The Hope Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast Alan Babbitt

On the season’s final episode of the Hope Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast, four Hope College student-athletes joined Sports Information Director Alan Babbitt to discuss their service-filled and life-changing SEED trips this summer.







Senior Libby Strotman, senior Madeline Tessin, junior David Brace and junior David Hesselbein each took part in a Sports Evangelism to Equip Disciples (SEED) mission trip.







The program annually provides opportunities for Hope student-athletes to serve in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Uganda, and Zambia.







Hope students will utilize their passion for sport to share the love of Christ with individuals around the world.







Through participating in the SEED program, students will be intentionally challenged to use their experiences to sow the seed and water the harvest so that the Good News of Jesus Christ takes root in their lives as it is shared worldwide.







Central America







Hesselbein (Barrington, Illinois / Barrington Community HS) is a goalie for the Flying Dutchmen. The physical and health education major traveled to Costa Rica.







“We were partnered with an organization called Push the Rock,” Hesselbein said. “For the first half of the trip, we did mostly sports camps and a lot of ministry in schools and prisons. The second half of the trip, we went into more tribal areas, less populated and a little bit more off the grid. That's when we started partnering with Sawyer (Products) to bring water filters to provide clean water for people who didn't have a source of clean water. That was really cool, too.”







Tessin (Waxhaw Ridge, N.C. / Marvin Ridge) is a swimmer for the Flying Dutch. The exercise science major went to the Dominican Republic.







“We worked with a ministry called Go Ministries and they work specifically through sports and church planting,” Tessin said. “While we were there, we traveled around a lot to different communities. We did a basketball practice with one group, then we just played with kids with another. Daniel mentioned the water filters, and we did those near Haiti.”







Africa







Stratman (Park Ridge, Illinois / Maine Township) competes in throwing events on the track and field team. The physical and health education major traveled to Zambia.







“We served the people in Choma, then the two surrounding communities. While we were there, we ran a three-day sports camp,” Strotman said. “We also had a day of service where we built a softball field, which was super cool, and then got to play on it with other people in the community. We partnered with a group called Poetice, which has a lot of Hope history, and was really cool to work with.”







Brace (Plymouth, Michigan / Plymouth) is a midfielder for the Flying Dutchmen lacrosse team. The business major went to Uganda.







“We went to southern Uganda and worked there with Sports Outreach, which brings in children from neighboring communities and teaches the ministry through sports,” Brace said. “We were holding sports camps, and then we’d go into communities in that area and deliver the Sawyer water filters as well. We also went to northern Uganda and it was a little more rural. We gave away a lot of those water filters. It was a great experience. We're so thankful that Sawyer and Sports Outreach took us in with open arms.”







Read a transcript of the interview.

Heleyna Tucker







Ana Tucker







Sisters Ana and Heleyna Tucker reflected on their memorable run as Hope College student-athletes and teammates during the latest episode of the Hope College Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast.







The former cross country and track team champions spoke with Sports Information Director Alan Babbitt about their unique family bond as part of a set of triplets, their different educational pursuits and their shared passion for running.







Both Midland, Michigan, natives graduated from Hope College in May. They are now pursuing post-graduate studies and living apart for the first time in their lives.







Ana is working on her doctorate in physical therapy at Grand Valley State University while also running competitively for the NCAA Division II Lakers. The exercise science major at Hope posted 11 NCAA All-America efforts over three sports during her Flying Dutch, including in each of the cross country, indoor track and outdoor track seasons as a senior.







Heleyna is studying applied statistics in graduate school at the University of Michigan. The mathematics major joined Ana in helping the Flying Dutch win four MIAA titles in cross country and three apiece in indoor and outdoor track and field.







Accomplished Family







Their brother, Charles, recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in computer science. He now works for the United States Department of Defense.







“We all have different personality traits and over time, I think we really just learned how to balance each other out, "Each other strengths would fill each other's weaknesses. That bond is really noticeable. When Heleyna and I went to Hope, it was very noticeable that Charles was away and that there wasn't that balance.  Now, Heleyna and I are going to separate schools, to separate grad programs. It's definitely noticeable that we're apart. Charles actually started running too and he's doing quite well. We go on triplet runs sometimes together.”







The Tucker sisters also expressed their gratitude for their time at Hope College and all the different people who supported them, taught them and coached them.







“I bet we would both say Norty, our head cross country coach,” Heleyna said, mentioning Mark Northuis, Hope College’s head cross country coach and distance coach for track and field. “He's definitely been someone to shape us and talk to us if we're struggling. He helps us in any other aspect because going to college is a big transition is not having your family there. You don't have your parents to talk to and I feel like your coach kind of becomes like that, an adult figure for you to talk to you if you have an issue. They kind of know if something is wrong. You walk in and can just tell. 







“I'd say, all the math professors have been such amazing influences on me. I mean to name one, I remember in my freshman year I took a Calc 2 class with Aaron Cinzori. He just really impacted me my freshman year and made me really want to pursue being a math major and look more into that in the future. All the math faculty, they’re amazing.”







Read a written transcript of the interview.

During a recent jog, Hope College men’s soccer coach David Blahnik listened to the “Revisionist History” podcast episode that explored the vision, impact and potential of the college’s “Hope Forward” initiative.







David Blahnik, Hope College men's soccer head coach







In the segment, titled “A Good Circle”, best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell spoke with Hope College President Matthew A. Scogin regarding the college’s revolutionary approach to removing tuition as a barrier for access to college while building generosity and community along the way.







Scogin’s words during the episode resonated, Blahnik said, and provided inspiration for the Flying Dutchmen soccer program as well.







“He talked about the idea of running towards challenges and that really resonated with me. I was laughing. I was actually running while I was listening,” Blahnik said earlier this month while recording the latest episode of the Hope Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast. 







“I like the idea of we wan our program to be something where you're running towards the challenges: on the field, off the field, in the locker room, and all those other areas I thought about, so when somebody leaves here as a Hope grad, they really are able to go and, in a sense, conquer whatever they want to conquer in their life going forward.”







Blahnik is heading into his second season leading the Flying Dutchmen. His team reports to campus on Friday, Aug. 19, to begin preparations for the 2023 season opener on Friday, September 1, against Ohio Wesleyan University at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is 6 p.m.







Hope is aiming to challenge for an MIAA regular-season title after finishing runner-up last season in the standings and the league tournament. The Flying Dutchmen went 7-5-6 overall.







Soccer: A Life's Passion







On the Hope Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast, Blahnik talks about this season’s schedule, his coaching staff and what to expect from the Flying Dutchmen.







Blahnik also chats about his journey to Hope College, including how he decided between two sports he loved playing — soccer and baseball, and his time as a student-athlete and head men’s soccer coach at his alma mater, Olivet Nazarene University, near Chicago. 







Off the field, Blahnik balances coaching soccer at a high level with being a loving husband and father of two sons, ages 9 and 4. His wife, Karlynn, is a local kindergarten teacher, so the month of September is an extremely busy one for his family.







“It’s difficult but awesome to be a college head coach and have a family,” Blahnik said. “You spend a lot of time with others, but at the same time, my 9-year-old thinks it’s the coolest thing in the world to be around the guys. My son’s over at Hope Tennis Academy right now during their summer season with my niece and my 4-year-old is watching. We love the community.







“We want our kids to go to Hope, whether I am working here or not, so when the opportunity arose (to coach here) it was a no-brainer for us. We’ll figure it out. I don't think any head coach who's married has the perfect way of doing it, but we try to make the most of it for us.”







Read a written transcript of the interview.

Delaney Wesolek’s daily calendar fills up quickly as a Hope College swimmer and nursing student. Time is precious as a student-athlete with early-morning practices, classes or clinicals during the day, afternoon practices, and evening homework or relaxation.







Delaney Wesolek







Maximizing all of the opportunities, Wesolek handles daily tasks at an extremely high level. In April, the senior from Bay City, Michigan (John Glenn HS) was named the 2023 Hope College Be Strong. Be True. Female Athlete of the Year. One month earlier, Wesolek competed on relays at the NCAA Division III Championships and helped the Flying Dutch finish 10th in the nation.







Wesolek recently joined the Hope College Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast, along with head swimming and diving coach Jake Taber, to talk about what it is like to be a Division III student-athlete at Hope.







In addition to swimming and studying, Wesolek has been involved with Dance Marathon at Hope, an annual fundraiser for the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, and helped start Team 43, a support group for Hope student-athletes that focuses on mental health.







"Old school" time management







How does Wesolek keep on top of everything? 







“For me, I would say I'm kind of old school in how I do my time management. My paper planner is my best friend, and I rely on it so much,” Wesolek said. “It definitely keeps me in line. I hold myself accountable by making my schedule. 







“I'm a big list person as well. That's something that (Coach) Taber can even talk about whenever we have little meetings, I come in, I have my list and he's like, ‘All right, what's on the list? Let's just get to it.’ That's just kind of how I roll because I love crossing things off and just working off my list and using my planner and that's something that I did do in high school,” Wesolek said. “I would say when I got to the college level, it was definitely an adjustment itself with a different class schedule. That's different than what high school was but also just unique training schedules as well. That was definitely new and I had to learn how to navigate my time and how I manage that.”







Taber was thrilled to see Wesolek chosen as one of two Be Strong. Be True. Athletes of the Year. Football’s Dan Romano was the male recipient.







“For me, it's funny to hear Delaney say how shocked she was. I wasn't,” Taber said. “The experience that, we and our coaching staff have had working with her every day for the last three years is that she embodies what it means a Christian student-athlete. She's involved in her community. She continues to excel at a very high level. 







“She gets it done in the pool, on campus, in the community, and she isn't just involved in these things. I mean she's got leadership roles and she has a tremendously high impact in everything that she's involved with. When you look at what we're about, from a student-athlete standpoint here at Hope College, I can't think of a better representative than Delaney.”







Read a written transcript of the interview.

The Hope Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast has returned this summer for a third season with a special series of interviews with Hope College student-athletes, administration and staff. 







Kevin Wolma







For the season’s third episode, sports information director Alan Babbitt sits down with Kevin Wolma, Hope College’s Assistant Athletic Director for Student Wellness and Compliance.







In this new role, Wolma will be advocating for and leading programs which will benefit the comprehensive wellness of Hope College student-athletes, while also supporting coaches and staff in their efforts to have a transformational impact. 







“The wellness piece is a little bit new as far as a titled position,” Wolma said. “We do a lot of great things for student-athletes here at Hope College. The role is about tying a lot of that into one space and having somebody that will be working with different partnerships on campus and with our coaching staff to ensure that student-athlete experience for them, to provide the resources that they need, whether it's social, emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical wellness.







“We've got a lot of pieces already on campus. It is just exciting to tie into that and create this mental health experience, an overall wellness experience, for them that will be transformational for the student-athletes when they leave Hope.”







A Career in Education and Wellness







Prior to joining Hope Athletics, Wolma worked for two years as Associate Director of Admissions at Hope and for 25 years in education as a teacher, a coach and an administrator.







Wolma served as athletic director for Hudsonville Public Schools for 10 years from 2011 to 2021. He taught secondary health and physical education at Hudsonville from 1997 through 2011. 







He also coached three varsity sports at Hudsonville: girls golf from 2009 to 2011, boys basketball from 2000 to 2006, and girls tennis from 1997 to 2002. He also coached varsity boys basketball at Caledonia from 1997 to 2000. 







Wolma started his career in education at Roscommon, where he taught secondary science for one year.







While new to athletics administration in college, Wolma is well-versed in what Hope has to offer. He and his wife, Gina, have three children who attend Hope. Jordan and Kayla, twin brother and sister, will be seniors at Hope this fall, while Kelsey will be a freshman.







Read a written transcript of the interview.

The Hope Athletics Orange and Blue Podcast has returned this summer for a third season with a special series of interviews with Hope College student-athletes, administration and staff. 







For the summer’s second episode, sports information director Alan Babbitt sits down with Angelique Gaddy-McElveen, Hope College’s Assistant Athletic Director of Philanthropy.







Angelique Gaddy-McElveen







In this new role, Gaddy-McElveen leads Athletics’ philanthropy efforts in collaboration with the college's Philanthropy and Engagement Division.







This strategic partnership will allow Athletics to broaden and strengthen its commitment to providing a transformational experience where student-athletes can thrive academically and athletically through programs focused on their holistic development and preparing them for lives of leadership and impact.







“I did a lot of listening, then also pulled into some efforts that we had already started over the last year,” Gaddy-McElveen said of her work as Assistant Athletic Director of Philanthropy since January when she started. “When I wasn't in this role yet, last October, we started corporate sponsorships for athletics that was headed by Keagan Pontius, women's lacrosse coach. We worked very closely together. We also have our Orange and Blue Fund; that's headed by Dan Osterbaan. The three of us do a lot of things regarding annual giving and corporate sponsorships. 







“I was brought on to lead those efforts to put more synergy behind the direction of them altogether, acting as one. I'll be working more so with some of those major gifts and cultivating those relationships of how can we really pair, whether it's parents, alumni, fans, friends of the college, how can we pair what their passions are, their desires for student-athletes, coaches, programming, and make that a real opportunity for those different areas on campus.”







Hope-Full History







Prior to joining the Hope Athletics administration, Gaddy-McElveen served on the college’s admissions team for three years and was responsible for admissions recruitment in the Chicagoland area and seven schools in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Most recently, she taught a first-year seminar titled “Mamba Mentality and Motivation”. She serves as a first-year advisor.







In 2019, Gaddy-McElveen earned her Master’s degree in Sport Management from Western Michigan University. In 2017, she graduated from Hope with bachelor’s degrees in business and communication.







After graduating from Hope, Gaddy-McElveen worked as a compliance specialist at Grand Valley State University for two years.







At Hope, Gaddy-McElveen was a standout student-athlete on the women’s basketball team that posted a 103-11 overall record over four seasons.







The Flying Dutch made four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances and claimed three MIAA titles between 2014 and 2017. A guard, Gaddy-McElveen received All-MIAA First Team honors as a junior and All-MIAA Second Team honors as a senior. She was elected team captain as a senior and junior.







Read a written transcript of the interview.