A new assistant coach and a large addition of varsity players are a few changes the boys golf team is bringing with them into the 2012 spring season. Though it has a shortage of seniors, the team plans on stopping at nothing to make this season a successful one.

Senior James Brasseur explained that the team added a lot of new faces to the varsity roster this year. Though the team is a little smaller, it managed to fill up a majority of the spots left open by last year’s graduating class.

“All of the seniors needed to be replaced, so that was a change compared to my first three years where it was usually the same group of guys every year,” Brasseur said.

Another new addition to the team is Tim Kunstek who has stepped up as an assistant coach. Since it is his first year, he is learning how practice and matches work.

“Coach Kunstek, I think, is going to offer a lot from the mental side of the game.  He is one of those guys who is always positive. However, I think the boys will learn that he does have a tough side when needed.  Being a player of the game, he will be able to offer strategic plays and advice,” head coach Richard Kretz said.

Kretz has been coaching for a total of ten years. His prior coaching experience at the high school level includes freshmen and junior varsity basketball at Griffith. He then came to Portage and coached freshmen and JV basketball again, along with being a varsity assistant. Kretz also volunteered with the boys golf team before becoming a head coach.

Kretz confirmed that the boys were a younger team this year compared to others.

“We lost six seniors from a regional qualifying team, which included an All-Conference and a state qualifier two years ago. We only have one senior, James Brasseur, and one player with any real varsity experience, which is Nick Lewis,” Kretz said.

Kretz also described how competitive the Duneland Athletic Conference is. He explained that the team will be much better by the end of the season than it is now. Also, giving the players new roles on the team may cause some bumps in the road, but the team will be prepared to learn from those mistakes and gear up for the postseason with an eye on the DAC schedule.