Sports at diocesan Catholic schools offer opportunities for fellowship, competitive fun

The U.P. Catholic

For many students, athletics are a particular highlight of their years in school. The Catholic schools in the Diocese of Marquette are no different, offering students the opportunity to enjoy fellowship and healthy competition with their peers. “Athletics and clubs in our Catholic schools inspire students to grow in discipline, teamwork, and character, rooted in faith,” said Dr. Jessica Betz, diocesan director of Catholic schools. “These programs shape not only skilled athletes, but also virtuous individuals prepared to serve others.”

New to Sacred Heart Catholic School (SHCS) is a track and cross-country team which was started in 2024. To date, the team has participated in eight meets.
Three students at Sacred Heart have begun taking high school classes via remote instruction, which led to the creation of the cross-country team. “The cross-country team arose out of our new high school. We have a ninth grade student who is a runner, and we’ve been looking for a way to start a sports program at Sacred Heart,” explained Christy Miron, principal of SHCS.
“The husband of one of our school advisory committee members has a long history of coaching cross-
country and volunteered to coach our athletes and fill the role of athletic director. But he had a vision; rather than starting just a high school team, he was interested in building a program. So, we opened the program up to middle schoolers as well as high school students,” said Miron.
Due to some students at Sacred Heart coming from as far away as 50 miles, practice was held once weekly for all athletes, with students receiving a schedule for practicing at home for the rest of the week. Practices were held twice weekly for the high school runners, also with a schedule for home practice.
“We saw so much hard work and dedication from our students. They were proud to sport our Cardinals uniforms and represent our school, and they were motivated to do well in the meets,” said Miron. “There was so much enthusiasm after the first meet that four additional students joined the eight who had started.”

St. John Paul II Catholic Academy in Menominee offers students a well-rounded athletic club to participate in. The club was started in 2024 by Sarah Windbiel, a parent volunteer. The groups in the club are “Sports for Shorties,” for those in pre-K through kindergarten, and “Sports for Little Saints,” for students in first through third grade. Throughout the year, the club holds sports camps once a week for six weeks.
Students participate in a different sport every six weeks. Some of the sports students can participate in include soccer, flag football, basketball, tennis, and floor hockey. Additional sessions of each sport are also offered for older students who are interested, as well as extra open gym times twice a month. For parents and staff, free monthly dance workout classes are offered.
New this year for the school is the St. John Paul II running club, which was made possible thanks to a grant from Provident Health Foundation. “The idea of a student running club was born from a desire to build fitness and community among our students,” said Michael Muhs, principal of the school. “Most of the kindergarten through seventh grade students did not have a great deal of athletic experience and run fitness translates to fitness in so many youth sports.”
The grant funds have helped support healthy snacks at weekly running sessions and wristwatch GPS activity trackers for the first 40 students that signed up for the club. Students that committed to regular participation also received properly fitted running shoes and a club tee shirt. In addition, the grant also supports modest coach stipends.
“Members have already participated in several local community runs through our local Tri-City Event Series and have been invited to participate in the Bellin Run in Green Bay in June and the Jim Hodge Memorial Run in August,” Muhs said. “We would like to give interested students an opportunity to race track this spring and field a cross-country team in the fall.”
Muhs added, “Whether running outside through the winter or on a local community indoor track, our kids love the camaraderie. It’s great to see them encouraging each other and growing a positive relationship with healthy activity.”

In Sault Ste. Marie, St. Mary Catholic School (SMCS) has formed a new middle school boys basketball team that will allow students to enjoy games against other U.P. schools.
Maria Farney, principal of St. Mary, described the way that everything fell into place as miraculous. She explained that the local public schools will welcome students from SMCS all the way through sixth grade to play in intramural basketball. Unfortunately, seventh and eighth graders were unable to try out for the interscholastic public school team due to concerns of space on the roster, which led to the idea of creating a seventh grade team at St. Mary.
“Some parents put their heads together,” Farney said. “And now we have a good core group.” One parent, Mike Heyboer, took up the mantle of the team’s honorary athletic director, and connected with other athletic directors around the U.P. to organize a season of games against schools in Brimley, St. Ignace, and Rudyard, amongst others. Calvin Swedene, an alumnus of SMCS, took up the role of coach for the team, whose first game was Jan. 18.
Farney said that an anonymous donor came to her and said they wanted to help the program financially. “The numbers were peeling off the old jerseys. Out of nowhere came a donor and he said, ‘I want to help purchase new uniforms,’” Farney said. As a result of the donation, the team now has new uniforms for their games. Another anonymous donor contributed $1,000 toward the program.
A parent helped repair the scoreboard prior to the game, as the school had been facing difficulties with a remote control that operates the scoreboard.
“It’s been great to see how God has closed one door and opened an even better one,” said Farney. “Everybody’s happy; there’s big smiles on the boys’ faces.”
For more information about Catholic schools in the diocese, visit dioceseofmarquette.org/catholic-schools.