Sportswriter turned educator to lead Fremd softball

When he got out of college, Josh Teschner was writing softball stories.

Now, instead of having bylines, Teschner is standing near foul lines.

He has been named Fremd's softball coach, taking over for 2017 Hall of Fame inductee Jim Weaver.

And talk about coming full circle.

One of the first spring games Teschner covered for Daily Herald Fox Valley sports editor John Radtke was a softball doubleheader between Prairie Ridge and Fremd, which was being led by a first-year coach named Jim Weaver.

Little did Teschner know 16 years later, that rookie coach would be the man he would replace at Fremd and the man with whom he would form one of his closest friendships.

And Teschner couldn't have imagined he'd end up switching careers and teaching in the same English department with Weaver.

Teschner offered a big assist to Radtke.

"What really got me was that when I was covering Fox Valley sports for Radtke, I really started liking the coaches and I really thought what they were doing was awesome," Teschner said. "And being around John so much and his passion for softball, I really started loving it."

Radtke also assigned Teschner to the wrestling beat, where another key figure stepped in.

"I got to know Al Zinke (Dundee-Crown hall of fame wrestling coach) real well because I was around him so much," Teschner said. "And I'd see the impact he had on these kids and how much he meant to their lives."

These experiences led Teschner to making his career move.

After earning his degree in communications and public relations at Culver Stockton College in Canton, Mo., and working as a sports writer for those two years, Teschner went back to school for his teacher's certificate at Roosevelt University. He finished with a bachelor's degree in education and master's in English and began teaching at Fremd in the English department in 2004.

"When I started, the chairman of the department knew my background and said 'there's a guy in the department who's similar to you, and I'm sure you'll find out.' "

A joke developed that Teschner and Weaver were like clones. It wasn't long before Weaver asked Teschner to join his staff.

Teschner has also served six years as the boys golf head coach at Fremd and was on coach Lou Sponsel's football staff for three years.

He was a quarterback at Hoffman Estates High School, where he also played baseball and was an excellent singer in the school's choir.

Now, he is using his voice to encourage Fremd softball players, just like his predecessor Weaver did for the past 15 years as one of the state's most successful coaches. Weaver left his position last spring with a record of 393-125-2 and 10 regional titles, three sectionals and three trips to the state finals, including a third-place trophy in 2009 and second in 2010.

"Jim will forever be someone I will go to for help," said Teschner, who worked hand and hand with Weaver for many years in the Vikings well-established summer softball program. "Things like creating a lineup, situational discussions or forming a practice plan. We have a slightly different perspective on the sport but we see life the same way.

"Not to mention we're raising our kids the same way - except he has four and I have two. He is very much someone I trust. Most of my experience in softball revolves around him. It will be a fun year. The girls are excited."