The Schaumburg Saxons owe just a little bit of last year’s state basketball championship to that teenage scourge: infectious mononucleosis.
More than 20 years ago, Saxons head coach Bob Williams was about to start his first year as a scrappy point guard for the University of North Dakota when he came down with a bad case of “mono.” Sidelined from the game he loved, Williams ended up becoming an unusually young sophomore basketball coach at Grand Forks Red River High School.
“It was pretty strange. I was 19. Some of the cheerleaders were 18,” Williams said.
The coach said the big decision came the next year when, fully recovered, he could play one more year of college ball, or continue coaching at the high school.
“It was one of the most difficult decisions I ever made, but I knew I wouldn’t be playing organized ball forever. I knew I would be coaching for the rest of my life,” he said.
Williams spoke one afternoon this fall, standing on the Schaumburg High School gym’s sideline during a pickup game between mostly Saxon basketball players. In September, the Illinois High School Association rules prohibit organized practice and so Williams simply stood and watched. When a player made a lackadaisical cut to the basket, or a bad pass, Williams’ crossed forearms tightened, but he said nothing.
“It’s kind of tough,” Williams said, then laughed.
Tough, though, is Williams’ favorite subject. At 5-9, he was a man of moderate size in a tall man’s game. He has coached for 22 years in the Mid-Suburban League, not known for overwhelming downstate success until last year when the Saxons beat Thornwood High School and soon-to-be Bulls’ first-round draft pick Eddy Curry to win the Class AA state championship.
Algebra teacher
Basketball may be his easiest subject, however. During the day, he teaches algebra.
“I think I’m attracted to challenges,” Williams said. “I got good grades in high school and not because I worked all that hard at it. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, but it’s true. A lot of school wasn’t challenging for me, but I found math–taking an algorithm and making it work correctly–that was challenging and so I enjoyed it.”
Williams said the toughest part of his day is finding time for teaching, basketball and his family. It is a little unusual to be a math teacher and head basketball coach, because of the workload involved. He teaches five classes of math a day and during the season coaches a daily two-hour practice. There is a good deal of preparation for both.
“It’s not even grading the homework as much as preparing for the teaching. Kids today are pretty tough judges of the kind of presentation you give and if you haven’t prepared properly, they can smell it,” he said.
Step by step
The 42-year-old has coached for 11 years at Schaumburg after 11 years as an assistant at Palatine High School. Schaumburg’s improvement in his tenure has been steady, if not fast. He compares the change to the Bill Murray comedy “What About Bob?” In that 1991 film, the troubled Murray character follows the self-help mantra of “Baby Steps” to overcome his hang-ups.
“That’s pretty much the way we’ve improved over the years,” he said, taking 6-inch steps across the gym floor. “Baby steps! Baby steps!”
Williams said there is a connection between teaching math and teaching basketball. Both require an ability to get students to bend their minds to the same task repeatedly. Hoffman Estates head basketball coach Bill Wandro witnessed the results firsthand during the Saxons’ championship run.
“No team could take Schaumburg away from their game, and that’s a reflection of Bob. He sets a goal and you can’t get him off it, and that’s just the way you have to be with math,” Wandro said.
Williams said a big key to the Saxons’ success last year was a very high level of teamwork. He said that concept is something, however, that a coach can’t instill directly into the players. Instead, Williams said he concentrates on pushing older players to be models for young players. He said that last year’s star guard Mark Pancratz, who attends the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, made sure other players stayed within the team concept.
“We were always on Mark to make sure things that should happen, kept happening. And to his credit, last year most of the time they did,” Williams said.
Off the court
The coach said he can be intense on the court and won’t hesitate to let a player know when they aren’t doing something right. But he said that off the court, the relationship is different. “Hopefully, there’s a difference between the on-court relationship and the off-court. If I get on them during a practice or a game, once we step off the court I hope they know I’m there to help them get better and it’s nothing personal,” Williams said.
Bob Williams
Job: Schaumburg High School algebra teacher and basketball coach.
Age: 42.
Major awards: Mid-Suburban League Coach of the Year (4 times); Illinois High School Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year (3 times); The Illinois High School Coaches Association State Coach of the Year; National High School Coaches Association National Coach of the Year.
Favorite books: “I read murder/mystery novels for relaxation and I read motivational books to improve my ability to teach. My favorite book is `The Magic of Teamwork’ by Pat Williams of the Orlando Magic.”
Most difficult decision: “Year after year during basketball tryouts I have to decide who makes the team and who doesn’t.”
Challenge as a coach: “Today’s society does not place great value on many of the attributes necessary to be a great teammate [such as] self-sacrifice and sublimating one’s personal desires for the benefit of the team, but it is necessary and vital that teacher-coaches keep the perspective that athletics are educational programs and they must continue to work to teach these ideals. This is made even more difficult by the fact that many players wish to emulate NBA players and the fact that the pressure to win seemingly is greater every year.”
Challenge as a teacher: “To stay abreast of the many advancements in technology and … to teach students to work effectively toward success both individually and in group situations.”
Family: Wife, Meg, teaches physically challenged students at Palatine High School; three daughters: Megan, 12, Kelly, 9, and Riley, 6.
Hobbies: “Reading, but I also enjoy cooking and cook many meals at home–when I’m not out coaching or scouting.”
