Russ Damhoff is stepping down.

The Sauk Valley Community College men’s basketball coach and athletic director filed his paperwork this week to retire after 31 years at the helm of the Skyhawks. He informed SVCC coaches on Monday, and told his players on Tuesday that he is stepping down from coaching.

He said it was still hard to make that decision.

“I just felt like it was time,” he said. “I turned 65 in February, and just looking to the future, it felt like this was the time. … The coaching was hard to give up. I still feel like I can coach the X’s and O’s. Coaching takes energy, a lot of energy, energy to prepare, energy to discipline. I feel like 31 years, I feel like I’ve used almost everything I have.

“I think I got old without knowing it. The kids keep you young. The years go so fast.”

Damhoff was working in construction and kept telling his friends that he wanted to go back to school and get into the coaching ranks. He did, giving up construction
and going back to
Northern Illinois to finish his degree.

He volunteered at Sauk before the head coaching job came open.

“Frank Palumbo thought I was worth a chance, gave me an opportunity to be a head coach, probably before I deserved it,” Damhoff said.

His first season as head coach did not go well, as Sauk Valley went 3-27 in 1986-87.

“Probably the best thing that ever happened to me, lost my ego,” he said.

But things turned around quickly, with the arrival of guards Jim Preston and Lance Harris helping the Skyhawks to a 28-4 record and a conference title in 1988-89.

Sauk won another conference title in 1991, a team that went 23-9 with an up-tempo style.

“I loved him as a coach,” said Todd Sigel, a member of the 1991 team who was named all-conference in both of his seasons playing for Damhoff. “He’s an X’s and O’s genius. He knew conditioning, he knew training, he knew dietary stuff. I never lifted a weight until I got there. Before we played a team, we knew exactly what we had to do to be successful.”

Sauk slipped again the following 2 years, but by the mid-90s bounced back with a 26-6 season in 1993-94 and a 25-8 season in 1994-95, winning back-to-back Region IV titles. The Skyhawks have had just two losing seasons since.

“In my book, Coach Damhoff is the best coach I ever had,” Matt Ross said. “That goes for off the court as well, he’s just a great guy and he cares for his players.”

Ross, a standout forward for Sauk Valley from 2010-2012, arrived as mostly a low-post player before Damhoff began working on him to extend his range. In the process, Damhoff also extended Ross’ confidence.

“He made me want to get better every day,” Ross said.

Jed Johnson played for Damhoff at Sauk Valley, earning all-conference honors in 2001-02. Johnson considers himself blessed to have gotten the chance to play for and coach with a man he considers to be a great role model.

“The one thing I have to say about Russ, he always does things the right way,” Johnson said. “He taught us to be accountable and expected us to get things done on and off the court, and be leaders in the community.”

Johnson served as an assistant coach under Damhoff before taking over the Sauk women’s program in 2010.

“Definitely gave me a lot of freedom to coach the way I wanted to, and was always great for me,” Johnson said.

During Damhoff’s time as athletic director, Sauk Valley’s athletic department grew, adding baseball and cross country as well as bringing back softball. SVCC won the conference trophy as the top overall athletic program the past 2 years. Just this past year, he saw the volleyball team make its second straight trip to nationsl, watched the women’s basketball team win a regional title, and sent six cross country runners to nationals.

“I think we’re getting close to competing at the national level, I think our volleyball team showed us that this year finishing top-six in the nation,” he said. “I feel good about where, as a program, we’ve gotten to. I think I’ve seen the schedules get tougher and tougher, and we play the top teams.”

Damhoff ends his coaching career with a record of 592-392. Looking back, he wished there were a few more trophies in the trophy case, but under Damhoff, Sauk Valley was nearly always in the hunt. SVCC took second in conference 16 times.

“We had a lot of success, too,” he said. “This year was a little disappointed because I thought we had talent. Some years are that way.”

Damhoff was able to bring in solid players from the area. Johnson had played at Rock Falls. Matt Ross played for Dixon before joining the Skyhawks in 2010. Damhoff’s final SVCC team included former Dixon Dukes Riley Mehrens and Laron Carr, former Sterling players Devin Johnson and Ethan Sanford, Prophetstown’s Jonah Green, and Oregon’s Trevor Otten and Matt Wasilewski. The assistant coach was another player who spent 2 years in a Sauk Valley uniform after Damhoff recruited him from a local high school, former Newman Comet A.J. Sharp.

“I thought we did a good job of mixing local talent with out-of-district talent,” Damhoff said. “I think at the Division I level, you have to do that to be successful. I thought we always recruited our district first, and then built from there.”

Damhoff said the school wants to get the position filled soon, with a key period in recruiting coming up. He wants to get the right person in, no matter who that is. He hopes the next coach can build off of what he accomplished. He never broke through to the national tournament, but he’s hopeful the Skyhawks will make that trip some day.

He looks forward now to spending time with his family, including the chance to travel with his wife, Jackie. He already is planning a trip to Phoenix, which happens to be the host of the Final Four this year, which he will get a chance to see. He may even jump back into coaching at some point, perhaps as an assistant where he can contribute without devoting all of his time to it.

He also wants to check in from time to time at Sauk, where he spent 31 years building a respected Skyhawks program as well as many friendships.

“My run at Sauk has been great, love Sauk, what it does for our district,” he said. “Hopefully I represented it well.”

Russ Damhoff file

Sauk Valley Community College men’s basketball coach, 1986-2017

Career record: 592-392

Conference championships: 1989, 1991

Region IV championships: 1994, 1995

High school: Prophetstown, Class of 1970

College: Bachelor’s and Masters from Northern Illinois