NFHS Honors 4 of Michigan's Finest
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 14, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three longtime Michigan high school coaches and one of the state’s most highly-respected athletic directors were recognized Wednesday by the National Federation of State High School Associations Coaches Association.
Leland volleyball coach Laurie Glass, Trenton softball coach John Biedenbach and Traverse City Central boys track and field coach John Lober were named Coaches of the Year in their respective sports. Longtime Troy athletic director Jim Feldkamp – currently an instructor for the MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program – was honored as this year’s National Coach Contributor Award winner as an individual “who has gone above and beyond and who exemplifies the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct and moral character.”
Feldkamp served one year as a teacher and coach of three sports at Romeo in 1970-71 before moving on to New Baltimore Anchor Bay, where he taught, coached varsity boys basketball for 14 years, subvarsity basketball for five seasons and served as athletic director at the high school.
He moved on to West Bloomfield as director of health, physical education and athletics in 1985, then became citywide athletic director for the Troy School District from 1988-2004. Feldkamp consulted at Detroit University Prep from 2007-12, then served as district athletic director of L’Anse Creuse Public Schools during the 2012-13 school year.
Feldkamp received the MHSAA’s Charles E. Forsythe Award in 2005 for his outstanding contributions to the interscholastic athletics community after retiring from the Troy district, where he was responsible for 178 teams, more than 4,800 athletes and 315 coaches. He also received the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award and has served as a CAP instructor for the last decade while co-authoring the program module Administrative Responsibilities of Coaching. He also previously was named Athletic Director of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and received a National Award of Merit from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
“Jim Feldkamp is an outstanding educator who understands and recognizes the qualities of leadership necessary in educational athletics while also appreciating the meaning and applications of the rules,” said MHSAA assistant director Kathy Vruggink Westdorp as part of the association’s nomination of Feldkamp for the award. “He has a great understanding of the coach’s role and has worked with thousands of coaches throughout Michigan in a continued effort to improve the sport experience of participating students.”
The following brief bios on Michigan coaching award winners include excerpts from coaching philosophies they were asked to submit after being identified as candidates:
Laurie Glass this fall led Leland to the Class D Volleyball Final and has taken her program to four MHSAA championships over three tenures stretching 20 seasons. Including four seasons at Traverse City Central, Glass has a 909-302-108 record dating to her first season at Leland in 1990-91.
“Athletics is all about opportunity, both for the athlete and the coach. Opportunity to learn life lessons that will help them as the move on outside of the athletic arena. Opportunity for personal growth. Opportunity to be passionate about something that you are willing to work hard for. … Most importantly, the opportunity to develop young women into strong young women who believe in themselves and value what they have to offer.”
John Biedenbach took over the Trenton softball program in 1975. He has led teams to more than 940 wins and was inducted into the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1997. He also coached basketball teams to 445 wins beginning in 1977.
“Building that sense of being a ‘team’ is my most important job as a coach. The team leaves no one out in the cold; each member of the team plays as hard as they can for the sake of their teammates and for the sake of themselves. As coach, I lead by example, always stressing hard work and dedication, long hours practicing and the fundamentals of the game. If I have done my job, my players will start their adult lives stronger and better prepared for the challenges ahead.”
Lober has coached the Traverse City Central boys track and field team since 1977 and also the boys cross country team since 1989. His 1992 track team won the Class A championship, and he has coached 17 individual MHSAA Finals champions. He has built a record of 334-33-3 and was inducted into the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2006.
“Athletics are an integral part of the educational setting that should provide experiences through a variety of sports for every student, regardless of ability. While being part of the team, these experiences should foster the qualities of hard work, dependability, fitness and dedication to the team’s goals. Student athletes should be challenged, motivated, counseled and led through activities that develop their mental, social, physical and psychological needs.”
Storch Returns to Retirement After Elevating Alpena Teams From Cellar to Contenders
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
December 16, 2022
It wasn’t long ago that Alpena boys and girls soccer opponents took their long bus rides to play the Wildcats expecting an easy win, and most likely by securing the victory by the eight-goal differential rule, commonly known as the “mercy rule.”
Worse yet, the Wildcats also had to take those trips across the northern part of the Lower Peninsula, as well as northern and southern journeys of two hours, dreading thoughts of experiencing yet another shortened game.
Those expectations started to change in 2011, when Tim Storch, arguably the most decorated coach in the history of Michigan high school soccer, took the reins of the Wildcats’ boys and girls programs.
Storch made the move after retiring from Troy Athens as a teacher and coach of the Redhawks’ boys and girls soccer teams.
Slowly but surely, Alpena’s mercy losses disappeared – and wins over their Big North Conference opponents became reality. Under Storch, the Wildcats went from the cellar to challenging for titles.
But now, Storch is showing some mercy on the Big North – perhaps an early Christmas present. The conference schools won’t see him on sidelines any longer. He’s retiring – again.
Storch is doing so after leading the Wildcats to wins over all conference opponents except Traverse City West. The Wildcats did get a tie this fall against the Titans, one of the BNC schools that regularly makes a deep postseason run, as Alpena stayed in the league title race most of the season.
“When I came to Alpena it was about trying to make the program relevant in the school, the community, the area, the BNC and northern Michigan,” Storch recalled. “We got to that point after some growing pains.
“Early on we took our lumps, and we were mercied by everybody,” he continued. “By the end we were competitive with everybody.”
Storch, who started the Athens soccer programs from scratch in 1981, won eight Class A or Division 1 Finals titles with the Redhawks. He’s near the top of the lists of the winningest boys and girls soccer coaches in the state. The last of his 1,109 wins was a 3-1 victory over Bay City Western during this fall’s postseason.
The Wildcats also beat conference opponent Cadillac in their District opener. They finished 14-6-3 on the season.
Storch will be dearly missed in Northern Michigan, veteran Petoskey boys and girls coach Zach Jonker pointed out. Jonker’s Northmen picked up a victory over Alpena in the Division 2 District Final – also Storch’s last game.
"Tim has had a legendary career as one of the most influential figures in Michigan high school soccer over the past 40 years while having an enormous impact on thousands of student-athletes,” Jonker said. “Over the past decade, Tim helped to dramatically raise the overall level of play in the Big North.
“He is one of fiercest competitors I have ever coached against, but he is also one of the most genuine and empathetic coaches I have ever encountered,” Jonker continued. “I feel fortunate to have been able to build a competitive relationship with him and call him a friend."
Storch’s last game with the Alpena girls also was a District Final, a 3-0 loss May 31 to West.
Storch is proud of what the Wildcats accomplished, noting logistics — unlike in southeastern Michigan — were a big challenge.
“We were an island,” Storch said. “We were big school in the middle of nowhere.
“We couldn’t get together and have any kind of summer program with other communities because they didn’t have soccer, and if they had soccer they were at a Class D or C level that was way beneath what we were playing in the Big North.”
Storch’s tenure, which included six years serving as the Wildcats’ athletic director while coaching, drew accolades from his coaches and athletic directors. In addition to Jonker, Gaylord AD Christian Wilson, and West boys head coach and girls assistant coach Matt Griesinger gave high praise.
They are among those who will miss the successful coach.
“Tim leaves Alpena in better shape than when he arrived, and that is the true mark of a great coach and administrator,” Wilson said. “He has been an outstanding representative of Alpena High School, both as a soccer coach and as an athletic director.
“Tim brought a level of stability and expertise and was well-thought of by players, coaches, and community members.”
Griesinger, who has led the Titans to considerable postseason success and upheld BNC dominance since taking over the West program eight seasons ago, was particularly impressed with Storch’s energy and passion for his players evident in every match.
“Tim is one of the most respected coaches in the state, and what he has done for the soccer communities in both Troy and Alpena is not just commendable, but also something that every high school coach should hope to emulate,” Griesinger stated. “Storch is a stand-up guy, and all of us other coaches in the BNC should consider ourselves lucky that our journeys in the sport overlapped.”
Storch is leaving Michigan high school sports as they face a shortage of referees and qualified coaches. He’s not certain of the exact reasons for it, but he points to time constraints and pressures faced on and off the field.
And, he knows the days of a teacher starting a career, coaching sports and sticking with it are long gone.
“My wife has always said I was a dinosaur,” Storch said with a chuckle. “Back in my day, even if you had family and kids, you still made time for coaching.
“Coaching was part of my fiber — it kind of defined me.”
Storch is quick to point out “soccer coach” was just one of three hats he wore, along with history teacher and friend.
“I’m Mr. Storch to my students,” he recalls telling his student-athletes at Athens. “I’m Coach to my kids, and I am Tim to my friends.
“They are three different hats; I learned how to wear them and how to balance them.”
Storch looks back to all the friendships he’s made around the game of soccer – with former players, fellow coaches, and referees – with excitement for the future.
He is also keeping in mind former players, referees and coaches who have passed on.
“It is kind of humbling when I think back all the years (to) coaches, referees and players I have interacted with,” he said. “We’re all here for a finite time.
“We need to make the most of it and hopefully leave the place a better place when we leave.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Recently-retired Alpena soccer coach Tim Storch, left, talks things over with one of his players. (Middle) Storch, holding the microphone, elevated the Wildcats’ girls and boys programs since taking over both in 2011. (Photos courtesy of Therese Shaw.)