Baseball: Plainfield Central’s John Rosner steps down after 11 seasons

PLAINFIELD – John Rosner got Plainfield Central baseball back on the winning track.

In 2012, Rosner’s first year as the Wildcats head coach, they went 24-13 after finishing the previous 11 seasons below the .500 mark under five different coaches who followed the legendary Don Martin. In Rosner’s 11-year tenure (there was no baseball played in 2020 due to COVID-19), the Wildcats never finished below .500 and won a school-record 29 games twice, including this past season.

He finished his 11-year stint with 254 victories, the second-most in school history behind only Martin’s 421 in his 23 seasons.

“It’s a credit to the players we’ve had as well as their parents and all the support we got from the athletic department and the rest of the school.”

—  John Rosner, former Plainfield Central baseball coach

In 2016, Plainfield Central won its first baseball regional championship. It won another regional crown in 2018 and then won the program’s first sectional title in 2019, the first of Rosner’s 29-win seasons.

Rosner recently stepped down from the coaching ranks, although he will remain as a dean at Plainfield Central High School.

For Rosner, family came first.

“My twin daughters [Lanie and Sophie] are going to be freshmen at Benet Academy this fall, and they are both softball players,” Rosner said. “I don’t want to miss any of their games. My family [wife Jill, the twin daughters and 12-year-old son Sully] has sacrificed for me, and now it’s time for me to be there for them.”

Rosner was in Cooperstown, New York – the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame – watching his son’s 12U team play in one of the several tournaments held there each year.

“It was definitely different being in the stands and just being a dad watching instead of being out there coaching,” Rosner said. “It was a great experience.”

Rosner had nothing but kind things to say about Plainfield Central and the baseball program.

“Plainfield Central has been nothing but good to me,” he said. “I have worked under two outstanding athletic directors, Dave Stephens and Mark Krusz. They have been terrific. Dave hired me, and he is one of the best guys I know. Everyone loves Dave. He could probably be mayor of Plainfield if he wanted.

“We’ve had some great success, and I hope it continues. I believe it will. I was lucky enough to have the same six assistant coaches in the program my entire time here. That doesn’t happen very often, so I know I am leaving the program in good hands.”

Rosner said his fondest memories are the school’s first regional title in 2016, the sectional title and 29-win team of 2019 and this year’s first Southwest Prairie Conference championship team, which went 14-1 in the highly competitive league.

“Winning more than 250 games along with [varsity assistant] Coach [Patrick] Hanley was a great experience,” he said. “I will definitely remember the three regional championships we won, as well as the 2019 season when we won 29 games and the sectional title. Then going 14-1 in our conference, which is an outstanding baseball conference, to win our first conference title this year was very special.

“It’s a credit to the players we’ve had as well as their parents and all the support we got from the athletic department and the rest of the school. I talk to Don Martin every week, and he was a huge help, too. I am glad we got Plainfield Central baseball back to where it should be.

“Teams know when they play Plainfield Central that they are going to compete on every pitch. And I was able to teach the kids a little about baseball, and more importantly, a little bit about life. If you don’t do that, then what are you doing it for?”

While he is stepping down for the time being, Rosner does not rule out a return to coaching down the road and plans to remain involved with the game.

“I have been lucky enough to receive an offer to work with Prep Baseball Report,” Rosner said. “I will go out to games, as long as the schedule doesn’t interfere with any of my daughters’ games, and look at a player or two and write something up about them.

“I am going to stay involved in the game, and I may return to coaching someday.”