(Story originally appeared November 21st, 2018)
By: Kent Hutchison
STRYKER – “We knew we would have to go through a lot of growing pains this season.” That was how Stryker Head Football Coach Justin Sonnenberg responded when asked to reflect on the first year of Varsity Football in 86 years in Panther Town.
While on the surface the comment may seem as though Sonnenberg was expecting failure from the start. As he continued one discovers that his attitude in reality is just the opposite.
“A team with no returning lettermen, doesn’t matter the sport, would be underdogs in every game they play. The fact that our young men decided to represent our school and community on Friday nights, despite knowing the extremely high risk of failure, says a lot about their character. In order to be great you have to be willing to risk failing.”
“Our players risked failure and put it all on the line to build something great. Our seniors didn’t get to experience our programs first varsity win, but when that first win comes, they will be every bit responsible for it as the players who play the game.”
Once you understand the coaching pedigree that Sonnenberg brings into the position, it easy to see why he has the positive attitude, patience, work ethic, compassion, and why his players are a reflection of their mentor. Sonnenberg is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School.
While at PH, Sonnenberg was fortunate enough to play for not one, not two, but THREE different coaches who have all won State Championships. Sonnenberg shared how fortunate he was during his high school career, “What an amazing experience it was for me to play for coaches Bill Inselmann, Greg Inselmann, and Dave Krauss”.
If those Northwest Ohio coaching legends weren’t impressive enough references for Sonnenberg’s coaching resume, add the name Dan Simrell who was Sonnenberg’s football coach at The University of Findlay, and also was a very successful head coach at The University of Toledo, as well as an assistant coach at several other highly regarded college football programs.
Sonnenberg has been blessed not only in his playing days to be surrounded by great coaches and teachers as well as role models, but in his coaching career as well. While working as an assistant coach in not only football, but basketball and baseball, he has gained knowledge from the likes of Jerry Buti and Tom Held, just to name of few of the highly successful coaches Sonnenberg has had the opportunity to work with.
With all the experiences Sonnenberg has had both as a player and coach over his career, there were probably many other established programs where he could have begun his head coaching tenure. When asked why he chose Stryker, Sonnenberg’s passion to start on the ground floor was evident.
“I knew the coaching position at Stryker would provide an unique opportunity to build a program from the ground up. That’s what initially sparked my interest. I also knew the challenge it would present.”
“As a teacher and coach, you want your kids to take on difficult challenges and not shy away from them. This was an opportunity to practice what I preach. The excitement and support from the school district was also a very important factor in accepting the job. Stryker was committed to building a quality program.”
Sonnenberg’s commitment has been infectious to his team. “We will be in the weight room soon as our 1 month nocontact period is over. We had a number of players change the offseason culture last year and I expect even more will fully dedicate themselves in the weight room in order to become better all-around athletes.”
“Camp and our 7 on 7’s this summer will be very important, as well, as we prepare for next season. Our players now know what varsity football is all about and we will hold ourselves to that standard as we prepare for next year and beyond.”
The building blocks for the program begin well before the varsity level. Besides a JH team, Stryker also has a flag football program for students in grades 3-6. When asked what the biggest challenge was in making the transition from JV to the varsity level Sonnenberg shared his observations.
“Adjusting to the speed of varsity football. We tried to play fast but our technique and execution went out the window when we did. Typically, you have a handful of varsity players returning that know how to play at the varsity level. These players set the tone for practice and help get the other players ready to play at the speed needed for varsity football.”
“Without any varsity experience, we were not able to simulate that type of speed in practice. Besides the lack of varsity experience, numbers also hastened the rate at which the program has developed. However, Sonnenberg doesn’t anticipate that early trend will continue.
“I expect our numbers to increase for both junior high and high school next year. We had approximately 40 kids participate in our flag football program. The youth flag football program was established for grades 3-6. It has helped get kids excited about the game of football.”
“Stryker kids didn’t grow up watching their school compete under the Friday Night Lights. They never dreamed about playing high school football because it wasn’t an option for them. Now that it is, I am confident our numbers will go up. But, let’s be honest, the best way to get more kids out is to win games.”
Despite only having 13 healthy varsity players the final few games of the season, finishing 0-10, and experiencing several lopsided defeats, most teams would have given up. Just the opposite happened at Stryker. Sonnenberg explains why the team stayed positive despite all the apparent obstacles.
“We have tough players that don’t back down from a challenge. They have a lot of heart. That’s just who they are. We didn’t have to coach that. Soon, all that heart and toughness will turn into good physical football on the varsity level.”
With all the challenges the team was faced with this season, Sonnenberg was asked if he thought the transition to the varsity competition should have been postponed to hopefully ensure more success at the onset of varsity participation.
“The transition to varsity was going to be difficult, we knew that, but this was the right time to make the move. Playing another year on JV would have hurt our program. It would have allowed us to get away with poor technique and we would not have improved.”
“It doesn’t matter what team sport it is, JV players get ready for varsity by competing against experienced varsity athletes. Normally, a player goes through these growing pains within the privacy of practice. Our players had to learn them under the lights in front of everybody. But that’s just another example of our players’ toughness and courage.”
Obviously Sonnenberg is not only a coach, but a great teacher. This observation is verified by the impression he wants to leave on anyone who plays for him. “If you want to be successful you have to be willing to work hard and handle failure. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, constant hard work, and lot of perseverance. Failure and adversity is part of the process so don’t shy away from it. Bottom line, if you want something, work hard and go get.”
Finally, Sonnenberg was asked to share what he will remember most about the inaugural varsity campaign at Stryker. “I’ll never forget addressing the team after our first varsity game. I had a hard time holding back my emotions. The same thing happened after our last game. I am so proud of what we did this year. It’s an amazing honor to be their coach.”
Too often in sports the emphasis is solely on winning games. However, in their first season Sonnenberg, his coaching staff and his players have exemplified what high school athletics should be about; giving all you have to the best of your abilities, staying positive, and never giving up.
Although Stryker didn’t win a single game this year according to the scoreboard, anyone who had the privilege of seeing the coach and his team in action already know they were winners every night no matter what the final score indicated.
