THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE, Dec. 11, 2014
We didn't necessarily need confirmation, but recent chats with Coeur d'Alene's two high school football head coaches served as a reminder that their players are in pretty good hands - on and off the field.
I TALKED to Coeur d'Alene High football coach Shawn Amos a few days before the Coeur d'Alene-Lake City game in October. I asked him about the rivalry, in which one team has usually dominated for years at a time, since Lake City opened in 1994. In recent years, Coeur d'Alene has had the upper hand, winning six straight games before Lake City beat the Vikings in overtime at Coeur d'Alene this year.
His response was refreshing.
"Honestly, we never made beating Lake City our No. 1 goal," Amos said. "Our No. 1 goal is to make good husbands, fathers and citizens. Wins and losses come from a lot of different situations."
That philosophy comes from a coaching staff with years of experience together. Assistant Ron Nelson has been there since Amos took over at Coeur d'Alene in 1997. Assistants Jeff Vesser and Derek Edwards soon followed. Another assistant, Dustin Shafer, played for Amos at Kellogg, where he coached for two seasons before coming to Coeur d'Alene.
"We've had a core group for 10 years or so," Amos said. "We found a group of guys that have the same philosophy, on how to treat kids, and coach football."
But, Amos said, "don't get me wrong, it was frustrating" when his Vikings lost 11 straight games to Lake City, before Amos earned his first win in the city rivalry in 2004.
"There was a long stretch of time when we were a pretty darn good football team, and Lake City had been just a step ahead of us."
Amos is 115-70 in 18 seasons at Coeur d'Alene, 126-75-1 in 20 seasons overall as a high school football coach. He attributed the Vikings' recent success in the rivalry with Lake City to having a run of pretty good football players come through the program in recent years.
Funny how that works. The team with more talent usually wins. But that's something coaches can't always control; the other part, they can.
"It's more than just about football; it's also about trying to develop young men," Amos said.
AFTER A couple of weeks of rest following the football season, the Lake City Timberwolves were back in the weight room last week, already gearing up for the 2015 season.
So was their coach, Van Troxel, busy putting the players through their circuit training, his voice sounding a tad horse.
"My voice is better this week that it was last week," he said the other day.
Troxel's passion is still there, helped by last year's 9-2 season and trip to the state 5A semifinals. He confirmed that he'll be back to coach next season, which will be his 22nd at Lake City, and 37th season overall as a high school football coach.
"When they (the players) returned (from the break), they were all gung-ho; they all bought in," Troxel said. "So it was a pretty easy decision (to come back)."
Troxel spoke often how impressed he was with the work ethic of the current senior class. He said this year's juniors have a great example to follow, and he's excited about their similar "all-in" attitude.
"These guys have definitely got my attention," said Troxel, who is 140-78-1 at Lake City, 217-157-1 overall. "If they work at it, they can be pretty good. So right now, I still think I'm the best guy to get them there."
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.