La Marque’s Launius helps coach all-starsLa Marque

LA MARQUE — After Mike Jackson was told he would be the new head coach at La Marque in April, he immediately set out to assemble the best coaching staff possible.

That meant luring a handful of coaches with head-coaching experience. One of the coaches, John Launius, formerly of Bay City, was honored as a member of the coaching staff at the Players All-Star Classic in Little Rock, Ark.

In the game that pitted top college football seniors and pro prospects from the North against the South, Launius served as the coaches liaison. His duties included preparing film, managing practice schedules and helping with the playbook among many other things in the weeklong build up for the game, which took place Saturday.

The North team won, 24-19.

“It was a great opportunity for me to be around so many professional coaches and see how they handle their business,” Launius said. “I learned a lot, and hopefully, I can apply some of the things here at La Marque.”

The game was held at War Memorial Stadium, which was a bit of a homecoming for Launius, who won a high school state championship there as a player but had never coached there.

When Launius was asked how much the experience would give him a leg up over the Class 3A competition in the fall, he didn’t hesitate to rush to any judgments.

“No matter what classification they put us in, the goal is always to bring home a ring,” Launius said.