After two decades as Hauser baseball coach, Jerry Schoen has decided to call it quits.
Schoen’s resignation became official earlier this week following his 20th season with the Jets’ program. He was an assistant for two years and head coach the past 18.
“It was time for a new face and a new voice,” Schoen said. “You get to a certain point, and you can only take the program so far. It’s time for someone else. I’ll still be around the program, and I’ll still be there to help out. I just won’t be up front.”
Hauser finished 13-12 this season. Schoen’s son, Jared, was a senior and will continue his baseball career at Franklin College.
Jerry Schoen said being able to watch Jared play at Franklin and his daughter Sydney, who will be a junior at Hauser, play volleyball and softball weighed heavily in his decision.
“I felt this coming on, and Jared is graduating,” Jerry Schoen said. “Hopefully, I’ll have more time to follow him and do things with the family.”
In April, Jerry Schoen, who led Cincinnati Western Hills to the Ohio Division I state title in 1986, was inducted into the Cincinnati Public School District Hall of Fame. He went on to play two years at Creighton and two years at Eastern Kentucky.
After college, Schoen played Rookie League baseball in Mesa, Arizona and Class A ball in Bend, Oregon, in the California Angels minor league system.
Schoen began his coaching career with the JV team at Western Hills, then became head coach there for a year. He then landed a teaching and JV coaching job at Lawrenceburg for one year before coming to Hauser.
At Hauser, Schoen led the Jets to four consecutive sectional and regional titles from 2004-07. They finished as Class A state runner-up in 2005.
“It was a big deal then, as it is now, but probably the highlight of my career is seeing the program grow from where it started to where it is now,” Schoen said. “Having the facilities, seeing a kid grow from a freshman to a senior, there’s really not one thing that stands out.”
Schoen, who will continue as a physical education teacher at Hauser, said one of his prouder accomplishments is sending 16 kids to play college baseball. He credited the Hope Summer Playground Little League program with being a great influence on the program throughout the years.
“It’s been very humbling and gratifying,” he said. “It isn’t just me. It’s all the volunteers, the parents, the administrators, the kids that have made this successful.”
