One bright young student represented the Mid-Ohio Valley in a statewide math competition despite several challenges he and his school have faced this year.

Henry Corcoran is an 11 year old 6th grade student at Veritas Classical Academy in Marietta and is one of the school’s students who competed at this year’s state level MathCounts competition. Despite being undoubtedly good at math, Henry said he actually… doesn’t really care for it.

“Honestly, I don’t like math,” laughed Corcoran. “The tests are stressful because they are timed and I didn’t really study that much.”

These “stressful” hour and a half long tests were part of the MathCounts competition that Corcoran qualified for earlier in the school year. Corcoran first took a school wide test that was administered to all students at Veritas where he scored high enough to take the local level test and then the regional test. After obtaining a high enough regional score, Corcoran took the statewide test on Thursday, March 25th.

Although math is not his favorite subject, Corcoran said he understands the importance of trying new things even if they may not seem easy or enjoyable at first—a character trait that his math teacher, Arielle Taylor, said the school tries to instill in its students.

“One of our virtues is fortitude and in the face of difficulty or something you don’t want to do, you do it anyway. So, there may be some things that Henry is not too excited about but he plugs on and does them anyway and that’s part of building a virtuous character for us,” Taylor said.

In addition to having to overcome his initial dislike of math, Henry also faced some challenges when he got COVID-19 this school year. “I had to stay home for two weeks and it was hard to do because when we shut down last year it was for everybody,” Corcoran said.

Due to Veritas Academy not having any computers nor the technology to support online/virtual schooling, Corcoran received packets of school work for the two weeks he was out this school year as well as packets last school year when the school shut down in March.

“Packets are easier than actually going to school but it feels kind of unorganized—especially with Latin,” Corcoran said.

“Yah, try teaching yourself Latin!” Taylor laughed.

Thankfully, Corcoran was able to recover from COVID and return to school so he could prepare for the MathCounts competition—an endeavour that both Corcoran and the entire Academy have never done before.

“This is the first time we have done this and it is a little out of the norm this year because it’s all online,” Taylor said. “Each test they take is an hour and a half long so they have been at it and at it taking these tests and the dedication has just been amazing.”

Corcoran took all tests and studied for the state exam at home on top of his already packed schedule.

“The last test was on Thursday too and Thursdays are really hard because I have to go to school and then I have violin for an hour and it takes 30 minutes to get there and 30 minutes to get back, and then I get home and I have homework to do too,” Corcoran said. “And then to take an hour and a half test and then come to school on Friday – it’s a lot,” Taylor added.

Despite Corcoran’s busy schedule, he is able to show up to school every day and put his best food forward. “Mr. Corcoran is an excellent student. He’s always participating and always knows what he’s talking about, Dr. Newman, Headmaster at Veritas.

“This achievement in particular is incredible. This is the first year and the farthest we have ever gone [in the competition] and it’s very impressive.”

Another reason Dr. Newman, Mrs. Taylor and the entire school are impressed with Corcoran is because of how young he is. “He’s very young for this competition too because it’s open to 6th, 7th and 8th graders and he’s just a 6th grader. So, he could come back and do it next year,” Taylor said.

Taylor, who suggested that the school enter the competition, said she is humbled by Corcoran’s dedication and is proud that he represented the MOV in this competition.

“We are competing against bigger schools that have competed in this for years that have practiced before school and after school. We are not only representing our little school but the entire Mid Ohio Valley—it’s such an honor,” Taylor said.

Other academic goals Corcoran hopes to achieve during his time at Veritas is to continue to compete in a different competition—the spelling bee. “I really like spelling. I was also in the regional spelling bee and I actually like spelling,” Corcoran said as his eyes lit up with pride.

Competing in multiple academic competitions, balancing extracurriculars, and overcoming COVID has proven to be challenging for Corcoran, but he has proven he can be resilient and meet the goals he and his team of educators set out to achieve.

“These kids deserve recognition. They put in the time and they are representing our little school and our community and our state,” Taylor said.

“Right, Henry?” Taylor said to the young mathematician, ‘’we are out here representing our community and we are all cheering you on.”

The post Local 6th Grade Student Represents MOV in State Level MathCounts Competition appeared first on Clutch MOV.

A local volleyball team of talented 14-year-old girls have bumped, set, and spiked their way through an extremely successful season this year. In fact, it’s been so successful that the girls are now slated to represent the Mid-Ohio Valley at the National level in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“We’ve made jokes about being the hillbillies—like, ‘you just got beat by some hillbillies,’ Taylor Karcher said as she and her teammates chuckled inside the Armory’s gymnasium in Marietta where they practice once a week. “Most of the time they have no idea where the MOV is.”

Well, thanks to Karcher and the seven other girls on Tribe 14 National Volleyball Team, part of the Tribe Volleyball Club out of Parkersburg, West Virginia, the MOV is being put on the map as the premier spot for girls volleyball. This June, the girls are heading to Vegas where they will compete against 48 of the nation’s best volleyball teams. Having a track record of dominating their opponents who have even been in older age brackets, the group is confident they will bring the heat to Vegas.

“I’ve coached a lot of kids and these girls are amazing. They are one of the best teams in the state of Ohio and you just don’t see that down here,” Coach Ron Kidder said.

“Some of the teams they play, they have thousands of kids try out and they have a lot of talent to choose from. They are big in Columbus and Cleveland—they’ve gone to Columbus and beat the best in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, all the best teams in the state of Ohio.”

Kidder, who has been coaching volleyball for 25 years and is also a coach for Marietta City Schools, said each athlete on Tribe 14 Kidder plays her position perfectly and that the young women are very “coachable”—a trait that has served them well.

“We just played a 16 tournament with teams from Cincinnati, Alabama and Kentucky all with 16 year olds and they couldn’t believe how good these kids were. They all are going to be very successful,” Kidder said as he smiled at his athletes.

The team, ranked 39th in the nation and number 1 in the region, just began to compete with each other this January. The girls are from Marietta, Beverly, Waterford, Caldwell, and Phillipi, West Virginia and recently competed in their 4^th tournament of the season in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. There, they played two levels up in the 16s division and swept every set for a championship win in the gold bracket.

When asked about how they have become so successful, the girls, like any great athletes, answered together as a team. “We have a great coach and we just play really well together,” Anna Ritter said.

“It took a lot of dedication to be where we want to be on the court and in everything that we do,” Madyson Long said. “We always keep each other’s hopes up, even if we’re behind a little bit.”

Juggling volleyball, school, and all the changes brought on by the Coronavirus posed some challenges for the team, but the girls said they found ways to be resilient.

“It was hard because you couldn’t get into the gym anywhere and work so we basically had to go at our own times,” Gwyn Lori said.

“We had to come up with something new because it wasn’t our way of working out,” Emma Middleton explained.

“You could pounce a volleyball by your house and get a volleyball net and work on your vertical a little bit,” Long added.

School also remained a top priority for these volleyball champs. “Coach always teaches us that school work is your most important thing because it’s most likely going to take you somewhere in life so I think all of us focus more on school than we do the sport,” Middleton said.

Lori added to that saying, “you have to focus a lot on what you want to do and make sure you study and get ahead of schedule.”

These hard working student athletes can now reward themselves with a trip to Vegas—an opportunity none of them have experienced before. “A lot of us were just really excited because it’s just not something we’ve ever done before. It’s crazy,” Middleton said. 

“We just want to work even harder to get there to get a higher ranking,” Long said. The team will have an opportunity to receive a higher ranking going into nationals by competing in a tournament in Columbus on April 10th and 11th. 

In addition to their hard work and dedication, the girls attribute their impressive season to their coach and their families.

“We are very grateful that we have parents that are able to drive us places, pay for everything, bring us to practice—we are just very fortunate,” Karcher said as her teammates nodded in agreement.

Tribe 14 Kidder also has the support from the community. Stoked Coffee, West Virginia Gun Company, and Greenleaf Landscapes are just a few of the businesses and people who have sponsored the team.

Anyone wanting to learn more about the Tribe Volleyball Club can visit their website and call follow Tribe 14 National Kidder on Facebook and on Twitter at @Tribe14n.

The post Local Volleyball Team to Represent the MOV on National Level appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Downtown Marietta was alive with music on Friday night as many local musicians dusted off their instruments and warmed up their vocal cords to perform for the first time since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. These live performances were all part of Marietta Main Street’s March First Friday event where the theme was Shamrock & Roll—a theme that many people embraced as they hit the shops and restaurants to listen to some of the MOV’s best musicians play some rockin’ tunes.

“It feels really nice to be able to get back out and play music for people. It’s great to see people come out and to have an organization like Marietta Main Street that brings business to not only downtown but to Harmar Village,” Nate Shahan said as he sat writing his song set outside the Busy Bee Restaurant.

Shahan, who is also a tattoo artist and on the board of Marietta Main Street, played along with his friend Jimmy Woodward at the Busy Bee, which was one of the many businesses that hosted live music for the First Friday event. The duo were one of the three sets of performers to play at the restaurant, which was the title sponsor for this month’s First Friday. The other performers included Randy Sloter and Vinnie Mele, and Sadie Johnson.

“Playing music does a lot for me personally,” Shahan said. “It helps me express things I otherwise couldn’t express. I think music is something that people are really missing right now. It was one of the first things to get shut down and it’s still one of the last things to be coming back,” Shahan said.

I think that the arts help people get through hard times—especially this pandemic that we are still experiencing.

Nate Shahan

“When the pandemic first started and people were in lock down I bet everyone was either listening to music or watching movies so I think that the arts help people get through hard times—especially this pandemic that we are still experiencing.”

Continuing to play music despite not being able to perform in front of people helped Mark Doebrich’s guitar students get through this past year as well.

“Playing music on the internet with what we had to work with is not that cool. The nice thing is that parents don’t have to drive their kids or worry about COVID-19 because we are just on our computer screens,” Doebrich, Founder and Manager of High Schools That Rock, said as his students started to set up for their performance at Jeremiah’s Coffee House.

“They light up when they get to play with other kids. It’s play, it’s fun, it’s productive and it’s good. They were able to meet each other once in December after not performing since [last] March so they get to meet each other and they are pretty fired up.”

The students, a mix of 1st graders all the way to seniors in high school, “fired up” their guitars and played an assortment of folk, blues, gospel, and classic rock songs. Once the group finished playing “Folsom Prison Blues”, by Johnny Cash, the small audience inside the coffee house rang out with applause. As for those who didn’t feel comfortable coming out in public, the group streamed the performance via Facebook Live so people could watch them in the comfort of their homes.

Doebrich, now in his 20th year as manager of High Schools That Rock, said he hopes by streaming the performance on Facebook and having people share photos of the kids performing it will help him gain more students. “I haven’t been able to do a guitar camp and recruitment has been almost impossible,” Doebrich said.”

“The kids have weathered the storm and they continue to weather the storm. They have been so resilient. Thank goodness they have been so resilient. I love working with kids and I love playing guitar,” Doebrich said as he looked with admiration at his team of young musicians beginning to warm up for their performance.

We are still asking people to be responsible but they don’t have to be hidden away anymore—let’s enjoy each other responsibly.

Jocelyn Adelsperger

Jocelyn Adelsperger, Marketing and Events Manager at Jeremiah’s Coffee House, knows how much Doebrich loves working with kids and said the coffee house was excited to provide the group the ability to showcase their talent. “Mark has done such a great job with this program and he really stepped up and filled a hole that music programs and schools might be missing these days. He’s just one guy who is loving music and loving kids,” Adelsperger said.

The goal for Jeremiah’s is to continue to have safe, socially distanced events in their side room which, according to Adelsperger, is large enough to keep 6 feet between each table.

“We are still asking people to be responsible but they don’t have to be hidden away anymore—let’s enjoy each other responsibly. The gist of this place is to take care of your neighbors and take care of your community so that’s what we just continue to preach while allowing people to have a little more freedom to celebrate events with great joy,” Adelsperger said.

“We are hoping we can build it back, and responsibly build it back to what it was. Our community in general has been promoting the small businesses and keeping the downtown alive through all of this and we are forever grateful for that. It feels like now it’s time to slowly and responsibly rebuild to what it was back in 2019 before all this hit.”

Cristie Thomas, Executive Director of Marietta Main Street, said she too is all on board with safely rebuilding Marietta to what it was pre-COVID-19. “We are planning to host our full calendar of events this year, so long as our state keeps trending in the direction we are with a decrease in COVID cases and an increase in vaccinations,” Thomas said.

“First Friday events are planned for every single month, a Cabin Fever Shop Hop is planned for March 20th, this summer we’ll host our Wine & Chocolate Walk, and we are planning to fully host our Hometown Holiday calendar which includes Loft Tours, Santa Houses, and our Merry-etta Christmas Parade. We may add another event or two or three to the calendar this year, based on if and when Governor DeWine lightens the restrictions for fairs, festivals, and parades.”

While Thomas said the coming year excites her and the Board of Directors for Marietta Main Street, she said 2020 was, “exhausting.”

“2020 was high-pressure, worrisome, and a constant balancing act for our organization. We have a staff of one (me) and a passionate, committed Board of Directors each with full-time jobs, families, and worries of their own. That being said, I could not be more proud of what we accomplished in 2020, despite the challenges we faced,” Thomas said.

The support Marietta Main Street has received from the community as a whole has, in Thomas’ eyes, made the hardships of the past year a little easier to bear. “We receive messages daily from residents and tourists sharing their appreciation for our work—even from other main street organizations across the U.S. who follow us on social media,” Thomas said.

“I think when the going gets tough, folks recognize more and more what their strongholds are and Marietta Main Street is a rock in our community.”

Next on Marietta Main Street’s calendar of events is ‘Cabin Fever Shop Hop’ which will be on Saturday, March 20th from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Small businesses in downtown Marietta will host sidewalk sales, fun promotions, special events and more to help people escape from their winter hibernation and safely welcome in the Spring season. Learn more about this event and what else is on Marietta Main Street’s calendar of events.

The post Downtown Comes Alive for March’s First Friday appeared first on Clutch MOV.