Season Recap: Birmingham Seaholm

<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b>A Rebuilding squad</b></span> By all accounts, my alma mater was not good this season, although they have significant hope on the horizon. The Maples had a small senior class, with lots of promising class of 2024 and 2023 talent which include <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/8036203">[player_tooltip player_id="253291" first="Sean" last="Emerson"], </a><a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13210687">John Jokisch, </a><a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15041634">[player_tooltip player_id="253296" first="Kyle" last="Robbins"], </a><a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/10344897">[player_tooltip player_id="253292" first="Granden" last="Kinnie"]</a>, <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15041690">[player_tooltip player_id="252599" first="Colton" last="Kinnie"]</a>, among others. Here’s a quick recap of the Maples season - 28-42 L vs Byron Center 7-38 L vs Clarkston 13-41 L vs Rochester 14-21 L vs Groves 0-35 L vs Rochester Adams 6-20 L vs Oak Park 41-34 W vs North Farmington 6-35 L vs Lake Orion 21-43 L vs Stoney Creek <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Highs and Lows </span></strong> Seaholm has been a very interesting program over the years. When I arrived as a freshman in 2015, the Maples were coming off of a below-average 4-5 season after an incredible 2013, winning the OAA Blue with a 9-2 season + big playoff upset. During my years playing at Seaholm, we had gone 3-5 in 2015 and 3-6 in 2016, with the program being plagued by some bad apples. After an expectedly bad 1-8 year in 2017 with a very small senior class, many of the bad apples (and incredible apples) graduated and my class took over, leading the Maples to a 7-3 season and another OAA Blue championship. From there, Seaholm had a year like no other in 2019, going 9-4 with an exceptional state semifinal run led by many exceptional athletes and people. Though, they’ve gone back down with a 5-3 2020 and a 1-8 2021, though again, the future looks very bright. The question is, can Seaholm accomplish sustained success? <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Coaching</span></strong> Hired back in February of 2012, Jim DeWald has been Seaholm’s head coach for quite some time. DeWald is a Veer coach, one who believes in hard-nose old-school football. He knows the Veer inside and out and coaches up the linebackers exceptionally well. I’ve grown to greatly appreciate his emphasis on being a leader in the classroom, as well as being a leader in the community, the social scene, etc. DeWald is truly a great role model who preaches all the right ideas. DeWald is also a tone-setter who always expects the absolute best out of his athletes day in and day out, I can still hear his voice echo "How come I don’t get reps?". DeWald is complimented by Jason Bazner, who was the Offensive line coach, JV Head coach, and Head Track and Field coach during my time at Seaholm. He’s a sarcastic, no-nonsense football coach who knows exactly when to be a teacher, and exactly when to show some tough love. Bazner would often ask us, in an obviously sarcastic and joking tone, if we’d like things written in crayon if we didn’t understand something the first time. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Rising Stars</strong></span> As I stated above, Seaholm was an incredibly young squad this season and I fully expect them to be competitive in 2022. Here are a few of those players that I expect to lead this program. <strong>RB <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/10344897">[player_tooltip player_id="253292" first="Granden" last="Kinnie"]</a> and QB <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15041690">[player_tooltip player_id="252599" first="Colton" last="Kinnie"] </a>(2024)</strong> Cameron and Drew Chandler were the two MVPs of the record-breaking Unity Christian football program this year, and I see no reason why Granden and Colton can’t do the same at Seaholm. As sophomores, the Kinnie’s showed a ton of promise, with Colten getting an all-league nod while Granden played very well on varsity despite an injury. I can’t stress this enough- for these two to meet their potential, they need to continue to be leaders on and off the football field. This means keeping their already great grades while being a greatly positive representation of Seaholm Football everywhere they go. <strong>WR/SB/DB <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15041634">[player_tooltip player_id="253296" first="Kyle" last="Robbins"]</a> (2024)</strong> Robbins was amazing this season. Just look at his tape, it’s a whole 7:38 long and he’s only a sophomore. He shows a tremendous amount of promise on both sides of the ball, as he can do anything from stop the run to make spectacular catches. On offense, he’s a talented receiver and veer option with great speed-in-space type skills with good elusiveness, acceleration, and balance. I’m genuinely excited to see what Robbins will be able to do next season, and I hope he can become a positive leader for this team. <strong>DE <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13210687">John Jokisch </a>(2023)</strong> Jokisch is a force at the defensive end spot, with his strength being his length, speed, IQ, and rip move. He’s a player that is relentless in finding the football and helping his team in general. With his speed, as well as his size listed on hudl as 6’4 235lbs, I really believe it would benefit Jokisch to have a higher arsenal of speed moves, like <a class="uni-link--implied" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12866025">Muragin</a>, the best 2023 defensive end in the state. But don’t get me wrong, Jokisch is a great athlete that will be on our watchlist this coming season, and can surely get into our top-50 if he performs up to his potential. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Looking Ahead </strong></span> I can’t confidently predict how the Maples will perform next season, but I fully expect them to be more competitive at the very least. This past season seemed like another low for the program, and they’re surely aiming for a quick turnaround as they’ve done before. For any team, I point to culture being essential if you want to compete for a state championship, and you can’t have a great culture without exceptional student leaders. Rochester Adams really made the blueprint for a veer team, and let’s see if Seaholm can follow suit.