Sunday, March 26, 2023
Since 1854 — News from Montcalm County and Ionia County, Michigan
Sports have always been a major part of Owen Blackport’s life.
Owen’s love for sports was instilled in him by his father, Thomas Blackport, a standout baseball player who received a practice invite from the Cincinnati Reds right out of college. Thomas was a die-hard Michigan football fan, spending every Saturday yelling at the TV.
For Joe Fox, basketball is a way of life.
Both his father, Gary, and grandfather, George, had long tenures as coaches at the high school level. Because of this, Joe Fox spent hours in the gym.
Shortly after the hire of Rick Court as the new coordinator of athletic strength and conditioning was announced by Greenville Public Schools on June 10, mixed emotions filled the community.
The Daily News detailed Court’s past work history and his hire by Greenville in an in-depth June 16 article, which subsequently resulted in headlines by multiple media outlets nationally due to allegations stemming from Court’s tenure as the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Maryland.
A recent hire within the Greenville Public Schools Athletic Department resulted in mixed opinions Monday evening from members of the Board of Education.
Human Resources Director Lisa Steed presented her monthly report to the board regarding new hirings and vacancies, which included coaching positions for athletics.
On Friday, nearly two months after being hired for the full-time Greenville varsity head football coach position, Mike Ricco informed Greenville Athletic Director Brian Zdanowski that he’d be resigning from the position.
