Schwarz crafted winners
Coach remembered by players as ‘the kind of guy you wanted to run through a wall for’
I could start by reciting a litany of statistics showingwhy Chuck Schwarz is a Southland high school and college basketball coaching legend.
But honestly, I don't think that'swhy he'll always be remembered.
I talked to a few of his former players following his death Sept. 16 at age 80. They painted a vivid picture of a man who made them winnerswell beyond the court.
Let's start with Kirk Vucsko, who played for Schwarz in his final year as the coach at St. Laurence and also in college at Lewis.
“Hewas a driven man,” Vucsko said. “He drove me to be more than Iwas. With his passion, his aggressiveness, he talked to you in away that youwere like, ‘I've got to get this done— or else.'
“I don't knowthat anybody ever found out what ‘or else'was because you just didn'twant to know.”
Let'smove on to JimTracy, who played for Schwarz at St. Laurence in the early 1970s and became a successful head coach at Reavis.
“I shared with his son, Dan, howimpactful hewas in terms of my own personality coaching,” Tracy said. “Coachwas a very intense guy and hewas demanding of excellence every day. He was the kind of guy youwanted to run through awall for.
“Those things totally made their mark on me. Aftermy first year at Reavis, hewrote me a beautiful letter telling me how proud hewas ofme. Itwas really kind of him to do that. It's something I still have to this day.”
Kevin Boyle, a starting forward on the 1976-77 St. Laurence team thatmade it to state and finished fourth, felt the same vibe.
“We had some talent on our teams but he got the most out of us as a coach,” Boyle said. “He was a perfectionist. He'dwork you hard and sometimes you
didn't like it, but you always respected him.
“Itwas tough going through his program, but after four years, you really appreciated who you played for. He got the best out of
you.”
There are statistics that prove he knew what hewas doing.
Over 15 seasons, Schwarz com
piled a 260-96 record at St. Laurence. He thenwent to his college alma mater, Lewis, where in nine seasons he had a 162-87 record. His teamswon three Great Lakes Valley Conference titles and advanced to theNCAA Tournament five times in Division II.
Schwarz quit coaching in 1987. For 12 years, hewas the athletic director at LoyolaUniversity before retiring in 1999.
My memories? Itwas early inmy writing career when Schwarz coached at St. Laurence. I remember him having quite an aura about him, andwas glued tomy TV as he coached his
Vikings through adversity at the state finals inMarch 1977.
“We beat Phillips in the quarterfinals, but Jimmy Stack sprained his ankle really bad,” Boyle recalled. “Years later, I’d come back to Burbank for some St. Laurence functions and I’d talk with coach about it a little bit.
“We both felt that if Jimmy had been healthy we’d have had a good chance.”
St. Laurence lost to Peoria Central in the semifinals and to De La Salle in the third-place game. To this day, it remains the best finish in the boys basketball program’s history.
Vucskomoved from Wisconsin the following school year and played for Schwarz on the 1977-78 team thatwent 27-0 before losing to Lockport in the sectional semifinals.
After Schwarz left for Lewis, he recruited Vucsko to come and play for him. He didn’t have to ask twice. Vucskowanted to play for one of the best.
“His organizational skills were off the charts,” Vucsko said.“We didn’t lose many games, and whenwe did, it didn’t happen becausewe weren’t prepared. We didn’t get out game planned, ever.
“He had this strategy where you had to pass the ball at least four times. Everythingwas patience. Everythingwas geared towardwearing the other team down. Itwasn’t sexy, by any means, but itwas effective. Thatwas just his way.”
Away so many will always remember.