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Shining North Stars

Senior Matt Hoffman, junior Heather Kahn
glow in the Raiders' firmament.

MIKE ROSENBAUM

Special to The Jewish News

T

wo of North Farming-
ton High School's top
competitors — both of
whom share a common goal —
achieved success in state tour-
nament play last month.
Matt Hoffman, basketball
team leader, helped the
Raiders win a district cham-
pionship while gymnast
Heather Kahn won the all-
around title in her regional,
then finished second in that
competition at state.
Hoffman, a senior, and
Kahn, a junior, are hoping
their performances in the
past season moved them
closer to their goal of col-
legiate athletic scholarships.
Hoffman re-wrote the
Raiders' record book as a
three-year varsity starter. His
marks include an 18 points-
per-game career scoring
average; 41 points in a home
game; 19 assists in a game,
161 in a season and 395 dur-
ing his career.
In his final season, Hoffman
averaged 20.5 points, 7.3
assists, 4.5 steals and 3.1 re-
bounds per contest. He was
both North Farmington's
most valuable player and All-
Western Lakes Conference for
the third year in a row. He
also was named to all-area
teams, first-team all county
and all-state.
Hoffman cites a late-season
game as his individual career
highlight. He led the Raiders
to a come-from-behind win
over Northville with a
25-point fourth quarter, giv-
ing him 41 for the game.
In his three years, he says,
"I matured a lot, realizing
when to shoot, when to pass
and, especially, who you're
passing to."
Hoffman's coach the past
three years, Tom Negoshian,
says Hoffman's strength is his
court sense. "There are some
kids who just see the floor bet-
ter and are capable of getting
the ball to people. It has
nothing to do with my
coaching or teaching. It's just
a talent and a gift that he
has."

Kahn, who also competes in
United States Gymnastics
Federation meets for her
private club — she was in the
USGF state finals last
weekend — says joining the
North Farmington squad last
season provided an unex-
pected dividend.

58

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 1990

Hoffman is a pointguard who can score.

"Before I did high school
gymnastics, I used to get real-
ly nervous and I used to mess
up in meets," she says. But
there are so many more meets
in high school "that I learn-
ed how to calm my nerves."
But, she says, "I had to work
at it."
Her North Farmington
coach, Jeff Dwyer, says Kahn
"has a real good perspective
on a meet. She's very com-
petitive, but she's also very
level-headed. She goes into a
meet with a real mature

Dwyer says Kahn
is "solid on all
events."

outlook. She's steady. That's
a big strong point."
Kahn earned all-area, all-
county and all-American
honors this season. She
finished second all-around at
the league meet then won the
regional and finished second
at state, reaching the finals of
the vault, floor exercises and
uneven parallel bars. At state,
Kahn tried to gain an edge in
the floor exercise by attemp-
ting something no other com-
petitor dared, a "double back"
— two flips in the air,
backward. Unfortunately, she
missed on the second flip and

bruised a knee, but she finish-
ed the routine.
Although Dwyer says Kahn
"beat a lot of good girls who
were ahead of her" in the
state meet, Kahn says that
"in some ways, I didn't do, as
well as I wanted to."
Dwyer says Kahn is "solid
on all events. And she puts in
some real solid scores on all
four events. I think that sur-
prises some people.
"She's been steady, real
steady over the year, and real
consistent. That makes a dif-
ference. She never had a bad
meet all season."
Dwyer looks forward to hav-
ing Kahn back next season.
"I'd like to see her up there in
the state final again," he says.
Hoffman's next stop is col-
lege. He has begun to visit
out-of-state colleges and is
eyeing the University of
Georgia; Sienna, New York;
Austin Peay; Montana State
and Ashland. of Ohio. He is
also considering some mid-
sized Michigan schools. He is
looking for "the best
academic college I can
possibly go to," he says.
On the court, Hoffman says,
"It's going to be hard no mat-
ter what level of basketball I
play. But I think I'll be able
to fit into any type of program
that I go to."
Negoshian feels that the
5-foot-10 Hoffman will be a