Kurtz would be proud

A decade ago, the Georgia College and State University community suffered a tragic loss with the passing of longtime baseball head coach, John Kurtz.

Kurtz, in his 18-year tenure, took a dormant program and elevated it to a level of success that others never thought possible, becoming the school’s most successful baseball coach in the process.

Kurtz’s passing was shocking and untimely. In October of 1993, Kurtz suffered a heart attack following a conditioning run during his team’s practice. The awesome responsibility of seceding the most successful baseball coach in school history, and gathering Kurtz’s troops for an emotional year of battle on the baseball diamond, fell to the young understudy, Steve Mrowka.

Mrowka, an assistant to Kurtz for three years, built upon the foundation laid by his predecessor and 10 years later, the GC&SU baseball program is stronger than ever.

John Kurtz was hired to lead the baseball program out of despair in 1976. When Kurtz was hired, the baseball program had accumulated a measly 41 wins in its previous seven years of existence.

GC&SU Athletic Director, Stan Aldridge, remembers the ineptness of the early days.

“John came in and took over a baseball program that was just horrible,” said Aldridge. “It was in shambles.”

The head coaching position was hardly a glamorous job opportunity, with a program laboring in mediocrity, a budget that did not allow for much overall improvement and a home field hardly capable of hosting competitive baseball games.

In spite of all the negatives, Kurtz accented every positive to amass 577 wins, seven conference championships, four National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics District titles, and two trips to the NAIA World Series.

When Kurtz succumbed to the fatal heart attack just months before the start of a new season, the GC&SU athletic program struggled with the emotional loss of a respected colleague and longtime friend.

“It was shocking to everybody,” said Aldridge. “He was the picture of health, or so everybody thought.”

In searching for an adequate successor to Coach Kurtz, the administration decided to place their faith in Steve Mrowka, naming him the Interim head coach.

Aldridge recalled that there were doubters among some upper-administrative personnel as to whether the unproven 29-year old was too young to fill the job vacancy. Also, Mrowka lacked the head coaching experience that some felt necessary to take over the now successful baseball program.

Casting all doubters aside, Coach Mrowka assimilated into the head coaching position with the ease of a Mustang Cobra shifting into fifth gear on an empty freeway.

In his rookie season as head coach, Mrowka guided his team to a 40-18-1 record, and the ’94 team ended the season ranked 14th in the nation for NCAA Division II baseball. This marked the first time in school history that the baseball team ended the season ranked in the national top 20. Mrowka was named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year and GC&SU rewarded Mrowka by officially hiring him as the permanent head coach of the baseball program in May of 1994.

Mrowka credits his mature players and familiarity with Kurtz’s system as reasons for such a smooth transition after the fall of the team’s leader. Mrowka did not want to implement a lot of changes in the team’s system while they were dealing with such a heavy loss.

“We had a good group of players, with a lot of mature guys,” said Mrowka. “That made it a lot easier on me. What I tried to do initially was to just keep things going the way they were. I didn’t make any changes.”

Assistant coach Kevin Mobley was an entering freshman at the time of Kurtz’s death. He was expecting to play under Coach Kurtz, but quickly realized that Coach Mrowka was more than capable of getting the job done.

“I think that was the best thing that could have happened,” said Mobley, referring to the hiring of Coach Mrowka. “If someone else would have come in, it might have been a lot tougher situation. He pretty much kept things running the same way, without changing up a whole lot of stuff.”

Mrowka mentioned that a lot of tasks that the team must carry out, like practice schedules and conditioning, are carried out in the same manner as when Kurtz was the active skipper for the Bobcats.

“A lot of his [Mrowka's] philosophy was shaped and molded by what Coach Kurtz did and the success that he had,” added Aldridge. “I know he still does a lot of the things Coach Kurtz did,” said Aldridge.

Entering his 10th season as skipper of the GC&SU Bobcats, Coach Mrowka has placed himself immediately behind the late Coach Kurtz, for second place on the all-time wins list with 346 victories. Mrowka’s tenure has brought about numerous trips to the NCAA Tournament and annual rankings among the NCAA Division II Top 20, including the school’s first ever No.1 ranking, during the 1998 season.

Even with all of Mrowka’s outstanding achievements at GC&SU, his basic goal for each season always comes back to the responsibility he feels that he owes to Coach Kurtz’s legacy.

“We’re always trying to improve the program, and our overall goal is always to win a championship,” said Mrowka. “But the fundamental goal is to continue the winning tradition. I feel obligated in my goal to try to keep it going. Try to keep a good team on the field, with good students, and get them graduated.”

Aldridge credits both coaches’ work ethic as a reason for their extended periods of success.

“I think they’re both workaholics,” said Aldridge. “They’re on the field with a shovel or a rake in their hand, developing the facilities. They’re tireless workers who are both very demanding and who expect perfection.”

As GC&SU remembers the passing of its devoted coach and longtime friend, the legacy left behind by Kurtz will not soon be forgotten. The same field that Kurtz labored to make playable, now resembles a field more suitable for a champion with the attractive lights for night games.

On October 26, 1996, GC&SU’s field of dreams was re-dedicated in honor of the late coach and the field now carries the proud name of the John Kurtz Baseball Field.

The Kurtz family may have lost their patriarch, but they did not lose their love for baseball or for GC&SU. Kathy Kurtz, the widow of the late Coach Kurtz, still operates the concession stand for every single home game, and the Kurtz and Mrowka families share a special friendship that continues to last and is felt by everyone in the baseball program.

The Kurtz family will often play dinner host to hungry baseball players and coaches, and Kathy has even led several fundraising events for the baseball program.

“Kathy Kurtz is just a blessing to us, and I think baseball is probably a blessing to her,” said Aldridge. “She’s been good for the program, and I think the program has also been good in helping her to deal with such a tragic loss. They were both vitally involved in the program.”

When GC&SU lost Coach Kurtz, the community lost a leader, a teacher and a friend. Coach Mrowka has eased the mourning by taking Kurtz’s program under his wings, continuing to mold and develop young men, and forging his own legacy in the process.

Ten years and many, many wins later…Coach Kurtz would be proud.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 28 2003. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry