Assistant Alberts earns promotion, takes over as IC head football coach

Mike Alberts accomplished a personal goal when he was named Immaculate Conception's new head varsity football coach Friday.

It just didn't happen the way he envisioned.

The 33-year-old Alberts takes over for Bill Schmidt, who resigned after four seasons to accept a promotion to vice principal at Thomas Jefferson Junior High School in Woodridge.

"It's kind of bittersweet coming from Bill having to step down," Alberts said. "I just consider myself lucky. We have a great coaching staff with guys I love being around every day and terrific kids that work hard and have talent. If I had a choice of schools to coach at, I definitely want to be at a program like IC."

Alberts has been on the IC coaching staff since 2002 when he was the defensive coordinator for Bob Cozzi, who guided the Knights to the Class 3A state championship in his final season. Alberts spent the past four seasons as Schmidt's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, helping lead IC to the Class 2A state title this past season.

The naming of Alberts came just three days after Schmidt's resignation and about a month after the championship.

"The school wanted to move quickly," Alberts said. "There's a lot of positive vibes around the program right now and they wanted to keep the continuity going. My job is to continue to build on what we've been working on the last few years. We want to make sure we stress stability. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We have a system where we do things the right way and have had success. A big part of me getting the job is so there was not much change for the kids or anybody."

Before coming to IC, Alberts spent one season as the defensive coordinator at St. Laurence, from where he graduated in 1993 before becoming Schmidt's football teammate at Illinois Wesleyan.

He also had college coaching stints in Virginia and Iowa.

Alberts believes his experience in the IC program will be invaluable as he embarks on his new responsibilities.

"I think my biggest strength is the passion I have for the team and the program," Alberts said. "I've learned from smart and talented people and I hope I can use the experience I've picked up along the way to help the kids. One of Bill's biggest assets was utilizing all the different guys on the staff. I was fortunate to be involved in the direction and kind of program we wanted to have, and that will definitely help me."