Jonesville hires new varsity football coach

27-year-old Joshua Lindeman is set on bringing what he calls "The Comet Way" to Jonesville, and now he'll get an opportunity, as the Comets varsity football coach.

It was finalized Monday that Lindeman, a Hudson High School graduate, will be the successor to Brian Stroble, who resigned in late March after three seasons at the helms.

Lindeman graduated from Adrian College in 2005, and has coached at various positions for JV and varsity programs at the Class A level ever since. He has garnered experience at Tecumseh, Ann Arbor Pioneer and Ann Arbor Skyline, and he is also finishing up his third year of teaching at Jackson High School.

When he heard the Comet job was opening up he said it felt like the perfect opportunity in an ideal community, where he can do what he loves most — work with kids, change lives, and be around football.

"Jonesville is one of those jobs that just fit. I'm a small town guy, I think I understand both athletes from this size area, as well as from bigger schools, from four years in Class A, and I think I can help build this program up," he said.

Lindeman was married last July and is not yet a father, so he believes he has the time and resources to build something special, starting June 8 when offseason football workouts officially start.

"There are three things in my life. First is my faith and family, second is teaching, because I love it and it pays the bills, and third is football. I told my wife what she was getting into when we got married, she knows I love football, and I'm excited about this chance," he said.

Lindeman said he has a vision for the program, which begins at the seventh grade level with youth football, and focuses on one philosophy from middle school up to the varsity squad —a philosophy he calls"The Comet Way".

"The five things are commitment, optimism, maturity, enthusiasm and teamwork. I think I've learned some 'Dos and Don'ts ' of building programs the last few years and I'll use that knowledge and experience," he said.

Lindeman also said he believes communication between the program and the community, parents, students and the administration is vital. He said the football program is working on setting up a community-wide get together for late May to introduce Lindeman to the community, while also presenting a forum for public comment.

The Comets have gone 10-17 the last three years, including a 5-4 mark in 2008.
The next order of business is for Lindeman to hire his staff, which he said could include some holdovers from Stroble's staff, as well as some new faces.

Read more...

Stroble steps down as Comets' head coach

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="199" caption="After three seasons as the head football coach at Jonesville High School Brian Stroble has resigned."][/caption]

By RJ Walters / Daily News Sports Editor

As published in the Hillsdale Daily News on March 27, 2009

Just when it looked like the Brian Stroble-era of Jonesville football was getting rolling, it has suddenly come to a screeching halt.

The Comets head coach of three seasons notified the school of his resignation Tuesday, citing a desire to spend more time with his family and focus on things other than football in what had become a year-round, daily commitment.

Jonesville Community Schools has already posted the coaching vacancy on its Web site and Stroble will officially announce his resignation at the district's next board of education meeting.

Jonesville went 10-17 under Stroble's leadership, including a promising 5-4 campaign in 2008, where the Comets came up just one win short of a playoff berth.

While Stroble admitted it was tough to step down, Jonesville athletic director Kathy Bondsteel agreed that the timing is right for both Stroble and the program as a whole.

"Brian has a new family and I know he wants to spend some time with his family and it's a lot time away from them to have to run a football program," she said. "I don't think I would ever say it wasn't the right fit. It's just that a varsity position is a huge time commitment and sometimes when you have a family it's hard...it's really hard to say."

Bondsteel added that her former head coach is a great teacher who does a good job with children, the current state of Jonesville football just dictated that the parties go their separate ways.

Stroble has a daughter who turns five in July and a 4-month-old son and he said he just couldn't put the football program's success ahead of spending quality time with his family.

"I think in order for the program to continue to get better I would have had to spend more time working in the program and with the program, and it takes a lot (of hours) to be the varsity football coach. I know Marc Lemerand over at Hillsdale has a young family and he's made it work, but right now in my life I'm young. I'm only 30 years old and other opportunities will come around," he said. "Football, as much as I love the kids and the game, my family comes first. My son was born in December and now summer is coming along and I'd be spending hours in the weight room and hours in meetings and sessions, but my son is only going to be young once."

Bondsteel echoed Stroble's mindset, saying whoever is hired to replace him is going to have to prove to her they want to "live, breathe, and die football at Jonesville" starting July 12.

"They've got to want to have the parents of the players on board and I've got parents here who are waiting to be as helpful as they can, because they like to see success for the kids and for the community as a whole," she said. "The (community) takes ownership and have pride in Jonesville and that's one thing that's a positive aspect here."

Stroble said he has no regrets from what he is calling his "first career" in football, but did say it would've been nice to go out after a playoff appearance and he wishes he would've started using the Wing-T offense a little sooner to give his players a better shot at success. He said a 10-17 record isn't one he considers to be great by any means, but he does feel good about how with the help of assistants like Dustin Scharer and Louie LaMothe the Comet football team seems headed in the right direction.

"With next year's group of guys coming through, Jonesville looks to be reckoned with. We have 17 starters returning...I feel like I've left the program in a great position and now I can focus on my family and teaching," he said.

This was never an easy decision for Stroble, who said he will "always love the game" and be back coaching when his children are older, so not surprisingly he actually found some solace in the words of a fellow Big Eight coach earlier this week.

"I e-mailed the Big Eight coaches and thanked them for three years of, I guess you could say, ethical football coaching; and I got a response back from (Reading's) Rick Bailey and he expressed that he was sorry to hear I was leaving and he thought I had done a great job and he could see Jonesville working their way back to where (former coach) Greg Morrison had it," he said. "I played against (Rick's teams) when I was in high school at Quincy and as an official I've crossed paths with him lots of times, so I took what Rick Bailey had to say, and that helped me out a lot."

Read more...

Brian Stroble steps down as Jonesville High School head football coach

After just three seasons at the helm, Jonesville High School football coach Brian Stroble has resigned as the Comets head coach. He resigned Tuesday, citing the desire to spend more quality time with his family, instead of living in the weight room and film room.

He has a little girl who is almost five years old and a 4-month-old son. From talking with several sources off the record I thought there may have been quite a rift between Stroble and Jonesville athletic director Kathy Bondsteel, but after talking with both of them at length I thing my radar may have been a bit off.

No, they're probably not best friends and never will be, but they had a solid working relationship and both of them came to the realization Stroble needed to show more commitment to the program to take it to the next level and they both knew he wanted to put that time in elsewhere — with his wife and kids — which I personally think is a great thing, despite what Comet athletic boosters and some fans might think.

A full-length article with quotes and other details will be on here tomorrow afternoon.

Read more...