New Waterloo High School boys basketball coach brings college pedigree to the program
The first men’s basketball coach in Lindenwood University-Belleville history, it didn’t take Scott Spinner long to put the Lynx on the map as he quickly developed it into a premier NAIA program.
Now as the head coach at Waterloo High School, Spinner will try to make the Bulldogs a perennial Mississippi Valley Conference power.
Hired recently to replace Dane Walter, Spinner 35, takes over a Waterloo program which has gone 43-111 during the past five years and hasn’t had a winning season since 2013-14 when it finished 17-10 and won the MVC title.
Currently the executive director at the O’Fallon YMCA, Spinner will be a high school coach for the first time.
“It feels great to be coaching again. I am really excited about it.,” Spinner said. “I think they have a good core group and very good leadership within the district and I’m just very happy to be coaching and helping out young people once again.”
Spinner takes over a Bulldogs program which should be much improved the next two years. Under Walter, Waterloo finished 12-20 a year ago, its finest season in five years, and returns several key players from that team.
Waterloo District 5 administration notified Walter this spring he would not be rehired as basketball coach in 2020-21, and then resigned as the Bulldogs coach.
Spinner said from what knows and has seen from his current basketball team, the Bulldogs aren’t lacking in talent.
“Historically, Waterloo hasn’t been known as a basketball school although it has had some very good teams. I’m excited to have the opportunity to build a basketball culture,” Spinner said. “I’m not just talking about focusing on the varsity team but the talent within the entire district and building a basketball culture. So when the kids are out playing soccer and baseball they are also playing basketball.
“I did watch some film of games from last year and while, because of social distancing we haven’t been able to do any on the floor learning and teaching, I do know we have a very good junior class and strong leadership skills from our seniors. I feel really good about our upcoming season.”
A life in basketball
A graduate of DeSmet High School in St. Louis, Spinner attended Webster University where he became one of the school’s all-time great players.
Still ranked among the school’s all-time scoring leaders with more than 1,100 points, Spinner was inducted into the Webster University Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. He was also the student-athlete of the year in 2006-07.
In addition to serving as head coach and athletic director at Lindenwood-Belleville, Spinner also has served as an assistant coach at Fontbonne University.
But this will be his first chance to coach at the high school level.
“The biggest difference in being a college coach and high school coach is that in college you are able to recruit players whereas in high school you have to be able to work with and adapt to the players that you have in the school district. I’m excited about that,” Spinner said.
“I’m also excited about teaching the game of basketball. There is certainly teaching that goes on in college basketball, but I think there is more of that foundation level teaching that goes on at the high school level.”
