In 21 years at Illinois’ Rochester High School, head football coach Derek Leonard has compiled an overall record of 217-40 and won nine state championships.
Under his stewardship, Rochester has had four of the top ten total offenses in Illinois high school history. They’re also the only public school ever to win five state championships in a row.
Leonard got an early start on his coaching education
Leonard began preparing for his career earlier than most, almost from the moment he began to tag along and accompany his dad, Ken, to work as a little kid.
Ken Leonard is a legendary name on the Illinois high school sports landscape, a member of the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame and the state’s winningest football coach ever. During 41 years at Sacred Heart-Griffin, he won 420 games and six state titles.
So Derek’s Leonard’s passion for coaching and impacting others may have been latent in his DNA and absorbed while growing up in his household, but his acumen and rare success has certainly also been a byproduct of his sharp mind, leadership skills, the mentors he’s studied under, hard work, dedication and his exceptional abilities as a motivator and teacher…