By JIM PETERS
Change is inevitable and essential in football, but as systems, technology, equipment and the players themselves evolve, the foundations of success remain the same.
“The power of belief has always stuck with me,” Kyle Buresh said. “It’s one of the reasons I’ve always wanted to coach. I’ve always loved the game. I grew up with football. It’s a family sport. It was always really big in our house. Coaching, you’re personally impacting lives, influencing people, making them believe they can do more than they believe they can do. It’s something I’ve really tried to emulate.”
A captain on La Porte’s first sectional and regional champion team in 2006, Buresh has taken what he learned as a Slicer and used those pillars to develop a state power at Mississinewa, winning two sectionals in four years with the Madison County school.
“Tyler James was one of my closest buddies,” Buresh said. “I grew up with Tyler and his dad (Bob). To be a part of the Slicer football program, I came in as a freshman with Robbie Schellinger, then playing for coach (Bob) Schellinger, entire staff, Bob Severs, Eric Stephens, all those were guys who were extremely impactful and influential in my life, people who pushed me, people who, most importantly, believed in me. I still sit with the Schellingers at the state championship games. There are still a lot of people from La Porte who are important to me. Even if I haven’t seen them in a while, those relationships never stop, they’re still strong. “
A special teamer and position backup as a junior, Buresh prospered his senior year, when he led the Slicers in tackles from his free safety position.
“I had a lot of freedom, the coaches put a lot of trust in me,” he said.
La Porte went 9-2 in 2005, but was upset in the sectional by Elkhart Memorial, a loss that provided plenty of motivation for 2006. The Slicers knocked off Penn in the sectional and avenged a 42-41 regular-season loss to Crown Point with a 28-21 overtime win in a game played in a torrential rain storm at Kiwanis Field.
“That (‘05) team probably had better overall talent,” Buresh said. “That group was ready to go get after it, work to have a great senior year. Those memories stick with you forever.”
Schellinger recalled Buresh as a ‘very good defensive back’ who was ‘one of our most intelligent players.’
“He had a great personality and a great work ethic,” Schellinger said. “He was willing to play anywhere and help everyone. He was and is a true Slicer. He has always been a great team player, leader and hard worker. I am not surprised with the success he and his team is experiencing. We are very proud of Kyle and wish him nothing but the best.”
From La Porte, Buresh went on to play at Franklin, where he lettered and earned academic all-conference honors three times. His first coaching came as an intern at Franklin, where he coached the linebackers during spring ball in 2011. His coaching career took him to Midland (Nebraska), Wheaton (Illinois), Dakota Wesleyan and Indiana Wesleyan, developing individual talent with prolific offenses at each stop.
“I’ve been really blessed to be around a lot of great people and coaches, phenomenal minds,” Buresh said. “I bounced around, got married, had kids. It was time to settle down and plant some roots, to be some place for a while.”
That place, Mississinewa, wasn’t far from his last college stop at IWU in Marion. The Indians were in the midst of a strong run, having won two sectionals and reached double digits in winds four straight years under Curt Funk, who went on to coach at Fishers.
“(Funk) did an outstanding job with the program, once he got it going again,” Buresh said. “I was hired and two, three days later, COVID hit. It was a wild summer, trying to put in a new offense and defense. It’s hard to learn, to develop when you’re running different systems with different terminology. Most coaches go through that. I did my first year.”
After a 5-5 debut, Buresh’s 2021 team went 9-3 and won a 4A sectional, 8-4 in ‘22, then 12-1 last season with another sectional title.
“You’ve got to trust the development process, how you build a football team, how you practice what you’re preaching, teaching,” he said. “Being a coach, if you’re not you, if you’re not real, kids won’t buy in. They’ll see through it. If they know you love them and care about them, that you’re there to help them, you get them thinking they can be successful and they will go through a brick wall for you.”
The 12 wins was the most in program history.
“Beating Kokomo in the sectional was huge when you add all the dynamics, the size of the school, being one of the smaller 4As,” Buresh said. “To beat a team, that big of a school, was really special. It was a really special group, the first class I’ve been able to see at any level I’ve coached for all four years. It was truly special for me.”
This season is tracking the same. ‘Ole Miss,’ as the school is generally known, is 5-0 and ranked fourth or fifth in Class 3A the various state polls. On top of that, it hasn’t allowed a solitary point in five games, while averaging 41.6 points per game.
“It’s been a really fun year,” said Buresh, who was named the Colts’ Week 5 Coach of the Week. “It’s a really good group of kids. It’s been a complete buy-in. We’ve got really good experience on that side of the ball. It’s a cool thing, something the kids have taken pride in, not just because of the ones, but the twos and threes, too. I’ve had a defensive coordinator the last two years. I work mainly with the quarterbacks, the offensive side, but at the high school level, you fill gaps, help out wherever, whenever. I have a phenomenal staff around me.”
Mississinewa, located close to I-69, is comprised of two towns, Jonesboro and Gas City, with a student demographic similar to La Porte.
“It’s the most diverse school in the county,” Buresh said. “It has all the demographics. Most people struggle with saying Mississinewa. It’s just like Mississippi, it’s just ‘inewa’ instead of ‘ippi.’”
By chance, he’s also not far from another La Porte alum, Greg Tonagel, the men’s basketball coach at IWU.
“Everybody knows who that is,” Buresh said. “Greg’s an outstanding human being and great coach obviously. His kids go to one of the county schools in our conference, though.”
Buresh does keep tabs on his former program and hopes for the best for Austin Epple and the Slicers.
“In that conference, there are some great 5A, 6A programs with a lot of history,” he said. “You better pack your lunch. I don’t know Austin real well, but every time we’ve talked, it’s been nothing but positives. In high school, it’s all about numbers, getting the kids out. That’s so important. If you can keep that in a positive spot, the rest will follow.”
Kyle Buresh is 39-13 in his fifth season at Mississinewa. The 2007 La Porte graduate, a member of the Slicers' first sectional and regional champion teams, has won sectional titles with the Indians in 2021 and 2023.