—————

ISHPEMING — One of the area’s most successful high school head coaches has decided to step down from his position at Westwood High School.

Scott Syrjala has resigned as head football coach of

the Patriots after seven years in the position, citing a desire to spend more time with his family, according to a news release from the NICE School District and its athletic director, Jon Beckman.

Syrjala compiled a 45-24 overall record at Westwood as his teams qualified for the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs in six of his seven years. His teams won three playoff games in that time, including the school’s first district championship in November.

Scott Syrjala

Prior to his tenure, the Patriots had only qualified for the playoffs five times in school history dating back to the inaugural season of the MHSAA playoffs in 1975, and had won only one game in those appearances.

Syrjala, a graduate of Westwood High School, saw two of his Patriots teams named Upper Peninsula Team of the Year in All-U.P. voting conducted by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

They won West PAC conference titles in that time, too.

Syrjala himself was named U.P. Coach of the Year three times, including this past fall as Small Schools Coach of the Year in 11-player, along with West PAC and regional coach of the year and Associated Press all-state honorable mention as coach of the year.

In a Mining Journal story from June 2019, when NICE announced that Syrjala was taking the varsity head boys basketball coaching reins, he spoke about not coaching forever.

From second from left, Westwood High School varsity football coach Scott Syrjala talks with the Patriots' Nick Briones and Brandon Benda during the school's Midnight Madness practice in pouring rain early on Aug. 10, 2015, at the high school field. (Journal file photo)

“I’m going to have to take a break at some point,” he said in the story. “I’ll relax, put my feet up and recharge. I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I get it, it’s the varsity level, but it’s still high school sports in the Upper Peninsula.”

Beckman in his news release also cited Syrjala as the driving force behind its state-of-the-art weight room at the high school that all students could benefit from and will be able to do so in the future.

Syrjala was also the head varsity boys basketball coach in the 2019-20 season and had about three seasons as the school’s head track and field coach.

Previous to his years at Westwood, he was head track and assistant varsity football and an assistant basketball coach at Ishpeming High School.

His football tenure there came while coaching with Hematites’ head coach Jeff Olson as they led Ishpeming to the state championship game and to state titles multiple times.

Head coach Scott Syrjala talks to the Black team during the fourth quarter of the 12th annual Upper Peninsula Football All-Star Game played at the Superior Dome in Marquette on June 29, 2019. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.