One of the winningest coaches in Michigan high school soccer is calling it quits, but he isn’t stepping away from the game entirely.
Ken Shingledecker has resigned at Livonia Stevenson after coaching the boys team for the past 14 seasons and spending another eight with the Spartans’ girls team.
He’ll continue serving as the coach and recreation director of the Michigan Wolves Soccer Club — a position he has held since 2017 — and coaching Schoolcraft College’s women’s soccer team.
His reason for leaving the preps level? He needs more time to be a dad, with one of his sons about to be a junior on Stevenson’s football team and a daughter in middle school.
“I’ll stay busy between all of my Michigan Wolves teams and the Schoolcraft women in the fall,” Shingledecker told Hometown Life over the phone on Dec. 10. “But I need to make it to my kids’ sporting events.”
Shingledecker couldn’t have picked a better season to exit the high school game.
He guided the Spartans’ boys to one of their best seasons since finishing as the state runners-up in 2006 and 2007, going 17-2-1 and winning the outright Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship before losing to Detroit Catholic Central in the Division 1 district final this past fall.
Highlights included beating Northville in a penalty kick shootout to win the league title, sweeping rivals Churchill and Franklin in the regular season and watching his son, Brody, become an All-KLAA selection as a senior.
“It was a great group,” Shingledecker said. “A lot of those guys grew up playing with Brody, so it was cool seeing all those guys go out the door together. There are still some players there I have a history with, but leaving right now, after this season, really tied it all together. What a great group, from winning the league and having a fantastic season from start to finish.”
As a 1996 graduate of nearby Lutheran Westland, Shingledecker got his coaching start at his old high school, going 17-24-4 over three seasons before being hired by Livonia Ladywood.
His eight seasons with the Blazers saw him win 121 games, two Catholic League tournaments, one CHSL regular season title, six district titles and four regional championships. They also finished as the 2011 state runners-up.
He was just as successful at Stevenson, going 169-63-39 win the boys, winning six division championships and two outright KLAA titles. With the girls, he was 121-32-15 with five division titles, one outright KLAA championship and one district title.
Over the years, his teams went 428-158-86. For perspective, that would’ve put him in the top 10 all-time in MHSAA history had all those wins been on the boys side.
“Coaching high school had a real appeal to me because it’s a lot different than coaching club,” he said. “You get a lot more coverage through the newspapers with high school sports than you did on the club side, and I always thought that was a big deal — and I still think it is.”
On top of coaching at Stevenson and guiding the Wolves, Shingledecker has also gone 70-18-9 with Schoolcraft, winning region championships in 2022 and 2025, becoming the Michigan Community College Athletic Association runner-up three times and making three appearances in the NCJAA national tournament.
“(Leading multiple teams at the same time) starts with organization and planning,” Shingledecker said. “As soon as you’re good with the organization and planning, and communicating what you want to do, it’s not that difficult, and I feel like that’s an area I really excelled at over the years — though I recognize that could’ve been difficult to do for a lot of different coaches.”
Expect the Ocelots to continue having success under Shingledecker’s guidance.
As far as the high school game goes, he’s taking a break, maybe even permanently.
Never say never, but he doesn’t expect to return to the high school ranks anytime soon. For now, he’s just happy with the experience he’s had with the Spartans over the past 14 seasons. He’s ready to be a full-time dad.
“I’ve been fortunate to coach great kids from great families, but the nice part is I’m not leaving the business and will get to continue in a different avenue with club and college,” Shingledecker said. “I’ve enjoyed it here from start to finish. It’s always been about the community and the kids, and I’m proud to be able to help the community enjoy the high school team they’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Livonia Stevenson coach Ken Shingledecker steps down after 14 seasons
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
