The following article was comprised for the March edition of Saginaw Township Living magazine.
4:30 AM wakeups are nothing new to Donny and MJ Yeager. On a blustery January morning, they wake up and get ready for their 5:00 AM lift with trainer Monty Brown before school. Just enough time to shower and head to Nouvel Catholic Central, where both student-athletes carry over 3.7 GPAs.
After school they head immediately to practice until 5:15 PM. From practice they head home, get some food while they do their homework, and get ready for their skill workout. Ball handling and shooting goes until about 9 or 9:30 PM.
Wake up. Lift. School. Practice. Shooting. Repeat.
For 14 years, this is what the Yeager twins have known. The work they have been putting in is paying off for them and the Nouvel Catholic Central boys basketball team, who went 7-0 during January, and is atop the TVC White standings. For the month, the team won their games by an average of 75 to 42. While the headlines may often feature Donny and MJ due to their head spinning performances, they will be the first to tell you that the team’s success matters.
“Growing up playing with these guys (seniors Tristen Elizalde, Matthew Hartwell, Preston Otter, and Brandon Murphy), we have really good chemistry. We enjoy playing with each other, which helps with all of our individual performances.”
Donny Yeager recently hit the 1,000 point career mark in a game vs. St. Louis, roughly a week after MJ became Nouvel’s all-time leading scorer. When both players hit their achievement, the players were the first ones to mob them on the floor.
“The goal for the year is to win a state championship,” MJ said.
Until then, a few more early morning wake-up calls will be routine.