From Athens to Alpena, Storch Makes Impact
September 7, 2018
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
ALPENA — Riding off into the sunset was never part of Tim Storch’s retirement plan.
That’s why, seven years into retirement from teaching, Storch continues to do the same thing at Alpena that he did for 30 illustrious years at Troy Athens — coach high school soccer.
“I think anyone who coaches knows that coaching is an addiction,” said Storch. “You love it, and it’s hard to walk away from.”
Storch’s love for coaching has fueled one of the greatest careers in the history of Michigan boys and girls high school soccer. Storch entered this year with more than 1,000 wins, including a state-best 514 in girls soccer since 1982. He has the third-most wins all-time among boys soccer coaches. At the forefront of all those victories are nine MHSAA Finals championships, with five boys titles (1981, 1983, 1984, 1989 and 1997) and four girls crowns (1989, 1991, 1993 and 2000) to his credit.
Each of those titles came at Athens, where Storch was hired fresh out of college in 1981 and guided the Red Hawks from the inception of both programs.
“I was fortunate to win a lot at Athens,” said Storch. “The players I had really helped me do that. I still hold a soft spot in my heart for Troy Athens.”
Storch also has an affinity for the Alpena area, a place where his parents regularly vacationed while raising their family and Storch knew was his destination once he ended his teaching career in 2011. Still with the urge to coach soccer, Storch was hoping for an opportunity in some capacity when he moved to his house on Grand Lake, minutes north of Alpena. The timing proved to be perfect as the Wildcats were looking for boys and girls varsity head coaches. Storch stepped right in without missing a beat. He later added the role of athletic director four years ago.
In many ways though, coaching in Alpena has been a big contrast from Troy — perhaps the biggest being location. There are no other Division 1 schools within an hour of Alpena in the northeast part of the Lower Peninsula. In Troy there was always top competition throughout the metro Detroit area.
There also is a big difference in the number of athletes who enter high school with a lifetime of soccer experience.
“Unfortunately in Alpena, we’re an island over here in a big area,” said Storch. “So, it’s tough to find competition. When you’re downstate you’ve got Troy and Rochester and Birmingham and Bloomfield and Royal Oak and Shelby Township all within five to 10 miles of each other. Here we’ve got to go quite a ways to find an opponent that is somewhat near our size.”
Storch still has managed to make an impact in Alpena. His players find the credentials he’s brought to their community motivating, and they’re thankful for how he’s been able to cultivate their skills.
“It’s super fun playing for him because he makes practices fun, but he always makes practices hard and challenging so we can get better,” said senior Mollie Girard, who has played on the girls varsity for the past three years. “He expects a lot of us. He’s a good leader as a coach. He also looks at some of us to be leaders for our other teammates. He knows a lot about the game.”
Aidan Day, a senior on this year’s boys squad, said he has the utmost respect for his head coach for helping Day reach a high level of play on the pitch. Day set Alpena’s record with six goals in a game last season.
“He’s meant everything to my soccer career,” said Day. “I wouldn’t be the player I am today if it wasn’t for him.”
Day was an underclassman on possibly Storch’s best team since he arrived in Alpena. That 2016 squad won 15 games and competed well against the top teams in the Big North Conference. Traverse City West, the team that ended up ousting the Wildcats in the District, reached the Regional Finals.
Storch sees potential in this year’s boys squad too, which reeled off five straight wins after two early losses to kick off the year.
“We’ve been very diversified in our attack,” said Storch. “We probably have four or five guys who I think can step up and score goals. I think we have multiple weapons, which makes us tough to defend and not so one-dimensional.”
Day, along with Grant Botha, Deven Saranen and Noah Carstens are the offensive threats that make the Wildcats go.
“I think it has the potential to be (one of my best teams in Alpena),” said Storch. “But as I said to the paper here locally, ultimately we’ll be judged by what we do with the league and the postseason play.”
Day talks excitedly about achieving postseason success. It’s not come easily for the Wildcats. Alpena’s boys team has not won a District title since 1997.
“That’s my dream,” said Day. “I’ve always wanted to (win a District title). Hopefully this is the year. I’ve got one more year left. It’s doable for sure this year. That would be phenomenal.”
Storch said creating a winning team remains important to him, but he has found over the years that the relationships he’s established have become the most satisfying aspect of coaching.
“This summer I had the goalie from my first team. He’s in his 50s, and he’s a minister in Atlanta, Georgia,” said Storch. “He and his wife and son came up and stayed with me. When you’ve got connections that go back 37 years and the kids who played for you then are not kids anymore (it’s special). Unfortunately, I just had to speak at one of my former players’ funerals. I’ve had seven former players pass. and that’s difficult. It’s nice to know you had an important influence on their lives where they still want you to be part of it, even the families when one of their loved ones pass. They keep you included.”
Storch said there is no timetable for how long he would like to coach. He enjoys impacting the student-athletes in Alpena, and he still loves teaching the game – that’s for sure.
“Eventually maybe the battery loses some of its charge, but I think every coach knows when it’s time to get out,” he said. “Certainly, I have the passion to keep doing it. When it is time, I think I’ll know that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Tim Storch coaches one of his Alpena soccer teams. (Middle) Far right, Storch celebrates Troy Athens’ 2000 girls Division 1 championship. (Top photo courtesy of the Alpena News.)
Kemp Proud to Keep Troy Athens Tradition
August 29, 2019
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
TROY – Jason Kemp has never needed the tradition of Troy Athens soccer explained to him, because he’s been able to experience the sights and sounds of the program his entire life.
Living less than a mile from the school, Kemp, now a senior goalkeeper for the RedHawks, has heard the cheers and seen the lights of the stadium from his house numerous times growing up.
“I’ve grown up watching playoff games and watching league games,” Kemp said. “I can hear the crowd and the goals from my house. My whole childhood has been Athens soccer. Now I’m a captain on the team and get to play in front of large crowds that support us. It’s kind of a dream come true for me.”
Kemp won’t be hearing cheers this year from his house, mainly because he’ll be on the field as a big reason why Athens is producing the positive crowd noise.
Kemp certainly generated a lot of cheers last year for the Athens faithful.
After splitting time as the starting keeper as a sophomore, Kemp was dominant in his first full year as the starter last fall, recording 16 shutouts and allowing just four goals in being named first team all-state by the coaches association.
Kemp is back for his senior season to anchor the net for an Athens team with understandably high expectations.
The RedHawks started the season ranked No. 15 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer and feature a senior-laden roster that has grown up playing travel ball together in the community, which Kemp said gives the team an even bigger advantage to go along with its talent.
“I’ve been playing with most of these guys my whole life,” Kemp said. “I always have thought that was cool growing up playing travel with these guys and now adding high school to it. I feel like it gives us an advantage. A lot of teams, they only have trained a couple of times in the summer before they even start with their high school teams. For us at Athens, a lot of us have been playing together since early middle school years or even elementary school years. It adds a cool twist to our team because we’ve been playing together so long.”
Big reasons for the 16 shutouts Kemp recorded last year were Athens’ stout defenders and organized system, but make no mistake about it: Kemp was also a vital component.
“He’s able to catch balls instead of punch them or tip them,” Athens head coach Todd Heugh said. “He’s got shot-stopping ability and quite honestly, he’s got the confidence of all his teammates. They think he’s good and in turn, I think that helps the way we defend and I think the way he goalkeeps a little bit too.”
Despite putting up terrific numbers as a junior, there is one area Kemp said he has worked on improving going into his senior year.
“Last year, I was very timid on set pieces, especially corner kicks,” said Kemp, who sports a 4.0 grade-point average and took five Advanced Placement classes during his junior year. “A lot of teams would curl a ball in the box, and I would rely on my defenders to clear that away. Now that I’m a little bigger, a little stronger and worked out a lot over the summer, those set pieces don’t really bother me anymore. I don’t have a problem coming out and jumping with a forward and getting hit around a little bit. I’ve grown out of that struggle.”
Athens won Class A titles in 1983, 1984 and 1989, and claimed Division 1 in 1997. Heugh was a senior on the 1989 team.
But a fifth championship has proven elusive. Athens also finished runner-up in 1986 and 2016, when it lost the Final in a shootout to East Kentwood
And the RedHawks still feel a stinging loss from last year’s tournament – they entered unbeaten and ranked No. 1, but were upset in the District Final by Utica Ford, 1-0.
While October is still a few weeks away, Kemp said there’s “a lot of fire in our bellies” among the seniors to try and bring Athens its first title in 30 years.
“This is it,” he said. “This is our last season and a lot of us have been dreaming of this moment for our whole lives. We really want to make this year count as well as we can in the postseason.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Troy Athens keeper Jason Kemp provides skillful play and leadership from the net. (Middle) Kemp dives to thwart an opponent’s shot. (Photos courtesy of the Troy Athens boys soccer program.)