Dave Schrage felt a divine calling to come out of retirement and take over as Guerin Catholic’s baseball coach.
Schrage spent 38 years coaching across nine programs. He last coached at Butler in 2022 and settled in Noblesville, where his wife, Kay, is an elementary school teacher. A conversation with his wife sparked his desire to return to coaching, and a talk with Guerin principal James McNeany reassured the longtime coach that his decision to return to the sport was the right one.
“(McNeany) said ‘I don’t care if we win a game, but if we don’t show our kids how to get to heaven when you leave, you’re not doing your job,'” Schrage said. “And I said, ‘Well, I’m the man for the job.'”
With a renewed sense of purpose, Schrage was ready to return to the diamond, but one week after his interview he was in the hospital preparing for heart surgery. Schrage had a blockage in his heart that led to a heart attack. He had two stints put in and after going home to recover, he wasn’t sure if he was still a candidate for the job.
In August of 2024, two years after turning in his last lineup card, Schrage was hired as Guerin’s baseball coach. In his second year at the helm, Schrage helped the Golden Eagles win their first ever baseball state championship with a 9-3 win in the Class 3A title game over Andrean Friday at Victory Field.
“When I got offered the job I knew there was a reason I was there and there was a purpose I was there,” Schrage said. “So, I just tried to carry out that purpose.”
In Schrage, the Golden Eagles have a coach with 800 collegiate victories. He played at Creighton before becoming an assistant at St. Thomas University in Florida. He returned to Creighton as an assistant before earning his first head coaching position at NAIA Waldorf in 1988. He took over as Northern Iowa’s head man in 1991, winning Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1997.
“He’s a great coach,” starting pitcher Tate Troxell said. “He never gets too amped up, he never gets down. He’s kind of our mediator and keeps us all chilled.
“He realizes we’re always in the game no matter the score, no matter the ending. He’s been awesome.”
It took all of one practice for Schrage to see the high-level talent of his team. His calm demeanor allows his players to play freely. There’s not a pressure to perform, and he finds ways and strategies to get the best out of his players. With Andrean’s top pitchers all being left-handed, he took the mound to throw batting practice to his players ahead of the championship game.
“Coach Schrage is a really good faith leader,” senior outfielder Ian Taylor said. “He’ll give us a speech, (say) a Bible verse, and then we’ll just sit there, relax and pray for a second.
“The baseball knowledge is great, but what’s even more important, honestly, is he led us through faith, and that’s huge.”
At the high school level, Schrage is able to pour into his players in ways that are not always possible in the transfer portal and NIL era of college baseball. He helped instill a belief in his players that comes when a team is properly prepared. His players looked across the field at perennial powerhouse Andrean and never doubted for a second that they could take home the title.
“I’m happy for Dave,” Andrean coach Dave Pishkur said. “He’s had some health issues and has been around the block a few times. … I just asked him how he’s enjoying it and he says he is.
“A little different than coaching the college game. Kids are a little different than a 22-year-old man, but I’m happy for him. He’s a nice guy, he has a really nice team and they deserved to win today.”
Schrage helped elevate Guerin’s baseball program to new heights, and he’s relishing the opportunity to connect with his players and mold them into God fearing young men.
“It’s been a blessing, I’m very happy to be here,” Schrage said. “(Baseball) has kept me going every day. It gives me something to get up for every day. To be around these kids and try to mold them, they’re great kids. You don’t win championships with bad people.
“I was trying to get them to play for the name on the front of their jersey and for each other, to love each other and not their scholarships or their exit velocities. … When they let that go and started playing for each other, we started winning and we made a good run at the end of the season.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Leading through faith: Guerin’s Schrage comes out of retirement, leads Golden Eagles to title
Reporting by Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
