Triad High School turns to assistant coach, Highland graduate to lead football program

Triad High School had no shortage of candidates for the vacant varsity football head coaching position.

In the end, though, the program turned to a familiar face to lead them moving forward.

Calvin Potthast, an unpaid assistant at Triad the past eight years, was officially hired Monday to be the new Knights football coach. Potthast replaces longtime coach Paul Bassler, who enjoyed a tremendous 25-year career at Triad before resigning in November.

The opportunity thrills Potthast.

“This is my dream job,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’ve been working toward this for 11 years now. I have no desire to go anywhere else. I’ve been putting my time in waiting for when Paul decided to retire.”

Triad Athletic Director Kenny Deatherage said Potthast was selected from a group of 12 applicants.

“We ended up interviewing three fantastic internal candidates and gathered information and spoke with about four external candidates,” he said. “To be honest, we couldn’t have gone wrong with any of our internal candidates as each of them are committed to Triad football and all have been on staff for many years. Each of them brought their own unique style to the table.”

In the end, Potthast’s vision and enthusiasm won out.

“Coach Potthast’s vision, plan for the future and culture of Triad football, and his excitement for the opportunity to work with all stakeholders was contagious to everyone involved in the interview process,” Deatherage said. “We are excited about the future of Triad football.

“Calvin will bring a ton of energy and a new vision for our program. His desire for Triad football success was very evident throughout the interview process and his passion for coaching is contagious.”

Potthast takes over a program that went 7-3 overall and 4-1 in the Mississippi Valley Conference while reaching the IHSA Class 5A playoffs in Bassler’s final season.

Looking ahead to 2023, the Knights must replace quarterback Nic Funk, who completed 81-of-134 passes for 1,111 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for six scores. Triad also lost several key players on defense.

“We’re going to be young, especially defensively. The defense will be young, but we’ll be fast for sure,” Potthast said. “We have some receiver depth and some depth at running back. We’re going to have to find tight end and fullback types of players because we didn’t utilize those positions before. I’m looking forward to it.”

What will a Calvin Potthast-coached team look like?

Potthast’s in-depth familiarity with the program should help ensure a smoother transition, he said.

“I think it’s huge. I think I’ve built good relationships with most of the kids,” said Potthast, who already had his first team meeting with the players. “The majority, if not all, the staff is coming back. The kids know what to expect defensively- and special teams-wise. We’ll have some changes to make offensively, but the players will know what to expect and they’ll know what to expect before we even start.”

As for what Triad fans can expect from a Potthast-coached team, he said, “We’re going to be physical. We’re going to create big plays. We’re going to put our players in the best situation to win. We’re going to let our athletes be athletes and utilize the athletes we have in Troy and at Triad. And we’re going to play tough, hard-nosed defense like we always have and be efficient.”

Adding a plot twist is Potthast graduated from Highland, which is Triad’s biggest rival in football. Potthast played football for the Bulldogs, who won the 2022 installment of the rivalry 35-0.

“It’s a big rivalry. The kids now talk all the time ... I feel like they talk and communicate,” he said. “We have to look at the big picture, but it’s a big game for us. We definitely circle it on the schedule. It’s going to be fun with a ton of people there.”

The Calvin Potthast portfolio

Potthast is a Highland High School graduate. He then graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2013 and began coaching for Highland as the defensive coordinator when he was 22 and still in college.

He spent three years coaching at HHS before moving to Triad where he’s coached the varsity linebackers and was an assistant under Bassler the past eight years.

Potthast is a special education teacher at Triad, where he has been nine years.

Overall, Potthast, 33, becomes just the third Triad coach in the past 47 years, following Ed Cange and Bassler.

A tribute to Bassler

Bassler, a Belleville East graduate who also spent the 1990 and 1991 seasons as an assistant to Glen Schott at Althoff, resigned following a highly successful Triad career that produced a 152-98 record, 17 playoff appearances and 11 MVC championships. Overall, he was 60 games over .500 — 88-28 — in 116 league contests.

Deatherage offered high praise for the Knights’ former coach, noting Bassler was one of his freshman football coaches when he attended Triad in the fall of 1993. Deatherage also coached with Bassler and said he has been a significant influence in his life.

“I have had the opportunity and pleasure to work with coach Bassler over the years in multiple capacities,” Deatherage said. “He was instrumental in taking the training and weight training program to the next level. Later on in life, I had the opportunity to coach alongside coach Bassler for a number of years and learn the game from someone who I consider a football genius.

“And now as the AD, I have had the opportunity to work alongside Coach as an administrator. And for his commitment to Triad football, there are a lot of young men out there — and some old now — who will forever be grateful.”

Potthast praises former boss

Potthast was equally complimentary of Bassler, calling him a mentor.

“He built the program. He’s been here 25 years and got the program rolling and was extremely, extremely successful,” Potthast said. “He established the weight room and his culture and did a lot of winning. He’s been a great mentor the last eight years and I’ve learned a lot from him. He’s been a great role model personality-wise with the players.

“And he’s always been there to take and answer questions from me. He influenced me a lot.”