Haskins steps down as St. Charles East baseball coach

Add another short-but-successful stop to Dave Haskins’ coaching resume.

The St. Charles East baseball coach confirmed Tuesday that he is leaving the Saints after two years for the chance to coach and teach at the same school. Haskins declined to publicly name his next suburban destination until it becomes official in early August.

Haskins came to East from Prairie Ridge – where he led the Wolves to the 2008 IHSA Class 4A state championship – after the 2009 season, saying at the time he expected a chance to join the faculty at East in the near future.

But a teaching job did not materialize at East, and after another impressive two-year stint – the Saints went 54-23 – Haskins is again on the move.

Haskins has taught regular and adaptive physical education at the Sedom Center in McHenry County for the past four years. He said administrative turnover at East – the school will have a new principal and interim athletic directors next year – made employment prospects in St. Charles seem less promising.

“We had two great years,” Haskins said. “Many coaches, I think, would love to do what we did in two years, win 54 games, a trip downstate [in last year’s summer playoffs], win a conference title, two regional titles and a sectional final the year before, a [sectional semifinal] this year. It was great.”

The Saints were ousted from the summer playoffs Tuesday by Batavia, 7-6. Haskins said he informed his players on Monday that he will be resigning soon.

“I got bombarded by emails and texts over this weekend,” Haskins said. “My goal was to tell the kids first because I think that’s the right thing to do, then tell the booster parents and the coaching staff. It was kind of getting out in the air. I was getting hit from every direction, so I told the boys I will be resigning and the reason I am resigning is I have accepted a full-time PE and coaching position for my family.”

While there was little quibbling with the success of Haskins’ teams, there was off-field strife during his tenure, as some in the community voiced concern about Haskins’ aggressive offseason program and his role as a private instructor on top of his coaching job. In an outside review of East’s athletic department this spring, the report mentioned that parents are “strongly opinionated and in disagreement about the integrity of [Haskins ].”

But Haskins said Tuesday that most of his relationships were strong, noting that former players came back to watch East play on a steamy day Tuesday and his plans to attend a White Sox game with players’ parents next week. He said there were no issues at East that could not have been smoothed over going forward.

East catcher Brian Sobieski said he is sad to see Haskins go.

“He’s a really aggressive coach,” Sobieski said. “He could be demanding but we just got used to it. We knew what his expectations were. I don’t think he’d be so demanding if he didn’t think we were that good, but he knew we were a special ballclub.”

Haskins, who lives in Carpentersville, said his new job would likely dictate a move in a southwesterly direction. The 38-year-old said he enjoyed his relationship with outgoing East athletic director Jerry Krieg, and hopes to add the Saints to the schedule at his new program, which will require a rebuilding job, he said.

When Haskins took the Saints job, crosstown powerhouse St. Charles North had the edge in the St. Charles rivalry, but the Saints eliminated the North Stars from the postseason in 2010, and finished ahead of North in the conference in 2011, tying Streamwood for the Upstate Eight Conference River championship.

“Now playing St. Charles East, I think you have to bring your ‘A game’ if you want to compete,” Haskins said. “That was my goal and expectations, teaching life skills through the game of baseball, and playing it at a level where you’re expected to win.”