August 26, 2026
The Nest, Inside Orchard View Athletics
By: Justin Troyer
Presented by: Brightway Insurance, Ethan Flores Agency
Muskegon, MI -- For 22 years, Jeff Strait has been a fixture on the Orchard View Middle School football sideline.
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At 76 years old, Strait has thought about what retirement might look like. But walking away from the game he loves is not an easy decision.
“25 years at Orchard View would be special,” Strait said.
That milestone remains on his mind, though he also recognizes that there is more to life than football and that he wants to enjoy some of it while he is still relatively healthy.
For now, however, there is still work to do.
More Than a Coach
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| Locker Room Before |
It is a title he wears with pride because the money raised isn't simply about putting another number on a fundraising scoreboard. It directly impacts the experience of the athletes who put on the Cardinal uniform.
One of the most visible examples came recently when Orchard View Middle School football was able to invest more than $10,000 into renovating the team locker room.
The existing locker room had not received a significant update since the 1990s.
For Strait, seeing that space receive new life is about much more than new lockers or a better-looking room. It represents what can happen when coaches, athletes, families and a community come together to support school sports.
And Strait believes more people need to understand just how much work happens behind the scenes to keep athletic programs going.
He wants the community to realize that school sports don't simply take care of themselves.
That is why he encourages people to get involved and support the teams in whatever way they can.
Go to the car washes.
Sign up for the golf outings.
Buy the discount cards.
Show up.
Strait is particularly proud of the golf outings, which have become an important part of the fundraising efforts that help provide opportunities and equipment for Orchard View athletes.
The fundraising has allowed the program to do far more than renovate a locker room. The football program has purchased practice equipment and safety equipment, including Guardian Caps designed to help reduce the impact of head contact during practices.
For Strait, those investments are about taking care of kids.
Creating Traditions
Some of Strait's proudest moments have nothing to do with a win or loss.
A few years ago, he helped raise enough money to put on Orchard View Middle Schools annual Pink Out Cancer Game.
It became another tradition that means something to the players.
Strait said the kids love the event, and that is exactly what makes it special to him.
Football, in his eyes, has always been about creating those kinds of experiences.
The memories.
The traditions.
The feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself.
The lessons that stay with a player long after the final whistle.
Building Cardinals for the Future
Strait's influence also extends well beyond the middle school program.
He has coached under five different head coaches at Orchard View and also spent time coaching under Steve Wilson at Fruitport.
Over the years, he has watched generations of young Cardinals make their way through the program and eventually onto the high school field.
Orchard View varsity head coach Aaron James recognizes the role Strait has played in that process.
James credits Strait with helping get younger players prepared to compete at the high school level and is thankful for the time and commitment Strait has given to the program.
That may ultimately be one of Strait's greatest contributions.
He isn't simply coaching middle school football.
He is helping build the future of Orchard View football.
The Lessons That Last
When Strait's time on the sideline eventually comes to an end, he doesn't want his players to remember him simply as the coach who taught them how to block, tackle or run a football.
He wants them—both the players he coaches today and those he coached years ago—to know that he cared about them.
He wants them to remember the lessons they learned on the football field and how those lessons can
help them become outstanding members of their communities.
Responsibility.
Teamwork.
Perseverance.
Commitment.
Respect.
And perhaps most importantly, he wants them to remember that football is supposed to be fun.
Football is an awesome game, Strait believes, and that joy is something he hopes his players carry with them.
That philosophy has remained consistent through 58 years of coaching.
The game may change. The players change. The equipment changes. The locker room finally gets renovated.
But the purpose remains the same.
Teach kids.
Build character.
Build community.
And give them something they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.
One More Season.jpg)
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The Orchard View Middle School football season begins September 7 when the Cardinals travel to Whitehall.
For Strait, it will be another season on a sideline he has called home for more than two decades.
A season that brings him one step closer to that 25-year milestone at Orchard View.
The real measure of Jeff Strait's legacy isn't found in 22 years at Orchard View or 58 years of coaching.
It's in the players who went on to become high school athletes.
It's in the traditions that continue.
It's in a renovated locker room that gives today's players something better than what generations before them had.
It's in the equipment purchased to help keep young athletes safe.
It's in the Pink Out games, the car washes, the golf outings and all the other fundraising efforts that most people never see.
And it's in the former players who can look back and know that their coach cared about them.
For more than half a century, Jeff Strait has given his time to football.
And at Orchard View, his legacy is much bigger than the game.
Cardinal Supporters: Poo Patrol Muskegon
Photo Credit, via facebook Scott DeCamp Solutions
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