Longtime Cheltenham coach steps down

In 1981, Bob Schaefer took over as head coach of the Cheltenham girls' basketball team, which had lost 57 of 60 games over three seasons.

On Tuesday, Schaefer announced his resignation after compiling a 757-163 record as Panthers coach. During his 31 years, Cheltenham won 24 Suburban One League titles, four district crowns, and two state championships (2000, 2007).

Schaefer and longtime assistant John Rogalski tendered their resignations to athletic director Scott Layer on March 21, but waited until Tuesday to notify players.

At the end of the school day, Schaefer gathered the team in the basketball office above the gymnasium, accompanied by a group of former players that included current junior-varsity coaches Nicole Pender and Ashley Webster.

"I reminded the seniors that although winning is part of the game, that's not what we're in this for," said Schaefer, who also taught at Cheltenham for 35 years. "I explained that you have learned a lot of life lessons about discipline, about punctuality, about commitment, and about the rewards of hard work."

Tuesday evening, he e-mailed a letter to coaches, friends, alumni, and fans, explaining his decision and thanking them for their support.

Though Schaefer, 65, considered resigning as early as three years ago, he continued coaching because of his affection for this year's seven-member senior class, particularly star guard and St. Joseph's recruit Ciara Andrews.

"The problem [with resigning] is, every year or two you run into a kid who you really want to work with and see where they can end up at the end of their career. Ciara Andrews was that player," Schaefer said.

He said he hopes the timing of the decision allows the next coach to "institute their style and their philosophy of basketball" with a young team. He also hopes that coach is one of his former players.

Shayla Johnson and Stacey Smalls, who played together in the late 1990s and have since coached on the college level, have expressed interest in succeeding their former coach.

Regardless of who assumes the position, Schaefer plans to remain involved with the program. He reiterated that he was resigning, not retiring, and will consider returning to coaching on a smaller scale after he enjoys time off with his family.

In fact, Schaefer's first order of business upon resigning was to send a letter to the current underclassmen, requesting that they sign up for the spring league that Webster will run.

"You can't wait until next season to start working," he wrote. "Now is the time for you to make a commitment to yourself and the team."