After multi-tasking at Hudson schools for 41 years, Schilling is retiring

by Sheldon Ocker

Chuck Schilling probably is the only man in Hudson who can spot a defect in the high school HVAC system and correct the swing of a player on the high school baseball team.

In a few weeks, he won’t have to do either. After 41 years of working for the Hudson City School District, Schilling is retiring at the end of July. Schilling is looking forward to retirement, but he doesn’t seem fatigued or burned out by his long years of service to the school community.

Maybe he should be. Here is a list of jobs Schilling has held: courier, maintenance assistant, supervisor of maintenance and grounds, supervisor of facility services, project/construction coordinator, freshman football coach, varsity assistant football coach, freshman baseball coach, junior varsity baseball coach, head baseball coach.

Residents of Hudson are most likely to know Schilling as a successful baseball coach. He began his tenure as head coach in 1988 and didn’t stop for 25 years, compiling a record of 461-218 (a .679 winning percentage). His teams won nine Suburban League championships, 16 sectional titles, three district crowns and one regional championship.

Schilling’s achievements didn’t go unnoticed among his peers. He has been inducted into the Northeast Ohio Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame and the Hudson City School District Hall of Fame. The Kiwanis Club of Hudson established a scholarship in his name.

In Schilling’s view, he couldn’t have done what he did for so many seasons if not for several key assistants.

“From a coaching standpoint, I was fortunate to surround myself with good guys,’’ he said. “Jim Nold and I were together for 30 years. Jeff Brown and Buddy Dice [current head baseball coach] – those guys really helped. They were my eyes and ears in the building, keeping an eye on what was going on.’’

In Schilling’s four years as construction coordinator, he was tasked with overseeing the building of a new middle school and the renovation of two elementary schools.

“They were looking to hire somebody from outside,’’ he said. “But they said, ‘Well, you know where everything is at anyway, so we’ll just hire you.’ I already knew every building in and out. I had been involved with building the new high school in ’92, additions to the high school and two elementary schools.’’

According to the agreement between the district and Schilling, when the latest round of construction was complete, he would retire.

“What I’ll miss most are the people,’’ he said. “I had some great relationships. … Before moving into construction management, I was supervising 43 people. Hopefully, these relationships will continue. I made a lot of good friends.’’

What was more fun, working in facilities management or coaching?

“For me, I was good at both, actually,’’ Schilling said. “I was good at working with my hands, getting things done and keeping things organized. I really enjoyed the facilities piece of it.’’

Schilling went to college to become a teacher after playing football, baseball and basketball at Stow High School.

“I wanted to work with kids, and I really wanted to coach,’’ he said.

He coached his baseball-playing son Sam at Hudson; his daughters, Leah and Katie, played softball for the Explorers. All three live nearby.

Now that he has reached retirement, what is next for Schilling?

“I’ll just hang out,’’ he said. “I’ve got a lot of projects to do at the house. I assume after six months I’ll get bored and go back to doing something in facilities. … And I might go back and help out with coaching.’’ ∞