Marvin Neals, 500 Wins

Neals closes in on 500th victory

By Brian Sumers

POST-DISPATCH

12/17/2007                                                  

When Marvin Neals returned to coaching after a decade-long hiatus, friends told him they weren't sure whether he could pull it off.

Sure, he had won 327 games at Soldan from 1972 and 1990, but some suggested times had changed by the time he took the Cardinal Ritter job in 2000.

"I was told I would fall flat on my face because I couldn't deal with these new kids," he said.

But retirement did not suit Neals - he said his only daily obligation was to his tennis game - and so he gave it a shot.

He is glad he did, considering he is one game away from his 500th career coaching victory. He can get No. 500 on Thursday against Lutheran St. Charles.

"I never thought I would have that kind of success at Ritter," Neals said.

Neals, 65, had left coaching so he could concentrate on being an administrator. Once he retired, he said he realized he might be ready to return.

Neals, who won a Class 4A championship with Soldan, won the Class 3 championship in 2003 and 2006 with Ritter.

12/20/2007

Note:  On Thursday (December 20, 2007), he reaches 500 WINS verses Lutheran High School-St. Charles, 66-49.