Notebook: Vojta gets to work as RHS soccer practice begins

New head coach John Vojta has wasted very little time this week getting the Rhinelander High School boys’ soccer team up to speed.

There’s plenty to cover in this opening week of practice, which will conclude tomorrow, as the Hodags prepare for their season opener on the road at New London Tuesday night. 

“We’re going to have a light team bonding, scouting trip on Saturday,” he said. “Having said that, we’ve got to go over formation, we’ve got to go over set pieces — so that’s free kicks, offensively defensively; corner kicks offensively; defensively, kickoffs — strategy. There’s just so much to cover.”

Though the Hodags are looking to rebuild following a 4-10-2 campaign a season ago, Vojta said he has been impressed with what he’s seen so far at practice. The biggest limiting factor has been numbers, with just under 20 players on the roster.

“I was very impressed. It was a very intense practice. Guys got their fitness through ball work. We didn’t have to go on the end line and just run. We got a lot of quality touches in. I was very pleased, actually,” he said of Monday’s opening practice. “These kids are awesome down here. We’re going to have our struggles this year being short number-wise, but I’m really optimistic with the enthusiasm, the talent, and the attitude I got down here with these kids.”

Vojta comes to Rhinelander after serving as an assistant for the Northland Pines boys’ team. He was an accomplished player in his own right, playing at Concordia (Wis.) University and professionally with the Milwaukee Wave and Rockford (Ill.) Raptors.

Vojta said he suffered from burn out after his playing days, but slowly got back into coaching as his kids went through the ranks at Northland Pines. His eldest son, Cody, was GNC co-offensive player of the year last season and a unanimous first-team selection in the conference. His younger son, Tyler, was a second-team pick for the Eagles.

“I thought the transition would be hard with one of my sons still in high school, and one being a freshman in college, but I think I came into the exact right fit,” John Vojta said.

Vojta admitted though Northland Pines faced Rhinelander twice last year, he did not focus on Rhinelander’s personnel. Aside from junior Charlie Johnson — who played at Pines as a freshman before transferring to Rhinelander —Vojta said this year’s team is virtually a blank slate for him.

“And I think that’s the right way to go,” he said. “If you come in with pre-conceived notions of what we’re going to do, you’re already tainted.”

Vojta does have a familiar face around to aid in the transition in former Hodag head coach Nathan Bates, who guided the team from 2019-2022 — leading the Hodags to state in 2022. He stepped down after that season but returned on an interim basis last year after John Weigel left the boys’ program.

Vojta said he wanted to have Bates in his corner this season.

“No. 1 he’s got the connections in the school. He’s connected in the community, and his wealth of (knowledge for) the game, coaching against him, you know, over the years. He knows the game,” Vojta said. “We’re two peas in the pod. I mean, today we each had a conversation with the AD, and we had not spoke earlier, and we told the AD exactly the same thing on a topic that we had no idea was coming. We got three seconds notice, so it’s like two peas in a pod. I think it’s going to work really well, and I’ve given coach the flexibility with his business and the girls’ team that if he needs not to be here for a day, I’ve got no issues with that, so I think it’ll work well.” 

After Tuesday’s opener, the Hodags will have another week and a half to prepare for its GNC opener, which comes at home against defending conference champion Lakeland Sept. 4. 

RHS volleyball busy sorting roster

    Coach Jayme Wyss gives instruction while freshman Corynn Waksmonski looks on during Rhinelander High School volleyball practice at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Monday, Aug. 18. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Second-year RHS volleyball coach Jayme Wyss had one work to describe Monday’s opening day of practice — quick. 

That’s a good way to put it because the Hodags have a lot of ground to cover, and not a lot of time. The team scrimmages Saturday up at Lakeland and then travels to Stevens Point this coming Tuesday for its season-opening invite. 

“We’re trying to cover as much as we can, and I don’t want to spend a ton of (time) on basic skills. I want to cover all basic skills. I just want to cover it quickly,” Wyss said. “We have a lot of girls, a lot of potential. I feel like, and I’ve said this before, we have a lot of JV1-level players, so it’s, how do you finish out the varsity roster, strong?”

To wit, the Hodags had roughly 30 girls stick around at the end of Monday’s practice to try out for the varsity team. Wyss said the trick, especially with a strong freshman class coming in, is to find the right fit for players based on talent level and long-term development. 

“We should be deep in the sense of JV1, JV2 should be really strong. Varsity is still kind of working on things,” she said. “It was a matter of separating out, so we could just see some core girls play. Some girls are in watch and they shouldn’t feel bad if they’re just being watched right now. I think if you are a sophomore who’s being watched, that’s a good thing. You don’t have to feel like you need to be ready for varsity at this point anyway, and it gives you a little more time to develop, and to decide, do I have the focus and drive to get to the next level?” 

Wyss said she hoped to have her squads penciled in by the end of Thursday’s practice. 

Rhinelander comes in off a 12-27 record last season and a sixth-place finish in the GNC. 

Hodag harriers off and running

    Grant Gremban does an agility drill while teammates Wyatt Crowell, left, and Avrom Barr, right, look on during Rhinelander High School cross country practice Monday, Aug. 18. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Monday morning was a bit rainy and dreary, but it didn’t stop the RHS cross country team from hitting the streets for its first practice of the season. 

Monday, and the majority of the week really, is about establishing a baseline, according to coach M.J. Laggis. He said the goal is to try to get everyone up to speed regardless of how much of a mileage base they have under them from the summer.

“We’ve had a little nucleus of kids that have put in a lot of summer miles. And for those kids, it’s just great to see them hit the ground running and going,” he said. “And everyone else that you maybe haven’t seen quite as much, trying to get them back in the fold and get them running miles. Today, the baseline was a four-mile run, some did a little less, some did a little more, based on their summer. You’re just trying to get them back in the fold and as always, do it without creating injury.”

Numbers are on the lower side for this team, with Laggis saying the team is at 23 to start the season. While the boys are about on par with what Laggis expected, he said the girls’ numbers are down after a few runners the team hoped would have come out were not present on Day 1. 

“What we have with the boys is exactly what we thought we had with the boys. On the girl’s side, I don’t want to say disappointing at all, because the girls that are here that are committed, you absolutely love that, and you praise that, but we don’t have a lot of depth,” he said. “We’re looking at about maybe — when everyone’s here and vacations aren’t going on and work schedules are figured out — nine girls. You know as well as I do 12 would be a really nice number to be at.”

The Hodag boys are coming in off their second trip to the WIAA state meet in four season, though they graduated a couple of key seniors off that squad in Greyson Gremban and Brody Kowieski. The Hodag girls showed promise last year, finishing third in the GNC and sixth at sectionals. However they return only two runners who competed at sectionals a year ago.

Rhinelander will open the season at home this coming Thursday in the Hodag Invite in front of RHS.

“(Assistant) coach Bennett (Rozek) and I were talking this morning, and you look at what we have, and we’re really young,” Laggis said. “As much success as the boys’ team has had the last five years, four years, we’re young on the girls’ side. We’re very inexperienced, and we really want to try to build that side up as much as we possibly can. At the same time, we want to get that boys’ team revved up and ready to go too.” 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].