At the Friday night football game on October 13, Triad High School celebrated their seniors and the end of a coaching career for long-time Triad Football head coach Paul Bassler.
When we think of Coach Bassler, we cannot help but think about the thousands of young men who have been positively impacted by the leadership, knowledge, and wisdom of Coach Bassler over the past 36 years that he has coached and taught throughout the state of Illinois.
Coach Bassler graduated from Belleville East High School in 1981 and continued his playing career as a running back at SIU Carbondale in the Fall of 1982. He then transferred to Illinois Valley Community College where he played for two seasons in 1983 & 1984 before transferring to Southeast Missouri State in 1985 & 1986. After Coach Bassler’s playing career was over, he continued his love for the game by coaching at SEMO during the 86, 87, and 1988 seasons. After taking a one-year hiatus from coaching, Coach Bassler then started his high school coaching career at Belleville Althoff under legendary coach Glenn Schott in 1990 & 1991.
Coach Bassler then found his home right here in the Triad district where he started as a Freshman coach in 1992 and 1993 before becoming a varsity assistant coach as the Defensive Coordinator under head coach Ed Cange from the span of 1994-1997.
Coach Bassler then started his Triad head coaching career in the Fall of 1998 throughout the Fall of 2022 compiling a 152-98 record over 25 seasons as the head coach while leading the Knights into the IHSA playoffs 17 of those 25 years and racking up 11 Mississippi Valley Conference Championships! One of Coach Bassler's proudest accomplishments is the fact that he had a winning record against every single Mississippi Valley School throughout his tenure as head coach!
We would like to wish Coach Bassler nothing but the best as he will retire from his teaching career after this current school year. Coach Bassler was brought out onto the field with the team captains for the coin toss. After the coin toss, Triad Athletic Director, Kenny Deatherage, presented Coach Bassler with a plaque that reads:
"Coach Bassler:
We honor you for your unwavering commitment to Triad Athletics and the Triad Football program. Your leadership and vision for the program have transformed Triad football into a program that is respected throughout the state of Illinois and is part of the strong foundation that our program continues to build on. The lives that you have positively impacted over the years are immeasurable! Thank you for your dedication!"
Congratulations to Coach Bassler on a tremendous career at Triad High School!