South Elgin names Petersen new boys basketball coach

Matt Petersen became the second coach in the South Elgin boys basketball program’s short history Thursday when his hiring was announced by the school.

Petersen, 31, is a 1999 graduate of Spring Valley Hall, where he played on two teams that finished second in the state. He spent the last 10 years as a high school boys and women’s college basketball assistant coach.

Petersen replaces Chaz Taft, who directed the Storm to a 91-106 record in seven seasons since the program’s inception. Taft accepted the same position at Waubonsie Valley High School in April. South Elgin finished 5-23 in 2012-13.

“It feels great to have the challenge of building the South Elgin program back up in the great conference that we’re in,” Petersen said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more right now.”

South Elgin athletic director Jason Ward is confident he and the search committee found the right man for the job.

“Matt has a lot of energy and he’s passionate about the game” Ward said. “Most important is the development of our younger players because we have a lot of great young athletes. I think he’s the guy to develop them on the court and off the court as well. He has experience in the game as assistant coach at the varsity, college and AAU levels so he’s well rounded. It was just a matter of time before (a head coaching position) was going to come.”

Upon Petersen’s graduation from Illinois State in 2003, he began his coaching career at University High in Normal. He spent three seasons as a varsity assistant and freshman head coach before returning to his high school alma mater as a varsity assistant for one year.

He spent the next six seasons as an assistant women’s college basketball coach at Illinois Wesleyan, Elmhurst College, the University of St. Francis, Olivet Nazarene and, most recently, Wisconsin-Parkside.

South Elgin marks Petersen’s first head coaching position at the high school or college level. He has been the head coach of the Illinois Valley AAU program, which he founded seven years ago.

“Obviously, (AAU) is not the same,” Petersen said, “but it did allow me to be in the position of final decision-maker. A lot of assistants are never in that role and it can make the first couple of years overwhelming at times. I think I’ll know what to expect because I’ve had that opportunity.

“This is something I’ve been waiting 10 years for. I had to jump at that opportunity to be the one in charge, and I wanted to get back into boys basketball because I love the game. It’s great being able to prepare to do things the way you want to do them. I’m really excited for the opportunity.”