By STEVE KRAH
After 27 years in the School Town of Highland (Ind.), John Bogner has made a change as an educator and coach.
Bogner, a math teacher, spent nine years at Highland Middle School and 18 at Highland High School and was involved in baseball for much of that time including the past 11 as the Trojans head coach. He was an assistant to Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dan Miller for 12.
It’s another Hall of Famer that Bogner is following in his first year at Chesterton (Ind.) High School. At the end of the 2023 season, Jack Campbell stepped away as the leader of the baseball program after 52 years and 820 victories.
Chesterton (enrollment around 2,030) is a member of the Duneland Athletic Conference (with Crown Point, Lake Central, LaPorte, Merrillville, Michigan City, Portage and Valparaiso).
DAC teams play a home-and-home series on consecutive weekdays.
The Trojans are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping in 2024 with Crown Point, Kankakee Valley, Lowell, Portage and Valparaiso. Chesterton has won 19 sectional titles — the last in 2018.
With a math and baseball opening at Chesterton, Bogner saw his chance to make a change. He was named to the coaching position in late July.
“I gave my heart, body and soul to the place,” says Bogner of his time at Highland. “(Making the move) was an opportunity for me to grow a little more. It recharges me personally and is better for my family in the long run.”
Bogner (pronounced BOAG-ner), wife Mandy, sons Justin and Jason reside in Highland.
Justin Bogner (Highland Class of 2020) is a Purdue University senior. The Computer Information Technology major has accepted a job at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after graduation.
Jason Bogner has transferred to Chesterton where he can take Calculus. He is bound for Purdue.
Mandy Bogner teaches at W.C. Reavis Elementary School in Lansing, Ill.
Living in town, 1990 Griffith (Ind.) High School graduate John Bogner had about a two-mile commute to school.
With about a 25-mile drive in each direction, he now appreciates Windshield University.
“I’ve never had decompression time,” says Bogner. “I’ve never had time to soak things in. There are days I don’t put on the radio, I just chill and think, get my thoughts together.”
As he did at Highland, Bogner has set standards at Chesterton.
“First and foremost it’s the kids and coaches buying into things that I firmly believe in,” says Bogner. “So far they’ve all been amazingly receptive to me.”
Bogner emphasizes effort and improvement.
“Be better than what you have been,” says Bogner. “Every kid has told me they want to represent school and community. They say that and they mean it.
“What’s important to me is that the kids be good teammates, have a great work ethic and focus on what you’re doing while you’re doing it. The byproduct should be more wins and a lot more pride in wearing the uniform.”
There will likely be 45 to 54 players in the progam, according to Bogner.
At least one IHSAA Limited Contact Period session in the fall drew 70 participants. Drill stations were set up on the two side-by-side on-campus fields.
“We had every coach there for every workout,” says Bogner. “It’s awesome.”
There was a dynamic warm-up and Bogner installed a long toss program.
The Trojans concentrated on their two-strike approach at the plate.
“Kids who buy in have had better results,” says Bogner. “Coaches have bought in, too. I’m not just coaching new kids, but I’m coaching with new guys.
“It’s baseball. There’s a lot of commonalities. It’s different if your personalities clash. These are guys I feel like I’ve known for years and it’s only been four or five months.”
Bogner’s coaching staff includes Justin Jenks, Toby Gentry and Zach Coulter with the varsity, Spencer Sutton and Aaron DeLong with the junior varsity and Jason Finner and Austin Cooley with the freshmen. Coulter comes to Chesterton after serving as head coach at South Central (Union Mills).
To get in-touch with the local baseball community, Bogner has met with the State Park Little League board and conducted a few camps with about 70 attendees. There have also been contacts with the Duneland Flyers travel organization and others.
The plan is to reach out even more in the spring.
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Thanks for the article! I am excited to see where we can take this community! GO TROJANS!
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