East names Haskins new baseball coach
By KEVIN DRULEY
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kdruley@kcchronicle.com
One thirtysomething former pitcher replaced another in the St. Charles East dugout on Tuesday.
East athletic director Jerry Krieg announced the hiring of former Prairie Ridge baseball coach Dave Haskins, 36, a state championship coach who favors being in good favor with his players.
"It's good that I can relate to them and talk about my playing experience," Haskins said. "I feel like I have a good personality that connects with young men passionate about the same things I am."
Haskins takes over for Mark Foulkes, a former St. Charles pitcher who graduated from the school in 1995, three years after Haskins tossed his final inning at Conant. Foulkes resigned after six seasons in May to take a heightened administrative position at nearby Wredling Middle School.
Haskins hopes to be just as close to the East campus in a few years. A longtime physical education teacher at the Sedom Center in Woodstock, Haskins left Prairie Ridge after two seasons and the 2008 IHSA Class 4A state title in the hopes of teaching in the same building as he coaches.
Krieg talked with Haskins about that subject during the interview process and left with the understanding Haskins could begin teaching P.E. at East in the next few years.
"No knock to Prairie Ridge and no knock to St. Charles East, but I didn't want this to be a lateral move," Haskins said. "I want to be a teacher and a coach, and I felt like this would be a strong step in that direction."
A left-hander for Northeastern Illinois in the mid-1990s, Haskins struck out current Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew during his senior season in 1996, when Drew played for Florida State.
He inherits a young rotation of southpaws and worked with them for the first time Tuesday as the Saints compete in summer league play. Haskins is anxious to lead East's annual camp beginning next week while getting to know future players.
Once the season gets going, he'll take them to restaurants, bowling alleys – wherever he feels there's team bonding to be had.
"He has got quite a resume," Krieg said. "He's got a state championship under his belt and seems to be a kid-type person."
Prairie Ridge went 61-16 in Haskins' two seasons. Before that, he served as a varsity assistant at Fremd from 1998-2002 and at Palatine from 2003-2007.
Haskins lives in Carpentersville with his wife, Kate, a French teacher at Schaumburg, and their 13-month old daughter, Annabelle.
