Two years ago, Kirtland sent its football, girls soccer, and boys soccer teams all to the Final Four in the same week. I’m not sure how many schools can lay claim to that.
Kirtland has the occasional wrestler go to states, but nobody has come to close to being a state champion in recent years. For spring sports, they always have a strong girls track team. The baseball team made it to regionals twice in recent years, but nothing more than that.
If I’m being honest, the girls teams are probably better than the boys teams at Kirtland overall, IMO. But the football team gets most of the recognition.
In terms of how the MAC does it, I look to the proverb, “It takes a village.” Because MAC communities are so tight-knit and connected to each other, genetics plays a role, but not THE role that makes annual success happen. Rather, it’s community buy-in, coaching, and dedication from the athletes in each village/community.
The culture that football coaches such as Chip Otten, Tim Goodwin, Geron Stokes, etc. have created in the MAC communities are second to none. The student-athletes have year-long consistent dedication towards bettering themselves. As a result, we see MAC teams churning out championships year after year after year.
While Kirtland had three final four teams in one fall sports season, I’m even more impressed at 2017 Marion Local who beat Kirtland in football, then turned around to beat Cornerstone Christian Academy (just 10 minutes or so from Kirtland) in basketball, both for state titles. Thank you to the MAC communities for setting the example of how small-school sports and communities should & ought to be.