New Bremen sports honored
NEW BREMEN — “If I was going to pick a day that I was going to have to live over and over again, I’m pretty sure I’d be OK with that day.”
Those words from Chris Schmidt, head coach of the New Bremen Cardinals football team, about the Cardinals clinching a state title back in November rang out to a gymnasium filled with student athletes, their families and community members on Monday night as the football and volleyball teams were honored with their state championship and state runners-up banners.
“Starting with getting up early and eating breakfast with these guys at the bowling alley and coming back home with the parade and fireworks,” continued Schmidt. “That was a special memory.”
Both Schmidt and volleyball coach Diana Kramer spoke during the presentation, each talking about their successful fall sports seasons.
The football team defeated Warren John F. Kennedy to win the Division VII state championship and the volleyball team battled to earn a state runner-up finish against Tiffin Calvert.
“In a year filled with so many unknowns and so much dividing our country, I feel like New Bremen came together and we’re stronger now than ever,” said Kramer. “In order to win a state championship, you need three things: talent, luck and a belief. With the belief being the most important. While we all wear different names on the back of our shirts, the Cardinal Nation continues to pull together to support the name on the front of our shirts. Thank you all for that.”
Kramer thanked many for their support during the season and credited her team for a great year.
“These girls have become like daughters to me and role models for so many. I’m so proud of them all,” she said. “While our season ended short of our ultimate goal, these girls left their mark and created so many memories to last a lifetime.”
Kramer had all the volleyball athletes — present and future — gather
at center court and she posed a question to them and those in attendance.
“What do you think about when you look at this banner behind me? What do you think about when you look at all the banners hanging in this gym?” she asked. “I think of the day 1,219 days ago when New Bremen won their first state championship. Since then, New Bremen has hung four more banners. These banners not only represent each individual team, but this entire community.”
Schmidt spoke next, highlighting the resiliency the athletes showed during an especially tough year with the uncertainty surrounding the season because of the coronavirus.
“It was a remarkable year. Just the support that we had was tremendous,” said Schmidt. “Things were really unpredictable and fortunately we were able to get a fall season and it certainly was not like any season any of us had ever been through before. We just always felt the love and the pride and support from the community and that means a lot. I just think of the resiliency they displayed all along. Whether it was a tough regular season loss in volleyball to New Knoxville or in football to Marion and Coldwater. Being able to battle back from that.”
Schmidt spoke of the significance of making it two state as it’s something that can be reflected on in the future.
“I can tell you I’m so proud of you two groups and what both of you have displayed and it’s just an awesome thing to come in this gym now and see all these cutouts up here,” Schmidt said of the championship banners. “Obviously, when you guys and girls come back to visit someday, you’ll be able to look up there and that’s something special to take pride in, especially when you think about the year that we’ve had and the uncertainties.”
Athletic Director Chad Wells shared a story about how the day before the state championship game was scheduled to take place, he and 7-12 Principal Marcus Overman were on a phone call with the OHSAA.
“The gentleman starts off the call with, ‘’I’m really sorry to do this to you at the last minute,’ and him and I looked at each other with looks of fear because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Wells joked.
The news was that the location for the game was being moved from Columbus to Massillon, nothing more and nothing less.
“It worked out well, but when Coach [Chad] Williams comes in my classroom and says, ‘Have you looked at your phone? Mr. Overman ... and Mr. Wells are trying to reach you, that usually has been a bad sign the last few months,” Schmidt said with a laugh. “Thankfully in this case, it did work out.”
Finally, Wells had two former New Bremen graduates in attendance — John Bornhorst and Richard Howell — come down to the floor as he and Schmidt presented them with state championship medals.
Bornhorst and Howell were instrumental in getting the first New Bremen football program up and running.