Kooi steps down at Lockport

Updated: April 22, 2011 2:02PM

"It's just time."

With that, Bret Kooi, 47 years young, called it a career Friday as football coach at Lockport High School.

Bret, we hardly knew ye.

Seventeen seasons, 105-69 record, consecutive Class 8A state championships and scores of players developed for the collegiate level.

It's a hell of a resume, for sure.

It should be known, however, that Kooi's resume wasn't enough to land similar positions at Andrew and Hinsdale Central in recent months.

My sources acknowledge Kooi applied for both vacancies, but came away empty. Andrew hired one of its own - now that's a stunning development for a District 230 school, wink, wink - in former assistant coach Jim Malec. The Hinsdale Central gig went to former Crete-Monee and Rich South coach Rich Tarka.

However, it's only a matter of time before Kooi lands another gig.

Book it.

He made it perfectly clear that his coaching career is not over.

"Do I think my coaching days are done? Absolutely not," Kooi said. "But I don't know what I'll be doing in the near future."

I think I do. He'll be filling out applications for hand-picked coaching vacancies.

Some school will desire a coach who has won two state championships to guide their program.

Only a few public school coaches in the state can boast of similar honors, with retired Richards coach Gary Korhonen being one.

Many expected Lockport to produce a Maine South-like dynasty after winning back-to-back state titles in 2002 and '03. I figured as much, surmising most families would bypass the rising tuition at more heralded private schools and send their talented children to Lockport.

But the Porters qualified for the playoffs only four times over the next seven seasons, never advancing beyond the first round.

The past four seasons, Lockport was just 19-19.

However, beyond Kooi's knowledge of X's and O's, there were reasons for the mediocrity.

For one, there's the school's well-publicized overcrowding issues in the hallways. That led to the school implementing a staggered-start school schedule, with the first wave of students being dismissed by noon, with football players having to find a way back to practice later in the day.

That was less than an ideal circumstance.

The overcrowding led some families to choose to send their student-athletes to private schools. The good news is a school expansion will be completed by the fall, putting an end to the staggered schedule.

Additionally, many young teacher/coaches have been let go in recent years (budget issues), leaving Kooi with the difficult task of maintaining a staff, according to sources.

I wish the T.F. South grad nothing but the best. He's been a pro all the way and, obviously, would be an asset to any program.

So where does his departure leave Lockport?

This is not, with six weeks to go before summer break and less than four months before practice officially begins, the ideal time to hire a new coach.

Athletic director Brian Goff is well aware of this.

"It's a little late in the game," Goff said. "Besides the timing, we have to see what's open with teaching positions."

The job will be posted inside until Tuesday, according to Goff.

If Lockport desires, it can open the position to outside candidates.

But if a teaching position isn't available, which reportedly was the drawback for Kooi at Hinsdale Central, it won't matter.

"Potential candidates may have already taken jobs or don't want to leave the job they have this late in the game," Goff said. "We're looking for someone who stresses our core values to the students: academic success, hard work and sportsmanship. Winning is a byproduct of that."

Lockport remains a desirable destination. With quarterback Billy Reed returning in the fall, expectations are high for a big year.

That makes it imperative Goff find a coach. The sooner the better.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.