SPORTSBEAT BY PETER JAKEY: New Huron football coach ready for the first practice

It’s hard to believe, but Monday is officially the first day of high school football practice in Michigan with the first games of the 2004 season to be played three weeks from tomorrow. Rogers City hosts Hillman on Gilpin Memorial Field August 27, before playing five straight away games. Posen is on the home field against Cedarville the same night. With the retirement of coach Bob Brietzke, which didn’t catch anybody by surprise because he had announced his decision to leave teaching and coaching a couple of years ago, it left a vacancy at varsity head coach in Rogers City.

It was no surprise who was hired to take over for him. Mike Kosiara has been with the Rogers City football program for about a decade, first as the head coach of the junior varsity and then as an assistant with Brietzke. “It still hasn’t sunk in,” said Kosiara Tuesday afternoon, after hauling football equipment to the Gilpin fieldhouse, a job handled by Brietzke in the past. Kosiara said the new responsibilities “don’t feel any different,” but he is excited to finally step in and take the program in the direction he has always envisioned.

KOSIARA STARTED coaching football about 21 years ago as an assistant with Gaylord St. Mary. He served as a coach with the Martin and Manton football programs, but this is his first varsity head coaching position. The Rogers City football program has a tradition of fielding successful teams and had some tremendous playoff runs under Brietzke’s leadership, but now it’s Kosiara’s turn and he deserves a shot at continuing that winning tradition.

The Kosiara varsity era is off to a much better start than when he took over as the JV head coach and went 0-9. For starters, the junior varsity football team is back and will play games again in 2004, under Brietzke’s guidance. With a big group of freshmen coming in, it looks like there should be 20 on the JV practice field come Monday. The varsity may have about 20 as well, so that’s a positive for the program. Kosiara also said there are a lot more students with lineman-type size expected to come out. “That’s a blessing,” said Kosiara.

ONE PERSONAL TOUCH Kosiara is bringing in is option football, much like the offense the Air Force Academy still runs. He believes it’ll help the Hurons compete in games when teams bring in linemen averaging more than 225 pounds each. Some years, Rogers City is lucky to have one player weigh over 200 pounds. The option is quick and will stretch the defense and Kosiara believes he has the personnel to make it successful.

The schedule isn’t any easier. Football fans will see Hillman as the first game, and Whittemore-Prescott gone, but Rogers City now has to now play the newest members of the Straits Area Conference: Cheboygan and Sault Ste. Marie. Just as the Huron players may be licking their chops at getting a chance at playing Hillman, I’ll bet Cheboygan and the Soo can’t wait to get after Rogers City. The Hurons also will

be playing in the Division VII playoffs, if they qualify.

Kosiara comes with the message that games are not won on Friday nights and will stress that plays are run the right way in practice. The coach cringes at the Allen Iverson soundbite about practice. “We’re talking about practice,” the NBA superstar said, playing down its importance. “I expect a kid to aspire to win and act like a winner all the time,” he said. In regard to conduct off the field and in the classroom, Kosiara believes “there’s no such thing as a part time winner.”.

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THE NAUTICAL FESTIVAL softball circus rolls into Posen, Hawks, and Rogers City this weekend. The men’s defending champs from last year will not return to defend their crown, leaving this year’s tournament title up for grabs. One of the most interesting entries is the retro-team “Nautical 74 Champs.” The name explains it all. It’s many of the players from the team that won the tournament 30 years ago. They got together to have some fun and see how far they make it in the tournament. The tournament will be played on four fields: the Hole and Little League Park in Rogers City, as well as Hawks, and Posen. .

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