At Forest Park, Jason Price replaces Kurt Lehmann, who resigned last spring after two years at the helm of the Trojans’ program.

At West Iron, Curt Olexa takes over for Dan Schive, who also retired last spring after 11 years as varsity coach and 30 combined years in the Wykon boys and girls programs.

Price comes into his initial varsity season with an intimate knowledge of the Forest Park program and the players he will coach.

“I’ve worked with all the kids in our program,” said Price, who is a 1996 graduate of Okemos High School and who played four years at Northern Michigan University. “I helped (former coach Chris Nocerini) for three years on varsity and then I took over the JV team for three years. I also got down with the little kids and the youth program and then up with the middle schoolers, so I’ve coached everybody in the program, which is a positive.”

Curt Olexa

Price and his wife Nicki (Williams) moved to her hometown of Crystal Falls in 2009. Having already established a lawn and landscape business downstate, Jason brought those skills to his new home and started Greencliff Lawn, Landscape and Snow. It was after Nocerini retired from the boys varsity job three years ago that Price first considered moving up to the top spot in the program. But he said it wasn’t the right time.

“It was more (my) work,” he added. “I think summers are very important for a successful basketball program and my passion was my work. And summers are very busy, so I wasn’t ready to make the jump. I know what it takes and how important the summers are (for a basketball program) and I wasn’t ready to commit at that time.”

He is now. Price will inherit an athletic, young group of players. The Trojans graduated their top scorers – Keall Emmers, Gavin Johnson and Tommy Showers. But just like the FP football program showed this fall, the Trojan athletes may be somewhat smaller than in years past, with an exception or two, but they are quick. And that will factor into how Price wants his first team to play.

“I think we’re going to get up and down now, maybe press you a little bit,” Price said. “I mean, I think a good team adapts and every team is going to be different. Right now we’re trying to figure each other out and its has been lots of conversations here and there, trying to get into their heads about what they feel comfortable with. And with what I’m seeing, it’s going to be pretty good.”

Price’s counterpart on the west side of the county enters his first season of coaching since he led the Wakefield freshman team back in the 1980s. Olexa was a touted player at Wakefield back in the late 70s and in 1980, the year he graduated. He also played one season at Hibbing (Minn.) Community College.

For the past 30 years, Olexa has been a referee and that experience left some impressions in his mind about how he wants to coach.

“Officiating, I watched a lot of kids that don’t get to play and I’ve got a system that I want to play where you play everybody,” he said. “I want to get kids and improve their skills and have fun.”

West Iron also lost its top scorers. Division 1-3 all-U.P. and West Pac Conference dream teamer Justin Nelson has moved on to Bay College and West Pac Conference first-team guard Nathan Thomson is now a member of the St. Norbert College golf team.

So Olexa’s first group will be green, but he says he is looking forward to teaching the young men the varsity game.

“Oh definitely, that gives me the passion to do this stuff,” Olexa said

Olexa is coy about exactly how his team will attempt to play, but he does offer a hint.

“What I employ, it’s going to take a lot of work,” he added. “Put it this way, we’re going to attack the rim, we’re not sitting back.”