THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Newest Hawk coach ready for next step
It was a totally different sport that brought Mike Schroeder to this part of the state some four years ago.
Then, COVID hit, and Schroeder punted on one, and moved on.
“I ran the Coeur d’Alene Hockey Academy three years after moving here,” said Schroeder, who moved from southern Idaho in 2018. “After COVID hit, we had less numbers of kids coming and weren’t able to do as much, so I got out of that and got back into teaching and coaching.”
SCHROEDER, 54, was named the Lakeland High football coach on April 13, replacing Tim Kiefer, who stepped down in February after 19 seasons. Adding in his father Terry Kiefer's time as coach, it will be the first time since 1979 a Kiefer hasn't led the Lakeland program.
“It’s been a fairly smooth transition so far,” said Schroeder, who was an assistant on the football staff last fall. “Everyone has been good to work with and supportive so far. I’m looking forward to it. We’re going to change some things and need to be more disciplined, play more physical and tougher mentally. We’re going to try to change the mentality here.”
Schroeder, who teaches special education at Lakeland High, previously was the head coach at Emmett High for five years. He has also coached at Mt. San Jacinto Community College in San Jacinto, Calif., and at Southern Utah.
“I’ve been a head coach for 19 of the last 27 years,” Schroeder said. “We’ll run elements of the spread, but we’ll be more inclined to be a west coast offense and more of a pro-style offense. We’ll have a tight end, H-back and fullback in there. Our main goal is going to be to control the ball, whether we run or pass it.”
Schroeder played H-back and tight end at Southern Utah, then served as a graduate assistant and assistant coach before moving on to various schools in California.
LAST FALL, Lakeland finished 5-5, advancing to the state 4A playoffs and falling to eventual champion Skyline of Idaho Falls 42-21 in the opening round. The Hawks will return six all-league selections next fall.
“We’ve got a fair amount of talent coming back,” Schroeder said. “We’ll be very well versed at the running back and slot back. We lost some real good guys at receiver and will have to replace them. But we feel good about the guys we’ve got coming back. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I feel good about where we’re at.”
Lakeland’s last outright 4A Inland Empire League title was in 2016, when the Hawks went 2-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
“The kids work hard,” Schroeder said. “To get over the hump, we’re going to have to change the culture, both physically and mentally on the field. And the kids have the chance to be a little better in those areas. Sandpoint is the favorite for sure and they’ve got things rolling up there. But I feel confident that we’ll have a chance to get where we want to go. In a three-team league, I don’t see any alternative. I think we and our kids expect to win league championships.”
That work begins Aug. 19, when the Hawks face Preston to open the season for a second straight year at Montana Tech in Butte, Mont.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.