Former Woodstock North coach Jeff Schroeder will take over at McHenry

Jeff Schroeder stepped down after the 2021 season as head coach at Woodstock North, a program he started when the school opened in 2009.

Schroeder felt he needed a change and maybe the players did as well. But he did not leave coaching, taking an assistant’s job with Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp. The Wolves finished as Class 6A state runners-up.

Schroeder is back leading a program again. McHenry announced Thursday that Schroeder will take over as the Warriors head coach. McHenry athletic director Joel Beard, who coached last season on an interim basis, hired Schroeder to take his place.

“The community deserves a football program that they can be proud of,” said Schroeder, who was approved at Tuesday’s District 156 school board meeting on Tuesday. “I want to create a positive environment for the kids. My goal is when the kids leave the football program, I want them to say that was my best experience in high school.”

McHenry has not been to the playoffs since 2016, but the Warriors finished 4-5 in the Fox Valley Conference last season and played each of the tri-champions –Huntley, Jacobs and Prairie Ridge – to one-score games.

The Warriors had a total roster of 120 players and the Junior Warriors’ program numbers are strong with almost 300 players.

Schroeder said he was impressed with McHenry’s program when Prairie Ridge played McHenry last season.

“I was thinking it would be a great opportunity if it ever opens,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder previously was head coach at Westmont and an assistant at Jacobs before he took over at Woodstock North. He will remain with his position as a dean at North.

His Woodstock North teams were 52-77 in its 13 seasons. The Thunder remarkably made the playoffs in 2011, the school’s third season, and won the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division title. In 2012, North was Fox Division runner-up and got its lone playoff victory in school history.

North also made the playoffs in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

“His knowledge of the game and his passion for teaching the game really stood out,” Beard said. “But he also understands that it is more than just football. He wants the experience to be great for our kids in a positive and competitive environment.”