OH administration is currently seeking community support to formally rename the OH football field after longtime football coach and former OH teacher Karl Hoinkes to honor his legacy and contributions in Oswego.
“[OH has] been kind of one of those schools around the state of Illinois that’s.. you know, I think traditionally known for good football,” OH Assistant Principal of Operations, Athletic Director, and current Head Football Coach Brian Cooney said. “And although there were some really good teams previously, he just created… longevity and stability within the program.”
OH’s prevalence and strong athletic programs, both in football and other sports, were greatly shaped by Hoinkes’ coaching and contributions.
“It started off pretty brilliantly in 1981,” former Coach Karl Hoinkes said, “but over the years, we got better and kids performed. …I was very fortunate to go for 26 years as the head coach, and during that time we had success.”
He recalled the teamwork that made this success possible. “That’s all owing to the… other coaches, administration, and of course, the kids, you know, [I] don’t forget the kids. The kids are the biggest part of it, so you know, I was just [the] facilitator. Let’s put it that way,” Hoinkes added.
While a few years of exceptional teams and coaches are great, Hoinkes’s biggest accomplishment was the lasting improvements he fostered.
“If you look at [Hoinkes’] track record on IHSA, you can see a gradual and systematic and steady climb toward the first playoff appearance… in ’87,” Cooney said.
Those shifts weren’t isolated to football, sports, or even just OH.
“It made a name for [OH]. We made the state playoffs, and that was an accomplishment for us, but it was also an accomplishment for the community,” Hoinkes recalled. “And then, in ‘92, we won a State Championship and the community here, we came together and started supporting… more than just football. It was basketball, it was baseball, it was, you know, the [whole] athletic department.”
This sense of community support is echoed today in Oswego, which has a population of continued growth since the late 1990s and early 2000s when Hoinkes was a teacher and coach in the community.
“We are fortunate to have a small town with that big town’s flavor,” he added. “We have two giant high schools, and you know, the people at [OE], as well as the people from [OH], really, really enjoy their sports and their poms and the cheerleaders and bands, etc.”
Creating Community
On paper it sounds like a cliche: the new football coach leads the team to victory, and eventually the school community joins together over the success and it becomes a central aspect of their identity.
But, looking at things like the excitement over last year’s football season victories, and OH’s marching band, cheerleading, and halftime dance programs, there really has been a ripple effect bringing the school community together.
On top of that, Hoinkes was and has continued to be a big part of the Oswego community.
“He was at the school from … 1981 to [[2007]],” Cooney recalled. “Any staff member that’s going to be around that long is going to have a pretty big footprint in school. … He was here when I went to school here, and was… one of those kind of iconic figures.”
Hoinkes, who exuded pride during the interview for this article, recalled fondly his time at OH. “I never considered a job, you know, it wasn’t work. It was what I was supposed to do,” Hoinkes said.
“Being a teacher for 26 years in Oswego schools, I saw all the kids who go through school, and I see him in my daily life all around town, and now their kids are coming through. … [I] see a lot of people. … And that’s my wife, too, [because] she was a teacher in the district for 38 years, so you know, it’s just a fun thing.”
Hoinkes’ wife, Karla, served as an English and yearbook teacher at OH, and their legacy lives on in their daughter, Kelsey (Hoinkes) Champion, who is a current math teacher at OH.
Making it Official
In order to officially rename the field, following SD308 policy, Cooney and other OH administrators are currently gathering evidence of community support.
“[Naming a facility after someone] serves as a certain level of honor and acknowledgment for good work that someone does— not just the work and maybe the statistics, but how they went about it and the lives had they impacted,” Cooney said.
Few Panthers have had more of an impact, especially for the football teams, than Hoinkes.
“Being on the field, you know, in Ken Pickerill stadium, I feel at home. Now when I go to games, I feel like this is where I want to be, and Once a Panther, Always a Panther, so I’m just tickled pink that someone’s even considered this,” Hoinkes said.
Hoinkes has the path leading to the concession stand and building adjacent to the field already named in his honor: Coach Hoinkes Way.
I'm Taylor Jo Ana, I'm a Junior at OH, and this is my first year on 42Fifty! I'm on the Speech Team, and I'm in the National English Honor Society and National Art Honor Society. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
