She said she’s always been interested in serving and that she clicked with the swim coaches there after a series of conversations. Water will definitely be a big part of Clifford’s life when she finishes up high school.Ĭlifford will swim and study at the U.S. “There’s just something about being in the water that calms me down.” Since taking up the sport, Clifford said swimming always has had a soothing effect on her, especially when some days are harder than others. “Not having her there was a big change, but I think the upperclassmen (last year) helped make that change easier.” “It was definitely very different,” Clifford said. Megan graduated after Samantha’s sophomore year, so the last two it’s been her time to be on her own and serve as a leader for the underclassmen on the squad. She just has that ‘it’ factor.”Ĭlifford said she first got into the sport mainly because her older sister Megan was doing it, and they both pushed each other growing up and when they were swimming for Seaholm together during Samantha’s freshman and sophomore years. She’s one of the best racers I’ve coached. “I’ve known her all her life,” Hodgson said. “She’s meant everything to our program,” he said.Ĭlifford started swimming when she was 5 years old and started getting coached by Hodgson competitively with her summer club team when she was 6. Hodgson said Clifford is among the top five in Seaholm’s top-times record book in half of the events. She also anchored Seaholm’s winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Individually, Clifford won the LPD2 Finals title in the 100-yard freestyle last year in a time of 51.02, and was second in the 200 freestyle. She’s been a vital part of Seaholm winning the last three Division 2 titles, and odds are decent she’ll make it 4-for-4 in terms of being on a team champion when this year’s Finals title is decided next weekend at Calvin University. Unfortunately for Hodgson and the Seaholm program, there aren’t many more days left to enjoy having such a problem.Ī standout for Seaholm since her freshman year, Clifford is about to finish her high school career as one of the all-time greats for the Maples. “It creates a lot of angst over making those decisions. Other than the breaststroke and diving, there’s really no event Clifford can’t excel at, which is giving Hodgson extra time to pause and think about lineup strategy. Follow him on Twitter.BIRMINGHAM – Even in the days leading up to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals, Birmingham Seaholm coach Karl Hodgson might not know what to do about senior Samantha Clifford.īut make no mistake, that is a good thing. He has professionally covered both the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions, as well as NFL events like the scouting combine and the Senior Bowl. Michael Schottey is an NFL Associate Editor for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Kirwin's book is extremely in-depth and will teach every fan, young and old, something about the game they've never heard before. Instead of looking at the snap, the dropback and following the ball to its destination, Kirwin shows fans the progression of the reads, the route running, the blocking and everything that happens on defense as well. Kirwin's main theme throughout the book is that there is much more to the game of football that fans simply don't pay attention to. Thankfully, his media training also makes him very accessible for the everyday fan. Furthermore, some of the better coaches of our era consider Kirwin one of the smartest men in the game. Kirwin has been a coach, personnel man and commentator, so he has a very unique view on the game.
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