DeGroot Relishes Coaching at Troy Middle School

During his basketball playing career, Adam DeGroot always considered himself a leader, so it should come as no surprise what profession he pursued.

DeGroot is in his fourth year of teaching physical education and health at the William B. Orenic Intermediate School while also coaching boys basketball and cross country at Troy Middle School.

"I was a point guard, so I was a vocal leader on the team," DeGroot said. "I enjoyed firing people up. Playing basketball and going through that, I kind of knew that I had a desire to teach the game to younger kids."

The 27-year-old DeGroot played high school basketball at Chicago Christian and then played two seasons at Trinity Community College in Palos Heights where he graduated in 2006.

After his sophomore year at Trinity, DeGroot returned to Chicago Christian where he helped with the freshman boys basketball team. Eventually, he became the varsity assistant coach. Then his first teaching opportunity came about.

"It's worked out great and has been everything I've wanted. It's been wonderful. Coaching is one of the reasons I got into teaching. I knew that I wanted to get into education early in high school, and knew I wanted to coach," DeGroot said. "The bottom line is you have an opportunity to really influence and make an imprint on a young person's life."

DeGroot, who lives in Plainfield, rotates with Bill Hamilton on the seventh- and eighth-grade coaching levels. He'll coach the seventh-grade team one season and then move up to coach the players in eighth grade before switching back to seventh the following season.

Many of the principles he learned during his playing days are now part of his coaching style.

He credits his former high school coaches, Ross Douma and Kevin Pittman, with molding the type of coach he is today.

"I was very fortunate to have great coaches to play under," DeGroot said. "That was one of the reasons I ended up going back and coaching at Christian High. I learned so much from people that were there. I was sort of like a sponge at the time, just absorbing stuff. I loved the system that they taught and their coaching style was very similar to mine, very high energy and with a positive outlook on things. I just kind of picked that up and ran with it. They definitely had a huge part in shaping who I am as a coach today."

Douma, currently the head coach at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, is not surprised DeGroot is coaching these days.

"He was a player who really understood the game of basketball," Douma said. "He could step back and see the big picture of what we were trying to accomplish. He was a second coach out on the floor. He was good at leading the team and being a good example."

DeGroot not only played for Douma at Chicago Christian, but eventually became his assistant varsity coach.

"Adam is a very conscientious person and detailed-oriented," Douma said. "His work ethic is second to none, he is great at relating to people of all walks of life and his communication skills are top notch. He really has the ability to teach the game."

DeGroot is also one of the four boys and girls cross country coaches in the fall at Troy, along with Meagan Lewandowski, Kelly Phelps and John Davis. The cross country program has enjoyed immense success through the years.

DeGroot's eighth-grade basketball team got off to a 12-3 start this season, including reaching the championship game of the Joliet West Tournament before falling to Bolingbrook Jane Addams.

"My favorite thing about coaching is seeing that my passion for the game sometimes transfers over to the kids," DeGroot said. "I think the kids pick up on the fact that I love the game of basketball, have been around it most of my life, and it's cool to see it carry over to the kids. You see them energetic about playing the game.

"Being able to teach those kids and being able to see them play at the next level is rewarding. I went to a Joliet West game over Thanksgiving break and saw two of my former players. You hope you kind of left your imprint on them a little bit. Seeing those kids develop and knowing you had a part in that development is very fulfilling."

The coaching highlight of DeGroot's time at Troy came when he guided the seventh-grade basketball team to a fourth-place finish at state in 2008 in his first year with the team.

The fourth-place finish is the highest for the boys basketball program at Troy since it joined the Illinois Elementary School Association.

"We just had a great group of guys," DeGroot said. "We went down there with no expectations and were kind of the underdogs. We ended up winning our first game to put us in the state semifinals. It was great to be part of that."

DeGroot enjoys the success the program has had, but he knows there's more to coaching than wins and losses.

He recently had his basketball team practice with Troy's Special Olympics basketball team.

"We're also kind of big at teaching that it's not always just about basketball," DeGroot said. "Working with the Special Olympics team and just seeing the joy in their faces was a really cool experience. Doing things like that to show our kids that we can use our talents to give back to the community and help out others is important."

While DeGroot has thoroughly cherished his time at Troy, he admits a return to high school coaching is also appealing.

"Eventually, I would love to get back into the high school game again," DeGroot said. "I kind of miss the big Friday nights when you put the suit coat on and stuff like that, but being here at Troy has really been awesome."