Fields brings plenty of experience to St. Charles East

Prior to his senior year, then-Prospect High School football coach Rich Roberts approached Mike Fields with a proposition.

"I remember Coach Roberts telling me that 'I'd get a chance to have my hands on the football almost every down on offense,'" recalled Fields.

Fields, who had played tight end his junior campaign, immediately began thinking that he was about to become the focal point of the Knights' offensive game plan for the 1982-83 season.

Well, not exactly.

"Coach Roberts told me he was going to move me from tight end to center because that position was in need of filling," said Fields. "I said I'd do anything if it was for the good of the team."

Always a team player, Fields will now get a chance to wrap his hands around an entire football program after being named earlier this month as St. Charles East's varsity coach for the 2009-10 season.

Fields, 43, won't have a long commute to his new position after spending the past 10 years on the Geneva High School football coaching staff - the last 7 as the Vikings' head sophomore coach where his teams compiled a 49-13-1 record.

"This was good for my family because we won't have to move," said Fields, a Geneva resident. "I love the Tri-Cities area so much."

Fields was one of Rob Wicinski's first hires at Geneva 10 years ago when Wicinski took over as head coach.

"He spent the first couple years with me on the varsity staff," said Wicinski. "We experienced some lean years so I asked him to take over at the sophomore level because it was best for the program.

"I told him to get us a base. We missed out on some continuity those first few years."

Considering the fact that Geneva's sophomore team has posted a 48-6 mark the past 6 years, while the varsity squad has made 5 consecutive playoff appearances - finishing as the Class 7A state runners-up last fall while reaching the state semifinals in 2005 and 2007 - it's safe to say that Fields has done some quality work.

"Any success we've had at the varsity level is in direct correlation to the job Mike has done with the sophomores," said Wicinski.

Despite guiding the Viking sophomores to two undefeated seasons and a pair of 1-loss years, one of Fields' most memorable moments came during his only losing campaign in 2003.

"It was my first year (as sophomore coach) and we went 1-7-1 with six of the losses coming by 7 points or less," said Fields. "When those sophomores became seniors two years later, they reached the state semifinals."

Fields deflects credit for Geneva's lower-level success.

"Matt Hahn was with me all seven years with the sophomores," said Fields. "And Kevin Bell, who was a defensive coordinator at Naperville Central, has been the head freshman coach the last six years."

Fields taught and coached football two years in Ohio (Oak Hills) before his arrival in Geneva. It was during those early years that Fields learned what high school football in Ohio is all about.

"I remember when (longtime power) Cincinnati Moeller brought four buses over for a scrimmage," said Fields. "We were beaten before the other team even got off the bus."

According to the job description posted earlier this month on the St. Charles East website, previous head coaching experience was preferred but not required.

Fields entered the interview process without any head coaching experience. He finished the process with the position.

"No, he doesn't have any head coaching experience but he's got a ton of experience," said Saints athletic director Jerry Krieg.

"Once I heard he made the final field of four, I knew he'd make their decision difficult," said Wicinski.

That he did.

"He seemed very qualified in interviews," said Saints football booster club member Todd Striedl, whose son Jess is expected to be a senior starter next season. "When I met the four finalists, he was one of the two that stuck out.

"He's very energetic and he comes from a good program. I'm excited for this new era in Saints football and think he's a good fit for the future."

With a 2009 nonconference schedule that includes his former school, Geneva, and perennial powerhouse Naperville North, Fields will face a stiff challenge.

"After the first game, I hope they go crazy," joked Wicinski.

Fields knows one thing is certain.

"I'll probably have a little Geneva blue in me forever but I'm sure I'll bleed St. Charles East orange in a heartbeat," he said.