Latest news with #Makenzie
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
'Exciting' former Hearts striker transfer fee could soar beyond £500k
The former Hearts forward is attracting plenty of interest from south of the border. Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A former Hearts striker could fetch a Scottish club over £500k as Portsmouth become the latest team rumoured to be in for his services. Makenzie Kirk was a regular goal scorer in the Jambos youth ranks but failed to make a consistent breakthrough into a senior setting. After a loan spell at Hamilton Accies brought eight appearances no goals, he signed permanently for St Johnstone last summer, where the forward has now netted 14 times, including four goals in the Premier Sports Cup this season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It has sparked interest and after Peterborough United came on the scene this month, English Championship side Portsmouth are now said to be keen, according to The News. Read More Offer rejected for former Hearts forward amid Premiership, Championship and EFL interest Makenzie Kirk to Portsmouth latest It's claimed that 'the Blues have targeted the St Johnstone forward as an exciting, young option to add to their striking group.' Competition will be heated though as 'they face competition from League One side Peterborough United, with there also interest from the Scottish Premier League and Bristol Rovers in the 21-year-old.' The Courier suggest St Johnstone could bank half a million from a deal, saying 'the pursuit of Makenzie Kirk is set to go over the £500k mark, with Portsmouth poised to join the race for the St Johnstone striker.' Kirk came off the bench in Saturday's League Cup defeat against Motherwell. Boss Simo Valakari said midweek: 'The club rejected a bid for Makenzie. It is normal football business – he is a good player, he scores goals, and he is young. We knew there would be interest in him this summer. Rightly so. Nothing has changed. He's our player, he is working hard and we will see what happens. At this moment he's our player. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad St Johnstone stance on Makenzie Kirk 'We are not desperate to sell. That's how it is. We know how difficult it is to find strikers – it's the hardest thing in football, scoring goals. At the moment we have a very good situation with our forwards. We have different types of players and have options depending on what the game needs. It's a good sign for our club that we have players attracting interest from other teams. Makenzie came back at the start of pre-season in good shape. 'He had built himself up more in the gym. And he has been very good in working on his weaknesses and improving his strengths. Yes, there is interest in him, and you could say that might be a distraction. But Makenzie has been very mature in the way he has handled it. He has been happy to leave it to his agent and his dad so he can concentrate on his football. That's exactly what you need to do.' Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson said of possible transfer plans amid the links to the former Hearts man: 'We have targets. Obviously we go for our first choice in any position and hope that we get them, but if we don't we work through our list.'
Belfast Telegraph
6 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
St Johnstone boss determined to retain Northern Ireland youth international: ‘He's our player'
The 21 year-old has impressed in the Scottish Championship for the Perth club, with several clubs keen to sign the son of former Heart of Midlothian star Andy Kirk. League One club Peterborough United lodged an undisclosed bid for the striker last week, but the McDairmid Park rejected the offer. 'The club rejected a bid for Makenzie,' the Valakari confirmed. 'It is normal football business. He is a good player, he scores goals, and he is young. 'We knew there would be interest in him this summer. 'Nothing has changed. He's our player, he is working hard and we will see what happens. 'At this moment he's our player. We are not desperate to sell. That's how it is. 'We know how difficult it is to find strikers – it's the hardest thing in football, scoring goals. 'At the moment we have a very good situation with our forwards. We have different types of players and have options depending on what the game needs. 'It's a good sign for our club that we have players attracting interest from other teams.' Valakari was keen to praise the young forward, who is the grandson of former Lisburn Distillery manager Paul Kirk. He said: 'Makenzie has been very mature in the way he has handled it. 'He has been happy to leave it to his agent and his dad (Andy) so he can concentrate on his football. 'That's exactly what you need to do. If you start thinking ahead about things that might never happen, you do not help yourself because you will not be in your best shape to play football. 'Makenzie is handling it all very well. Our players aren't stupid.' After two games, St Johnstone lead the Scottish Championship thanks to wins over Partick Thistle and Ross County.
Los Angeles Times
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Laguna Beach's Fischer sisters honored with USA Water Polo retirement ceremony
Makenzie Fischer was a record-setting water polo player at every stage of her career. Her U.S. national team coach, Adam Krikorian, explained why rather succinctly. 'She could, on any moment's notice, be the best player in the world in any phase of the game,' Krikorian said. 'Whether it was defending the center, playing perimeter defense, on the counterattack, playing six-on-five, shooting from the perimeter, she could literally be the best player in the world.' She holds the Laguna Beach High girls' water polo career scoring with 456 goals, winning two CIF Southern Section titles in 2014 and 2015. Three championships at Stanford University followed, along with Cutino Award nods in 2019 and 2022 for the nation's top collegiate women's water polo player. Fischer is also Stanford's all-time leading scorer with 288 goals, and won Olympic gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics alongside her younger sister Aria to only help cement that legacy. Both Makenzie and Aria Fischer were honored Friday night with a retirement celebration ceremony, prior to the U.S. national team playing an exhibition match against Spain at Irvine's Woollett Aquatics Center. 'I love the water polo community,' said Makenzie, 28, who actually retired back in 2022 after helping Stanford win the national championship, in a pre-match interview. 'It's been a huge part of my life. It's fun to see all of the national team girls and be reintroduced to the spirit of what I really love, which is the team aspect of everything. It's kind of fun to put a bow on everything, because water polo was a really big part of my life and something that still means a lot to me.' She now remains in the Bay Area working as a mechanical engineer. Aria Fischer, the 2023 Cutino winner who won three CIF championships at Laguna Beach and three NCAA titles at Stanford, was unable to be at Friday's ceremony. Makenzie said her younger sister, now 26, is working at a production company in London. Family members present included parents Erich and Leslie. Erich Fischer, who still coaches at Laguna Beach, was a two-time national champion in water polo at Stanford himself and an Olympian in 1992. 'I think it's fun to have water polo as a common thread,' Makenzie Fischer said. 'He clearly loves it, he's still coaching. It's always been a fun part of our family. We love watching the Stanford games, the national team games. It's kind of fun to be able to transition to a new role as a spectator, have a little bit less of a front seat but still be able to talk about it with him. It's definitely something that bonds us, for sure.' Team USA edged defending Olympic gold medalist Spain in the exhibition match that followed the ceremony, 9-8. Jenna Flynn led the Americans with three goals, while Ryann Neushul scored the match-winning power play goal with 1:06 remaining. Goalkeeper Amanda Longan made 13 saves. The match was the first international match of the new quad for Team USA, which finished fourth at the Paris Olympics last summer. 'We are a newer team, which is super exciting, and I think it gives us a lot of wiggle room,' said Flynn, who plays for Stanford and was a member of the Paris Olympics group last year. 'Spain is a super-talented team, and that competition between the U.S. and Spain is just really strong for as long as I've been in the water polo world. It's definitely a privilege to come here and explore with this young team, but against such good competitors.' Laguna Beach alumna Emma Lineback had a goal, an assist and a field block for Team USA. Lineback, a left-handed attacker coming off a second-team All-American season for UCLA as a redshirt junior, was aiming for a spot on the Paris squad but was not selected. Now, she said she has a short-term goal of making the U.S. roster for her first World Aquatics Championships next month in Singapore. 'It makes you rethink what the little wins are, because you're playing with the best of the best every day,' Lineback said of being back with the national team. 'It pushes you to work really hard, harder than you think is possible. That was kind of my motivation to come back, because I knew that I wasn't done growing. I just love this environment. It really is special. College is great, but the buy-in here is just different.' Spain beat Team USA 7-5 on Sunday in the second of the two-match exhibition series, led by a hat trick from Paula Camus. Emily Ausmus led the Americans with a pair of goals. Team USA opens play at the World Aquatics Championships on July 10, with a match against China.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
11-Year-Old Shares Powerful Lesson on Trauma, Leaving Her Mom 'in Shock' in Viral Video (Exclusive)
On TikTok, an 11-year-old, Rylie, guides her mom through a moving exercise, using rocks to represent the release of past traumas The moment highlights the young girl's wisdom beyond her years Her mom hopes the video serves as a reminder that moms can have open relationships with their daughters, even as they growA heartwarming TikTok video features a daughter teaching her mother a valuable lesson as they enjoy a day out by the lake. Makenzie Curtis, a single mom, shared a video of her 11-year-old, Rylie, guiding her through an exercise designed to release past traumas. The video begins with Makenzie and Rylie gathering rocks by the lakeside. Rylie instructs her mother to name the 'biggest bad thing' that has ever happened to her, stacking a rock for each negative experience. As Makenzie piles the rocks, the structure becomes increasingly unstable. 'It's hard, isn't it,' Rylie observes, 'You have to improvise, don't you? So we have to pull other things in just to balance it.' The tower eventually collapses, prompting Rylie to throw the rocks into the lake, declaring, 'It doesn't matter. Why care about all the bad things that have happened? They don't matter.' Speaking with PEOPLE, Makenzie reflects on her initial thoughts when she realized the lesson she was being taught. 'I was in shock,' she says, 'I really think that she was trying to symbolize letting it go. These things don't matter anymore. We're gonna literally throw them into the lake and never going to see them again, because they don't matter anymore. We can't keep hanging on to them.' In the video, the pair go on to collect flatter, more stable rocks, representing positive experiences and qualities. These rocks are easily stacked on top of each other, creating a balanced tower. Rylie says in the viral clip, 'With the bad things, we have to pull something else that wasn't ours and we had to put it in to make a tower.' She continues, 'But in this, all we used was the things that we had and we could make it balance.' At this moment, Makenzie realized her daughter's wisdom, she says, and now, hopes she can continue to foster it. 'I really just want to make sure that she has the tools she needs when she gets older, so she doesn't have to go through the same stuff I did,' Makenzie notes, declining to elaborate on her own past traumas. Since posting the video, Makenzie has received an array of feedback. While many praised the video's message and Rylie's insightful approach, others criticized the mom for not sharing her specific experiences with her daughter. She defended her decision, saying that some stories are not appropriate for children to hear. 'I try to be authentic in everything that I do, and things that came to mind were things that I needed to let go of,' she notes. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Makenzie hopes other mothers will take away the importance of authenticity from her experience, adding, 'I hope other mothers know that they do not have to show up perfectly for their kids.' She continues, 'They want your unconditional love. They want to know that no matter what happens in their life, you know they can come to you like you're home base. You're a safe place, and it's okay if you make mistakes.' For Makenzie, the experience with Rylie has reinforced the idea that healing is an ongoing process, and that children can be powerful teachers. 'I realized how much I needed to forgive myself because those things weren't my fault, and I was just beating myself up over and over again … I had to realize that.' As Makenzie continues to heal from her past, she hopes to continue to build with her daughter by opening up more as she gets older. She adds, 'I know she trusts me. I know she loves me. I have always been her safe place, the person that she confides in, the person that she knows that no matter what, she can come to mom.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New Bern High School senior receives Marks-Taylor Scholarship
NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCT) — The New Bern Historical Society announced that the Harriett Marks & John R. and Alice Land Taylor Scholarships for 2025 were awarded to New Bern High School senior Makenzie Richardson. Throughout her high school career, Makenzie demonstrated academic and athletic excellence. She was a straight 'A' student, played basketball and softball all four years of high school, won All State honors, and won Rookie, Offensive Player and Sportsmanship Awards. She is also a member of groups such as Project Unify, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the National Honor Society, and multiple projects in the community. Makenzie will be attending Campbell University in the fall of 2025, majoring in Special Education and minoring in Entrepreneurship and Christian Studies. The Marks Scholarship was created in 1968 under the terms of the will of Miss Harriett Marks as a memorial to the O. Marks family. A separate scholarship, the Taylor Scholarship, was made to complement and supplement the Marks Scholarship. It was created in 2015 by the North Carolina Community Foundation and is sponsored by their grandson to honor the memory of his grandparents. Both of these scholarships are annually awarded to a senior graduating from New Bern High School based on both scholarship and financial need. They contribute to the tuition, board, or lodging to help them receive a higher education at an accredited college, university, or other institute of higher learning. These scholarships can be renewed for three succeeding years if academic standards are maintained. The Marks and Taylor Scholarships further the Historical Society's mission 'to celebrate and promote New Bern and its heritage through events and education.' Offices are located in the historic Attmore-Oliver House at 511 Broad Street in New Bern. For more information, call 252-638-8558 or go to their website or Facebook page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
