Longtime Suttons Bay baseball coach Doug Periard announced his retirement earlier this month. The Norsemen will be moving forward with Suttons Bay graduate Kaleb Grant.
Grant, 24, was brought on in 2022 as a volunteer coach, and within a season, Periard knew they had a future coach of the program.
“It was actually from that point on that the four of us as a group of coaches work together towards,” Periard said. “(Grant’s) coaching really developed over the last two years. He’s working with the kids and showing them maturity of when a kid needs help and helping them move forward.”
Grant has had the keys to the offense since last season as the third base coach and offensive coordinator.
Periard may be retiring from coaching, but he will always be there as a volunteer.
The journey for Periard began way back in 1994 as a fresh-faced teacher from Birch Run teaching at Suttons Bay.
Periard started as a volunteer junior varsity baseball coach in 1994 and then in 1997 was relieved of his duties. Eventually, his roommate and then-athletic director Cody Ingles brought him back on in 1998 as head coach. The rest is history, as they say, as Periard has now completed 33 years of coaching.
Periard recorded a 435-341-19 record. During his tenure, the Norsemen won one Northwest Conference Championship and two district titles, and had 18 winning seasons and nine losing seasons. Suttons Bay won titles in 2003 and then in 2021, when the Norsemen defeated St. Mary in thrilling fashion.
Periard says he lost 190 games to bad weather and the COVID19 pandemic.
Some of his favorite memories include winning the Birch Run tournament, where Periard graduated from and coached against family members.
“The tournament was always against some really big schools and that was a tradition ... I coached against nephews as I coach my own nephews,” Periard said.
During his final year of coaching, the Norsemen have been a young team, but Periard will always remember the fight his team showed facing against the likes of Kingsley and Glen Lake.
“The kids always battled and kept working to keep getting better. I had like six seniors on the team that would’ve been the COVID year along with the really strong junior and sophomore class what we could’ve done if COVID wouldn’t hit,” Periard said.
One of his greatest moments was coaching his son, Hugh Periard, who was all-state as an outfielder his junior year. Then the next year, he moved to catcher before graduating in 2022. Periard also supported his daughter Grace, who played softball for the Norsemen and graduated in 2020.
“A lot of kids wouldn’t like that ... I’m so proud of that moment because my own kid was willing to make that transition and do it for the team,” Periard said. “There’s 1 million different memories and I appreciate getting to know and watch the boys ... They always made it easy for me so thank you again.”
Periard admits he couldn’t have done it without the dozens of volunteer coaches through the years. Most recently, Mike Gordon and Steve Loucks gave their time as co-coaches as their kids make their way through the Suttons Bay system.
Periard would also like to thank his wife Anne Periard for her continued support over the years.
“Parents and alumni stepped up and helped out when other duties pulled me elsewhere whether it was youth league support or when I had some concerns for my family members health. The support from volunteer coaches or mothers and the community was always there and for that I am very grateful,” Periard said
