Thursday, March 22, 2001
Elder's success traced to humble coach
Schoenfeld learned lessons well
By Carey Hoffman
Enquirer contributor
Joe Schoenfeld is too soft-spoken for a basketball coach. Or so it would seem, measured against the modern prototype.
Schoenfeld, who will lead Elder to the Division I state tournament this weekend for the second time in his career, does so with a twist of irony — the largest, most boisterous fan base of any area program being led to the promised land again by the most mild-mannered among them.
“He definitely breaks the mold,” said Pat Kelsey, an Elder assistant coach and the fiery point guard for Schoenfeld's 1993 state championship team. “He's so good at deflecting credit. He makes everyone who is part of the program feel they were the most important part of winning a state championship, whether it be the student manager, the last guy on the bench, or the fan sitting way up high in the stands.
“He's so good at it, when everyone knows he's the main reason the program has been so successful.”
The magic Schoenfeld works comes quietly. He says he's just filtering the principles of basketball he has learned at Elder over the years through his personality.
“He's pretty soft-spoken. He can get pretty emotional when it comes to players and personal stuff,” said senior forward Scott Benken, who said Schoenfeld's influence has made his coach like a second father.
“It's just my personality. I'm just kind of that way,” Schoenfeld said. “I'm lucky, because the kids we have are usually harder on themselves than I ever could be. They hold themselves up to a higher standard.”
Schoenfeld, 42, is in his 10th year as Elder coach and owns a 154-79 record. It's a job he describes as a perfect fit.
He grew up in Price Hill, the son of a parish basketball coach. The Schoenfeld backyard featured two different basketball poles when Joe was small — one holding a basket low enough Joe could shoot at it, the other a little higher for older brother Jim. Both played at Elder, and Joe earned a scholarship to play for Tay Baker and then Bob Staak at Xavier.
Returning to Elder became a goal when he thought about who and what had made the most impact in his life.
“With Joe, it is God first, family second and Elder basketball and Elder High School third,” Kelsey said. “It's known around the city what a special place Elder is. Look at the 6 or 7,000 (people) who followed us (for Elder's regional title victory) at the Cintas Center. And Joe Schoenfeld is Elder.”
Schoenfeld started out as an Elder assistant. He was selected to replace his varsity coach, Paul “Hans” Frey, who retired in 1991. Frey won state titles at Elder in 1973 and '74.
Schoenfeld started strong, winning the Greater Cincinnati League title in his first season and then, with an unlikely team somewhat reminiscent of this year's squad, the state title in his second year.
Even though Schoenfeld said he never felt much pressure, the job got harder from 1997 until the middle of 1999, a stretch when the Panthers won 25 of 59 games.
Momentum turned in mid-1999, when a talented junior class began to assert itself. Elder went from 6-11 to a 12-12 finish and district final appearance. The Panthers made it to the regional semifinals last year.
This year's team, which features six honor-roll seniors, has advanced from a close December game, when Elder held the ball for more than a minute on one late possession because no one was willing to take a shot, to a group that won both of its regional games by one point on jump shots in the closing seconds.
“The whole year and all through last summer, one of the main points he's stressed is that we had to play as a team,” Benken said of Schoenfeld. “We didn't have a Jordan Cornette or a Matt Sylvester.”
Winning a second title will require Schoenfeld's best skills.
“I'm realizing more and more how much Elder people are enjoying what this team has done this year,” he said, “but sincerely, the only pressure I feel is not to let down the other five coaches and 13 players on this team.”
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