Coalers to honor hall of fame coaches

The Unit 1 School District has a rich athletic heritage, from conference and regional titles to state championships, and helping rack up those honors are dedicated coaches. In recognition and thanks for the success of those programs, the school district will honor seven legendary coaches who have been inducted into the hall of fame for their respective sport. The seven coaches—John Cullick, George Dare, Dennis Best, Ken W. Miller, Ken P. Miller, Jerry McDowell and Lenny Onsen — have dedicated a combined 147 years to coaching the district’s student athletes. A recognition ceremony will take place during half-time of the Coaler boy’s basketball game on Friday, Jan. 31. The evening will begin with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria. The community is invited to take part in the event, and the district’s superintendent encourages former athletes, parents, and colleagues of the seven honored coaches to take part in the celebration that will pay tribute to the influence and impact each had on their respective sports and the athletes they coached and mentored. No one has or continues to do more for Coal City athletics than hall of fame coach John Cullick. After teaching and coaching at Gardner Grade School, Cullick made the move to Unit 1 in 1975. He’s spent the past 45 years supporting Coaler athletics as a coach, athletic director and now athletic groundskeeper. Cullick was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1988. His initial years in the district found him coaching at the middle school level and then in 1978 he was named the head coach for the varsity Coalers, a post he would maintain through 1986. In 1981, his team won the regional title and would go on to claim the title again in 1983 and 1985. During his nine years with the Coalers, Cullick racked up 120 wins and had another 172 wins under his belt as a coach at the middle school and from previous stints at Gardner and Verona grade schools. After stepping down as coach, Cullick assumed the duties of athletic director at Coal City High School, a role that not only found him overseeing the athletic department, but he took on the task of maintaining the outdoor athletic facilities. When Cullick retired in 2003, he stayed on as a part-time athletic groundskeeper and he can be spotted walking the hall and fields of CCHS just about any time of the day or night. As school officials note, Cullick led the athletic department to unprecedented success, in fact the other six hall of fame coaches being honored on Friday worked under him during his time in the athletic department. Coaches being honored along with Cullick are: George Dare—Wrestling Dare was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1994. Although best known for his work and success with the Coaler wrestling team, Dare coached multiple other sports during his career, including baseball and track and field. In 1973, Dare assumed the duties of wrestling coach even though he had never coached or even participated in the sport as a student. Dare was an assistant for his first three seasons before taking over the head coaching duties. During his 17 years leading the program he compiled an impressive resume in a tough conference that included powerhouses like Yorkville, Plano, Reed-Custer and Wilmington. Under his leadership the wrestling team racked up five conference, seven regional and three sectional titles. His teams collected three state trophies—fourth place in 1993 and second place in 1981 and 1984. Along with being a hall of fame coach, Dare was a two-time Illinois Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year. Dennis Best—Track and Cross Country Best was inducted into the Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1996. During his 30-year tenure with the district, Best coached the school’s cross country team for 12 years, girls track for 15 and boys track for 26 years. Under his leadership, the Coaler cross country and track and field teams flourished and were well respected not only in the Interstate Eight Conference, but across the state. Best led his teams to a combined eight conference titles, two regional and two sectional titles and a total of 401 dual meet victories. He coached 121 individual state track and field qualifiers—five of them state champions — and he had four cross country runners qualify for state. Additionally at the state level, Best coached his 1993 boy’s team to a third place finish, his girl’s track team to seventh place in 1989 and his 1992 cross country squad placed third in state. In 1992 he was named the Class A Cross Country Coach of the Year and is a recipient of the Franklin Insurance National High School Track Coach Silver Award. Ken W. Miller—Football Miller was inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013. Miller arrived in Coal City in 1986 to assume his new duties as a teacher and coach at CCHS. When he took over the football program was heading into its ninth season and his first year on the job was one dedicated to building the program as his Coalers when 1-8 on the season, but by year two they finished 6-4 and qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in school history. From that point forward the program took off and under Miller’s leadership the football program qualified for 13 consecutive playoff appearances. Miller’s teams captured six conference championships and in 1993 his team went 14-0 and brought home the state championship trophy after defeating Carlinville on a snow- and ice-covered field at Illinois State University. He was also named the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year that season. Miller stepped down from his coaching duties when he assumed the role of high school principal, he is not retired. Along with football, Miller coached high school and middle school basketball and currently supervises a youth basketball program through the YMCA. Jerry McDowell— Baseball McDowell was inducted into the Illinois Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014. In 29 years as a coach McDowell’s baseball teams—middle and high school—racked up a total of 1,104 victories. He got his start in Coal City coaching the middle school’s eighth grade team and began with the high school program, putting in one year as the sophomore coach and 22 with the varsity. His high school teams earned a combined 527 wins capped by 14 conference, 10 regional and two sectional titles, along with a fourth place finish at the 2008 state tournament. At the middle school level, McDowell led the Warriors to 12 conference, 15 regional, nine sectional titles and four Illinois Elementary School Association State championships. Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association named McDowell its Class 2 Coach of the Year in 2002 and in 2008 voted him as its Class 2A Area Coach of the Year. Since retiring from teaching in 2017, McDowell has continued in baseball as an assistant coach for the Joliet Slammers, and sharing his knowledge with players at Mazon Junior High. Ken P. Miller—Football Ken P. Miller was inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016. Miller’s induction to a hall of fame could have come in one of several sports as his work in the district found him working with both the basketball, baseball and football programs here, all racking up conference titles. But of all the sports, Miller spent the most time on the sidelines of the Coaler football field—37 years to be exact. He is the longest tenured coach in the school’s history. Working as an assistant football coach under fellow hall of famer Ken W. Miller, he helped the team rack up dozens of accolades including a state championship in 1993. When Ken W. stepped away from football, Ken P. remained working as an assistant after another hall of famer, Lenny Onsen. Again, the team racked up wins and titles, advanced to the state championship and added hardware to the trophy case. Along with coaching, Miller served the district as a teacher and guidance counselor and after he retired, Miller was elected to the district’s Board of Education, which he currently serves as president. And, his contributions to sports continue as a supporter of all Coaler athletics and in his role as director of community relations for the Joliet Slammers. Lenny Onsen—Football Onsen was inducted into the Illinois Football Coaches Association High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2019. Onsen’s name is synonymous with Coaler football, getting his start as member of the school’s first football team in 1978. During his 32 years as a teacher in the district, Onsen has coached middle school wrestling and track, as well as high school football, and the mark he made in football is what will go down in the school’s history books. During his first 13 years on the coaching staff he worked under fellow hall of famer Ken W. Miller and when the head coach stepped down Onsen took over and continued to building on the Coalers gridiron success. As head football coach, Onsen led the Coalers to 127 wins, 14 state playoff appearances, four conference championships, six quarterfinal and four semi-final appearances and a trip to the state finals in 2004, bringing home the second place trophy. He is a two-time Interstate Eight Coach of the Year.