Eventually, the seven-hour drives took a toll on Huntley football coach John Hart.
After four seasons and a 28-12 record, Hart told his players Tuesday night he was stepping down to take a coaching job in Brownsburg, Ind., just outside Indianapolis.
“It’s been four incredible years at Huntley,” Hart said. “The players, the administration, the community all have been so supportive. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
Hart is returning to his coaching roots.
“To be honest, being seven hours away from our four kids, it was a difficult thing,” Hart said. “We knew that when I took the job here, but it just started to wear on us more and more. “
The new school is more than halfway to where most of Hart’s family is, near Evansville, Ind.
“All four of my kids are coaches down in that area and with their schedules and my schedule, it made it a real challenge to have the opportunity to see them,” Hart said.
Hart’s oldest son, Nick, is head coach at Gibson Southern (Ind.). His youngest son, Derek, will join him at Brownsburg on the football staff after serving as head coach at downstate Edwards County last season. Derek Hart was on Huntley’s staff prior to last year. The Harts have daughters who are volleyball and basketball coaches in Indiana.
Hart came to Huntley after winning a state title at Warren Central (Ind.) in 2009 and is 266-82 record in 31 years at five schools. He stepped down at Warren Central due to what he called a lack of support for the program.
Huntley is coming off its first Fox Valley Valley title and a 10-1 season.
Hart said it’s possible other members of his coaching staff could join him at Brownsburg.
At Huntley, Hart was given credit for pushing to upgrade the field, stadium, weightlifting program and facilities and also putting the team on the map. It was capped with an unbeaten regular season in 2015.
“I think when I got here there was a conflict going on — it was that they were struggling with being successful as a smaller school and were becoming a much larger school,” Hart said. “That can give you multiple challenges, sometimes.
“But we had a great staff and school-minded community. They really made it all possible.”
Hart said one of the things he’s most proud of is how quickly the team’s numbers improved at the school.
“We had a great year and have great talent at the lower levels,” Hart said. “I tell people all the time the thing I’m most proud of is that we went from 67 kids to 130 on the varsity and from around 45 freshmen to 110.
“More than wins, we just got the kids involved and they loved the sport. It’s a great time to be a football player at Huntley.”
Twitter @genechamberlai2
