Longtime Wauconda softball coach Rennels stepping down
A coach is a coach, always emotionally invested, even if he isn't coaching that day.
So there Tim Rennels stood, peering through a backstop, observing with a keen and experienced eye, studying.
"About a month ago, I was watching a swing and I was like, 'Ah, there's a hitch in that swing. I can fix that,' " Rennels said.
He knew the hitter well.
"It was my 5-year-old grandson (David)," Rennels said, "On the tee for the first time in his tee-ball game."
It was an emotional moment for Rennels, Wauconda's softball coach for the last 18 years. It was also another reminder for him that it was time to step down from high-school coaching. His grandsons, David and 3-year-old Nolan (sons of daughter Kelly), may or may not need someone to help them with their swing, but what child doesn't need a loving grandpa?
Following No. 7 Wauconda's walk-off loss to second-seeded and host Grayslake Central in a Class 3A regional final Saturday, Rennels announced on Twitter that he was resigning, "effective immediately." It was the second of two emotional tweets directed at a parent who questioned Rennels' coaching.
Rennels said his decision to resign, however, was made "long before" he went to Twitter to announce his decision.
"I think the program is ready for an upgrade too," Rennels said. "I was like Windows 1. I helped the program go from the chalkboard to the early computer years. I feel like I did bring the program forward, but we really need someone more updated, more in tune with the young girls, more able to negotiate today's social climate. It'll be a better fit for the team. When my message isn't being received, it's because how I'm giving it."
Rennels just completed what he said was his 59th season of coaching, which includes softball, wrestling and baseball. The speech that he gave to his softball players following Saturday's loss had been prepared well in advance. He did not tell his players of his intentions during the regular season, he said, because he did not want it to become a distraction.
"Every team I've ever had, those 59, it's a love affair," Rennels said. "You fall in love with your team. And love is a risk. Sometimes you get burned, or you get your heart broken. But what I wanted (the players) to know is that I'd take that risk again and again and again, because if you don't, you'll never know the joy of being loved back."
Rennels took accountability for the Bulldogs' 10-20 season, saying he "failed" his players. Wauconda beat Northern Lake County Conference champ Antioch and took Grayslake Central to extra innings during the regular season, but since star pitcher Kayla Wedl graduated last year, the Bulldogs were not expected to be as strong as they had been in recent years. Led by Wedl (UIC), Wauconda won 102 games, four regional titles and three sectional championships from 2013-16.
"I'm getting old," said Rennels, who's 57. "There are so many things that I want to pursue in my life. Many weeks broke my heart this year because I'd see my (grandsons) on a Sunday night and I wouldn't see them again until Friday or Saturday."
Rennels, an applied arts teacher at Wauconda, plans to teach two more years. He just completed his 33rd year at the high school.
"I'll fall on my sword, because it's time. It's time for both of us," Rennels said. "I really do love Wauconda. I'm not stepping down. I'm moving on. I'm moving forward."