July 18 • 2019 21
jn

T

he coach who revived the Frankel 
Jewish Academy boys basketball 
program almost overnight has 
left the West Bloomfield school to take 
another coaching job.
Mike Marek is the new coach at 
Canton Preparatory High School. He 
was one of 31 candidates for the posi-
tion.
Marek went 24-18 in two seasons at 
FJA including 14-8 this past season, a far 
cry from the 4-16 record the team post-
ed in the season before he arrived.
“I’
m very grateful for the opportunity 
to coach at Frankel. The people there are 
great, and you won’
t find better players 
and parents,
” Marek said. 
So why did Marek, 30, leave FJA?
Canton Prep is five minutes from his 
home, where he’
ll live with his wife-to-
be after they’
re married in October.
Coaching at Canton Prep will mean 
less travel for work. Marek’
s full-time 
job is in the patient transportation 
department at Beaumont Hospital in 

Farmington Hills.
Canton Prep is a bigger school than 
FJA, with varsity and junior varsity boys 
basketball teams. FJA doesn’
t have a JV 
team.
Those facts are Marek’
s overriding 
reasons for taking the new job.
There also was the heartbreak of last 
season.
FJA qualified for the Catholic League 
C-D tournament, but the Jaguars didn’
t 
compete because the tournament sched-
ule conflicted with Shabbat.
“It was so hard looking my kids in the 
eye and telling them they couldn’
t play 
in the tournament because the Catholic 
League wouldn’
t accommodate us,
” 
Marek said.
“We were good enough to win that 
tournament.
”
FJA Athletic Director Rick Dorn said 
he received 20 applications for Marek’
s 
old job, and he hopes to have someone 
in place soon. ■

Two holes-in-one were shot June 
3 at the Michigan Jewish Sports 
Foundation Hank Greenberg Golf & 
Tennis Invitational.
 Jeff Cohen, CEO of Rock 
Companies, and Kevin Grigg, vice 
president of public relations for the 
Detroit Pistons, each had an ace.
Cohen’
s hole-in-one came on the 
ninth hole. About 15 minutes later, 
Grigg aced No. 16, arguably the 
toughest hole on the course.
 It appears these were the first 
holes-in-one shot in the 29-year 
history of the Greenberg Invitational. 
It’
s also probable this was the first 
time more than one hole-in-one 
was shot on the same day at Franklin Hills Country Club 
in Farmington Hills.

Frankel Jewish 
Academy 
bowling and 
volleyball coach 
Joe Bernstein 
was named the 
2018-2019 
Michigan Girls 
Coach of the 
Year by Positive 
Athlete.
 A national organization founded 
by former Pittsburgh Steelers 
star Hines Ward, Positive Athlete 
honors high school athletes and 
coaches whose infectious positive 
attitude makes everyone around 
them a better person.

Nathan Cohen hit for the cycle June 23 in an 
Inter-Congregational Men’
s Club Summer 
Softball League game at Keith Sports Park in 
West Bloomfield.
He had a perfect day at the plate, going 
4-for-4 with four RBIs to lead Temple Israel No. 
6 to a 15-2 victory over Congregation Beth Ahm. 
Here’
s how Cohen’
s cycle came together: 
First inning: double to left-center; second 
inning: triple to right-center; third inning: home 
run to left field; and fifth inning: single to center 
field.
Through nine games this season, Cohen was 
batting .615 with 17 RBI.
Temple Israel No. 6 was 11-1 and in first 
place in the league’
s Greenberg Division 
through games played July 7. The other division 
leaders were Temple Israel No. 3 in the Koufax 
Division (8-3) and Temple Israel No. 4 in the 
Rosen Division (9-2).
There are six teams from Temple Israel in the 
18-team league.

Nathan 

Cohen hit 

for the cycle 

June 23. 

CHUCK FREEDMAN

 
Tough 
Decision

FJA boys basketball 
coach leaves to take
job in Canton.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mike Marek

Josh Nodler Drafted by Calgary Flames

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
W

ith the 150th pick in the 
2019 National Hockey 
League Draft, the Calgary 
Flames selected Oak Park native Josh 
Nodler.
Nodler has been playing ice hockey 
since he was 5 years old. After 13 years 
of hard work and dedication, he finally 
achieved his goal of being drafted by a 
National Hockey League (NHL) team.
But before he makes his way to 
the NHL, Nodler will be heading to 
Michigan State University this fall.
“I’
m super excited to start this fall,” 
Nodler says. “I chose to continue both 
my hockey and academic career at 
MSU because their coaching is first 

class, they have great facilities, it’
s an 
overall great campus and, of course, it’
s 
close to home.”
In the 2018-2019 season, Nodler 

played for the United States Hockey 
League’
s Fargo Force where he earned 
42 points throughout 54 games. Nodler 
also played for the U.S. Juniors hock-
ey team in 2017 and received a gold 
medal.
Nodler credits his love for the game 
and the dream of making it to the NHL 
as two of the biggest motivators in his 
life.
 
“I always work hard and try to get 
better every day,” Nodler says. “You 
have to realize it’
s a marathon, not a 
sprint. If you stick with the process and 
trust your ability, you can accomplish 
your goals.” ■

ing temperatures on frozen tundra 
alongside penguins, seals, whales and 
floating glaciers in 2016.
He ran the Tokyo and Berlin mara-
thons last year.
All for Papa.
Emily Rogalski, associate director 
of Northwestern’
s Mesulam Center, 
praised Boschan’
s “extraordinary 
commitment” to the center.
“Jason’
s fundraising efforts have 
been critical in launching new 
research initiatives at our center 
including a telemedicine-based 
speech therapy study for individuals 
with primary progressive aphasia, 
and new imaging biomarker studies 
important for detecting neurodegen-
erative disease,” Rogalski said.
Boschan graduated from the for-
mer Bloomfield Hills Andover High 
School in 1997 and the University 
of Michigan with a degree in sports 
management and communications in 
2002.
When he isn’
t running for Papa, he 
does marketing work for orthopedic 
surgeons. ■

The late Dr. Louis Heyman (“Papa”) and Jason 

Boschan, each wearing one of Boschan’
s mara-

thon medals.

COURTESY OF MICHAEL NODLER

