Coach Brown is a well-known figure at Franklin High School since 1992 and I recently learned that he was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He has coached three sports at FHS for a total of 31 years. Those sports include: wrestling (19 years), girls softball (6 years), and football (31 years). Coach Brown started off as a freshmen coach before going up the ranks to be our football defense coordinator for 12 years before becoming the head coach for 11 years. Hopefully, Coach Brown will be around for many more years to come. With all that time on and off the different fields, he has learned many skills, tactics, and lessons.
Coach Brown has experience on and off the fields in a wide variety of sports. Although his skills came naturally, he knew hard work was the main component to excelling and improving his skills. The main sports that he played were baseball, football, and wrestling. In his senior year of high school, Coach Brown played baseball for Waterloo and was an all-conference player.
According to Coach Brown, the most important assets an athlete can possess are, “physical, mental, and social gifts”. He also says that he wants the athlete to be “the type of kid that is going to reach their full potential. Doesn’t matter if [they] have these genetic gifts, if [they] can run fast or jump high. The problem is [them] not working hard to improve on those skills”.
As previously stated, he doesn’t just look at the physical attributes of future athletes, but how they react to plays and mistakes. He looks at how “they handle things when things aren’t going their way, if they yell at their teammates for mistakes, how they react when they lose, do they bounce back, and do they learn from their mistakes”.
He also looks at “kids who have shots at being a leader, that are socially and physically gifted, but willing to improve and maximize their potential, and how they handle the grind, tough season or game”.
I asked him another question: How would you describe your coaching style? He thinks it “has changed over the years” and the one thing he thinks he is “best at is adapting”. He explains that it may have come up with his upbringing of having a dad in the military (hence being born in Germany) and has moved to Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, anywhere, so he “had to adapt and always was”. Even though it was tough on him as a kid, he “thinks that it helped [him] as an adult, as a teacher, and as a coach”.
The games are “now more player driven”, as he states that “practice, schemes and game plans” are to help involve the players more to become better leaders and improve their skills. Having them be involved “helps motivate them if they know they have a say”. He is willing to “listen to the players” and “motive them” to do their best and reach their full potential.
“Since I’ve been head coach, I’ve never thought about losing when heading into a game.”
I asked Coach Brown one more question: what was the most important lesson that you learned as a coach to go toward success. He tells me how “you have to keep getting better and never stop. You practice what you preach and be present for the players”.
Coach Brown has attained a spot in the Wisconsin Football Coaches Associations Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 1, 2023, along with our offensive line coach, Mike Beck. He was nominated by Bernie Schmidt, who over the years, has seen how Coach Brown works with the players and program. He was impressed with how Coach Brown coached and asked if he could nominate him.
Coach Brown wondered if he “did enough to be in the Hall of Fame”. He even said his “high school coach is in the Hall of Fame”. Coach Brown looked at his successes and agreed to be nominated. “We were the worst program in the state and we flipped it, and are now one of the best.”
While at the banquet, he was awarded a ring that he has showed and allowed me to take a picture of, but the image won’t load.
Coach Brown teaches Senior Gym and Weight Training and Conditioning (1 + 2) here at FHS. I’ve had him in Weight Training and fell in love with lifting because of him. He taught me and others how to ignore how much weight the others are lifting since everyone is at a different level. Everyone starts the same before gaining strength, endurance, and power at different intervals.
And don’t forget, FHS won the WIAA Division 1 state championship football in 2021 and last year during the fall, we are Conference Champions. Good job, FHS football team.
Since June 8, 2022, we haven’t posted anything until this moment. With the web page fully updated and revised by an FHS programming teacher, Mr. Hust, we are able to get back to posting about anything. We’ve come up with more categories that can help inform students, staff, and families of what is going on in our school and community.
The new categories created are academics, art, and creative writing. Soon enough, a google form will be created where students and teachers can submit work that can be featured in the art and creative writing categories.
The Saber Slate was created to provide a way for students to express their opinions, ideas, and creativity, help shape perspectives and identity, and improve writing and vocab. We strive to help students be comfortable with voicing their work and opinions for others to see.
We will be meeting in the Saber Center Commons every Wednesday after school around 2:50 until 3:30. This may change, so please watch for updates. If you are thinking of joining, please fill out this Google Form.
If you have any questions, you can email jessica.kelly@franklin.k12.wi.us or mckenna.gnas@franklinsabers.org
As we head into the fall season, popular winter sports are beginning to emerge, one of which is collegiate basketball. College teams all across the nation are jumping into preseason routines and prepping for a strenuous season ahead. This year, the collegiate basketball scene may be vastly different due to the newly added NIL (name, image, and likeness) policy, giving popular players a chance to profit from their popularity.
Furthermore, this season will likely be one of the most entertaining ones we have ever seen yet due to some of the powerhouse programs that have received some of the nation’s highest-ranked high school recruits. The Memphis Tigers collegiate basketball team led by Penny Hardaway received six nationally ranked recruits, including Emoni Bates and Jalen Duran. Bates and Duran are both the first and second-ranked recruits in the nation. The Memphis Tigers aren’t the only program with scary-looking rosters; Gonzaga, Tennessee, Duke, and LSU are also among the schools with extremely highly rated basketball recruits on their current rosters. That said, most of these players will go through with the “One and Done” college experience, meaning they are only enrolled for one year of collegiate play and then move on to professional leagues such as the NBA, G League, etc.
Popular players from last year’s NCAA season, and more specifically its highly coveted March Madness tournament, have already found themselves on professional rosters or have returned as seasoned veterans to their collegiate team. Players like Josh Christopher, Jalen Green, Cade Cunningham, and Davion Mitchell are on NBA rosters taking on challenging roles, trying to learn the ropes of the NBA. Others like Drew Timme and UCLA standout Johnny Juzang are returning to their teams with their sights on the National Championship. The national start date for the 2021-2022 season is November 25th, this year’s college basketball scene will be something we have never seen before.
On Thursday the 5th, FHS hosted its annual Culture Fest – in the past, it was known as Mini-Juneteenth Day. This time, we celebrated just about every culture there is. Around the main commons you could find different varieties of food and cultural traditions. I had the opportunity of volunteering to man the Japanese booth. With the help of a few of my fellow Japanese classmates we were able to set up a pretty decent booth towards the front of the room. We brought in traditional Japanese onigiri, which are rice balls with soy sauce and some seasonings. Sometimes they contain what are pickled plums inside, but these ones did not. Visitors could have the option of wrapping nori seaweed around the onigiri, but they weren’t required to. Or, they could just have the seaweed on its own. Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to taste test these delicacies because they were for visitors of our stand.
We also brought traditional Japanese clothes from class, which were the kimono and yukata. We didn’t wear the kimono because there were too many different pieces and there is a certain traditional way of putting on these clothes. Kids could come by as well and play with the kendama, which is the Japanese version of the cup game. Basically, a ball is attached to the wooden part by a string, and you need to flick the ball to get it on a small point. It’s more frustrating than it sounds, trust me. But it was a good way to keep people entertained.
I had the opportunity to ask a fellow volunteer and friend, Nadia Estrada(who was working on the Bolivia stand near me with her sister Jiana) about her experiences and thoughts about the Culture Fest. Bolded are my questions, and italicized are Nadia’s responses.
Overall what did you think of the event?
I was really surprised by how many people attended and was really pleased with how legitimately interested they seemed about all the cultures presented. It was really cool to see everyone come together to create an event that brought students and the community together.
Is there anything you’d want different for next year?
I would want to somehow make the passports for the kids so that they actually had to listen to the presentations instead of just a stamp and go, because then they aren’t learning anything.
What was your favorite part?
My favorite part was the dancing performances, Senor Mac’s friend’s guitar performance, and the fashion show was groovy too.
Can you describe some of the things you did volunteering?
So I helped in the planning and organization of the event (I mean so did almost everyone else) by giving my input on possible ideas and how we would run them and possible solutions to issues we would encounter. I also ran the Bolivia booth with Jiana where we had a poster board that had a bunch of information about Bolivia (the indigenous culture, music, etc) and brought artifacts that we had from our relatives in Bolivia. We also brought some Bolivian food – alfajores (like a shortbread cookie with caramel cream in the middle (cajeta)) and cocads (a coconut candy with sweetened condensed milk).
Any thing else you would like to add?
It was really nice to see all the hard work that everyone, especially Mrs. DeClark, put into the event and how much it paid off for everything there because of how well it turned out. I was super impressed and I hope we can make it even better for next year.
I’d like to thank all of the volunteers who came along with me and everyone who came to attend our Culture Fest! Also a big thanks for Nadia once again for the interview! I’m looking forward to coming next year as an alumni.
Even though winter is cold and driving is bad, skiing is a super fun winter sport. As the harsh winter season is coming to an end, I recommend heading to The Rock Snowpark or another mountain to go skiing or snowboarding. I totally recommend taking lessons or going with a friend who knows how to ski/snowboard.
Ski tips from a totally, completely, legit professional skier on the Franklin Alpine Ski Team.
Learn the jargon for skiing. There are special weird boots that snap into the skis. The things that connect the ski to the boots are called bindings. You may see people using poles and protective gear (shin and arm guards). You should NEVER wear a helmet.
There are different types of lifts to get to the top of the hill. You’ll usually see magic carpets or handle tows near the beginner/or smaller hills. You can also see ski lifts in the shape of chairs, these are called chair lifts, by longer hills. You should ALWAYS fall off the tow and NOT get out of the way quickly. Another correct skiing technique is to JUMP OFF the chair lift in the middle of the hill. This is very safe and not at all dangerous.
There are a variety of hills and each location/mountain is different. Green circles designate beginners or easier runs. Blue squares are a little bit steeper or longer runs. Black diamonds are for very advanced skiers. Double black diamonds are for the most advanced and confident skiers. Make sure you know your level and educate yourself before going down the mountain. Create and execute a run down the mountain that is within your skiing ability. For beginners, I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND going down the steepest and most advanced hill the first time you go skiing.
The snow is melting and you should definitely go skiing or snowboarding this season. If you wanna go or learn, hit me up to set up a time.
Disclaimer – I am not a professional skier. Some of the recommendations are a joke, please wear a helmet.
Friday the 10th was the third annual Voices of FHS, an event where students go up on stage in the auditorium to talk about certain topics. These students have months of preparation for the event. In my opinion this event was very inspiring. To see these students go up on stage and publicly speak was brave in and of itself. Some of the things they talked about were important contemporary topics that they shared their opinion on and what we as a society should do about these problems. I interviewed the host, Angie Carchesi, about the event. My questions are in bold.
What is The Voices of FHS, and why was it first created?
“The Voices of FHS is an event where students give TED Talk style speeches in the Saber Center,” Angie says. “It was first created three years ago by Priyanka Iyer and Katie Harris in order to give students the opportunity to speak about their ideas and passions.”
What inspired you to host this event?
“I was inspired to host this event because I spoke at it my sophomore year and wanted to have a bigger role in it, so I decided to take it over!” she states.
What does this event mean for students?
“This event gives students a platform to talk about what matters to them and the audience the opportunity to learn more about others’ experiences,” Angie says.
How long does it take to prepare for the event?
“We began to prepare for the event in November,” she tells me. “We had weekly meetings where we worked on speech writing and speaking techniques.”
How can one join the Voices of FHS?
“One can join the Voices of FHS by contacting Mrs. Tindall or the student who is in charge next year. There will also most likely be announcements about the event!” she says.
Thank you Angie for participating in the interview with me!
The students who talked at the event had a lot of interesting topics, and I will include a brief summary of them! Evie Sellers was up first, and she talked about the topic of having 12 years to change the world. She went over how our generation is going to be the next ones to deal with the world’s problems and what we can do to get involved.
The next speaker was Cody Timmer, and he talked about the importance of manufacturing classes. He said that jobs with manufacturing are in high demand, and it’s an important skill to have whether to get you a job or help you learn life lessons along the way.
Next was Nicolas Greaves, who talked about the expansion of our universe, which was a very fascinating topic to hear about personally. It’s an important skill to know how the universe around us works!
Fatima Farooq talked about the importance of beauty and culture in our world, and the idea that humans are so similar despite being so unique and different. She also talked about the concept of comparing oneself to others.
Tyler Kelly talked about how our generation can make a difference offline instead of online. He advocated that we can make more of a difference by getting involved in person with activism instead of just claiming to be one online.
Emma Mickelson talked about the truth about body image and how your own opinion about your own body affects you.
Last but not least, Amenah Syed talked about racial, ethnic, and religious stereotyping, and how it has affected her in the past.
Thank you again to Angie for agreeing to have an interview with me, and thank you to all of the speakers at the Voices of FHS to take a step up to speak at the event!
The Saber Slate is currently looking for new members to join. If you are looking to join, you can fill out this Google Form. We’ll be meeting in Ms. Kelly’s room on the top floor near the staircase balcony every Wednesday after school until 3:30.
