Academy double, World Cup heroics and international adventures

 Of course, Austria’s success at the U17 World Cup, in which nine of our Young Bulls played a part, was the headline achievement of 2025 at youth level. Numerous other highlights accompanied our youngsters’ development this year while we look forward to see playing at the Red Bull Arena in a few years. Let’s take a look back at the best moments.

Advertisement

2025 began with a real statement! In February, the U16 Academy team prevailed at the inaugural Bull’s Cup, taking first place in the ten-team field in Brazil and defeating FC Santos in the final.

Championships are usually celebrated in May, but March was also wonderful: as our U20 girls capped off their remarkable season in the Women’s Future League, Austria’s top youth league, with the championship title. Captain Valentina Akrap, who has since played for our Bundesliga team, kicked off the celebrations with her decisive goal against LASK. The good times are continuing, and it’s no coincidence that Hiermann’s team is also sitting comfortably at the top of the table in the current campaign.

Another highlight: Our Young Bulls’ European journey in 2024/25 took them all the way to the Final Four in Nyon. In a dramatic semi-final, our previously undefeated U19 team was ultimately defeated 1-2 by Trabzonspor in Europe’s most important youth competition, the UEFA Youth League.

Academy double

Motivated by their success in the team competition at the Wings Cup hosted by RB Leipzig, the U16 academy players, as well as the U15 hopefuls, won titles in the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) Youth League – with both teams boasting the best attack and the most solid defence. The chances of the Red Bull Football Academy achieving a hat trick of U18, U16 and U15 championships next year, for the sixth time (!), are quite good: Only the youngest side are just one point behind leaders FK Austria Vienna, while the teams coached by Tobias Kern and Danny Galm are sitting pretty at the top of the table.

Speaking of Tobias Kern:  when it comes to international tournaments, we can’t forget the Next Generation Trophy, which has long since established itself as a career booster for players like Phil Foden and Konrad Laimer. Kern’s charges once again put in a remarkable display of talent, advancing to the quarter-finals of this prestigious U16 competition as group winners. The run ended only against Red Bull Bragantino, the eventual champions.

Advertisement

2025 was rounded off with further milestones: first, our U15 youngsters claimed the Porsche Fußball Cup in Stuttgart, becoming the first club ever to do so for the second time. Then, our boys proved unbeatable at the AKA Futsal Convention. The 5-1 victory in the final against Austria Vienna in early December was a fitting end to a successful year for our young Bulls.

Photo: Porsche Fußball Cup, 2025, Porsche AG

A No Trespassing sign hangs on the fence of the Williamsburg Horse Show Club ring at the Williamsburg Farm Show complex.
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski /
The Williamsburg Horse Show Club ring sits north of the Williamsburg Community varsity softball field which sits between the ring and the Williamsburg Farm Show building.

A Williamsburg club that aims to help youth learn to ride and compete has been disbanded, leading organizers, club leaders and youths wondering what their next steps should be.

According to Bobbi Gearheart, leader of the Williamsburg Horse Show Club, the move to end the club by its parent organization, the Williamsburg Community Farm Show, “was an absolute shock.”

The club, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, is a “place where kids can make mistakes and learn, and judges will talk to them and prepare them for 4-H shows,” said Julia Saintz, a horse show club volunteer.

News about the club’s end came in an email from the Farm Show president to club organizers, received at 7 a.m. on Dec. 18. The email stated that the horse committee “no longer exists nor will the area be available for horse shows in the future.”

“A group of board members presented a proposal to reimagine the area that is currently being used for the horse show,” Farm Show Board President Jeff Walason wrote in the email, apparently referencing a Dec. 12 Farm Show board meeting.

Multiple calls to Walason by the Mirror and by horse club members have not been returned.

Despite Walason urging recipients of the letter not to share the message on social media, horse club members created a Facebook page – Saving the Williamsburg Horse Activities! – which has garnered over 150 members and multiple posts urging the Farm Show to reconsider their decision.

“Williamsburg has long been one of my favorite venues to show at,” Stefanie Swindell Strayer commented on the page. “Having competed there for many years, it’s so disappointing to see an opportunity like this taken away from those who enjoy showing, especially the next generation of young riders.”

A post by Mark O’Neill notes that “everybody starts somewhere like Williamsburg. With fewer and fewer Williamsburgs, the future is not bright for the industry. The local show must be preserved.”

Another post takes aim at the Farm Show board.

“This is a very short-sighted decision by people that have ‘community’ in their name,” stated Norma Horton, who said she has been attending the shows for 20 years.

“People complain about kids getting in trouble, yet they want to take away a place that gives them something to enjoy and spend time,” she wrote.

A change.org petition received 500 signatures in less than 24 hours, and by Tuesday afternoon, more than 700 had signed onto the petition to Reinstate the Williamsburg Horse Show.

The board’s decision “not only impacts the long-standing tradition of our families but also denies future generations the chance to experience the extraordinary benefits that these shows provide,” the petition states.

“To me, Williamsburg has never been just a horse show,” Swindell Strayer told the Mirror. “It’s a community. … It’s where memories are made, families are supported, and generations of horsemen and women are given the chance to learn, grow and succeed together.”

“It’s very generational, and it’s sad to see 30 years dismissed without a word and a warning,” Saintz said.

Locked out

In the email, Walason said “all keys are expected to be returned to the buildings or a fee will be charged to the group for rekeying the main building should the key not be returned.”

According to Gearhart, the club has already been locked out, something she discovered when she went to collect club belongings.

Many “No Trespassing” signs were placed around the horse ring and nearby trees, she said.

As a “self-sufficient” club, their riding equipment, speakers, announcing equipment and jumps were fully funded by community fundraisers, Gearhart said, but the farm show believes otherwise.

“We worked really hard to buy that stuff,” she said.

Gearhart also found that the club’s Facebook profile disappeared after the farm show became a Facebook business page in early December, thus negating Gearhart’s Facebook administration rights.

Walason’s email stated that the club’s Facebook page “will remain until a determination is made concerning the banquet, at that point an announcement will be made and the page will be taken down.”

The page stored more than 20 years’ worth of memories from dedicated riders, Gearhart said.

“It’s a labor of love,” she said, “and to see it ripped out from under you is devastating.”

Future plans

According to Gearhart, the farm show plans on replacing the horse ring with a tractor pull area, which would allegedly bring in more money to help support the farm show. She said a tractor pull lane has already been built behind the softball field, which is between the farm show buildings and the horse ring. This year was the farm show’s second year using the tractor pull area, she said.

Gearhart said she is not against the farm show adding a larger tractor pull area, and believes there is room for both events on the farm show grounds, which are leased from Catharine Township.

“I would like for us to come to an agreement,” she said, hoping that the horse show club can continue while expanding on the original tractor pull area behind the softball field.

In the club’s defense, Gearhart said it is not “falling apart. … It’s growing and thriving.”

Other than spreading the word, Gearhart said club volunteers and members are participating in a lot of “ground stomping” by calling local politicians and encouraging the public to attend the farm show board meeting slated for 7 p.m. Jan 2 at the Williamsburg Farm Show building, 1019 Recreation Drive, Williamsburg.

Saintz wants people to support the horse show, as young riders learn work ethic, sportsmanship and stress management from the club and their competitions.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414

With deep love and profound sorrow, we announce the unexpected passing of Michael Larson, age 51, of Spanish Fort, Alabama, on December 21, 2025.

Born and raised in Mobile, Michael graduated from Theodore High School and later earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Alabama. From an early age, Michael formed deep and lasting friendships that shaped his life. He was fiercely loyal, deeply present, and believed friendship was meant to be joyful and lasting.

Michael’s faith in God and devotion to the Catholic Church were the foundation of his life and a source of joy for his family. His faith brought him especially close to his father and siblings, and their time together was marked by laughter, shared faith, and genuine happiness simply being together.

For 25 years, Michael shared a loving and joyful marriage with his beloved wife, Valerie. He adored her deeply, and together they raised four sons, Powell, Will, Reid, and Max, whom Michael welcomed into every part of his life with pride and joy. Being a husband and father was his greatest happiness.

Michael lived his faith through service, especially in his involvement in youth sports for his boys, welcoming children and families into his life with generosity and enthusiasm.

Known for his huge smile, gift for storytelling, and warm presence, Michael stood 6’4”, was strikingly handsome, and was famously the best hugger.

Michael was preceded in death by his mother, Patricia Ray. He is survived by his wife, Valerie Powell Larson, his sons, Powell, Will, Reid, and Max, his father, Donald J. Larson, Sr., his mother-in-law, Charlotte Powell, his brother, Donald J. Larson, Jr. and wife Arlene, his sisters, Tammy Girod and husband Charlie, and Christie Larson Ford and husband Bill, countless nieces and nephews, and a large and devoted Larson family.

Though he is painfully missed, faith brings hope in the promise that Michael now rests in the loving presence of God, and that love endures beyond this life.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Catholic Church in Spanish Fort, Alabama, on Monday, December 29, at 11:00 a.m. A celebration of Michael’s life will follow.

The family is deeply and humbly grateful for the prayers, kindness, and tireless support shown by family, friends, and the community. This love has carried them through their grief and will forever be held close to their hearts.

In lieu of flowers, and in gratitude for the faith community that has carried our family through this loss, donations in Michael’s memory may be made to In the Seelos Tradition at our parish. Checks may be payable to In the Seelos Tradition, 31122 US Hwy 31, Spanish Fort, AL 36527, or given online at francisxseelos.org.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Michael Larson, please visit our flower store.

Joseph “Joe” Edward Studeny, 61, of Renfrew, passed away peacefully Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, surrounded by his family after an extended illness while under the care of Butler Memorial Hospital.

Born June 1, 1964, in Pittsburgh, he was the son of the late Joseph G. Studeny and Mary Katherine (Locher) Studeny.

Joe was a 1982 graduate of Butler High School. He then served in the U.S. Navy from 1982 until 1987. Joe graduated from Villanova University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1991. He later went on to further his education and graduated from Duquesne University with a Master of Business Administration in 2006. He worked as a financial analyst for FedEx for nearly 20 years.

Joe was a member of St. Conrad Catholic Church. He was an avid sports fan. He enjoyed coaching his kids’ sports teams and played soccer recreationally. He was a dedicated fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins. He had a heart for animals and was especially fond of his pets. Above all, he loved his family and his children and was a devoted father and husband.

He leaves behind to cherish his memory his fiancée, Kelly Griggs; his daughter, Katie (Aaron) O’Leary; and his granddaughter, Jade O’Leary.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Christine (Walters) Studeny; they were married for 26 years before her passing on Aug. 18, 2017. He was also preceded in death by his son, Joseph B. Studeny, who passed away April 17, 2019.

STUDENY — Friends and family of Joseph “Joe” Edward Studeny, who died Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, will be received from 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29, at BOYLAN FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION CENTER, 856 Evans City Road, Renfrew.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30, at All Saints Parish, St. Conrad Roman Catholic Church, 125 Buttercup Road, Butler, with Father Kevin Fazio officiating.

A private entombment will take place following Mass at Butler County Memorial Park.

The family kindly requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the American Cancer Society in Joe’s honor.

Expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at www.boylanfuneralservices.com.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – From learning how to pass the puck to skating.

“Hockey is a great sport, it’s for everyone and we want everybody to be able to play,” said Keith Krem, Phantoms Youth vice president of hockey operations and Steel Ice Center owner.

Girls ages 4-12 from across our area hit the ice inside Steel Ice Center in Bethlehem on Saturday.

“This is a try hockey for free event, which is a USA Hockey sponsored event but this is for girls specifically,” said Krem.

Krem said girls hockey is a significant part of the Phantoms Youth program and is definitely growing.

“The idea here is that they get to come out and try the greatest game on earth and experience it for free and hopefully get interested and funnel into some of our other programs,” said Krem.

“We’re trying out ice hockey today. There’s lots of kids here,” said Savannah, who participated in the event. “I’ve took two lessons and done one of these practices once before and I wanted to try it again,” said Savannah.

“I think that they’re doing great, especially because it’s mostly their first time playing,” said Lauren Hawk, a volunteer.

Hawk said she has been playing hockey for around 10 years now.

She was one of the volunteers sharing her passion for the game to inspire other girls.

“I hope that they enjoy their time here and I hope that they learn new things and I hope that it makes them want to pursue hockey and continue playing,” said Hawk.

Krem said there is one thing specifically he hopes girls on the ice here walk away with.

“That it’s fun, you know. More than anything, they have a little bit of fun. I think that’s the number one thing without question cause if it’s fun they’re going to want to come back,” said Krem.

Rental skates were free and sticks were donated for Saturday’s event.

Girls who participated are also receiving free tickets for a Phantoms game at the PPL Center.

Traditionally, youth hockey players ages 14 to 18 have been permitted to participate in games and practices for both their local high school and Team Alaska, the state’s lone AAA tier competitive league program.

After receiving feedback from a majority of players’ parents, Team Alaska program director and 18U head coach Matt Thompson and fellow coaches at other age levels decided that their players wouldn’t be permitted to play both this year.

“When you’re reviewing things, you’re trying to look at what is the bigger voice and what do people want: How did our teams do? Did we have success? Were there issues here? And then we ask all the coaches,” Thompson said.

The high school and comp teams share the goal of developing young Alaska hockey players, but the decision has put a strain on their relationship. Many high school coaches disagree with the either/or approach. Generally, high school teams acquiesce to regular absences by some of their top players during the regular season to allow them to compete at both levels.

“You’re taking kids away from the game they love and they’ll never get these years back,” West High head coach Rob Larkey said.

Every year, the coaches of each youth program from 14U to 18U are allowed to decide whether to allow players to take part in both the high school and competitive league seasons.

Last year only the 14U team, which consists of mostly high school freshmen and middle schoolers, and 18U, which includes high school juniors and seniors, permitted their players to do both.

At the end of every season, Thompson sends surveys to parents and legal guardians of players so they can provide feedback on how the program can improve and voice concerns anonymously.

Thompson said after last season, they sent out 60 surveys, and only a few voiced appreciation for dual participation. Many more came back expressing frustrations about a lack of commitment from the team as a whole.

By late summer, the Team Alaska coaches had decided to stop allowing dual participation.

“This isn’t just a decision on me, it’s a decision by the program collectively,” Thompson said. “I backed those coaches, and they asked me to send an email out at the end of August just to reaffirm that we were doing that because there were a lot of people asking questions to those coaches.”

After sending the email, he said he didn’t receive any correspondence from concerned parents or coaches about the decision aside from Kevin Fitzgerald, an assistant coach at West High School.

Thompson and 18U coach William Wrenn met with the coaches from West in June, but the meeting turned sour on the topic of dual participation, which led to some friction between the two parties.

In early October, Fitzgerald, himself a former comp coach, sent a lengthy letter to hockey families outlining his criticisms of the decision. It included a number of responses to issues raised in the meeting as well as reasons players should consider high school hockey as opposed to club hockey.

“That was the only school that we heard from,” Thompson said. “One school that had an opinion on something. A school that I went to and played for sent out a letter that stirred up the pot a little bit.”

Forcing a decision

There was a point earlier in the year when it was unclear whether there would even be a 2025-26 high school hockey season. It was one of three high school sports on the chopping block during the Anchorage School District’s budget discussions in the face of a large budget deficit.

During the summer, when the season was still up in the air, Larkey said Team Alaska asked West players who play for both teams about their plans for the upcoming winter. The players couldn’t give a concrete answer because nothing had been finalized at the time.

Since the sport was ultimately spared from cuts, Larkey believes it’s unfair to make players and their families choose between the two.

“You’re forcing the kids that love the game and want to play the game to make a choice on that,” Larkey said.

In doing so, he thinks that Team Alaska has put more pressure on itself to perform better if they’re going to have players who play only for them year-round.

“Where are you going to measure yourself?” Larkey asked. “You should be getting out of regions and going to nationals. If not, then where are you at and how many of your players are going on (to play at the next level)?”

Chugiak head coach Rodney Wild believes kids are being forced to make a choice between the two, and in most cases, it’s not theirs to make.

“I don’t buy the reasoning as to why,” he said. “They’re doing it because they believe it’s in the kids’ best interest, I truly believe that. They’re not doing it to hurt the kids or put the kids at a disadvantage. They truly believe that what they’re doing is best for their players. I just don’t agree with it.”

Often, it’s the parents who are making the final decisions on behalf of their student-athletes. In many cases, players want to play for their high school teams as well.

South High lost between 10 and 15 players to the decision, but that hasn’t stopped them from opening the season on a high note as the lone undefeated team in the Cook Inlet Conference.

“South gets hammered the most with those Team Alaska guys but it’s OK,” Wolverines head coach Daniel Ramsey said. “We’ve had some JV kids come up, we’re in our fourth season now so our seniors are big on this team. That’s who our first line is, all seniors.”

High school hockey benefits

The high school coaches at West, Chugiak and South referenced the type of overwhelming support that comes with playing at that level. There are often big crowds featuring friends, family, faculty, alumni and the community at large. In travel hockey, teams typically play in front of scarce audiences predominantly made up of parents.

“I coached comp hockey too, and all you do is go to the arenas and moms and dads are the only ones in the arenas,” Larkey said. “There’s no cheerleaders in the crowd leading chants or a band being played. It’s a different excitement.”

The rivalry games between Chugiak and neighboring Eagle River average around 1,000 fans filling the stands and lining the rink at the Harry J. McDonald Memorial Center, providing an atmosphere that is “absolutely raucous,” said Wild.

“I feel like the kids are being forced to sacrifice an experience that they will not be able to replicate after they’re done playing (youth) hockey,” Wild said. “They’re robbing these kids of an opportunity, and they’ll tell you that there’s nothing like playing high school hockey.”

Many youth hockey players won’t get a chance to play in front of a packed arena outside of high school unless they play for a good junior hockey team in a passionate community.

“I think it’s really cool being able to play for your high school because you get to represent your school and represent the hockey team,” South sophomore forward David Berg said. “You really get to put out for your school and your fans.”

West wasn’t hit as hard as some of the other teams when it came to the volume of players they lost to Team Alaska’s decision. Larkey said five players are forgoing the high school season to commit to Team Alaska.

“We don’t want kids to throw their Team Alaska away either,” he said. “We don’t want to interrupt them as well.”

Possible resolutions

Youth hockey is the rare sport in the state in which the high school season overlaps with the competitive league season.

According to Thompson, the Team Alaska program director, the conflicting schedules are the most detrimental to Team Alaska at the time when the team needs to be at its best and sharpest, around the time of the high school regional tournament.

Thompson said he’s spent the past four years trying to work with the Alaska School Activities Association on a possible resolution.

“Before I was event program director, I was meeting with them to see how we can make this work because I get that high school hockey more than anything is the experience,” Thompson said. “The way that the schedules are built up for high school and our comp, it doesn’t set either of us up for success.”

His proposals to ASAA over the years when there has been dual participation included moving up the dates of the high school postseason or changing the start of the regular season to earlier in October.

“That would give us more wiggle room for our teams to prepare for the regional tournament and hopefully punch a ticket to nationals,” Thompson said. “Unfortunately, ASAA doesn’t want to separate the big schools from the small schools, and the difficulty there is that the smaller programs practice outside, so their season is surrounded by the temperatures to have outdoor ice.”

To develop a possible resolution for future dual participation, Thompson wants to work with ASAA to ensure a pathway that is beneficial for all parties.

“It wasn’t an easy decision. It is not one that is set in stone that no matter what moving forward, that’s what we’re doing,” he said. “It all comes down to that I think there’s a way for this to work for both, and I think that adjusting the (high school) season even by a couple weeks would change a lot of things.”

Finding success

All six Alaskans currently on the Anchorage Wolverines junior hockey team have come through the Team Alaska pipeline, which Thompson believes is a direct reflection of how the program sets its athletes up for success.

“These kids who are aspiring to play for the Wolverines one day or for any of our other junior programs in the state or any program that is outside the country, they’re (on a) stepping stone by playing at (our) level,” he said.

Thompson regrets that his players won’t get to have the same types of experiences as those who opt to play at the high school level, but knows that the sacrifices they make now have the potential to pay major dividends later.

“A lot of these players are asking for more of a challenge and unfortunately, in high-level athletics in high school, college or junior hockey, there is sacrifice,” he said. “Anybody that’s gone through it understands that. Unfortunately, you can’t have everything.”

Thompson and Team Alaska compiled a list of youth hockey players with birth years of 1975 until present day who have left the state to pursue higher levels of competition, and the number of those who leave each year has grown.

In 1992, there were only a handful, and that number stayed low through 2005. But there have been double-digit departures in 19 of the last 20 years. The most in a year during that span was 43 in 2019, and departures remained in the double digits during the COVID-19 pandemic with 11 in 2020.

“Our goal is to keep these kids at home,” Thompson said. “When you’re sitting there and thinking that Team Alaska hasn’t won anything, our goal is to keep some of these best kids here.”

Larkey, the West High coach, pointed to a large number of players who have participated in high school and have gone on to bigger things in hockey as well. Among them is Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, who played at South High and the AAA Alaska Junior Aces before moving up in competition.

Thompson said the fact that Team Alaska has been able to consistently contend for region titles despite not having the top local talent is tangible proof of their growth as a program. They’re seeing sustained success and better results this year on their travel teams with no dual participation, he said.

“We’re clearly doing something that people appreciate because they want to be a part of it and they’re staying in it,” Thompson said. “That is probably more rewarding than anything. Seeing kids staying in Alaska and staying in the program to represent Alaska.”