When They Played: Fieldcrest girls basketball coach Mitch Neally

Neally played in two football state title games at Carthage

Growing up, Mitch Neally was obsessed with sports.

“I grew up with a passion for sports,” Neally said. “It was all I ever wanted to do in my free time. I was either playing sports or watching them. I would spend many days/nights working on my game or playing against my friends at my grandparents’ court in their driveway.”

His grandfather, who was a three-sport athlete and played minor league basketball, was a constant presence on the driveway as he helped Neally hone his skills.

“He was always out in the driveway helping me develop my game and watching us play,” Neally said. “He was always coaching me to be the best athlete and person I could be.”

That time on the driveway with his grandpa, along with his experiences as a standout football and basketball player at Carthage High School, set Neally on the path to his current career as a teacher, head girls basketball coach and football defensive coordinator at Fieldcrest High School.

“The impact and influence (my grandpa) had in my life in and out of the sports realm was a major reason that I wanted to go into coaching,” Neally said. “I was also blessed to get to play for many great, impactful coaches at Carthage as well. My granddad, along with these many great coaches at Carthage, made me realize the type of impact I could have on kids through coaching.

“I realized that God had a purpose for me to make an impact on athletes on and off the field or court, and so I try everyday to relish that opportunity.”

At Carthage, Neally was a key player for a dominant small-school dynasty as an all-conference tight end and defensive end for back-to-back Class 2A runner-up finishes.

Neally helped the Blueboy offense finish in the top 20 in IHSA history in total touchdowns and rushing touchdowns both seasons.

In Neally’s junior year, the Blueboys went 13-1 and lost 41-40 in overtime to Aledo in the state title game, in which Neally had four sacks, which ranks 19th in IHSA history.

As a senior, Neally once again helped Carthage to a 13-1 mark. The Blueboys lost 32-14 to Iroquois West in the state final.

Along with being named all-conference as a senior, Neally was honorable mention all-state and academic all-state.

On the basketball court, Neally helped the Blueboys to an 80-34 record and regional championships as a freshman – which was the school’s first since 1975 – and junior.

Neally was honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore and first team all-conference as a junior and senior. He also was honorable mention all-state as a senior.

Neally poured in 1,068 career points despite missing a month of his senior season due to a broken hand.

After high school, Neally continued his basketball career at Illinois College, where he started 71 of 86 career games. He led the team in rebounds as a sophomore and junior, and was second in rebounds as a senior.

Despite his impressive playing résumé, Neally said he doesn’t share too much of that with his players.

“I don’t try to relive the ‘glory days’ with them too much,” Neally said. “The football guys know I played for one of the most successful programs in the state, and the girls know I played college basketball. I don’t go into too much detail with them about it.”

His fellow football coaches would say he shares too much.

“The football coaching staff is always giving me a hard time because they say I compare everything to Carthage, and I always tell them we should be running the Wing-T,” Neally joked.

While Neally doesn’t bring up his own career much with his players, he does use examples to help with his coaching.

“I talk about how in college I was definitely a role player,” Neally said. “I knew what my role was (rebounding, defense, and screening to get scorers open) and embraced that. We talk about embracing our role all the time.”

Neally also shares life lessons he learned through athletics, and hopes his athletes will take those with them as well.

“I definitely use a lot of things I experienced while playing as a coach, both directly and indirectly,” Neally said. “I know these experiences shaped who I am today, and I try to share those experiences with my athletes. As a coach, you try to teach your athletes to learn from the mistakes that you made as an athlete. You try to get them to appreciate the little things more, and embrace every opportunity they are given. I know if I could go back, I wish I would have done certain things differently, so you try and make sure your athletes don’t have those types of regrets. For instance, losing two state championships was tough, but they were experiences that I will always remember, and they made me a stronger person and athlete for those experiences.

“I try to relate the things we do in our program to their everyday lives. I want them to be the best version of themselves they can be everyday, and to cherish every opportunity they are given. These are things that I have learned throughout my playing career, and hope they can take with them throughout their lives. I’m not just trying to coach them to be the best football player or basketball player they can be, but more importantly the best husband/wife/father/mother/etc. they can be later in life. That’s the most important thing.”