Kickoff Kids 2009 winners

November 14 game

Alexandria Knight of the Karcher Middle School in Burlington stands with her family on the field of Camp Randall Stadium on November 14 during the WEAC Kickoff Kids partnership with University of Wisconsin.

Student's Name: Alexandria Knight
Student's School: Karcher Middle School, Burlington

Reason:
Alexandria is a caring and responsible student who sets a good example for her peers to follow. She was recently nominated by her peers to be student council advisor and often volunteers her time to help with community-based events and projects that focus on helping others in need. Alexandria is also involved in volleyball and cross-country and participates in school musicals. She would be very deserving and honored to be a Kickoff Kid!

Nominator: Penny Yanke
Nominator's Relationship to the Student: Teacher/mother

October 31 game

Kickoff Kid Ashley Alter of Trevor stands on the field of Camp Randall Stadium with WEAC President Mary Bell, her teacher William Wald, and her parents Jerry and Ruth Anne.

Ashley Alter is no stranger to a football field, and when the speakers at Camp Randall Stadium played a pre-game song from the Black Eyed Peas on Saturday, October 31, the 13-year-old cheerleader from Trevor couldn’t help but start some dance moves, even just to ward off the blast of cold air swirling on the field.

“I’ve been around football for a while,” said Ashley, an eighth-grader at Trevor Grade School who is on the cheerleading squad for her county youth football program. “But this is really cool.”

Ashley is the sixth Kickoff Kid in the partnership between the University of Wisconsin and WEAC. During Saturday’s 37-0 blowout of Purdue, Ashley was on the field for player warm-ups and introductions, ran out onto the field after the opening kickoff, and waved to the crowd on the scoreboard during the first quarter.

William Wald, Ashley’s teacher in Trevor, said he nominated her for the Kickoff Kids contest because Ashley is very involved in virtually all aspects of schools. In addition to succeeding academically, Ashley plays softball, cheers for basketball and football, and uses her study hall and free time to help tutor third-grade students in reading.

Ashley also is a member of her school’s Student Leadership Council, plays in the school band, is a member of the chorus, is a leader in Art Club, and helps the school begin each day by reading the morning announcements with other students.

“She’s always setting a good example for other students,” Wald said. “It’s students like her that make you feel the rewards of teaching.”

Wald said Ashley’s family is also dedicated to the school’s mission, and it’s not uncommon to see her entire family involved in or organizing activities that benefit others within the school and the community.

“They’re always the first ones to say, ‘What can we do to help,’” Wald said.

October 17 game

Justin Biege, 9, of Janesville, stands on the sideline of Camp Randall Stadium with an Adams Elementary School Eagle peeking out of his jacket. Joining him in the Kickoff Kid event are his third-grade teacher Donna Erickson, his grandmother Vonnie Shea, and his parents Tom and Karen Biege.

Waiting on the sideline before the Badgers’ game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, October 17, Justin Biege of Janesville held a stuffed toy of his school’s mascot, an Adams Elementary School Eagle. It was a show of local spirit that caught the attention of Barry Alvarez, University of Wisconsin’s athletic director and former football coach.

“What’s that you got in there,” Alvarez asked, pointing to the stuffed animal’s head peeking out of Justin’s jacket. “That’s not a Hawkeye is it?”

Alvarez laughed and posed with a quick photo with Justin, 9, while Tom Biege, Justin’s father, explained the Janesville school’s mascot.

Holding that Adams eagle was good luck for Justin, if not the Badgers, who lost 20-10 to the Hawkeyes. Justin, who has a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome, rushed out in front of crowded Camp Randall Stadium to grab the opening kick tee in the WEAC-UW Kickoff Kids partnership.

Going onto the field, grabbing the tee, meeting Alvarez – these were just the latest acts Justin has faced and worked hard to achieve.

“He’s just a wonderful young man,” said Donna Erickson, Justin’s teacher last year at Adams when he was in third grade.

Karen Biege, Justin’s mother and a fifth-grade teacher at Adams, nominated Justin to be a WEAC Kickoff Kid because has made great strides, going “from not knowing how to ask peers to play with him to having many positive relationships in and outside of his school life.”

“Justin is my inspiration and hero. He has overcome many obstacles with the caring help of his family and numerous educational professionals,” she added. “I am so proud of my son and the gains he has made as a student and big brother. He climbed the difficult wall of learning how to read and comprehend fluently last year and has made huge efforts this year to focus and concentrate in a classroom with 29 other students. Even though Justin has sensory and auditory sensitivities and at times is confused by social interactions, he never gives up or gives in to his disorder.”

In tackling the Kickoff Kid event, Justin and his family researched the duties ahead of time.

“We bought a tee for practice and we watched videos on what to do,” Karen Biege said, adding that the staff at Adams has been “very compassionate” in helping Justin succeed at school.

“He’s had a lot of things he’s had to work through. The support from his school has been exceptional, from kindergarten through the fourth grade,” she added. “He works hard every day.”

September 26 game

Bailey Zak of Sturgeon Bay stands with her father, Troy, and mother, Connie, at Camp Randall on September 26.

Bailey Zak, 13, of Thomas J. Walker Middle School in Sturgeon Bay, may be the youngest in her family, but on September 26 she was able lay claim to a number of firsts.

The University of Wisconsin’s home game against Michigan State was Bailey’s first Badger football game. She was the first in her family to go onto the field at Camp Randall and the first girl chosen to be a Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) Kickoff Kid.

“This is excellent,” Bailey said. “I am the only kid in my family (of three) who never got to a Badger game and then this happens.”

Her brother, Sean, 17; and parents, Connie and Troy Zak, were on the sidelines with Bailey before the kickoff.

“The boys never got to the field and she does it her first time at a Badger game. She did it right,” Troy Zak said. “She’s a good kid. This was a great opportunity for the family.”

September 19 game

Student's Name: Lucas Jagodzinski
Student's School: P.J. Jacobs Jr. High School, Stevens Point

Reason:
Lucas is one of the most optimistic, polite, and hardworking students I have ever had the privilege to work with as a teacher. He is an avid sports fan and does all of the above with a significant vision disability. He never complains, asks for special privileges, or uses his disability to get out of work. He is a great friend to all of his fellow classmates, and is willing to help at any time. His parents have done a phenomenal job in raising Lucas to be an outstanding young man!

Nominator: Lynn Crosby
Nominator's Relationship to the Student: 6th grade teacher

September 12 game

Monte, Caleb, Brenda and Jacob Fernholz on the field with WEAC Vice President Guy Costello before the September 12 Badgers football game.

He had been doing it for years as manager of his brother’s high school football team, grabbing the tee after kickoffs. But this time, in front of a crowd of thousands, Caleb Fernholz got a little nervous.

“He was stunned,” said Brenda Fernholz, Caleb’s mother and a teacher who nominated him to be a WEAC Kickoff Kid. “He was so quiet.”

Caleb, of Cashton, plays tight end and defensive tackle for his junior varsity team and also plays on the basketball and baseball teams. For three years he had been a part of his brother Jacob’s football teams, making sure the tee was off the field after kickoffs. He did the same September 12 as the Badgers played Fresno State.

“We’ve teased him because he’s moving up to the college game,” said Monte Fernholz, Caleb’s father and a teacher in Cashton.

Brenda Fernholz, a teacher in Ontario, nominated Caleb to be a Kickoff Kid for his commitment to their Cashton community. In addition to volunteering as a sports team manager, Caleb has worked a concession stand for a summer recreation league as well as helping out seniors and those less fortunate. He also belongs to Teens-On-Fire, a group that participates in 30-hour famines to raise money for the hungry around the world. The group also does community projects such as yard work and painting for those in need in the community.

“He’s so deserving,” Brenda Fernholz said shortly before the September 12 game started. “It’s so neat to be down here. (Caleb and Jacob) love football.”

When Caleb was picked as a Kickoff Kid, Jacob couldn’t resist getting a joke in.

“My mom had it on the computer screen and Jake told me I hadn’t won it. He was teasing me,” Caleb said.

“He saw his name and he said, ‘Really, really!’ He couldn’t believe it,” Brenda Fernholz said.

September 5 game

	Kickoff Kid Antonio Rhames chats with WEAC President Mary Bell and teacher David Wallace on the field at Camp Randall Stadium.

WEAC's first Kickoff Kid is Antonio Rhames, 13, who is described by his former teacher, David Wallace, as "the type of citizen that our public schools work to develop each and every day."

Antonio will retrieve the kicking tee at the September 5 Wisconsin Badger football game against Northern Illinois. Antonio and his family, and his nominating teacher will receive tickets to the game and be allowed on the field to watch pregame activities. Antonio attends Savanna Oaks Middle School in the Verona Area School District.

"Antonio is a sincere kid who represents the type of person that makes teaching such a joy," Wallace said. "He has an outgoing personality and good sense of humor. He will go out of his way to help others when he can, and is not unwilling to take advantage of the help he is offered.

"Antonio is an academically curious student, particularly interested in writing and chemistry, who is willing to put in the work to get the job done. He takes a thoughtful approach to the challenges of growing up, takes responsibility when he makes mistakes, and works afterward to make things right," Wallace said.

Wallace said that Antonio's family is very supportive, which studies show is a big indicator to student success.

"I am hoping that this experience is a small reward for all the work he and his family have done to not just raise an outstanding young man, but a quality citizen leader who is an asset to our community now and into the future," Wallace said.