Through his passion for sports, the discipline which he has made a point to teach to his children, and the care and compassion that he shows each of his students and players, La Porte High School teacher and Head Football Coach Bob Schellinger, has had a strong impact on many lives in La Porte County.
Schellinger has been teaching physical education and health, and coaching football for 39 years, and baseball for 27 years. But that was not always how he had planned for his life to go.
"When I was in high school, I decided I was going to go into law enforcement," he shared. "I wanted to be a policeman. I was going to go to the police academy and not go on to college. Then all of a sudden, it took a turn. I met a friend of my parents, and he asked me if I wanted to play football in college. He made a phone call, and my whole life turned at that point. I ended up going to college at Illinois Benedictine where I played football. While I was in college, I got this passion for coaching, so that's what I studied in college. I wanted to go into coaching, and I took courses to lead me in that direction."
The change of events has created a positive impact on more than just Schellinger. The man was born to work with young people. Whether it is his own children and grandchildren, his students, or his players, he is truly dedicated to seeing the young people of La Porte grow up to be successful in their lives.
Schellinger stated, "My favorite part of my job is being around the kids and seeing them mature into young adults. It's being able to see them succeed, see them graduate, and then see them five or ten years down the road, being successful, being quality citizens, whether it be in La Porte or wherever they go."
Schellinger is extremely family-oriented. Growing up with seven brothers and sisters and dedicated, inspirational parents, he has always had a strong sense of family. He has now been married to his wife Lorri for 37 years, and together, they had five children—a girl, Trisha, and four boys, Robby, Mark, Kevin, and Danny—all of whom are all grown now.
"Family has always been number one in my life, whether it be with my siblings or with my parents when they were alive, my brothers and sisters, and obviously my family, my wife, my kids, my grandkids. Those are my top priorities in my life, and I always try to set examples for those people," Schellinger offered.
Coaching has been a major example that Schellinger has set for his family. It even seems to flow in the family bloodstream. Besides his father coaching the sports teams of he and his siblings while they were growing up, three of Schellinger's five children have also become coaches.
Schellinger made the decision before this year's football season started, that it would be his last. He formally resigned from the position of head football coach, and is comfortable with the decision.
He said, "I've been at it for 39 years as a coach, and I've played for 11 years. It's a 365 day a year job; it's not just the game on Friday night. There's a ton of work involved in it. The energy that it takes to coach is just tremendous. I don't have that energy like I did before, and I'm a true believer that you've got to be all in. If you're not going to be all in, if you're not going to be able to give your heart and soul, which I've done for 50 years as a player and as a coach, I feel that it's just time."
Outside of coaching and teaching, in the extra time that he does find in his busy schedule, Schellinger also enjoys officiating in sports games. He has been a baseball official for 42 years and a basketball official for 24 years, and he plans to continue doing it through his retirement.
Schellinger had one last season to spend with his football team this year, and, although the boys were unaware of his coming retirement, they still proved to him that it was a good choice to stay the year. This past season, Schellinger guided his team all the way to the 5A state finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, an achievement that the La Porte High School football program had never experienced before.
"It was awesome," Schellinger laughed, "But you're so busy and you're so focused that it's hard to step back and enjoy it. There were a couple times during the week that I would tell the kids, 'Hey, let's just—for two minutes—think about what we're doing, think about where we're going, and feel how awesome this really is.' Other than that, it's really hard because there's so much to do and so much preparation, more so than just a regular game. But it's a good craziness. It's a great thing, and I'm so happy that our young men got to experience that. It was a great way for our seniors to be able to end their career."
Although he won't be coaching the team next year, with a coaching record of 110-122 for the Slicers, Schellinger will always continue to support the La Porte Slicers, and he wants the best for them. "I hope they continue to win, I hope they continue to be successful, and I hope they go down to the state finals many more times," he said.
Schellinger is eager to explore new areas of his life. He is excited to experience new things with his wife and his kids. He is excited to spend time with his two grandkids, Colton and Boyd, and a third that's on its way. He joked, "[My wife] has been a 'football widow,' so to speak, for the 37 years we've been married, and now that I'm not going to be coaching football, it'll give me a lot more time with my family."
Coaching has changed Schellinger's life tremendously. It has been a series of ups and downs. He has had to deal with the deaths of several young men whom he had coached, one during the season and a few who passed not long after graduating high school. It has changed his life not only through experiencing these deaths, but also through the way that he's watched his young people grow to be respectable young adults and succeed in their lives.
"You never know what the next day holds, and every day is a new challenge when you're working with young people," Schellinger stated. "There's no questioning that a lot of it has a profound effect on your life."