As high school spring sports come to an end, Ann Arbor Skyline’s baseball, tennis, track and lacrosse have made strong runs in the postseason. The men’s lacrosse team went 14-4-1 overall, a record-setting year for the team. In a breakout year for Skyline sports, lacrosse has contributed by making it to the regional semifinal game for the first time in school history.

On May 28 the Eagles were set to face University of Detroit Jesuit, with the winner going to the regional finals. As 7:00 rolled around, both teams took the field with their eyes set on victory and continuing their playoff run. After a season of blowing opposing teams out of the water, Skyline seemed to have met their match. Each goal scored by Skyline was met with an equalizer by U-D Jesuit. After finally stretching the lead to 6-4, U-D Jesuit rallied to end regulation in a tie. In overtime, a Skyline error resulted in U-D Jesuit scoring and taking their first lead of the game. This turned out to be the game-winning goal putting a damper on the end of a phenomenal season.

Coach Jack Robenalt has been the Head Coach for three years and has obviously made a huge impact on the program. Coach Robenalt has spent lots of time with the team getting to know each player and their strengths and weaknesses and how the team works. By getting to know players early he develops a strong relationship and can help them better themselves starting freshman year. Junior defender Jeff Chadwick said of Coach Robenalt, “He’s a big advocate for working on the little things.”

Coach Robenalt’s strategy of working on basics, developing fundamentals and building a strong foundation first took a few years to show results but is obviously playing off now. Creating strong relationships with players and starting at the beginning is an important step in creating a tradition of excellence, despite the potential to start slowly.

Another contributing factor to the recent success of the Lacrosse team as well as all Skyline Sports has been the recent addition and implementation of an organized Strength and Conditioning Program headed by Brandon Bedinger. Before Coach B–as his athletes know him–and the Ann Arbor Skyline Sports Performance program graced the school, it was up to individual sports’ coaches to get their athletes in the weight room as they saw fit. Before lifting was organized, most sports rarely got time in the weight room, much less the proper instruction needed to lift safely and efficiently.

For physical sports like lacrosse, the offseason is not just the month or week before the season starts; it’s the 9 months in between seasons in which Coach B focuses on strengthening, protecting and empowering athletes. By implementing sport-specific lifting unique to each team he adds a level of personalization that has given Skyline teams tangible results this year. In contact sports, a consistent part of lifting with Coach B is neck strengthening. Football, hockey and lacrosse have all seen great drops in concussion numbers since Coach B arrived which, besides the obvious benefits, gives Skyline teams yet another advantage in keeping important players in the game. The results of the strength program are abundant, most evident is the way the lacrosse team began to physically dominate teams this year. While getting bigger, faster and more explosive, the athletes in all sports seem more aerobically fit and able to fight through their final quarter, period, half or match.

While Coach Robenalt learned all about his players, the players themselves also developed strong team chemistry. Chadwick attributed their domineering defense to this connection “We’ve all been playing together for a while and knew our strong suits. We played for each other and not just ourselves. We also implemented a new zone defense in the beginning of the season. And of course we had two amazing goalies, one of them making first team all state.”

Skyline has undoubtedly made their mark in athletics this season with all nine spring sports giving strong showings. The men’s coxed four crew won Canadian Nationals, Charde Madoula-Bey took first place at States in shot put, men’s golf won SEC’s and many other teams helped to get Ann Arbor Skyline’s name out there as a powerhouse in Michigan athletics.

Looking towards next season, Coach Robenalt and Coach B are working together to plan an offseason that will mold next year’s players into a successful team. In order to build a team that can go above and beyond the triumphs of this season, Coach Robenalt is dedicating much of his personal time and energy to the team. In the winter the team will also be participating in an indoor league.