Yorkville's Still resigns after six seasons

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:04PM

Yorkville football coach Jim Still submitted a letter of

resignation on Thursday to pursue a path in administration, a move that will

be accepted by the Yorkville Board of Education on Monday.

"It's a professional decision," said Still, who also served as a dean of

students the last three years. "I always thought I'd be a teacher, retire

from coaching and the move into the assistant principal, principalship that

way, but this definitely gave me an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with

the administration and at this point I've run my course with being a dean.

"The reality is if I want to move further up I can't keep coaching. They

used to do it a long time ago when districts were smaller, but nowadays it's

not the way it works. I definitely have a desire to move up."

Still, who came to Yorkville after 14 seasons as an assistant and sophomore

coach at Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley, guided Yorkville for six

seasons. In that time, the Foxes posted a combined record of 13-41.

"It's been a good run," Still said. "I know we haven't reached the goals I

set out to accomplish, but it wasn't for lack of effort and (my leaving)

wasn't on bad terms."

This season, Yorkville finished 3-6 overall in its first campaign in the

newly formed Northern Illinois Big 12 East conference. The previous five

seasons in Still's tenure, the Foxes competed in the now-defunct Western Sun

Conference.

Yorkville has not reached the IHSA postseason since 2002.

"The bottom line in athletics is we all try to go out there and try and win,

but in high school athletics, if we as educators say that you didn't go out

there to make a difference in a young person's life as a better citizen and

a better person, you're missing the boat, too," Still said. "Certainly, I

wish we could've been a 5-4 (team). But every team we got beat by was a

playoff team. We play a playoff schedule and whoever succeeds me will be

faced with that same challenge."

Athletic director Seth Schoonover could not be immediately reached for

comment on the timeline for hiring a new coach. Still felt the new coach

will be a teacher at the high school, whether it's an internal candidate

that is promoted or a new coach that moves into the district.

"They're going to find the right person for the job," Still said. "They'll

get the best fit. I met with all the players and I wish those kids nothing

but the best. It's going to be an exciting time for Yorkville. It's going to

be different for me to sit back and watch and not be a part (of it), but

it's time for me to try something different."

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