McNeill steps down at Maine West

For Maine West boys basketball coach Erik McNeill, it was a case of the other team having better numbers.

With three boys under the age of six, the coach who’d led the Warriors for the past nine seasons and who had been with the program for a total of 17 has opted to take a step back and devote more time to his home team.

Originally hired as a freshman B coach by Jim Sullivan, McNeill gradually accepted more responsibility until he was named varsity head coach in the 2004-05 season, succeeding Dave Matkovic.

“I just felt like it was getting hard to find the right balance between my family and coaching,” said McNeill, “and the reality was, that part was only going to be more difficult down the road.”

The best seasons for Maine West under McNeill’s guidance were the 2010-11 team which finished 17-11, and last year’s group, which ended up 13-16. He leaves with a career mark of 99-153

“We had a pretty good mix of juniors and seniors last year,” said McNeill. “We were a little bit inconsistent, but for the most part we competed at a pretty high level. I think there are good things in store for the program.”