The coach who helped build a small farming community’s high school wrestling program into a renowned county and state powerhouse is retiring.
After 35 years at Lake Orion High School, Coach Doug Kline has decided to step off the mat.
‘Is it going to be sad? Yeah, it’s going to be hard. I’m sure I’m going to be spending some time in the gym by myself,? he said.
He leaves behind him a long legacy, including a state championship in 1990 and last year’s team that went to the state semifinals in Battle Creek.
He’s also coached two state champion wrestlers, Mike Calcaterra in 1995 and last year’s Jake Varilek.
The decision to retire was not an easy one, Kline admitted.
‘It was always the joke that when the day arrived and I couldn’t beat any of the kids, then it was time to go,? Kline said. ‘Well, that happened a long time ago.?
Kline, who also teaches history at the high school, is only stepping down from his coaching duties as of right now.
But a home he and wife Sharon built in Florida awaits.
‘There are a lot of bass in the lakes down there I’d like to get at,? he said.
His long career in Lake Orion began 35 years ago, in 1972, after Kline finished up school at Western Michigan University, where he wrestled and played baseball.
‘I always wanted to teach and coach,? Kline said.
The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.
Kline’s father was a wrestling coach who eventually became the athletic director at Ann Arbor High School in Ann Arbor, where Kline grew up.
He remembers being 5 or 6 years old and riding on the bus with the teams his dad coached.
‘I grew up watching all the kids wrestle, ? he said. ‘And I was always wrestling as long as I can remember. I followed in my dad’s footsteps. I’m the epitome of the son who idolized his father and wanted to be just like him.?
After his senior year in high school, Kline was offered a $500 contract to play baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Kline declined. Instead, he went to Western where he majored in social studies, with a minor in climatology.
Like many fresh college graduates, Kline said he had no idea where he was going to end up, though he was intent on getting into teaching and coaching.
Through the grapevine, he heard about an up and coming place in northern Oakland County called Lake Orion.
‘I didn’t know where it was. I had to look on a map,? he said. ‘Lake Orion was a small, sleepy little burg then.?
He interviewed and signed a contract the same day. Kline eventually moved to Lake Orion, where he lived for 12 years, and then to Oxford, where he raised his children, Nathan and Heather, with his wife. He’s lived in Oxford for 25 years.
Wrestling, he discovered, wasn’t on the top of the sport priority list when he started.
‘It wasn’t a sport that was emphasized here,? he said.
In the ensuing years, Kline helped build the program by coaching wrestling at the junior high schools in Lake Orion, and working under head coach Tim Fagan.
‘The two of us took it up to the next level,? he said.
Then came a great run in the late 1980s, culminating in the 1990 state championship.
In 1994, Fagan left, leaving Kline at the helm, where he’s been ever since.
Kline said some of the highlights of his career were coaching the 1990 and the 2008 teams.
He likes to tell an anecdote about last year’s squad.
Five years ago, when the schools in the OAA got together to discuss the upcoming season, Kline hoped they’d let Lake Orion drop down into Division II.
The last few years had been rough, and Kline didn’t have many experienced wrestlers. In fact, 13 out of 14 of them were freshman.
The coaches at the other schools declined.
‘They all kind of laughed and said, ‘No way,?? Kline said.
He soon saw why the other coaches had been laughing.
‘We ended up winning the league title that year,? Kline said. ‘It was absolutely amazing. Those kids were amazing. All of a sudden, I was a great coach again. But it’s because I had this group of kids who were tremendous.?
Kline is loathe to take too much credit, though.
‘I’m just one little cog in the major works of things,? he said.
The kids and the support of their parents are what make the wrestling program successful, Kline added.
He said he has a lot of faith in Cory Kuzinski, his current assistant coach who will become head coach next year.
Kline will miss a lot after retiring, including all the friendships he’s made with rival coaches and officials.
Most of all, he will miss the kids.
‘I will really miss the interaction with them,? he said. ‘I’ll miss watching them achieve things they never thought was possible.?