Schoonover changes career path to pursue his dream job

by shawn long Sports writer Former Reed-Custer High School junior varsity basketball coach Tyler Schoonover is leaving his alma mater to be the new coach of the Coal City basketball team. Previous coach Glenn Pacek stepped down after three seasons, opening the position up for Schoonover. The Coalers had a down season finishing 3-6 in the shortened 2020 spring season and 5-25 in the regular winter season. Over three seasons, Pacek led the Coalers to a regional championship with 28 wins. Schoonover, who will turn 28 this December, will be taking over the head coaching job and his father, Seth Schoonover, was given the opportunity to come in and join him as his assistant. That’s fitting that his dad is letting his son take the reigns as the head coach after his 38 years of coaching basketball at Clifton Central and Minooka High School. Schoonover was on the hardwood with his dad from the time he was able to walk and that helped his love for basketball grow. “I grew up being his ball boy when he coached at Clifton Central and Minooka,” said Schoonover. “I was constantly in the gym next to him and I fell in love with the sport at a young age because I wanted to be just like my dad.” Schoonover played basketball and baseball throughout his time at Reed-Custer High School. Schoonover is a Kobe Bryant fan. He always loved watching the Los Angeles Lakers play because of Bryant’s skills on the court. He still has Bryant memorabilia in his office to this day. “I have multiple jerseys and a fat head of him still on my wall in my office at home.” He was also a huge fan of college basketball and loved watching the Wisconsin Badgers play. He actually got to go to their national championship game against Duke in 2015. Unfortunately, they lost to Duke in a close, 68-63 battle but Schoonover’s interest in basketball wasn’t lost, it was growing more and more by the second. Schoonover was a three-year starter on the coach Mark Porter’s basketball team and a two-year starter on coach Jerry Cougil’s baseball team. Even though baseball had been a big part in his life, he knew what direction he wanted to go. “I enjoyed baseball but at the end of the day, I still wanted to be just like my dad coaching basketball.” Schoonover attended Joliet Junior College after high school before transferring to Lewis University to major in criminal justice. He graduated from Lewis with his bachelor’s degree, got a job in law enforcement and two weeks into the academy realized his dream wasn’t in law, it was in education. He returned to Lewis, earning Master’s Degree in elementary education in 2021. “I knew I wanted to get into education and coach basketball just like my dad did.” Schoonover actually got into coaching a year out of high school, doing game statistics for Coach Porter at Reed-Custer. In 2014, Schoonover became the freshmen coach for a year. He was promoted to Porter’s varsity assistant in 2015 and kept the position for another two years. He received another promotion to the junior varsity role from 2018-2021 before taking a year off of coaching to teach elementary education at St. Anne Grade School. During his time coaching grade school, he was still coming to watch the games at Reed-Custer to see his dad assist Porter. That’s when he heard about an immediate job opening at Coal City High School. It was his dream job, an opening to become a head coach. “The opportunity to come to Coal City arose and I just couldn’t pass it up. I saw the talent Coal City has and thought I could bring some excitement back to the basketball program. I emailed Hutch (Dan Hutchings Coal City Athletic Director) that I was interested in returning to coaching.” Hutchings called Porter for a reference and Porter had nothing but good things to say about his loyal coaching assistant. “Porter was contacted and he spoke for my knowledge of the game and the preparedness for a head coaching position. He believed I was to take over a program and I truly thank him for everything he has done to help me get to this point over the last nine years.”added Schoonover. Schoonover is eager to turn this program around to make them a winning team like they were two short years ago. Schoonover knows he has the ability to relate with the kids. That’s one of his many strengths. “I want to bring excitement to the basketball program by coaching to the players’ strengths and utilizing the great athletes we have here.” He’s going to implement a faster offense to better accomadate the athletes the Coalers already have. He and his dad can turn this team around together. “I want to incorporate a faster paced play style that includes less thinking and more instinctive reactions during the game. My dad was given the opportunity to join me as my assistant and with his knowledge, I think we can put together a great basketball environment for the athletes at Coal City. I have really enjoyed getting to know the players and seeing the improvements on a daily basis this summer. I am excited to see what we can do with this team this upcoming season.” Schoonover is excited to coach against the Illinois Central Eight but especially against his mentor, former coach and friend Porter, who is set to retire at the end of the basketball season. He’s going to miss the time he had at Reed-Custer coaching with Porter and to coach against him in a game will just bring back so many of his favorite memories. His favorite memories coaching with Porter was when the team appeared in three straight sectional title games and it was even sweeter because he was coaching his younger brother, Travis and future Major League Baseball pitcher Brent Headrick. “Being a part of the staff that produced two all-state players in Brent Headrick and my brother Travis Schoonover, and three college athletes (Neil O’Donnell, Headrick and Schoonover was such a great experience.” He also remembers the success his JV team had during the 2019-20 season when they started the year winning 25 straight contests before going on a 4-1 run to finish the season 29-1. “Coaching at Reed-Custer has given me the opportunity to not only get my feet wet coaching but also to build lifelong friendships with coaches like Mark Porter, Matt Hines, Gavin Johnston and Jake Evans. I’m so glad I decided to switch up my career path to follow my dreams.”