The glorious All-State Wall, is a true tribute to past athletes who made it to State-level competition and placed, won, or were nominated by the Coaches Association in their particular sport. The 112 pictures of various competitors range from 1965 to the present 2023. Dangling from the nail, this wall inspires other students to be the ones smiling brightly in the photographs. Athletic Director Chris Galloway has been involved in Northwest Community Schools for 21 years.
“Our All-State Wall has been a tradition here long before me,” said Galloway.
The criteria for a student’s picture to be hung on the illustrious All-State Wall is strict. In more performance-based sports, like wrestling, an athlete needs to place in the top few athletes. In more team-based sports, like baseball, the athlete is nominated. Every athlete on the wall is involved in a Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) sponsored sport.
“I have spoken to Mr. Styck (Assistant Principal and Head of all Clubs at Northwest), and we have talked about creating something similar in the front of the building,” said Galloway.
Junior Katie Marshall, co-captain of The Northwest Clay-Crushers club, came up with a similar idea. She even expressed feelings of not belonging due to her sport not being sponsored by MHSAA, meaning she cannot join the coveted All-State Wall.
¨I worked really hard to make it to states, and place well, so it sucks that I do not get recognized as much as other teams,” said Marshall.
Individuals in sports such as wrestling, track, golf, cross country, bowling, softball, baseball, soccer, football, and volleyball all get recognized for being an all-state athlete. Although these are all MHSAA-sponsored sports, smaller school club teams deserve as much acknowledgment as the sponsored sports do.
Groups like powerlifting, clay shooting, equestrian, bass fishing, and so many others are discouraged due to the lack
of recognition. Now, this is not to say that they should be included in the All-State Wall as it is a sacred tradition, but pushing the issue of creating their form of appreciation may be a possible solution.
¨I have been on the clay shooting team for three years now. I think that we deserve recognition just as the other athletes do,¨ said Marshall.
Marshall feels there needs to be a change just as most other club-team athletes do. Junior Madison (Madi) Dixon, a Northwest Powerlifting Club team member, relates to Marshall in the sense that she wants to see a difference made.
¨It takes a lot as an athlete to make it to states in any sport; us lifters feel like we should be recognized also,¨ said Dixon. “Powerlifting is a growing sport, and you meet so many amazing people on your route.”
Theoretically, if the movement to create a new recognition wall were to happen, it would be located near the front office entrance.
“I think we could set up a meeting with the athletic office to see if we could make a new wall for club teams or include that it was a club team on our plaque,¨ said Dixon.
At the end of the day, club teams are not as recognized as other school-associated teams. Although there needs to be an understanding of the difference between a club team and an all-state team, both teams’ athletes work as hard as one another to receive the recognition they deserve.
