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Buerkett resigns as WHS boys basketball coach
after 10-year run
By Byron Painter
Editor
For Williamsville boys basketball coach Eric Buerkett, it was time for more father and husband time.
After 10 years at the helm of the Bullets, a time with a regional title, 143 wins and a county title, Buerkett
has resigned.
The school board accepted the resignation Monday night.
Buerkett said he made up his mind at the end of March and wrote his resignation letter April 7.
But that did not stop the outpouring of cards and messages.
“You do not realize how many lives you have touched (when you get a reception like that),” said Buerkett,
who coached three years at WJH and at Mason City Illini Central Middle School before becoming the
Bullets’ head coach.
Buerkett kept his eight-year-old son Jack out of basketball and JFL activities in New Berlin (the family
lives in the New Berlin District, though they officially live in Springfield), but he does not want to take any
more of the ‘golden years’ (age 8-16) away from his son.
His wife, Beth, a “saint” in Buerkett’s words, is in the medical field, which has led to long some hours,
and the former coach wants to have his son be ‘molded’ by both parents.
Many times during the season, Buerkett would go pick up Jack at day care and bring him back to
Williamsville for game nights, but “I knew he was missing stuff.
“I have had my fun, and I got to play college basketball,” he said. “I do not want to rob my son” of his own
chances, and “I do not want to take him away from his friendships.”
Interestingly enough, Jack may be a coach in the future, if some of his questions on trips home are any
indication.
“He really is a student of the game,” said the coach.
Buerkett has taken four classes toward his master’s degree; he wants to obtain a Type 75 certificate,
which would allow him to be an athletic director or principal, for example.
With the master’s classes and if he continued basketball, “I could not see taking another night away from
home,” he admitted.
The cupboard is not bare; WHS was 47-13 the last two years, and the entire high school program was
54-12 last year (with freshman and J-V added in).
“The program is rock solid,” said Buerkett, who said the latter part of March was a “real struggle”
because he was not sure he wanted to leave the program with the talent still in the pipeline.
“This decision was a no-brainer for me,” he concluded.
WHS Athletic Director Doug Furlow was highly complimentary of Buerkett.
“Eric has done a tremendous job with our boys’ program over the last 10 years,” said Furlow. “He has
spent countless hours working with our elementary age athletes through camps and clinics.
“I admire Eric’s dedication and work ethic and I am positive that he will be successful in his future
endeavors,” he continued. “I wish Coach Buerkett and his family the best.”
after 10-year run
By Byron Painter
Editor
For Williamsville boys basketball coach Eric Buerkett, it was time for more father and husband time.
After 10 years at the helm of the Bullets, a time with a regional title, 143 wins and a county title, Buerkett
has resigned.
The school board accepted the resignation Monday night.
Buerkett said he made up his mind at the end of March and wrote his resignation letter April 7.
But that did not stop the outpouring of cards and messages.
“You do not realize how many lives you have touched (when you get a reception like that),” said Buerkett,
who coached three years at WJH and at Mason City Illini Central Middle School before becoming the
Bullets’ head coach.
Buerkett kept his eight-year-old son Jack out of basketball and JFL activities in New Berlin (the family
lives in the New Berlin District, though they officially live in Springfield), but he does not want to take any
more of the ‘golden years’ (age 8-16) away from his son.
His wife, Beth, a “saint” in Buerkett’s words, is in the medical field, which has led to long some hours,
and the former coach wants to have his son be ‘molded’ by both parents.
Many times during the season, Buerkett would go pick up Jack at day care and bring him back to
Williamsville for game nights, but “I knew he was missing stuff.
“I have had my fun, and I got to play college basketball,” he said. “I do not want to rob my son” of his own
chances, and “I do not want to take him away from his friendships.”
Interestingly enough, Jack may be a coach in the future, if some of his questions on trips home are any
indication.
“He really is a student of the game,” said the coach.
Buerkett has taken four classes toward his master’s degree; he wants to obtain a Type 75 certificate,
which would allow him to be an athletic director or principal, for example.
With the master’s classes and if he continued basketball, “I could not see taking another night away from
home,” he admitted.
The cupboard is not bare; WHS was 47-13 the last two years, and the entire high school program was
54-12 last year (with freshman and J-V added in).
“The program is rock solid,” said Buerkett, who said the latter part of March was a “real struggle”
because he was not sure he wanted to leave the program with the talent still in the pipeline.
“This decision was a no-brainer for me,” he concluded.
WHS Athletic Director Doug Furlow was highly complimentary of Buerkett.
“Eric has done a tremendous job with our boys’ program over the last 10 years,” said Furlow. “He has
spent countless hours working with our elementary age athletes through camps and clinics.
“I admire Eric’s dedication and work ethic and I am positive that he will be successful in his future
endeavors,” he continued. “I wish Coach Buerkett and his family the best.”
Issue Date: April 23, 2008