Benton Harbor and Coach Uzelac

Submitted by madmaxweb on
Here's another great article on the road that Benton Harbor went on to get to the playoffs for the first time in their history. They play tomorrow at 7PM.

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2015/10/holdholdhold_bent…

As someone from the southwest part of Michigan and who played Benton Harbor all four years in high school this has been awesome to follow and I've been rooting for the school and those kids more than ever. Go Tigers.

laus102

October 29th, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^

I don't know much about football in BH, but the town is so, so cool. I love it there. there's a cool wreck of a bunch of cars from the 50s that a bunch of kids drove off of a cliff, mangled steel. it's awesome.

Joined: 10/21/2012

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AlCzerviksRide

October 29th, 2015 at 5:19 PM ^

They still have about 10,000 employees there (well, 9,999 now). I spent 6 years working for them.

No manufacturing though. Maybe that's what you are referring to. It's all engineering and other headquarter-ish stuff.  They actually just built (and are still building) a huge riverfront office building for 3-4,000 folks bringing in some of the people who have been working in St. Joe back into BH.

Joined: 12/18/2014

MGoPoints: 976

FieldingBLUE

October 29th, 2015 at 6:16 PM ^

The new global headquarters is in the city of BH (it used to be north of the city). They've helped revitalize downtown and together with the Arts District, which had been doing its part for more than a decade, have made downtown BH pretty cool. I hang out there most evenings even though I live outside of the city.

My kids go to St Joseph but I'm always pulling for the Tigers too.

Joined: 08/28/2008

MGoPoints: 4505

mb121wl

October 30th, 2015 at 1:23 AM ^

In fact, the new world HQ is being built right on the river from St. Joe.  Whirlpool CEO has been very supportive of the town's efforts to get back on their feet.

Incidentally, you know that Kate Upton is Rep. Fred Upton's niece, right?  Fred's descended form the founders of the 1910 Washing Machine Company.

Joined: 11/29/2014

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LSAClassOf2000

October 29th, 2015 at 2:44 PM ^

"Elliot is a very active man, and he needs to be on the go," Wendy Uzelac said. "I know that about him — we've been married 52 years. She suggested that he consider a return to coaching, perhaps at a school that would be a real challenge, such as Benton Harbor.

You kind of get the sense - just looking at his coaching resume - that Uzelac definitely needs to be on the go and working, his two stints as Michigan's OL coach included of course. Given the state of Benton Harbor football when he arrived, I would say that he not only found a real challenge but has deftly begun to conquer it too. 

Very cool article, OP. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130603

BlueinLansing

October 29th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^

is Jackson County Western coached by former Dearborn High coach Dave Mifsud.  JCW had never made the playoffs, won just 42 games over 22 years.  Mifsud walked in the first day and told the kids in 3 years you'll be in the state playoffs.  Year 3 and JCW is in its first ever football playoffs.

 

Best part is their QB is a kid named Steele Fortress.

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 23520

madmaxweb

October 29th, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^

Yea, Benton Harbor has some extremely talented kids in all sports but nearly all of them are in poor families and have very little help from anyone (parents, coaches, teachers, etc). Benton Harbor's basketball team could be one of the best teams in the state IMO if all the talented kids in the school district were more disciplined not only on the court but in the classroom. So much of the top talented kids either fail to qualify to play or just flat out drop out of school.

Joined: 02/21/2012

MGoPoints: 1865

FieldingBLUE

October 29th, 2015 at 6:22 PM ^

...but also far from true. The biggest issue with BHHS sports is simply how qwful the school is. Most of the top talent ends up at other local schools via School of Choice. Lakeshore and St Joseph have both added a number of BH kids over the years to their athletic programs as parents of talented athletes would rather their kids move to a more stable educational environment. BHHS was about 1300 kids just a decade ago. This year it's down to 675-ish. They were always Class A/Division 1 for football. Now they're Division 4, though 3 of their 5 victories in football were over Class A schools.

Coaches and teachers are huge positive influences on kids in BH. Parents, too. But many are in tough family situations and those around them are the real reason kids struggle. The ply of the drug trade and the lure of easy money gets a lot of kids in trouble at an early age. 

And I'm a little sensitive to BH bashing (even if trying to be helpful). I've been working in the city with kids and youth for over a decade and I always see the positives coming from this once great and always proud town.

Joined: 08/28/2008

MGoPoints: 4505

Esterhaus

October 29th, 2015 at 7:37 PM ^

 
No, the biggest issue with BH as with some other blighted areas within Michigan is not how awful the school is - the schooling is merely reflective of the community today. BHHS was at one time the best high school in the region, and the supporting community economically powerful. 
 
And then a culture, hailing from the MS Delta, where single mothers predominate, moved in. You can deny this all you want but like all other mammals there are different breeds within the species. And the breed that moved into BH killed that city. 
 
I witnessed this up close and personal because although I was raised in St. Joseph my church in nearby Fairplain, which majority was predominately not like me and mine, contributed ample evidence that as human beings under Christ we are NOT the same breed. The phenomenon I intimate literally extinguished BH, now we attempt to repair the mess. Thank you, Lyndon Johnson - I hope your ghost enjoys the mayhem.
 
So let's build, period. No child left behind if we can manage it. I continue to know many fine people in BH, and I wish the best for them.  But I refuse to be blind and ignore the causation for the struggle.

Joined: 03/16/2015

MGoPoints: 7733

mb121wl

October 30th, 2015 at 1:39 AM ^

Not as much as it was the drug business from Chicago and Detroit moving into fertile grounds in BH.  There were plenty of solid blue collar families in BH until the decline in the US auto business in the 70s killed AUSCO (Auto Specialties).  You know how many businesses depended on the Big Three manufacturers?  A lot.  Then Whirlpool closed its manufacturing in the area and shipped it to points south.  Had nothing to do with the Delta immigrants.

You wanna blame somebody, blame the auto execs who turned communities like BH into ghost towns where only the pushers and the addicts and too-poor-to-get-out folks would live.

And while we're talking politics, how about the wonderful representation BH has had in Congress from hostiles like Hutchinson, Stockman, and Upton?!  You think they've done anything for BH?  I know--I sat in one of their offices in D.C. and watched it play out.

Joined: 11/29/2014

MGoPoints: 216

Parkinen

October 30th, 2015 at 6:01 AM ^

Yes. Back in the 60's and 70's Benton Harbor was part of the Lake Michigan Athletic Conference which included Traverse City, Holland, and a couple of powerhouse schools from Grand Rapids and Muskegon. BH always had great teams.



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UNCWolverine

October 29th, 2015 at 6:34 PM ^

Coldwater HS was founded in 1862 and has never won a football playoff game. Tomorrow night we host a team that we killed earlier this season so we should get our first one. Not sure why there isn't an article about that?!?

/s

Good stuff for Benton Harbor. They have been in a very tough league for years. I'll be pulling for them.

Joined: 10/06/2008

MGoPoints: 23188