I've got nothing but great memories about it. No question, the best part is just being with the coaches and the kids every day, the relationships that you establish with the kids and the coaches, and even with the coaches you go up against. – Kory Bosgieter
PLAIN CITY — The "Boss" has decided it's time for a little well-deserved rest and relaxation.
Kory Bosgieter, who served as Fremont High School's highly successful head football coach for the last nine seasons, recently announced he was stepping down as the Silver Wolves' sideline boss, culminating an 18-year head coaching career that included a 4A state championship at neighboring Weber High back in 1999.
"It's time for us to catch our breath," Bosgieter said by phone Saturday morning as he and his wife, Diane, got ready to go up to Snowbasin to enjoy some spring skiing. "It's such a rigorous pace. … When last season got over, we talked about it a little bit, but you always waver a little bit. But in the last few weeks, I wasn't wavering anymore. It's just time, you know, it's time.
"Diane's been the real head coach; she's been awesome. Yep, she's been absolutely awesome about everything. I've seen lot of great coaches leave the business because they didn't have the kind of love and support that I've gotten from her. I've been very fortunate that way.
"I have a hard time thinking I'm completely done coaching," said Bosgieter, who will turn 56 in a couple of weeks. "I don't want to be a head coach again, but you never say never."
If this is indeed the end of a coaching career for one of the game's really great guys, well, hey, it's been a heck of a ride.
Bosgieter played his high school football at Bonneville High School for legendary Laker coach Thom Budge, and then the tall, slender redhead played collegiately at Weber State.
He coached at Weber High for nine years (1994-2002), guiding the Warriors to their last state title in ’99 before leaving the high school coaching scene in 2002 to serve as an assistant at Snow College. He also was head coach at T.H. Bell Junior High before returning to the prep ranks in 2005 as an assistant at Fremont.
When Blaine Monkres left Fremont in 2008, Bosgieter took over as just the second head football coach in the history of the Silver Wolves' program.
After a rough first season, his Fremont teams reached the state playoffs in seven of the next eight years, won three outright Region 1 championships and shared the league title last season. The Silver Wolves reached the 5A state championship game in back-to-back years, 2010 and 2011, and advanced as far as the 5A semifinals last year before falling to eventual champion Bingham.
And in 2012 and 2015, after his Fremont teams finished fourth in Region 1 play, they then went on the road and knocked off a region champion in the first round of the state playoffs — which is definitely no small task. The Silver Wolves won at least one state playoff game in each of their last six postseason appearances.
In all, Bosgieter's teams compiled an overall record of 108-87, reached the state playoffs 12 times in 18 years and were 15-11 overall in postseason play, including a 3-1 mark in the state semifinals.
And to his credit, for Bosgieter, its never, ever been about him; instead, its always been about the kids and the team.
But more important than all of those glorious gridiron victories is the fact that Bosgieter always did things the right way, as he and his staff focused on helping teach young men the virtues of hard work, discipline, dedication, sacrifice, responsibility and teamwork.
And those young men who played for him are far better for it.
"I love it when our former players come back," Bosgieter said. "That's been awesome the last couple weeks, seeing some of those kids even going back to the Weber High days. I've been telling our players that for the last four or five years, how much we appreciate that as coaches. It's cool when they've been playing at the next level and they come back on their breaks to see you.
"For us coaches here, we've always tried to make it bigger than football. It's so neat to see the great husbands, fathers and leaders in their communities that so many of these young men have become over the years.
"We have the best forum to teach that," he said. "I really believe that."
Ross Arnold, who has been an assistant on the Fremont coaching staff for 19 years, the last 13 as the Silver Wolves' defensive coordinator, will take over as the program's new head coach.
He called Bosgieter “an incredible football coach and an incredible man” and was admittedly surprised that the "Boss" had decided to retire from coaching.
“I’m still in shock mode that he stepped down,” Arnold told the Standard-Examiner newspaper in Ogden last week. “I’m humbled and I’m honored to be able to carry on the tradition at Fremont.
“One thing that’s really impressed me is he treats everybody the same on the football team," he said of Bosgieter. "He does that in the classroom, he does that with teachers. He treats his best player the same as the 110th player.”
Bosgieter knows the reins of the Fremont program will be in great hands.
"He'll do a great job," he said of Arnold. "He's good at not sleeping, and that's the one part of the job I won't miss."
There are certainly some things, though, that he will miss, like walking into the stadium for those "Friday night lights."
"I'm sure that's gonna be a little bit strange on Friday nights," Bosgieter admitted. "I've got nothing but great memories about it. No question, the best part is just being with the coaches and the kids every day, the relationships that you establish with the kids and the coaches, and even with the coaches you go up against.
"But the best part of my day was that 20 minutes of individual time I got to spend working with the defensive backs at practice every day. I'm really gonna miss that.
"We've got a great community out here," said Bosgieter, who will continue to teach P.E. at the school. "I love our school and I love our kids at Fremont."
And who knows? Maybe someday the "Boss" will decide it's time to get back in the coaching game again.
If he does, any staff in the state would be mighty lucky to have him, showing those young men not just the right way to play, but also the right way to live their lives as well — just like he always has.
EMAIL: rhollis@desnews.com