Published: July 01, 2008 11:38 pm         

HS ATHLETICS: Schneider the new man in charge at St. Joe's

St. Joe’s conducted an extensive search to find Joe Wolf’s replacement as athletics director, interviewing more than 25 candidates from around the country. In the end, though, the right man for the job was just a few doors down.

Pete Schneider, who has served as assistant athletics director for the past four years, officially took over on Tuesday.

“I look forward to the challenge,” Schneider said. “Any time you can step up in athletics and face new challenges, it’s exciting.”

One of Schneider’s first jobs will be to find a replacement for himself. He won’t return as the St. Joe’s Federation hockey coach. Part of the reason for that decision stems from the fact his son, Cole, graduated this year. The other reason is time constraints.

“It would be unfair to dedicate so much time between November 1 and March 1 to one sport when you have additional winter sports that need your attention,” he said. “We have a search going on right now for a new coach.”

Schneider takes over the AD job at an exciting time for the school. A new, $2 million athletic facility featuring field turf and a new track will be ready for play in the fall.

“It’s a great opportunity for me with the new field going in to usher in a new era with a great a new facility,” Schneider said. “The key there is going to be managing the facility ... making sure all the teams that need to be there have their time on the field.”

Wolf is confident that won’t be a problem.

“Having been around Pete for the past four years and working with him, the transition will be easy,” he said.

Schneider, though, knows replacing the legendary Wolf, who guided the athletics department to 31 Supremacy Cups in his time, won’t be easy. That’s why he cherishes the four years he was able to serve as an assistant.

“Having worked with Joe the past four years was like having someone teach you how to cook,” Schneider said of Wolf. “He simplified everything. You can learn a lot in the classroom, but when you take into consideration his 42 years of experience, and kind of jam-pack them into a mentor program the past four years, the learning experience was priceless.”

Contact editor Jay Skurski at 693-1000, ext. 117.