Performance: Bay Reps' Jake Stevenson
February 15, 2019
Jake Stevenson
Traverse City St. Francis senior – Hockey
Stevenson had three goals including two straight during the third period to send Saturday’s game against Petoskey to overtime, as his Traverse City Bay Reps co-op team went on to win 5-4 and clinch the Northern Michigan Hockey League championship. Stevenson, in his fourth season in the program, is the team’s leading scorer and has scored five goals over his last three games in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The Bay Reps are made up of players from Stevenson’s St. Francis High School as well as Bear Lake, Elk Rapids, Kalkaska and Kingsley. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games to move to 17-5 and earn the No. 11 ranking in Division 1. The hat trick was Stevenson’s second this season, and after Thursday’s win over Manistee he has 22 goals and 20 assists in 22 games this winter. Petoskey led Saturday’s game 2-0 before Stevenson scored his first goal, and he added his second on a power play and his third from just outside the circle.
Stevenson is playing this season for his third high school head coach; his dad Mark was the coach Jake’s freshman year, followed by Ryan Fedorinchik the last two and now former assistant – and NHL defenseman – Mike Matteucci. Jake Stevenson also played soccer at St. Francis and golf earlier in high school, and he’s hoping to continue playing hockey at the junior level and then collegiately after graduating this spring. He carries a 3.0 GPA and eventually would like to study drone piloting.
Coach Mike Matteucci said: “This will be Jake's fourth year playing high school hockey, and each year his game has improved. Jake has always wanted to move on to the next level after high school, so the last couple of years he has really taken ownership in his game. As a coach, it is a pleasure to come to the rink every day and have players like Jake who are coachable and who make others around them better. This year more than others, Jake has embraced the ‘team’ game, which as increased our statistical output as well as helped us win more games. What separates Jake from others is his tenacity. He is a very competitive person who is hard to play against. He is definitely an impact player on our team!”
Performance Point: “It's senior year and you don't want to go down without a fight. All the boys started the pick it up in the third period, and we all brought it together,” Stevenson said of his team’s comeback against Petoskey. “We just weren’t connecting our passes. Everyone was getting too nervous with the puck, not really calm. We weren't really playing our game. I think just being one of the leaders on the team, you need to show that even when we're down, it’s no excuse to stop playing. Someone had to step up and take control a little bit.”
Together as a team: “It's fun just knowing there's all these guys (from Bay Reps’ schools) out there, and being able to play with them and meet them and become new friends. I think when we're at the rink we make the most of it, every time we're there from the second we walk in to the second we leave. Usually no one just leaves right after practice – we kinda hang out for a little bit and talk, and catch up and mess around see how everyone's day is going. We hang out every now and then in the summer times. We do some summer hockey together. ... We try to stay close.”
Valuable input: “We've brought in Mike Matteucci as our head coach and Kyle Jean, Mikey Wittersheim and of course Coach (Eric) Videan. I think all the coaching staff has helped a lot, helped bring everyone together. They've taken different looks at kids and helping them out. Coach Jean has helped me out tremendously on offense, just helping me realize when to shoot the puck, when to make the pass, how to make the plays. Coach Matteucci has been helping me a lot in the defensive zone, and so has Coach Videan. And Mikey's our goalie coach, and he's been helping me out with tips on where to shoot.”
Dad knows: “It was great having him as a coach because he played in the high-level juniors and he knows a lot about the game, and he’s coached a lot of kids so that helped a lot. Every now and then he still gives me advice from what he sees and tries to help me out still.”
Game on: “Everybody in my family has played hockey, even my mom did; she played on a girls club team when she was younger. (I have) three sisters and three brothers … I'm the second youngest. We used to build a rink in our back yard, and so we'd all go out there and play, and we got a little competitive because obviously we all want to be the best from the family. But it's fun. I'd say I'm the best, but ... my brother thinks he is. I don't know about that.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
February 7: Molly Davis, Midland Dow basketball - Read
January 31: Chris DeRocher, Alpena basketball - Read
January 24: Imari Blond, Flint Kearsley bowling - Read
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29: Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15: Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8: Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1: Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) The Bay Reps' Jake Stevenson (5) battles for the puck during a November game against Big Rapids. (Middle) Stevenson brings the puck forward against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central. (Photos courtesy of the Traverse City Bay Reps hockey program.)
Multi-Sport Coach Kalleward Molds Multi-School Eagles Into Formidable Foe
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
January 21, 2025
KALAMAZOO – When it comes to hockey, JD Kalleward has a different challenge than many high school coaches.
His Kalamazoo Eagles team is a cooperative of six schools: Richland Gull Lake, Parchment, Vicksburg, Plainwell, Kalamazoo Christian and Paw Paw.
That is not a problem for Kalleward, who has more than 30 years of coaching experience to help meld his players into a family.
“In the locker room we sit by our linemates,” Gull Lake senior forward Carter Dominowski said. “My line is one from Vicksburg, one from Gull Lake.
“It’s all team bonding, hanging out, having fun. We have team dinners every Tuesday (at The Nest at Wings Event Center, where the Eagles practice).”
Kalleward went from Eagles assistant coach to head coach when Matt Kruzich stepped down after last season. The team has rebounded from a 1-3 start this winter to reach 8-7 with eight games remaining before the start of the MHSAA Tournament.
“JD was the perfect replacement for many reasons: his meticulous preparation, practice planning, management skills,” Kruzich said. “But most of all, I’ve seen the positive impact that he has had on 100 percent of young men and hockey players specifically.”
Gull Lake is the sponsoring school and providing nine of the 23 players.
“It’s a challenge.” Kalleward said of bringing the players together. “You work together, do exercises for bonding in preseason, and you make certain they’re playing for each other.”
The veteran coach has almost 1,000 high school hockey games under his skates. Add the 170 games coaching lacrosse, and he has eclipsed that milestone total.
Coaching across multiple net games
Kalleward started his coaching career with Art Missias in KOHA youth hockey, then moved to Portage Northern when Missias took that head coaching job in 1986. He took over the Northern coaching reins five years later when Missias retired.
Kalleward expanded his coaching experience, becoming Northern’s assistant boys lacrosse coach for three years until being named head coach in 2016.
Comparing hockey and lacrosse, Kalleward said the field sport is a bit harder to coach because of numbers.
“Both are chess games, and both are very fluid,” he said. “Lacrosse has 10 (players) instead of six, but it’s also easier to hide some of your weaker kids in lacrosse.”
Kalleward has had more success in lacrosse, making the MHSAA Division 2 Quarterfinals three of the last five years and winning the Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference three times.
Kalleward said he enjoys coaching both sports, and there are some common elements – especially defensively.
“In hockey, you have to keep your head on a swivel, be aware of your surroundings the entire time,” he said. “Same in lacrosse. Always one more pass you’re looking to make.”
When it comes to drills, especially in hockey, the coach readily admits to “stealing” them from other programs to instruct his players.
“That’s how you learn,” he said, naming drills after former coaching friends. “(Portage Central’s) Jim Murray drills. (Kalamazoo Wings) Mark Reeds drills, (Western Michigan University’s) Bill Wilkinson drills, (K-Wings) Ken Hitchcock drills, (Fox Motors AAA U16) Travis Richards drills.”
Learning more than hockey
Kalleward coaches life skills as well as hockey techniques, assistant coach Ken Rogers said.
“These kids aren’t going to be NHL players after high school, so it’s trying to develop some responsibility, some accountability, what’s it like to be on your own,” Rogers said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors, and they’re going to be away from home next year.
“For most of them, that’s a big step in their lives. What we try to do along with hockey is instill those life lessons. Being part of a hockey team, you’re going to have to face those challenges when you get a job, become a good employee.”
Kalleward, who is on the ice with the team every day but Sunday, said that with tournaments the Eagles play 25 games a season plus MHSAA playoffs.
“I enjoy coaching,” he said. “We’re not here for you to try to be the next Sidney Crosby, that next pro. We’re here to have a good experience in high school, be competitive, have fun.
“I’m very big about life lessons. I’m very old school: manners, how we behave in public, address each other.”
Gull Lake senior defenseman Evan Kares appreciates that leadership.
“He has taught me to make smart decisions,” Kares said. “He’s developed the way I think about hockey and the way I play. He’s really introduced the physical aspect for me. I’m still not there yet, but I’m working on it.”
Forward Hank Livingston, another Gull Lake senior, added, “He’s always pushing the team to be the best players and best young men we can be. He’s always trying to help everyone.”
Other Gull Lake players are Owen Anderson, Joey Blondia, Henry Ludmer, Ryan Rocco, Henry Worgess and Jacob Worgess. Players from Vicksburg are Aidyn Garza, Blaine Herson, Cody Klesko and Grant Stopher, while the two from Paw Paw are Colton Gronau and Caleb Ranger.
Kalamazoo Christian players are Isaac Riggs, Matthew Rohrer, Ryan Rohrer and Ari Wilkinson. The lone Comstock player is Brody Woolsey. Ryan Baranoski, and Carter Monette are from Plainwell and Kayden Hailey is from Parchment.
One of the downsides to coaching hockey is how player numbers are dwindling, Kalleward said.
The South Central Michigan Hockey League is down to six teams and four besides the Eagles are co-ops: the Capital City Capitals (Lansing), Eastside Stars (East Lansing), Kalamazoo United, and Portage. Mattawan is the only team that is not made up of players from multiple schools.
“That’s the sad thing about hockey,” Kalleward said. “It’s hard to grow the sport with the expense. I like to joke that (renting the ice) costs $6 a minute.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Eagles coach JD Kalleward talks strategy with Gull Lake seniors (from left) Hank Livingston, Evan Kares and Carter Dominowski. (2) Kalleward and his Portage Northern lacrosse team receive the Matt Thrasher trophy in 2019 from then-Portage Central athletic director Joe Wallace (speaking into microphone). (3) Eagles assistant coach Ken Rogers. (4) Kalleward, standing, coaches his Eagles hockey team. (Top photo and headshot by Pam Shebest. Lacrosse and hockey game photos courtesy of JD Kalleward.)