The End of a Legend
Chuck Scanlon Officially Retires
Chuck Scanlon has established himself as a coaching legend in Minnesota. His 580 coaching wins makes him the winningest soccer coach in Minnesota history.
You may know him as your safety ed teacher during freshman year. You may know him as your soccer coach. You may know him as that guy with the long and elaborate stories that he tells everyone. Or you may know him for the unique mannerisms he has while he talks. However you may know him, there is no one quite like Chuck Scanlon.
“There will never be another Chuck Scanlon,” said athletic director Pete Buesgens. “From his stories, to his one-liners, to his trademark sayings, I wouldn’t even say he’s one in a million because there’s not another person like him in the world.”
Scanlon is the only teacher left at Apple Valley to have been here since the building’s doors opened in 1976. After a long 40 years of teaching and coaching, Scanlon is finally calling it a career.
“He’s a legend,” said principal Steve Degenaar. “He’s one of the top soccer coaches in the country, and long sought after for guest speaking and thoughts on this topic and that topic. He’s touched the lives of many kids, and we’re going to miss him a lot.”
Scanlon was one of the guys early in this school’s infancy that set the standard for excellence in athletics. As a soccer coach, he’s won nine state titles and has amassed 580 wins in his career, the most in state history. He’s also coached men’s and women’s hockey, helping lead the women’s team to two state titles.
Scanlon’s standard of success comes long before his time at AVHS. Back when he was at Richfield High School, he was an All-State soccer and hockey goalie. Scanlon often tells stories about how his father’s expectations of him growing up translated to his expectations for his own players.
“Scanlon’s a combination of a leader and a war general,” said former Apple Valley soccer player David Rosenthal. “I remember after the pregame speeches in the classroom, we were ready to break through a brick wall for him. I think it takes a special type of person to have that type of charisma.”
Although his coaching career is one of the most storied in the state, teaching is just as important to him as winning a state title. Scanlon has spent a number of years here as a gym teacher and social studies teacher, as well as being a safety ed teacher.
“We’ve always had the triple-A philosophy; academics always comes first,” said Scanlon. “We always put the students at the front and foremost. We center things around how we can help students become successful in whatever they do.”
Scanlon leaves some big shoes to fill in so many different ways.
Someone will become the next coach of the soccer team and someone will be the safety ed teacher, but it’s nearly impossible to find someone who can leave such a big impact on students and teachers.
“I’ve always looked up to Scanlon as a role model,” said junior Kyle Bergevin. “He really teaches life skills to his players and he wants his players to play with full effort. He’s really just a great guy. I’ve had him for driver’s ed and that was easily one of my favorite classes because he was just full of energy, and you could see the passion he had for teaching.”
Scanlon doesn’t plan on going too far away from Apple Valley, though.
His son Chris will most likely take over the head coaching spot for the soccer team, and Scanlon has expressed some interest in possibly assistant coaching.
He also plans to spend more time with his grandkids, especially his grandson Charlie, who had a fight with cancer a few years ago.
Coach Scanlon has decided to call it a career after 40 years and 11 combined state titles in women’s hockey and men’s soccer.
“Most of the year I have to spend 12-14 hours at school working, but this is the first time in my life where I’ve never really had to look around the corner and see when the next deadline was, so I’m very excited for what’s next,” said Scanlon.
It really is unfortunate to see someone like Scanlon go. His impact on the school goes unmatched; he plays a role in our school ecosystem that is nearly impossible to replace.
After a long 40 years, the man has touched the lives of many, whether it’s through his advice, his coaching, his stories, or even his jokes. Scanlon has had a bigger impact on this school than people realize.
As students, we should all wish Scanlon the best of luck with the next chapter of his life and hope he comes back to visit soon.
I encourage everyone to leave messages or stories in the comments section below!
