The volleyball Steel Deck Showdown was held September 1, 2 on the historic USS LST 393.
(Photo credit: Trent/Alphenaarr)
By Scott DeCamp
LocalSportsJournal.com
MUSKEGON – Christian Subdon is learning and experiencing all the time as the fourth-year athletic director for Whitehall District Schools.
Putting on a volleyball event aboard the USS LST 393, an old World War II ship at the Mart Dock on Muskegon Lake?
Indeed, that’s a new one for Subdon.
“I got a couple of (volleyballs) out of the drink today, so that’s something I can say that I’d never done as an athletic director but now I have,” Subdon said with a smile.
Inspired by the likes of Subdon, Whitehall volleyball coach Claire McGrew, and LST 393 event coordinator Cindy Beckwith, and aided by many helping hands, the LST Steel Deck Showdown was born.
What began as a one-day, three-team event turned into a two-day, six-school spectacle in the Steel Deck Showdown’s maiden voyage in 2026. Mona Shores, Western Michigan Christian, and Whitehall competed in the scrimmage-format event on Sept. 1, followed by Fruitport, North Muskegon, and Reeths-Puffer stepping foot on deck Sept. 2.
“I haven’t heard of anybody who’s gotten to play on a ship, let alone a World War II ship. I think that’s crazy,” Whitehall senior Clare Westerlund said.
The idea was to raise awareness for the LST 393 Veterans Museum, which has existed in relative obscurity to many people despite its massive presence and place in history.
Another goal was to create an unforgettable experience for not only the student-athletes, but coaches and fans alike. Mission accomplished.
“I personally did not even know this boat was here until they were, like, ‘We’re playing a game on a boat.’ I was like, ‘What boat?’” Whitehall senior Aaliyah Jamison said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t really know that it’s here. It’s a cool experience that really gets (awareness) out there and shows everyone what we have here.”
Said Subdon: “I’ve lived in the Muskegon area my whole life – I’ve never been on the ship and then Cindy showed me around and, man, it is amazing the ship and the history. It’s just incredible.”
The 14th annual “Battle on the Boardwalk” high school volleyball event in Grand Haven was held last month.
But volleyball on a permanently docked wartime ship – one of only two remaining Mod One LSTs in its original military configuration among the more than 1,000 built during the war; one utilized on D-Day – is new to even longtime coach Rick Rykse.
“As far as I know, I don’t know of any other volleyball event that’s ever been on a ship,” said Rykse, club director for Inside-Out Volleyball, which has been in Muskegon 32 years.
“There’s a lot of them on football fields, things like that. You’ve got one at the ‘Battle on the Boardwalk,’ which is very cool as well.”
When Beckwith took on her role as LST 393 event coordinator last winter, she toured the ship with USS LST 393 Veterans Museum director Ryan Lancaster.
The idea popped in her head immediately.
“We walked out here (on the deck), got about halfway,” Beckwith recalled. “I turned around and (said), ‘Holy crap! I want a concert with a band up here and I want a volleyball tournament.’ Those are the two things that instantly came to my mind.”
Beckwith reached out to McGrew, who is a close friend of Beckwith’s daughter, and shared the vision. One discussion led to another. Eventually, stakeholders toured the ship to see if this idea might really work.
It did. History was made aboard an iconic piece of history, a vessel that weighs 1,780 long tons light and 3,880 long tons full.
“I’ve never been on (the ship) until two weeks ago when I took a tour of it,” Rykse said. “Like, wow. I took a tour of it and I started taking pictures of it. I sent (pictures) to my mom because my dad was in the Navy back in, I think, between the Korean and Vietnam (wars), so I think it’s just a really cool ship.”
“Fantastic,” Beckwith responded when asked about the inaugural volleyball event on the LST 393. “I thought it went really, really well. Lots of people, a ton of interest. A big thing is we wanted to get the LST out there – we wanted eyes on the ship. It’s a very, very important piece of history to us and not enough people know about it, so this is awesome.”
It wasn’t necessarily easy setting up the court on the ship, given the fact it was not designed for that, nor was it easy to play in the conditions, given the wind, sun glare and, on the second day, rain.
Subdon said that Inside-Out donated the court, so it’s the property of Whitehall District Schools now. He called the process of setting up the court “extensive.”
Subdon estimated that 25 players from the Whitehall varsity and junior varsity squads helped set up the court, as well as helpers from Mona Shores and Western Michigan
Christian. He said the Mart Dock was instrumental in set-up as it helped lift pallets weighing about 1,500 pounds apiece and stanchions rented from Grand Haven that weighed around 1,200 pounds.
Overall, court set-up took about an hour, according to Subdon.
“Underneath there are turnbuckles that were used, I believe, to tie the tanks down so those are under the midline,” Subdon said. “We used some cardboard and a court from Inside-Out. Rolls of rubber underneath there. I mean, the deck was made for tanks, but there were no injuries. It was pretty level, so it was awesome.”
Fruitport and Mona Shores have competed in the “Battle on the Boardwalk,” and several players from the six teams participating in the first annual Steel Deck Showdown have experience in beach volleyball. They know now Mother Nature can impact an outdoor volleyball game.
Weather is definitely a wild card in an outdoor event, especially in Michigan approaching the fall. Playing aboard a ship deck is a little different dynamic, too, as the elevation above the water is higher than other venues.
“The uncontrolled game becomes even more uncontrolled. We had a little rough start, but they figured it out,” North Muskegon coach Scott McGee said.
“Is it the greatest volleyball? No, because you’ve got the wind, you’ve got the sun,” Rykse said. “The court’s not perfect, but it’s playable. But everybody I’ve talked to, all the players, they think it’s great.”
Rain came on the second day, but with a combination of leaf blowers, towels, and a tarp, conditions were playable.
Mona Shores senior Morgan Osterhart said on the first day that the wind was really difficult when it came to setting the ball. Additionally, it was warm when her team played on the ship Sept. 1, so players were dripping with sweat and fighting the sun in their eyes at times.
She was grateful for the experience, however.
“Just, like, the experience with my team,” Osterhart said. “This is my senior year and I’m never going to be able to do this again. I think it was just really cool that I got to do it.”
Added Fruitport senior Izzy Wilbur-Hanson: “I mean, it’s a different experience overall. I’ve never done anything like this except for ‘Battle on the Boardwalk,’ but I feel very
honored to be like the first on the ship so it’s definitely a cool experience.”
“Cool” and “very cool” were common vernacular when it came to player and coach reactions, not only competing on the ship but exploring it a bit.
“It’s so cool. The first time we toured it, I got lost. I’ve just never been on this ship, so it was a really awesome experience,” Mona Shores coach Sam Schultz said. “I could not wait to share it with the girls.”
Each day featured a round-robin format. Each match consisted of three timed, 10-minute sets.
Scores were kept, but results did not count toward the teams’ season records.
“I think it definitely made it better (with the scrimmage format), just like less pressure as well,” Western Michigan Christian senior Brianna Warners said. “The conditions around it really can change a game, so I think it was really nice just to enjoy the experience.”
The Steel Deck Showdown is not the first sports event to take place aboard the LST 393.
Lancaster, who is head coach for the Grand Valley State University wrestling club, helped put on the “Shipyard Slam” event against Muskegon Community College last fall.
Steel Deck Showdown organizers said that it’s possible the event may add more teams in the future, potentially utilizing the parking area in front of the Mart Dock and rotating teams on the ship’s deck so everybody gets a chance to experience it.
Months before the event became reality, McGrew reached out to Western Michigan Christian coach Amber Gontjes to take her pulse on the idea.
“It started off as a very small thing and I actually called Amber around like February, March, and I was like, ‘Amber, do you think your team would be interested in doing this?’” McGrew said. “So it started off like this small, little idea and it’s developed into such a large, tremendous, amazing opportunity for everyone. For it to least two days, even on the first annual, I think that’s pretty amazing.”
Said Gontjes: “When Claire called me, my first response was, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s amazing.’ Like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our athletes and for our seniors especially, even if we continue to do this. … Who gets to play volleyball on a World War II ship? Nobody.”
When you talk about interscholastic sports being an extension of the classroom, how about this for a history lesson?
That aspect was not lost on Whitehall junior Peyton Schultz.
“We’re very fortunate that we’ve never had to be in a war or anything like that, so I think the least we could do is (raise) some awareness of this boat and what’s going on with it,” she said.
The inaugural Steel Deck Showdown was one for the history books, without question.
“Just like the hype of, ‘We’re playing on a boat,’ not many people can say that,” Western Michigan Christian junior Madie Folkema said.
––––––––
Scott Brandenburg contributed to this story.
LocalSportsJournal.com
MUSKEGON – Christian Subdon is learning and experiencing all the time as the fourth-year athletic director for Whitehall District Schools.
Putting on a volleyball event aboard the USS LST 393, an old World War II ship at the Mart Dock on Muskegon Lake?
Indeed, that’s a new one for Subdon.
“I got a couple of (volleyballs) out of the drink today, so that’s something I can say that I’d never done as an athletic director but now I have,” Subdon said with a smile.
Inspired by the likes of Subdon, Whitehall volleyball coach Claire McGrew, and LST 393 event coordinator Cindy Beckwith, and aided by many helping hands, the LST Steel Deck Showdown was born.
What began as a one-day, three-team event turned into a two-day, six-school spectacle in the Steel Deck Showdown’s maiden voyage in 2026. Mona Shores, Western Michigan Christian, and Whitehall competed in the scrimmage-format event on Sept. 1, followed by Fruitport, North Muskegon, and Reeths-Puffer stepping foot on deck Sept. 2.
“I haven’t heard of anybody who’s gotten to play on a ship, let alone a World War II ship. I think that’s crazy,” Whitehall senior Clare Westerlund said.
The idea was to raise awareness for the LST 393 Veterans Museum, which has existed in relative obscurity to many people despite its massive presence and place in history.
Another goal was to create an unforgettable experience for not only the student-athletes, but coaches and fans alike. Mission accomplished.
“I personally did not even know this boat was here until they were, like, ‘We’re playing a game on a boat.’ I was like, ‘What boat?’” Whitehall senior Aaliyah Jamison said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t really know that it’s here. It’s a cool experience that really gets (awareness) out there and shows everyone what we have here.”
Said Subdon: “I’ve lived in the Muskegon area my whole life – I’ve never been on the ship and then Cindy showed me around and, man, it is amazing the ship and the history. It’s just incredible.”
The 14th annual “Battle on the Boardwalk” high school volleyball event in Grand Haven was held last month.
But volleyball on a permanently docked wartime ship – one of only two remaining Mod One LSTs in its original military configuration among the more than 1,000 built during the war; one utilized on D-Day – is new to even longtime coach Rick Rykse.
“As far as I know, I don’t know of any other volleyball event that’s ever been on a ship,” said Rykse, club director for Inside-Out Volleyball, which has been in Muskegon 32 years.
“There’s a lot of them on football fields, things like that. You’ve got one at the ‘Battle on the Boardwalk,’ which is very cool as well.”
When Beckwith took on her role as LST 393 event coordinator last winter, she toured the ship with USS LST 393 Veterans Museum director Ryan Lancaster.
The idea popped in her head immediately.
“We walked out here (on the deck), got about halfway,” Beckwith recalled. “I turned around and (said), ‘Holy crap! I want a concert with a band up here and I want a volleyball tournament.’ Those are the two things that instantly came to my mind.”
Beckwith reached out to McGrew, who is a close friend of Beckwith’s daughter, and shared the vision. One discussion led to another. Eventually, stakeholders toured the ship to see if this idea might really work.
It did. History was made aboard an iconic piece of history, a vessel that weighs 1,780 long tons light and 3,880 long tons full.
“I’ve never been on (the ship) until two weeks ago when I took a tour of it,” Rykse said. “Like, wow. I took a tour of it and I started taking pictures of it. I sent (pictures) to my mom because my dad was in the Navy back in, I think, between the Korean and Vietnam (wars), so I think it’s just a really cool ship.”
“Fantastic,” Beckwith responded when asked about the inaugural volleyball event on the LST 393. “I thought it went really, really well. Lots of people, a ton of interest. A big thing is we wanted to get the LST out there – we wanted eyes on the ship. It’s a very, very important piece of history to us and not enough people know about it, so this is awesome.”
It wasn’t necessarily easy setting up the court on the ship, given the fact it was not designed for that, nor was it easy to play in the conditions, given the wind, sun glare and, on the second day, rain.
Subdon said that Inside-Out donated the court, so it’s the property of Whitehall District Schools now. He called the process of setting up the court “extensive.”
Subdon estimated that 25 players from the Whitehall varsity and junior varsity squads helped set up the court, as well as helpers from Mona Shores and Western Michigan
Christian. He said the Mart Dock was instrumental in set-up as it helped lift pallets weighing about 1,500 pounds apiece and stanchions rented from Grand Haven that weighed around 1,200 pounds.
Overall, court set-up took about an hour, according to Subdon.
“Underneath there are turnbuckles that were used, I believe, to tie the tanks down so those are under the midline,” Subdon said. “We used some cardboard and a court from Inside-Out. Rolls of rubber underneath there. I mean, the deck was made for tanks, but there were no injuries. It was pretty level, so it was awesome.”
Fruitport and Mona Shores have competed in the “Battle on the Boardwalk,” and several players from the six teams participating in the first annual Steel Deck Showdown have experience in beach volleyball. They know now Mother Nature can impact an outdoor volleyball game.
Weather is definitely a wild card in an outdoor event, especially in Michigan approaching the fall. Playing aboard a ship deck is a little different dynamic, too, as the elevation above the water is higher than other venues.
“The uncontrolled game becomes even more uncontrolled. We had a little rough start, but they figured it out,” North Muskegon coach Scott McGee said.
“Is it the greatest volleyball? No, because you’ve got the wind, you’ve got the sun,” Rykse said. “The court’s not perfect, but it’s playable. But everybody I’ve talked to, all the players, they think it’s great.”
Rain came on the second day, but with a combination of leaf blowers, towels, and a tarp, conditions were playable.
Mona Shores senior Morgan Osterhart said on the first day that the wind was really difficult when it came to setting the ball. Additionally, it was warm when her team played on the ship Sept. 1, so players were dripping with sweat and fighting the sun in their eyes at times.
She was grateful for the experience, however.
“Just, like, the experience with my team,” Osterhart said. “This is my senior year and I’m never going to be able to do this again. I think it was just really cool that I got to do it.”
Added Fruitport senior Izzy Wilbur-Hanson: “I mean, it’s a different experience overall. I’ve never done anything like this except for ‘Battle on the Boardwalk,’ but I feel very
honored to be like the first on the ship so it’s definitely a cool experience.”
“Cool” and “very cool” were common vernacular when it came to player and coach reactions, not only competing on the ship but exploring it a bit.
“It’s so cool. The first time we toured it, I got lost. I’ve just never been on this ship, so it was a really awesome experience,” Mona Shores coach Sam Schultz said. “I could not wait to share it with the girls.”
Each day featured a round-robin format. Each match consisted of three timed, 10-minute sets.
Scores were kept, but results did not count toward the teams’ season records.
“I think it definitely made it better (with the scrimmage format), just like less pressure as well,” Western Michigan Christian senior Brianna Warners said. “The conditions around it really can change a game, so I think it was really nice just to enjoy the experience.”
The Steel Deck Showdown is not the first sports event to take place aboard the LST 393.
Lancaster, who is head coach for the Grand Valley State University wrestling club, helped put on the “Shipyard Slam” event against Muskegon Community College last fall.
Steel Deck Showdown organizers said that it’s possible the event may add more teams in the future, potentially utilizing the parking area in front of the Mart Dock and rotating teams on the ship’s deck so everybody gets a chance to experience it.
Months before the event became reality, McGrew reached out to Western Michigan Christian coach Amber Gontjes to take her pulse on the idea.
“It started off as a very small thing and I actually called Amber around like February, March, and I was like, ‘Amber, do you think your team would be interested in doing this?’” McGrew said. “So it started off like this small, little idea and it’s developed into such a large, tremendous, amazing opportunity for everyone. For it to least two days, even on the first annual, I think that’s pretty amazing.”
Said Gontjes: “When Claire called me, my first response was, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s amazing.’ Like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our athletes and for our seniors especially, even if we continue to do this. … Who gets to play volleyball on a World War II ship? Nobody.”
When you talk about interscholastic sports being an extension of the classroom, how about this for a history lesson?
That aspect was not lost on Whitehall junior Peyton Schultz.
“We’re very fortunate that we’ve never had to be in a war or anything like that, so I think the least we could do is (raise) some awareness of this boat and what’s going on with it,” she said.
The inaugural Steel Deck Showdown was one for the history books, without question.
“Just like the hype of, ‘We’re playing on a boat,’ not many people can say that,” Western Michigan Christian junior Madie Folkema said.
––––––––
Scott Brandenburg contributed to this story.
––––––––––––––––––––
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