EDITOR'S NOTE: This week's SWNews4u.com Athlete of the Week has been changed to the SWNews4U Coach of the Week for this week only. The Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal, Fennimore Times, Boscobel Dial
Joe Schambow, Platteville Football coach (2002–16), Cuba City football coach (2020–22), Platteville track and field (2006–22)
Platteville’s Joe Schambow impacted the lives of hundreds, perhaps more than 1,000 athletes during his two decades of coaching high school and youth sports in Grant County.
Last week, the Platteville and Cuba City communities mourned the loss and celebrated the life of a true coaching legend. Schambow died last Wednesday (July 6) after a second bout with stomach cancer. He was 62.
Joel “Joe” Schambow was born Nov. 18, 1959 in Platteville to Bob and Darlene (Chapman) Schambow.
He graduated from Platteville High School in 1978 and worked on the family farm for many years. He later worked for Ingersoll Plumbing and Heating, then REM Wisconsin (Madison), caring for people with disabilities, and most recently as a facilities manager at UW–Platteville.
Schambow married Luanne “Lu” Leistikow on June 17, 1995 at the Lutheran Church of Peace and is the father of three sons, Derek, Cody and Brock. He welcomed a “daughter” into the family last August when Derek married his finance Rachel.
Besides being a loving husband and top-notch father, Schambow’s lasting legacy is rooted in coaching. He gave much of his time coaching football and track and field, where he influenced many young men and women with his guidance.
He coached both varsity football (2002–16) and track and field (2006–22) at Platteville High School, and was an assistant football coach at Cuba City the past three seasons.
“I believe that being a coach is one of the reasons
Joe was put on this Earth,” said Platteville track and field head coach Rob Serres, who was a speaker at Schambow’s funeral on Saturday. “We all knew Joe as Coach Schambow. This is who he was. Joe had a gift for bringing out the best in kids. A lot of coaches may say they love their kids. But he actually really did love them.
“Joe could read kids like no other, and he genuinely cared about each of them. He wanted to know what was happening in their lives, and when needed, he would dispense some fatherly advice.”
“Coach Schambow was the kind of coach that cared about you as a person before you as an athlete,” said Skye Digman a five-time state qualifier at PHS. “Yes, he wanted you to do well and that was clear, but that was never the only focus. He would constantly be checking in, giving life advice, and joking with you about anything and everything. No matter what your day was like, practice was something to look forward to because you knew somebody that cared about you was there.”
Digman was never even planning on throwing in high school until Schambow talked her into it, now she is an eight-time NCAA Division III track and field All-American and a school record holder at UW–La Crosse with one year remaining.
“He helped me become the thrower I am today by helping me believe in myself, as he did, and the value of hard work,” added Digman. “I also would not have thrown if it wasn’t for him. My freshman year, I was fairly against the idea, but he encouraged me to try and made me believe I could do it. Knowing that I’d have him as a coach made it easier for me to give it a try.”
The last PHS thrower, Schambow coached was Skye’s younger brother Devin at this year’s WIAA State Meet in early June. Devin placed second in the Division 2 boys shot put and ninth in the discus.
Schambow’s coaching career began when he helped start the Platteville Youth Football Program. He then joined the Platteville High School varsity football coaching staff in 2002. He coached offensive linemen and defensive tackles, and was the special teams coordinator from 2002–2016.
“Joe had a pure passion for football and it was clear kids loved having him as a coach,” said former Platteville football head coach Scott Statz. “It was the best hire we ever made as a staff.
“He had the unique ability to hold athletes accountable, but yet they loved playing very hard for him. Joe was so very loyal and up front about everything to everyone and people gravitate towards that because it is so rare in today’s world. His legacy in Southwest Wisconsin will live forever.”
The Hillmen posted an overall record of 104–55 (.654), including 60–28 (.681) in conference play and won four conference titles (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2016) during Schambow’s 15 years on the coaching staff.
Platteville’s most memorable season during the Schambow era came in 2013, when the Hillmen won their final game of the regular season to squeak into the WIAA Division 4 playoffs, then rattled off four straight playoff victories to reach the WIAA State Championship game for only the second time in program history.
Schambow’s oldest son Derek, worked his way back from an early-season knee injury, to play a pivotal role as a senior honorable mention All-State wide receiver and safety during that playoff run.
Schambow coached his other sons Cody (QB, 2014, 2015) and Brock (WR/DB, 2016) on the gridiron as well
And all three sons also competed in track and field, with Brock placing third in the D2 triple jump at the 2018 WIAA state meet as a senior with a school record 44’5.75”.
“Coach Schambow was there from the beginning of my football playing days,” said Ryan Fischer, who was an All-SWC offensive lineman and a three-year starter at center (2003–05) for Schambow. “He was the coach for my youth team back in sixth grade. He had a way of connecting with all of us way back then as middle school boys. We would go to his house across the street after school before practice and bond as a team. Joe and his family were there for all us.
“When I heard coach was moving up to the next level when I was in high school, I was absolutely thrilled. He was a rock for us linemen and quite frankly a key cog to our team success in the mid-2000s and beyond my playing days. He brought an intensity, knowledge, and passion to the game of football that took it to the next level.”
“Coach Statz would grind and push us linemen with a fierce intensity, then coach Schambow was always there as the father figure to lean on,” Fischer added. “The bond we had a group of linemen in those days is something that is still with me to this very day. We learned that to push each other to our max potential.
“We were all brothers on that gridiron and held hands during every huddle, and coach was right there with us all game long. That is something that carried over into the rest of my life; respect everyone around you and always push yourself to do your very best! During game days, if we were struggling as a unit, he would light us up to get the hairs our neck to stand up. Afterwards, we could then sit back and come up with a plan to attack the opposing team. Coach will be with me forever and God rest his soul.”
For the past three years, Schambow was an assistant football coach at Cuba City High School. This past year he was named Southwest Wisconsin Activities League Assistant Coach of the Year, as well as the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association District 14 Assistant Coach of the Year after helping the Cubans (9–3, 5–2 SWAL) to nine wins, a second-place finish in the SWAL and berth in Level III of the WIAA Division 6 playoffs.
Schambow joined the Platteville High School track and field program in 2006 as an assistant coach and for the past 17 years coached shot put and discus.
“Coach Schambow produced great throwers by laying solid fundamentals but understanding that there is no perfect technique for big throws,” said 2019 D2 discus state champion Austin Jentz, who is currently a scholarship thrower at Division 1 Drake University. “He knew we were all different so he didn’t coach any of us to look the same. He found ways for each of us to play to our strengths and his style varied between athletes.
“However, where Coach Schambow really shined was as a motivator. He just had a knack for bringing out the best in everyone. He knew just what to say to fire you up or calm you down, depending on what the moment called for.”
Schambow coached Platteville throwers to 26 appearance at the WIAA state meet; 18 of them finished in the top 10, six placed in the top three and two were state champions, Ryan Weber (D2 discus in 2015) and Jentz (D2 discus in 2019).
The Platteville boys won 14 conference titles in the 16 seasons Schambow coached (There was no 2020 season due to COVID), while the Platteville girls won 11 conference titles during Schambow’s tenure and placed second as a team at the 2012 WIAA State Championships.
“That’s quite a resume,” said Serres. “But, that’s not Joe’s resume,” said Serres. “It didn’t matter to Joe if you were the first, or the last on the team. It didn’t matter, if you were one of the state participants or not. He loved working with everyone. (To Joe), you were a person first. He wanted to know how you were doing, not how far you were throwing. The performances were secondary. Joe’s resume is all the lives he touched, and changed.”
Jentz echoed Serres’ sentiments.
“There are lots of coaches that can make you a good thrower,” added Jentz. “And coach Schambow could certainly do that, but he was far more interested in seeing you grow as a person. While he was good for the occasional tidbit of life advice, most of what I learned was by watching his example. He found the good in every situation and, more importantly, every person he ever met. He taught me that success has nothing to do with status, position, or the distance on a measuring tape, but rather the impact you made on the people you met.
“Though he never said that to me explicitly, I know he must have lived his life by that principle because, if the measure of success is the amount of positive impact you had on others, Joe Schambow was one of the most successful men I have ever met. Coach had a lot of love for a lot of people, and he told them often. ‘I love you, man’ (accompanied by one of those famous Joe Schambow hugs) was the last thing he said to me.”
Schambow loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his fellow coaches. And he loved his athletes.
A wake was held Friday night and there was a steady stream of former athletes and coaches returning the love from 3:30 until 8 p.m. Lutheran Church of Peace was overflowing for Saturday’s funeral service, another testament to the lives he impacted throughout his own.
Schambow enjoyed gardening, still farming and playing cards, euchre, 500 or sheep’s head. He was an avid fantasy football player, and an ardent fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers (definitely not the Green Bay Packers), Wisconsin Badgers, Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks.
