By Cory Armstrong-Hoss / Herald Forum

“Iron forged into steel.”

In red print, those words were the tagline on T-shirts worn by weightlifters around campus. The shirt’s heading was “THE BLACKSMITH SHOP,” Richard Unterseher’s name for the Shelton High School weight room.

As a tall and skinny kid, walking into that weight room, I knew I wasn’t steel. I wasn’t even sure that I was iron.

Built of rust-colored cinder block on the backside of our domed gym, and with little ventilation, it seemed like the Blacksmith Shop was a place for people other than me: the stagnant air thick with stale sweat and warm leather; the weight plates, scuffed and banged up from years of clanging; the duck-taped repair jobs on the dip bar and old weight circuit seats. In this place, ripped and lean sophomores, juniors and seniors forged their boy’s bodies into men by bench pressing 225 pounds and knocking out pull-ups in sets of 10.

I could not do a pull-up.

Mr. Unterseher, omnipresent in his Blacksmith Shop and universally beloved on campus, seemed ancient. He was a softspoken monk of a man, an Army veteran, ripped and religious, a warrior for God. For him, man could do all things through strength: on the football field and in the eternal spiritual battle in our hearts. “He loved God. He loved his wife Jody and son Brad. And he loved the Nebraska Cornhuskers, in that order,” remembers my friend Luke Determan.

Unterseher taught us the compound muscle movements of the bench, deadlift, clean and barbell squat, and the simple exercises: bicep curls and tricep skull-crushers, leg extensions and curls, dumbbell flies, single arm rows and a dozen other lifts. He taught us how to focus on major and minor muscle groups, create workouts and vary those workouts throughout the week, to hit all the major muscles.

I hated the barbell squat the most, hated the way the 45-pound barbell dug into the top of my back and shoulders, despite the duck-tape reinforced pad in the middle. I saw the way some of the guys were squatting 300 pounds, getting down low, I just had 25-pound plates on each side and had trouble getting my butt past parallel with the ground.

After I graduated — and for most of the next 25 years — I stuck to games I could win or at least compete: soccer, basketball, ultimate Frisbee. I didn’t bench or try a pull-up. I sure as hell didn’t squat with a barbell on my back.

But in the last couple of years, science, anger and my son brought me back to weightlifting.

Science in the form of podcasts and books. Dr. Peter Attia in “Outlive” The Science & Art of Longevity,” makes it clear how fast we lose muscle and balance in middle age, and challenges us with a simple but piercing question: “What do you want to be able to do when you’re older?” Backpack with your kids? Move those 30-pound cement garden pavers for your wife? Play your favorite sport as long as you can?

Anger in my feelings of weakness, fear, helplessness. At seeing my country become something that is hard to recognize. At seeing my kids’ pain as they go through life, suffering that I can’t control. At the hubris of leaders who do not listen. At my own hubris. In its own way, lifting has become an antidote to anger, to chaos.

Then there is Cole, our 16-year-old. He’s lifted three to four days a week for the past couple years to compliment his baseball training, grinding through sets at the Y or Curtis Clay Training in Woodinville. Over 6-6 and 225 pounds, I suspect that some 14- and 15-year old boys steal glances at him in the weight room with concealed awe, as I did so many years ago at my classmates, who seemed more like men than boys.

If my introduction to the world of weight lifting was through beat-up machines, old-school grit and God, Cole’s has been modern: advanced metrics and equipment, and research-backed training techniques. “We do not need to hammer our bodies as if they are metal, instead we should mold them as if they are clay,” reads the Clay website. They offer the Clay Assessment, which “will review Posture (lying and standing), Circumference Measurements, Resting Heart Rate, Nervous System Screen … Range of Motion, Respiratory Screen, and Cervical Screen (Neck), along with a number of other pertinent measurements.” I can imagine Mr. Unterseher wondering what all those tests have to do with fortifying the body and spirit.

After I lift these days — two or three days of the week, including barbell squats and [assisted] pull-ups — I feel not just physically stronger, but somehow less at the whim of events around me, more rooted on the ground, come what may. My back is stronger now and I can shoulder more.

I learned from his obituary that Richard Unterseher was born in 1935, which made him around 60 when we knew him. After decades of teaching and preaching the virtues of strength, he passed away in 2017. He left behind thousands of us still striving to forge iron into steel.

Even if it’s taken some of us a while to get started.

Cory Armstrong-Hoss lives in Everett with his wife and three kids. His kids have played nine different sports. He’s a lifelong athlete, and he’s served as a coach, ref, and youth sports administrator. Find him at substack.com/@atahossforwords

Champions! That was the goal of the Collinsville Panthers (23-3-1) when they arrived at John Hunt Park in Huntsville for the AHSAA Soccer Final Four.

The Panthers reached that goal Friday afternoon, winning the Class 1A/3A Boys’ State Championship match 5-2 over the Tuscaloosa Academy Knights.

The Panthers played with emotion, determination, and toughness on their way to the title. Five Collinsville players scored goals against Tuscaloosa Academy. 

The Knights’ first chance to put points on the board came at the 39:29 minute mark in the first half. The attempt was not successful as Panther senior goalie Jinen Skukal made the first of three saves in the first half of the match.  

Defensively, Collinsville didn’t make anything easy for Tuscaloosa Academy; the speed and physicality of the Panthers wore the Knights down. With 20:37 left in the first half, sophomore Jefferson Acevedo scored the first goal for Collinsville. He managed to find the goal through a handful of Knight defenders. Acevedo was named the tournament’s most valuable player.  

Tuscaloosa Academy rushed down the field to try to answer the Panthers’ score, but goalie Skukal made his second save of the match. Skukal made another save at the 12:28 mark left in the half to keep the Knights off the board. 

Collinsville extended its lead when senior forward Eddy Ortiz scored a goal at the 10:53 mark in the first half, The goal came on a perfectly set play from the corner. 

The Panthers dominated the first half and took a 2-0 lead into halftime. 

With almost 10 minutes in the second half, eighth-grade forward Alex Herrera extended the Collinsville lead to 3-0. Three minutes later, at the 27:05 mark left in the match, the Panthers had the opportunity to get another score with a penalty kick after a foul was called on Tuscaloosa Academy. Senior midfielder Jan Segura was not going to be denied as he made the kick with ease to push the Collinsville lead to 4-0. 

The Panthers looked to be on cruise control with 20 minutes remaining in the match. Tuscaloosa County finally found the goal not once but twice in the space of eight minutes to cut the lead to just two at 4-2 with 12 minutes remaining. 

With 1:18 left in the match, senior midfielder Aaron Herrera scored the final goal to give the Collinsville Panthers a 5-2 lead. As the public address announcer counted down the last 10 seconds of the match, jubilation set in for the Panthers and the crowd that made the trip to Huntsville to support the Collinsville team. 

This team is more than just a team, they are a family, brothers for life. All the time, the blood, the sweat, and the tears that this team has spent to get to this point have finally paid off. 

“First, I want to thank God for giving us great kids and great fans who have come to support us today. I don’t know how to feel at this moment, it hasn’t set in yet that we have won a state championship,” said Collinsville Head Coach, Jeff Stanley. 

This title comes at the end of what has been a difficult week for the Collinsville community. Collinsville lost Rev. John Morgan this past week. Morgan was not only a leader in the community, but he was also a big supporter of the school and all sports of the Collinsville Panthers. 

“Rev. Morgan would be so proud of these kids for their win today, he would be very proud,” said Stanley. 

The Collinsville program last won the State Championship in 2013. Since then, the Panthers have made three other trips to the final four and came up short each time. 

“It feels really good, we have been here before a few times and came up short, but today we finally kicked the door down and won the title,” said Stanley. 

This team was not to be denied. Each member of this team, from coaches to players, has joined an elite group, and that group is state champions. This team will go down as the best team ever in school history. This team set the new mark for most wins in a season with 23. This team won the first DeKalb County championship for the school — and the area championship.

Now this team will be forever called STATE CHAMPIONS!

KUNA — A significant youth sports complex could be coming to Kuna — if all goes as planned.

A public meeting to inform and educate residents and locals on the project was held Wednesday at Swan Falls High School. Around 30 people were in attendance, including the city’s Economic & Community Development Specialist Jessica Hall.

In April 2024, the city of Kuna was approached with an idea for a youth sports complex, presented by True Gritt Youth Sports Chairman David McMenomey, who moved to Meridian from Texas nine years ago. True Gritt is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing higher levels of athletic competition to the Treasure Valley.

The proposed complex would have both indoor and outdoor sports accommodations including 14 youth baseball/softball fields, eight full-sized indoor basketball courts, and a family entertainment center. The fields will be turf, which would give them around 10 months of use each year, McMenomey said. Development around the complex could also include two hotels, restaurants and a gas station.

The complex would be the first of its kind in the state and region, McMenomey said, and will be located near the intersection of Meadow View and Meridian roads.

“We’re anticipating from looking at other facilities that are similar size and the amount of tournaments that we’d be able to host, between all of the sports, about a million visitors a year coming into the facility,” McMenomey said.

Kuna’s planning and zoning and economic development teams were excited about the project because it would be an “incredible asset” to the city, Hall said to the Idaho Press. The city council will likely begin looking at the complex plans in July.

The city has donated 20 acres of land for a 114-acre sports complex, McMenomey said. The project will likely cost $120 million with the onus on McMenomey to raise the funds.

Not everyone at the meeting was thrilled about the complex coming to Kuna, a southern Ada County community that has seen large-scale growth and development in recent years.

“My home is directly behind this, and all I want to do is sit outside and read a book, and I don’t feel like I’m going to be able to do that,” Stacey Poiriar said during the meeting. “I feel like I’m not going to be able to sell my house now. I’ve been there for three years, and I don’t feel like this is fair.”

If built, the complex would be in Poiriar’s backyard. She’s concerned about traffic and noise that the complex could bring to her neighborhood.

“Nobody talked to our neighborhood. Nobody talked to anybody, letting us know that something of this magnitude was coming,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea — I just don’t think it should be right in the middle of a housing development.”

Andy Riley, president of the Kuna Youth Softball and Baseball Association, also expressed some concerns. Although he is excited at the prospect of having local fields for Kuna teams to play on, Riley is worried about prices. Sometimes, a developer will say that they’re building something for the local community, but they’re really just in it for the money, Riley said.

“Then all of a sudden it’s pay to play and I don’t want to see that happen,” Riley said.

As long as folks can afford to play there, Riley doesn’t see an issue with the complex and expressed excitement at the idea of Kuna teams winning games on their home turf.

Troy Croghan, chief executive officer at True Gritt Youth Sports, estimated that the facility would bring 100 jobs to Kuna.

“We’re all sports dads,” Croghan said. “We’re not some big corporation that’s trying to come and make a bunch of money on this project, in fact, we’re doing it as a nonprofit.”

Before the complex can begin the construction process, a number of steps need to be taken including a rezoning of the application in a public hearing process; a traffic impact study completed by the Idaho Transportation Department and Ada County Highway District; the submission of a subdivision application and infrastructure plans; installation of infrastructure; a design review application; and building permits.

McMenomey estimated that work could be completed by the end of the year, depending on what sponsorships and funds are collected.

According to Hall, if all goes well the sports complex could be built in two-to-three years. Once construction has started, McMenomey estimates the facility could be built in 18 months — a number he says he’s received from several local construction companies.

“Kuna has a large and growing youth population and this complex would allow for a positive outlet for our local youth, as well as for youth across the Treasure Valley,” Hall said. “The complex would provide a location for family fun, and would be a destination for tournaments; the increase of tourism to Kuna would bring new businesses and strengthen our local economy.”

All of this began for McMenomey in 2023, when he was at a Christian business mastermind event. One of the exercises was to pray and ask where God sees you in 20 years, McMenomey said.

“I reluctantly did, and I heard two words: youth sports,” he said. “That’s when I saw a youth sports complex and I was pretty shocked, because I hadn’t seen anything like that before.”

After doing some digging after the conference, McMenomey said he found similar facilities on the East coast. He then had a sports facilities company do a feasibility study, just to see if the Treasure Valley could support a youth sports facility. The study found that the valley could handle two facilities, he said. That’s when McMenomey began looking for land.

After meeting with several cities, McMenomey found a match with Kuna. He brought it to the city’s economic development team in 2024.

Now, McMenomey is fundraising and looking for big businesses that may be interested in sponsoring the facility and potentially getting naming rights with a sponsorship. Once 50% of the funds are raised — $60 million — McMenomey says he’ll be ready to break ground on the project.

The ultimate goal, McMenomey said, is to create a place for kids to come and play sports, whether it be for tournaments, competition or just fun.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – The Grant Beach Neighborhood Association is making youth sports leagues more affordable for families. Saturday was also declared ‘Neighborhood Youth Sports Day’ in Springfield.

“We just love to see kids out here that are able to have the opportunity to play sports. For a lot of families, it’s hard with the price range that sports are,” said Grant Beach Neighborhood Association President Jamie Tatum. “We have families with several kids that tell us, ‘We cannot do this if we didn’t have a sports league.’”

Janice Ellison with the Grant Beach Neighborhood Association said it’s only $10 per child for the whole soccer season.

“Several that we knew were single parents with multiple children. If you have multiple children and it’s $30 a kid to play, that makes it very cost prohibited to have your children participate in sports,” Ellison said.

Zone 1 City Councilwoman Monica Horton also presented a mayoral proclamation declaring May 10th as ‘Neighborhood Youth Sports Day’ in the City of Springfield.

If you’d like to sign your kid up for the upcoming summer baseball leagues, you can contact the association directly and also ask them about volunteer opportunities.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

Copyright 2025 KY3. All rights reserved.

TULSA, Okla. — A car crash on May 4 took the lives of eight people, including four members of a traveling youth basketball team based in Green Country.

On May 10, almost a week after this tragedy, the rest of the Oklahoma Chaos honored them by playing in a tournament.

2 News Oklahoma listened to the Chaos about remembering them and coming together to overcome this significant loss, not just as a team, but as a family.

The team had four big shoes to fill on Saturday: those of players Kyrin “Ace” Schumpert, 14, and Donald “DJ” Laster, 14, and those of coach Jaimon Gilstrap, 33, and former coach Wayne Walls, 41.

KJRH

The four other people who died were in the other car.

Walls’ 15-year-old son was the sole survivor of the crash in Kansas. He is also a player on the team.

“It’s been a difficult week,” Timothy Bezenah, who stood in for Gilstrap and Walls, told us.

KJRH

“Ace and DJ never shy away from a fight,” he also said. “They would’ve been out there four and oh. And that’s why we want to go this weekend, for them.”

Point guard Cameron Treadway told us, “It’s been a lot ’cause our coaches … they meant a lot to us, you know, they really believed in all of us. … And then our teammates, obviously, [we] loved them very much. And they really cared about us too. They believed in us also.”

KJRH

“This is why you play sports,” Bezenah emphasized. “It’s to be connected to other people. You’re not walking through life on your own.”

He told 2 News Ace, DJ, and Gilstrap are especially why Treadway and Rylan Watson returned to play for the Chaos this season.

“The love for the game is just crazy,” Treadway said about his passion for basketball. “It’s like a way out of like problems, trouble, and all that.”

Watson told us he loves the competitiveness of the game. He said what’s been on his mind the past week is to just “keep on going” and “keep on working.”

KJRH

“Ever since I met them, they’ve been family,” said Watson. “So, it really hurt. … So, you just gotta take it all out on whatever sport you’re playing.”

When asked if he thinks their family is stronger now, he replied, “Yeah, absolutely. Stronger than what it was at the start of the season. It just lit a fire for us to go. It gave us a ‘why’ to play the game. That’s really what it did.”

Watson said not to take family for granted.

“I talked to [them] five minutes before they all passed,” he recalled. “So really, his last words was, ‘I love you and be safe and make it, lemme know when you make it home.’ Soon as I went home, I called him.”

“So, just spend time with your loved ones,” he added. “Don’t take it for granted. And then, just enjoy life while it lasts.”

KJRH

The Chaos wound up winning their first game at the tournament. Afterward, they and their supporters huddled up, listened to Bezenah and one of the parents speak, all hugged each other, and then the team put their hands in the middle.

On the count of three they chanted “Chaos,” and on the count of six they yelled “Family.”

Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere —

– Advertisement –

On Tuesday, April 22, approximately 85 students from Weeki Wachee, Central and Hernando High Schools, along with Winding Waters K-8, came together in a Special Olympics tournament. The students ranged in age from eight to 21 and have intellectual challenges, as well as autism and cerebral palsy. Their sport was basketball, and the games, complete with high-spirited cheerleaders from the Weeki Wachee High School Varsity Cheerleading squad, were as exciting as any in which I’ve watched my nephew compete in the NCAA Ivy League college games. The gym was filled with relatives and friends of the athletes, as well as their fellow students, who took part of their lunch period to cheer the athletes on.

Seventeen-year-old Marcus Creameans has been participating in Special Olympics for the past seven years. Two years ago, he won a gold medal in basketball, and in elementary school, he earned a silver medal. Besides basketball, Marcus enjoys bowling, power lifting and soccer. He’ll be graduating from Weeki Wachee High School next year. He wants to play basketball in college and study to become a wildlife biologist.

Destiny Calloway is also seventeen and has been participating in Special Olympics for six years. Besides basketball, she participates in swimming, soccer, track and field, and equestrian events.

Jessica will be graduating this year and plans to attend beauty school and study cosmetology.

Mrs. Ann McHugh, Employment Specialist with the Exceptional Student Education program at Weeki Wachee High School, was her school’s coach and one of the coordinators of the event. Coaches and coordinators from the other schools were Alexis Newberry and Paola Gines Calderon (Winding Waters); Jeanne Ledbetter and Tony Shackford (Hernando High); and Angelica Paine (Central High School).

– Advertisement –

There were four different competitions, divided up by skill levels. Beginning athletes competed in the individual events, in which they demonstrated skills such as passing, dribbling, shooting baskets and free throws. Next came team skills in which athletes played three-on-three and five-on-five. They passed the basketball to one another and attempted to score points.

The more advanced athletes played on teams in which one school played another school. Their footwork, dribbling, passing, defensive and offensive maneuvers, and shooting baskets demonstrated the hours of practice they must have put in, while their teamwork and sportsmanship demonstrated the ideals that competitive sports stand for.

Mrs. McHugh stated that the goal of the event was to “promote inclusion.” “Special Olympics tackles the stigma, isolation and injustice that individuals with intellectual disabilities face. Our students with disabilities deserve the right to participate in a sport and to have their skills celebrated,” she said.

“The most notable goal of bringing Special Olympics to Hernando County schools is that players get to learn about their teammates with different abilities. They become equal partners, and friendships develop. It goes beyond sports events; it’s to drive the changes which will enable full social participation of our students.”

Jessica Ott, a former college basketball coach, has been the West Coast regional director for Special Olympics for the past six years. She works with both children and adults. They can participate in twenty different sports, including flag football, stand-up paddleboard, gymnastics and equestrian. One of the older competitors was an 80-year-old golfer.

Athletes who win gold in their sports at the area level go on to the regional. From there, they can advance to state, national and international competitions.

She remarks that “her passion for sports and the people in general” is what brought her into Special Olympics. “Our athletes are absolutely incredible. They bring so much joy and people don’t realize the things they can accomplish. Some are very competitive.”

As with any nonprofit organization, Special Olympics is always looking for volunteers. You can volunteer on the day of an event or over a longer period of time as coaches or help organize and run events.

“It takes all of us−athletes, coaches, volunteers, families and the general public−to open our minds and hearts to our students with intellectual disabilities and to provide new opportunities for them to shine along with their peers without intellectual disabilities,” Ms. McHugh concluded.

If you know someone who qualifies for the Special Olympics, or if you’d like to volunteer, you can go to www.specialolympicsflorida.org or email [email protected] for more information.