New faces, different places
Swittel, Meulemans taking over Spartans, Lancers football programs
Central junior quarterback Jason Meichtry talks with new head coach Jamie Meulemans during a scrimmage. Photo By John Williams
It just looks different. Head football coach Tom Swittel wearing a gray T-shirt that says 'Brookfield East' on it. Swittel, who has coached for 32 years, spent the last 23 at Wauwatosa East, 15 as the head coach.
Across town it is not as strange to see new Brookfield Central head coach Jamie Meulemans wearing the Lancers' blue and silver colors because he has some history there. A 15-year veteran, he was the Lancers offensive coordinator from 2000-06, helping the Lancers advance to the WIAA state championship games in 2002 and 2006, being named the Greater Metro Assistant Coach of the Year in 2006.
With the nonconference season beginning at 7 p.m. Friday - the Spartans travel to Grafton and the Lancers host Racine Case - now is the time to take a comparative look at both coaches and what they have ahead of them this year.
Welcome aboard
Coming to Brookfield East might have only been a matter of time for Swittel, a Brookfield resident. His daughter Taylor, a junior, is a student-athlete at East; his son, T.C., is a seventh-grader at Pilgrim Park, who also plays football in the Jr. Spartans program.
"It was really different; it felt odd at first," Swittel said. "People here have really been helpful. Everyone has asked, 'What can I do to help?' It has been very welcoming. People seem genuinely excited to have me here. It makes me feel good, and it has made the transition easier."
Meulemans is a familiar face roaming the halls of Central, having been a physical education, health and adaptive physical education teacher at Central for the last 10 years. He has coached at Menomonee Falls, Germantown as well as Central and has served as an offensive coordinator for Germantown and Brookfield Central, all outstanding grid programs.
Expectations
Neither team made the playoffs last year, so both coaches will be looking to at least get a 4-3 record in the Greater Metro Conference and get back to the postseason.
For the Lancers, it was the first time since 2005 that they failed to make the playoffs, something that didn't sit well with the Lancers fans. They finished with a winning overall record, but fell short in conference play with a 3-4 record. To be fair, they lost several key players to injuries, including star running back Xavier Whitaker in the second game of the season.
Brookfield East finished 1-6 in conference play and 3-6 overall. The Spartans have not been to the post-season since the 2003 season when they finished the year with a 6-1 record, one game behind first-place Marquette.
"I expect Marquette and Menomonee Falls will be good," Meulemans said. "I see us hopefully as a playoff team. I feel we will compete, hit people and come to play. I would like to get back to the playoffs."
Swittel, who took Tosa East to the playoffs four times in recent history (2003-05, '07), is looking to win now.
"We're going to compete," he said. "My goal is to win this year. It would be easy to come in and say this is a five-year plan. But then you're disregarding the seniors who deserve a chance to win right now."
Swittel surprised his team when he told him his expectations.
"I told them I expect to win this year," Swittel said. "They were like, 'Is this guy serious?' I told them I'm dead serious. We will always want to compete for the conference title, be in the playoffs with our overall goal to win state. With the four coaching changes this year, I can't imagine the GMC as being as strong. It should be wide open."
Tradition
Brookfield Central has more of a tradition than Brookfield East because the Lancers have more winning seasons.
Meulemans has some pretty impressive alumni to call on, including a Pro Bowl left tackle for the Cleveland Browns in Joe Thomas.
"Joe Thomas, Ben Strickland, Steve Johnson (all former Badgers) and Brad Nortman (current Badger punter) have all spoken to our kids," said Meulemans, who previously coached those three players in 2002 when the Lancers went to state. "We talk about our tradition all the time."
Swittel has to build that tradition, because winning seasons have been fair and few between for the Spartans.
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