Bill Schalz, legendary Illinois high school swim coach, announced on Wednesday, August 22nd that he will retire from coaching Rosary and Marmion high schools at the conclusion of the upcoming school year. The 57-year-old coach is leaving his decorated high school coaching career to devote more of his time with Illinois powerhouse swim club Academy Bullets.
Schalz founded the Bullets in 1994, which went from a small team swimming out of Marmion’s Regole Natatorium to a team of 700 swimmers with eight sites across northern and central Illinois. “We’re considering expansion and building a pool, so there’s a lot of things that I’d like to do, but I can’t if I’m only going to be working on it five or six months a year,” Schalz told the Chicago Tribune about his upcoming plans with the Bullets. “I enjoy coaching high school, I could do it for another 10 years. It just came down to a matter of time.”
Schalz, an Aurora resident and 1979 Marmion alum, is one of only two Illinois coaches to win IHSA state championships in both boys and girls swimming. Schalz guided Rosary to 16 top-three state trophies and 7 state championship titles, including 3 consecutive titles from 2015, 2016, and 2017. The Marmion boys have won 4 top-three state trophies with Schalz, including the 2000 state title.
Schalz has coached many decorated swimmers, including University of South Carolina commit and Rosary senior Anne Tavierne. “Everyone respects him so much. They want to swim well for him, at least that’s it for me. He’s such an awesome person and I just want to do well for him.”, Tavierne told the Tribune about Schalz’s impact on the team.
Rosary Girls Win 2017 IHSA State Championship. Photo Courtesy: Rosary High School
Rosary is an all-girls Catholic school with an enrollment of roughly 300 students in Aurora, Illinois. Schalz began coaching the girls swim team in 1994, and turned the program into a powerhouse. With 10 percent of the student body on the swim team, the team is favored to win a fourth consecutive state title this fall for Schalz’s final season.
Rosary Girls High School Record Since 1994. Courtesy of ihsa.org
Bill
Congrats….I have always admired your dedication
Great job Bill ! -maybe retired in one way but now you’ll find a way to keep getting better. Enjoy the journey and progress.
Great coach! You set the Gold standard my friend.
Congratulations Bill. You set an amazing standard of excellence for high school swimming at Rosary and Marmion. Your vision with the Bullets has helped IL swimmers achieve success at every level of USA Swimming. It is incredible that you are still committed to new growth opportunities after accomplishing so much. I am looking forward to seeing how this next phase of your career positively impacts the swimming world.