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by Phillip
Brents It is the recipe many people in their early 20s daydream of following: finish college, get a good first job at a young age, climb through the company ranks and be in a position to run the whole place by the age of 30. Falcons defenseman Drew Schoneck created a similar blueprint for himself in order to advance in the coaching ranks and he was right on track. By the age of 26, Schoneck was the head coach of the WHL Kelowna Rockets. After five years as a player in the WHL, three seasons at the University of Calgary and a year-long stint with the Canadian National Team, he received a job offer to be an assistant coach in Kelowna. “Coaching is something I’ve always known that I wanted to do,” Drew Schoneck said. “I thought if I got into it early, I might climb the ‘corporate ladder’ quite early in my life and could be a head coach by the age of 30.” During Schoneck’s second season with Kelowna, however, the coach he was working for was fired and, as the top assistant, he moved into the hot seat. “I learned what (Falcons head coach Blaine Moore) and every other head coach goes through -- the ups and downs and highs and lows of coaching a team. I really enjoyed it but it was a lot of stress,” Schoneck admitted. The only kink in Schoneck’s ambitious plan was his continued desire to play. After his first season with Kelowna, he received a call from Oklahoma City of the CHL and helped the Blazers to a Miron Cup Finals appearance. After returning for one more year behind the bench in Kelowna, he decided to take another stab at playing -- this time spending the entire regular season and playoffs with the Columbus Cottonmouths of the CHL. His steady play on the blue line helped achieve a second straight finals appearance for him personally but no championship. Following his stay in Columbus, his long-term career mindset returned, and he hung up the skates again to become an assistant coach with the Prince Albert Raiders. When the Raiders failed to qualify for the WHL playoffs last season, he was sitting around the office and got a call from Moore. The tug to play was too much and Schoneck “un-retired” for a third time. It turned out the third time was a charm. After two straight losses in the finals as a player, he helped the Falcons to their first-ever Taylor Cup championship. “I had to try it one more time to see if I still enjoyed the game. I came down for the playoffs and we made our championship run and it was awesome,” he said. Schoneck is back in Fresno. “Everyone involved with the Falcons just made me feel right at home. I went away for the summer thinking I have to come back and play. There’s too much of a player left in me. Coaching is something I want to do but I can do it later on in my life so it was a no-brainer to come back this year,” he said. The Falcons are lucky to have him. Schoneck is quickly becoming Fresno’s best all-around defenseman. He leads the club’s blue liners in plus-minus rating and has also shown a knack for jumping into the play at the offensive end by ranking among the league’s top scoring defensemen. “Going into coaching and then coming back has helped my game. I realize that the simple play is really the best play most times. It’s really helped my perspective as a player,” he said. Schoneck admits it is sometimes difficult to sit on the bench and not watch the game from a coach’s perspective, getting caught up in what others should be doing rather than focusing on his own play. “I think I’ll always watch the game as a coach a little bit, but I’m playing now and I love it,” he said. |
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