Isi Frank Ativie

Freelance Journalist | Film Critic | Essayist | Content Writer | Photojournalist 

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Hyde Park Herald •

New coach breathes life into struggling Kenwood water polo program

Though Kenwood Academy’s boys water polo team was knocked out of the city playoffs yesterday by Whitney Young, its players and coach have a lot to be proud of. Created only four years ago, this team has shown marked improvement this season; they leapt from a meager 4-5 record last year to a 10-7 record this year, and took Kenwood the farthest it’s ever been in the water polo playoffs. This success, players say, is largely due to a new head coach at the helm. “We started doing drills, watching
Chicago Tribune •

What’s next for Libertyville’s Jackson Kern? Already co-captain, sophomore libero is ‘really unique.’

Jackson Kern’s freshman season for Libertyville was an auspicious one. The 6-foot Kern made the varsity team as libero, joining a large group of seniors a year after the Wildcats played in the state semifinals. “He stood out as somebody who could handle himself on the court,” Libertyville coach Jenny Smith recalled. Kern proceeded to lead the Wildcats with 232 digs and also had 318 serve-receives and 45 assists, and he was named an honorable mention in the North Suburban Conference. Suffice
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood and Hyde Park girls basketball coaches both named coach of the year

Andre Lewis and Corey Morgan, coaches for the rivaling girls basketball teams of Kenwood and Hyde Park Academy, go way back. More than a decade ago, before they faced each other on South Side high school courts, they actually worked together. They met during a Chicago Hoops Express practice in 2009 where Lewis was coaching. They clicked instantly: within the year, Morgan was on Lewis’ coaching staff. Today, though their teams are embroiled in a decades-long neighborhood feud, the two are close
Chicago Defender •

Dawn Staley Sets a Trailblazing Legacy for Black Women Coaches

For the third time in seven seasons, Dawn Staley, a 53-year-old Black woman from the Raymond Rosen Homes housing projects of North Philadelphia, has led her University of South Carolina Gamecocks to an NCAA national title. The former WNBA star also guided the Gamecocks to an unprecedented 38-0 record, becoming the 10th team in NCAA women’s basketball history to go undefeated. Lastly, Staley is not only the first Black head coach to help her team win three national titles but also the first Bla
Chicago Tribune •

Vernon Hills’ Ben Miller ‘wasn’t destined’ to be a dynamic player. With hard work, he has become one.

Vernon Hills’ Ben Miller gave volleyball a try with a group of friends at Hawthorn Middle School North when he was 12. He discovered it’s much different from the other sports he had played, like soccer and baseball. “I just thought it’s a sport that not many people are into,” Miller said. “I was pretty bad throughout middle school, to be honest. Looking back at it, there were definitely some guys who were significantly better than me. “We had parents who took videos of the games, and I would
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood baseball bouncing back after removal of head coach

The first three weeks of baseball season haven’t been kind to Kenwood Academy; the defending city champions are 2-6 so far, with both of those wins coming in the last week. Much of this rough start, players and Kenwood’s new head coach said, are the result of pre-season turmoil on the team. Earlier this spring, former head coach Romey Bracey, who led Kenwood to its first baseball city championship win last season, was removed suddenly due to “conflicts of interest” with Chicago Public Schools,
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood Academy boys track and field wins indoor city championship

Kenwood Academy’s boys track and field team won its second consecutive indoor city championship this month, taking gold in six events. Led by head coach Michael Runnels, the team recorded a total of 109 points; it was trailed by Whitney Young Magnet High School with 85, Lane Tech with 69, Walter Payton College Prep with 68 and Mather High School with 59. Like last season, the Broncos’ sprinters performed exceptionally well. Junior Parrish Hartley Jr. won the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.03 s
Chicago Defender •

Black NHL Player Wayne Simmonds Retires After Stellar 15-Year Career

One of professional hockey’s most accomplished Black players hangs up his skates. It is very hard to grasp that after playing in over 1,000 National Hockey League regular-season games and notching 526 career points in 15 seasons, Wayne “The Train” Simmonds recently announced his retirement. Simmonds, regarded as one of the most prominent and revered Black NHL hockey players of all time, is hanging up his skates. Black players like Simmonds give millions of hockey youth hope that they can play
Chicago Defender •

How Rane Carnegie is Continuing His Grandfather Herb Carnegie's Legacy

On Feb. 29, the Northwestern University Kellog Alumni of Chicago and Sports Business Clubs hosted a screening of the touching and heartfelt documentary “Beyond Their Years.” The film depicts the incredible stories of the baseball hall-of-famer Buck O’Neil and hockey hall-of-fame trailblazer Herb Carnegie, whom many regard as the best player never to play in the National Hockey League. Unfortunately, Carnegie passed away in 2012, and O’Neil lost his battle with bone marrow cancer six years earli
Hyde Park Herald •

Short-handed Kenwood falls to Simeon in state basketball playoffs

Kenwood Academy’s run at the state basketball playoffs is over. Down five players and three coaches due to IHSA suspensions over residency violations, the Broncos fell short to Simeon Career Academy in Wednesday’s sectional semifinal game with a final score of 58-50. Kenwood, which entered the game against its longtime rival with a large roster of underclassmen due to the suspensions, fought hard. The first quarter of the game ended with an 11-11 tie. By halftime, the Broncos held a one-point
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood girls basketball season ends with sectional championship loss

Basketball season has come to a close for Kenwood girls, who ended their state playoff run with a 50-37 loss to Nazareth Academy on Thursday. The Lady Broncos final match of the season was an intense battle: by halftime, they were down 27-23. But where Nazareth picked up momentum over the next two quarters, Kenwood lost it. Part of the loss could be attributed to the loss of two key players at Kenwood, senior forward Jamia Rufus and junior forward Diann Jackson, who were suspended from Thursda
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood boys basketball advances in state playoffs despite losing players in enrollment fraud controversy

After almost getting booted from the state playoffs, the Kenwood Academy boys basketball team defeated Oak Lawn High School in Friday’s regional championship match with a final score of 60-54. The game happened just a day after the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) reversed its decision to bar Kenwood from the playoffs over an investigation revealing enrollment fraud among several of its student-athletes. Instead of banning the entire team, the IHSA ruled that Kenwood could continue in th
Hyde Park Herald •

After Kenwood girls basketball state playoff win, brawl breaks out on court

After a devastating city championship loss earlier this month, the Kenwood Academy girls basketball team rebounded with a 57-52 state playoff win against Whitney Young on Tuesday. But the win was short-lived: as players prepared to shake hands, a sudden physical altercation between a player from each team devolved into a court-wide brawl involving players and parents. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fight is unknown. Kenwood head coach Andre Lewis declined to comment on the inciden
Block Club Chicago •

'Hockey On Your Block' Gets Kids Of Color On The Ice

IRVING PARK — Every Sunday afternoon at McFetridge Sports Center, kids in hockey gear step onto the massive sheet of ice — many for the first time — to learn the coolest game on Earth. Annelise Quander is among them. The 10-year-old Avondale resident has taken figure skating lessons for a few years, but after hearing about a classmate who’d played hockey since kindergarten, Annelise wanted in. “Halfway through her figure skating classes, she asked, ‘So when do we get the stick?’” said Annelise
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood girls and boys basketball teams fall short in city championship

After two hard-fought games, Kenwood Academy’s boys and girls basketball teams were both defeated in the city championship on Saturday. The Lady Broncos took the court at Credit Union 1 Arena first on Feb. 10, losing 68-60 against the Whitney Young Dolphins. A close game until the end, it was the third consecutive year the Lady Broncos took second place in the Chicago Public League to the Dolphins. The game started off strong for the Lady Broncos: By halftime, Kenwood was up 30-25. But the Lad
Chicago Defender •

Why This Era Of Black Quarterback Excellence Is Here To Stay

In 1937, Wilmeth Sidat-Singh became one of the first documented African-American quarterbacks in NCAA history. His emergence in college football would eventually inspire and encourage many others to pursue the position, which is unequivocally the most revered in the sport. The prototypical Black quarterback displays impeccable lateral movement while accelerating sublime speed with the ball as if they’re an aggregation of a running back and wide receiver. It’s the utter opposite of how many Whi
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood girls trump Hyde Park for spot in city basketball championship tomorrow

For the third consecutive year, Kenwood’s Lady Broncos will face off against Whitney Young for the city basketball title tomorrow. Saturday’s Chicago Public League championship game comes after Kenwood’s hard-fought semifinal defeat of Hyde Academy on Wednesday, with a final score of 69-41. The first three minutes of the Feb. 7 match-up were a frenzy of bodies flying around the court; players from both mid-South Side teams often collided with the scores table and each other. Lady Thunderbirds
Hyde Park Herald •

Pick-up hockey on the Midway Plaisance

On any given Sunday in the winter, hockey enthusiasts from around the South Side trek to the Midway Plaisance Ice Rink for a morning of friendly but fierce scrimmages. “It’s a lot of fun,” said Rolando Bonachea, a Ph.D. student who lives a few blocks away from the rink. The only goalie at Sunday's session, he added, “I try to come out maybe two or three times a year to actually play outside here at the outdoor rink … It’s hockey in its original form.” Among the dozen players on the ice that da
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood names Chris Goffer as new head football coach

Chris Goffer, a former professional arena football player and longtime assistant high school coach, is getting his shot at leading a team next fall. Last week, Goffer was named the new head football coach for Kenwood Academy. He’s replacing outgoing coach Sinque Turner, who is widely credited as turning the team into a Chicago Public League powerhouse. “First off, it feels amazing,” said Goffer. “It's been a long time coming for me to be a head coach … I'm ready to get after it with this team.
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood boys basketball bests Hyde Park in neighborhood showdown

A little under a week away from the start of the city’s conference matchups, boys basketball teams from Hyde Park Academy and Kenwood Academy faced off in a tense, neck and neck game. This time, it was Kenwood that came out on top with a 64-51 score. “It was a rivalry game,” said Irvin of the Jan. 18 match. “With these games, it’s always going to be a battle.” Noting Hyde Park’s upset over Kenwood last year, Thunderbirds head coach Jerrel Oliver said of Kenwood, “they were really amped up abou
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