News File Photo Posen girls basketball coach Karl Momrik talks to his team during a timeout during a district playoff game in Onaway in this News file photo. After 15 seasons, Momrik has announced his retirement.

ALPENA — For more than a decade, Karl Momrik’s passion for basketball has been hard to miss in Northeast Michigan.

Pacing the sideline, giving instructions to his players, reacting to successful shots, Momrik worked his magic, turning Posen High School into one of the premier girls basketball programs in the area.

Now, after 15 seasons, Momrik said he’s ready for the next phase of life and announced his retirement last week.

“I’ll be 65 in a few weeks, and, as you know, basketball takes up a lot of time,” Momrik said. “It’s time to enjoy other things in life.”

Among Momrik’s list of accomplishments:

∫ A record of 253-79 over 15 seasons, a winning percentage of .762

∫ 11 North Star League titles

∫ Nine district titles

∫ One regional championship

∫ Six players named to Associated Press all-state teams

∫ Six 20-win seasons and an overage of 17 wins per year

∫ Several lengthy winning streaks in league play and at home

Not bad for a coach who admits he was uneasy during his first season when he took the reins of the program in 2007.

“I was pretty scared,” Momrik said. “We went 9-11 the first year, but I wondered how many games we were going to win. We were just taking it one game at a time and doing the best we could.”

But, more than records or winning streaks, Momrik said he defines his career by the relationships he forged during his time on the Posen sideline, both with players and his fellow coaches.

“When I look back, it won’t be so much about the records,” Momrik said. “It’ll be about players and the good people they became and the friendship of coaches. Nobody understands what players go through except other coaches.”

Under Momrik and his longtime assistant Kevin Romel, Posen has been a consistent winner, known for its tough defense and balanced scoring — though Momrik coached five 1,000 point scorers during his tenure, including Korynn Hincka, who finished her career with more than 2,000 points.

Not even two heart attacks in 2010 were enough to slow Momrik down. Momrik returned to the sideline the next season and kept the Vikings rolling along.

From 2010 to 2014, Posen went 91-7, able to win games with veteran classes and youngsters, and across multiple classes of players.

Posen gained statewide attention during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons when it went a combined 48-2 and rose as high as second in the Class D Associated Press Poll. The 2012-13 season ended with a regional final loss to top-ranked St. Ignace.

The next season, Posen finally won a regional title, dominating Brimley, before losing to Crystal Falls Forest Park in the quarterfinals in another 1 vs. 2 matchup.

It was a season some thought might be Momrik’s last, but he stayed and led Posen to a 21-3 record just two years later.

In the last three years, Posen has kept winning, including a 21-2 season in 2020-21 when the Vikings reached the regional final with one of the youngest rosters in program history.

Though he’s retiring from coaching, Momrik plans on staying active, including on the airwaves where he calls Rogers City football games with good friend Karl Grambau.

Years after a close friend convinced him the Posen job was too good to pass up, Momrik is thankful to have coached so many players in a place that embraces the program and all its successes.

“It’s been great. Winning is a tradition in Posen. You coach so many players — tough-minded kids and they acclimated to winning,” Momrik said. “I’ve coached fathers and their daughters and they’ve all made my job easier. It’s pretty special.”