It’s not a health classroom, or in a high school locker room, or a driver’s ed booth. It’s one of the focal points of the $16 million Youngberg Football Center, and he’s now the third occupant to sit at the solid-wood desk that’s often bathed in the plentiful natural light streaming through the ceiling-to-floor windows that face southeast over the field at Stewart Stadium, nestled into the foothill that makes the eastern edge of Weber State’s campus.

It’s not the only difference for one of Utah’s winningest high school coaches who stepped away from a climb up the record books (second-most state titles, 12th most wins) to take the helm of a Division I college football program.

“Most of it’s good. Just getting to focus on football, it’s been awesome,” Kjar said. “The amount of time we get to spend with our kids teaching, doing meetings, preparing them, really establishing our scheme — plus, their IQ level, their athletic ability enable you to do a little bit more and push the envelope on some of those things.

“And,” he added, “I definitely won’t miss teacher meetings … definitely not going to miss that side.”

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

The environment is different but, at the core, Kjar hasn’t felt much change from last season, he says. His outlook has been in the oven his whole life, baked in the heat of experience, great personal trial and the influence of others.

“I honestly haven’t noticed a difference in my coaching approach from last year,” Kjar said. “There’s a little bit of difference from the college standpoint, but not my sense of urgency, not my edge to push kids harder and get better, and teach them things.”

Urgency, because he grew up in a Wyoming town of about 3,000 people. Urgency, because once — until he was a junior in high school — the coach who’s now about 6-foot-3 played most sports but particularly liked baseball, where he was a pitcher and a middle infielder (where the short guys play). Because in Kemmerer, college recruiters outside of NAIA schools don’t come around much, so he sought out Snow College, where a brother had gone, to play football.

Because, just one season into his coaching career, he was made offensive coordinator at Jordan High School. Because, in his first season as a head coach there, he lost his first game and lost his team’s first region contest, too — to its rival, no less.

“Just trying to prove more and more — not necessarily myself, but what I want to accomplish and the standard I hold myself to, pushing myself,” he said. “Having a sense of urgency as I approach coaching. I think there has to be.”

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

That goes back to his family and Wyoming, Kjar says.

His leisure activities were fishing and hunting — ones that, seen a certain way, require some work to enjoy. Kjar’s parents modeled what a work ethic means, he said, something you start to follow when you get older. To him, that means putting in a good day’s work every day.

He’s seen it in his siblings and supposes there’s a genetic component to that ethic.

For example, early this month, Col. Michael Kjar was promoted to Brigadier General and became the state’s Adjutant General, putting him in command of the Utah National Guard and its 8,000 soldiers, airmen and civilian employees.

Working hard and measures of leadership, service and kindness got his brother there, Eric says — “he’s always had more of that than I have,” he joked. “He’s always been a great example to me.”

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

All things sports — and, for him, especially football — teach better than many things.

“Accountability, work ethic; I think the game’s great (because) you can teach a lot of things for young men from a discipline standpoint, togetherness. There’s a lot of things you can benefit from with the game and I was always kind of drawn to that,” Kjar said.

Discipline and hard work are buzzwords any football guy says. But they’re not well-timed cliches for Kjar, a man who can’t sit still. They’re lifelines.

For a man who lives with multiple sclerosis, they’re imperative.

“The fatigue side is probably the one that gets you a little bit … more so when I slow down,” Kjar said. “But when I’m doing stuff that I really enjoy like football, I don’t even notice it. … Just like, the mindset of moving forward and not letting it affect me.”

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

He knows not noticing the chronic autoimmune disorder, diagnosed 16 years ago, is a blessing. His treatment plan, and continued advances in those treatments, have been very effective. He knows that’s not true for everyone with the diagnosis, something he remembers when he thinks about how he could barely walk at the height of his troubles with the condition in 2010.

His relapsing-remitting MS and the success of treatments mean when he sometimes experiences the acute symptoms, commonly called “attacks,” they resolve and are followed by long stretches without most of those symptoms.

“I haven’t really had too many setbacks. I’ve had a couple, but nothing major … those have been few and far between,” he says. “Support from my wife and family has been huge, always.”

Discipline, because medicine isn’t the only factor. To Kjar, there’s the other side of multiple sclerosis attacks: what the person is doing to attack the disorder.

Attention to detail with nutrition, food and supplements goes a long way. So does the weight room. It’s no secret that Kjar throws around bars, plates and kettlebells with his players, and it’s noticeable. He’s not keeping up appearances, though; it’s the work ethic his life requires.

“It’s a big part of it. I think it’s helped me a lot,” Kjar said about regular workouts. “When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t have a lot of feeling in my legs, or sensation, whatever words you want to use. Getting that back and keeping those muscles and nerves innervated and working … I think it’s an important piece, for sure.”

It’s that attacking, aggressive mindset that drives all his days. Back at the announcement of his hire in December, he could barely handle the time spent talking. It didn’t feel enough like doing.

That family ethic takes new meaning at Weber State. Kjar is again the head coach of his sons Tate and Noah (leaving youngest son Carter before his senior season at Corner Canyon has been the most difficult part of the transition, the coach says), and for the team, it’s still about the work.

“The opportunity to coach Noah and Tate has been great again. Seeing how hard they work, and their drive, has been awesome,” Kjar said. “And seeing the team approach it in the same way — I think we’ve grown a lot in our program from us first getting here as coaches and seeing the way we’re operating out on the field, that’s really grown.

“We’ve improved in a lot of areas, just effort-wise, weight room-wise. The effort and attention to detail … today, we finished practice and the field was full of guys doing extra things to work and get better. That’s the higher-level approach, the work we have to have to elevate their game and be better.”