re always working for the 2018-2019 season, and we’ve got a couple new ideas brewing for next year: something neat and something that hasn’t been done in close to 10 years.”

Sophomore faces uncertain future

This article was published in the Sept. 14, 2017 edition of the Northwest Missourian as well as published on nwmissourinews.com

For Northwest soccer, a certain sophomore’s time in the United States may run out following a ruling from the White House.

At age two, midfielder Natasha Samudzi was brought to the United States from Zimbabwe. Moving to America brought hope to Samudzi’s family along with opportunity. Now the agenda has rescinded, the feeling of hope has dwindled away.

President Donald Trump announced his choice to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy Sept. 5. The program was originally put in place by the Obama Administration to protect minors, as well as those protected by the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) act.

The act has protected nearly 790,000 unauthorized minors from being deported. Qualifying for this program, Samudzi said the policy has helped her live a typical life of an American.

“DACA has helped me get to where I am in so many ways,” Samudzi said. “It’s helped me obtain a driver’s license, working authorization, social security and overall a chance of hope to living life here in America.”

Coach Tracy Hoza has not only helped Samudzi become the athlete she is today, but she also understands what it is like to be an immigrant. Hoza is a native of Limerick, Ireland and played college soccer at the Division II level. Hoza said the experience can be more difficult than it appears.

“It has been hard on her,” Hoza said. “I’ve lived through something similar and it’s hard. Natasha has held herself very well, she’s been very open which a lot of people didn’t know. The same is very true of a lot of the DACA students. I think that has helped her and our friends have helped her get through this.”

With Hoza being an immigrant, she has first-hand experience with the toll it can take. Samudzi said she is thankful from all of the encouragement that she has received from Hoza and her teammates. The recognition by her team has helped bring them together.

“Coach Hoza has been very supportive and for that, I cannot thank her enough,” Samudzi said. “She is there with me every step of the way and always making sure that I am doing fine, same goes with the girls. Now I think they are realizing a close friend and teammate is affected by the decision and they are being very supportive to me as well.”

Along with the support from her colleagues, Samudzi has received support from the University. Communicating and letting her know they cared went a long way for Samudzi.

“The University has done more than I could imagine,” Samudzi said. “Even the simple step of reaching out to me and making sure that I am alright was more than enough. They have also let me know they are staying in touch with the news and keeping an eye out on this issue and are thinking of me.”

The steps Northwest has taken to reach out to her convinced her she chose the correct University. Samudzi has felt the embrace of the Northwest family that they preach during recruitment.

“They have led me to believe in many ways that I, for sure, made the right choice on going to school here with their constant support and reassurance,” Samudzi said. “They too are not giving up and are going to fight as well.”

While being apart of the soccer club, off the pitch Samudzi has been able to continue her own version of the American Dream. The programs have done nothing but help in her pursuit of happiness.

“Right now I am currently working on an on-campus job in the library a couple times a week, being able to get an education, playing soccer and having a chance of happiness,” Samudzi said. “DACA has done nothing but positively affect my life and what I can only hope, my future.”

During these uncertain times, Samudzi said she doesn’t expect for her life to be altered in any way. She continues to fight for her life and has a positive outlook on the situation.

“I hope to see that other people and students under this act don’t lose hope,” Samudzi said. “Now is the time more than ever to come together in every way possible and be there for one another. I expect my education and soccer career to continue here at Northwest successfully as it has been. I expect people to keep fighting for what is right and to not give up.”

Senior cements name in history

This article was published in the March 9, 2017 edition of the Northwest Missourian as well as published on nwmissourinews.com

While the Northwest men’s basketball team has won four straight MIAA conference championships, one player has been through it all.

Senior forward Zach Schneider has been a part of all four MIAA title-winning teams. Along with the four regular season awards, Schneider has guided the Bearcats to two straight MIAA tournament championships, proving that he knows what it takes to be a champion.

“A combination of mental toughness, and talented players that are willing to make sacrifices for each other,” Schneider said, “Everyone in our league has lots of talent, we just focus on little things that win basketball games every day, and that has led to four straight MIAA titles.”

Along with the championships Schneider has helped bring to Maryville, the senior has set records in the process. Schneider is Northwest’s career leader in three-point field goal makes, with 262, and attempts, with 600. He set the single-season record with 101 three-point goals made in the 2014-15 season. Most recently, Schneider became the record holder for career three-point makes in the MIAA.

“My favorite record that I hold is probably the MIAA career record for three-pointers made,” Schneider said, “The MIAA is known as such a great league with a ton of talented players that have been around for a long time.”

Fellow senior forward D’Vante Mosby explains that his faith in Schneider’s long-range shot is unwavering.

“I have the utmost confidence in him,” Mosby said. “Zach, on our team, has the greenest light of anyone I’ve ever played with or against to shoot the three. We trust him and we like him shooting it. Zach does a great job of getting open, even when he has a defender standing right next to him and he does a great job at finding openings and getting his shot off. ”

This year, the Bearcats have won the conference tournament with an overall record of 29-1, but Schneider knows there are bigger things to come.

“Our goal is to continue to improve every day in practice and during every game,” Schneider said, “If we play like we know we are capable, we will have a great chance to win every game from here on out, which you could say is our ultimate goal.”

While striving for that goal, Schneider has not forgotten about his team. Sophomore Dray Starzl has learned from Schneider’s teaching and leadership.

“Zach helps me develop as a player by setting examples of how hard work pays off,” Starzl said. “Zach is influential by bringing energy and being the great leader he is, even if he isn’t playing well. His playing does not affect him because he’s more about the team than himself.”

While the year is not over yet, Schneider’s final year as a Bearcat nears an end. His plans after graduation still include basketball.

“My options after graduation are to possibly try and play overseas for a little bit if I can find a good fit, or to stick around and be an assistant on the team here to try and get into coaching,” Schneider said.