Phelps Resigns as Head Football Coach

Coach Scott Phelps, founding head football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School, resigned as coach on Monday.  He retains his position on the faculty, and will transition to assistant athletic director for the 2020-21 school year. 

Phelps met with the principal, Faustin Weber, and offered his resignation on Friday. In a follow-up meeting on Monday, Weber asked Phelps to become Assistant A.D. Phelps told his assistant coaches about the changes Monday evening and then met with his team via video-conference. 

“My wife and I think this is the right time,“ Phelps says. “I’ve been coaching for 38 years now, and our youngest son is graduating from St. Michael next month. The freshman I coached in our first year here will graduate in May. Our spring season has been canceled due to the coronavirus—put that all together, and we just think this is the best time to make the transition.” 

Athletic Director Knapstein said: “I will be eternally grateful to Coach Phelps for starting our football program.  His work ethic was a positive example to our young men.  Coach Phelps took a group of young, inexperienced first time football players and in four short years made them a competitive group on the field.  The level of improvement from year to year our team showed was simply incredible.  Coach Phelps has put our team in a position to succeed in the future.”

“Coach Phelps didn’t just begin football here,”  Weber says. “In a very real way, he is a co-founder of our athletic program. He was the only P.E. teacher in our first year, our only football coach on staff, our only weight coach, our first baseball coach, our only bus driver!  With just 99 students in the school, less than half of whom were boys, he started football, with 13 eligible players and 5 other kids who were ineligible for 18 months because they transferred. We began with no field to practice on, no equipment, no schedule, no traditions. He’s been a strong Christian role model to our young men— a ‘guy’s guy.’ I am pleased he has accepted my offer to stay here and assist our athletic director Paul Knapstein. Our program has grown very large since 2016—we now have over 20 varsity programs, with additional J.V. and middle school teams.

St. Michael will begin the search for Coach Phelps’ replacement immediately. Interested coaches should send a cover letter and resume to Paul Knapstein, Athletic Director, at PKnapstein@stmichaelchs.org.   Please, no phone calls.