St. Charles East AD Krieg to retire
A turbulent spring at St. Charles East continued this week with athletic director Jerry Krieg announcing he was retiring at the end of the school year.
As of Wednesday afternoon the decision had yet to be finalized by St. Charles Community Unit School District 303, said School and Community Relations Director Jim Blaney, but Blaney said Krieg on Monday informed Superintendent Dr. Donald D. Schlomann he was retiring. Krieg told the St. Charles East Athletic staff Tuesday afternoon.
An investigation into the St. Charles East athletic department began last month after Krieg and Principal Robert Miller's decision to remove Brian Clodi as the boys head varsity basketball coach.
The findings from that investigation could be completed later this week. Blaney said Schlomann is formulating recommendations to come out of the review investigation.
Krieg, however, did not comment on that series of events.
“This is simply father time catching up,” said Krieg, who is finishing his 13th year in District 303, the last eight as St. Charles East athletic director.
“At my age it's always on your mind, and I'm still young enough to coach, and healthy enough. I want to get back on the sideline,” said Krieg, who first came to St. Charles High School as a drivers education and physical education teacher and head boys basketball coach in 1998.
He emphasized his decision was not based on frustrations over the firing of Clodi and the subsequent investigation.
“There's been a lot of frustrating things in my life, but there's never been one frustrating thing about being with the Fighting Saints, believe me,” Krieg said.
His debut at St. Charles coincided with the most frustrating time in Illinois High School Association history — for Saints opponents. In 1998-99 St. Charles won a state-record six state championships by one school in one academic year: boys golf, girls cross country, boys and girls swimming, baseball and girls softball.
“It was a special time, believe me,” Krieg said. “It seemed like every assembly was a parade of state trophies around the gym. It was very neat, especially your first year up here.”
Coming to St. Charles after two years at Ottawa Marquette, and before that two decades of multisport experience at Bishop McNamara — in addition to winning 309 basketball games he was defensive coordinator on four state football champions — Krieg succeeded the legendary Ron Johnson as Saints boys basketball coach.
Krieg won the Upstate Eight Conference title in his second year as head coach, quenching a long drought. Becoming a dean of students in 2001, he went on to accumulate more than 400 career victories and earn induction into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003.
That year Krieg succeeded Wayne DeMaar as St. Charles East athletic director.
“It was very hard to give up your basketball career, but it was a chance to become athletic director, after five years,” he said. “I still miss being a basketball coach but I haven't regretted it for one second. It was a great opportunity and a great move for me.”
After June 30 he will make another move, to join his wife, Corinne, in retirement in their Oswego home, and perhaps give his 10-year-old grandson sports pointers down in Bourbonnais.
“The boss spoke,” Krieg said of his wife. A retired teacher he said she had “been leaning on me” to join her, an idea he'd mulled over the past couple years.
“Mr. Krieg has served the district very, very well,” Blaney said. “He's a hall of fame coach, and there have been a lot of athletes who've benefitted from the leadership of Mr. Krieg.”
The end of his tenure at St. Charles East has been rocky, but Krieg maintained he's “been so lucky” and will be a presence before and after this term ends.
“I plan on being around, I plan on being at St. Charles events,” he said. “All I need is a bag of popcorn and I'm happy.”
Craig Brueske and John Lemon contributed to this story.