04/23/2022
Congrats to a former Salem coach, Coach Pilz!
Pilz to be named to the Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame
Competing on the basketball court brings immediate joy and pride, but the far greater reward for Coach Chris Pilz is the long-term success of his former players.
Pilz, Waynesville High School’s head boys basketball coach, will be inducted into the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) 2022 Hall of Fame Class tomorrow, Saturday, April 23, 2022, in Springfield, Mo.
Upon learning of the recognition, Pilz began to immediately reflect on all his former players and assistant coaches, and the many people who have helped him along his teaching and coaching journey.
“Basketball is a lifestyle for our family. It seems as a coach you are always in fast-forward mode. When you receive recognition like the Basketball Hall of Fame, you have to stop and reflect on your career,” Pilz said. “I have been blessed with the opportunity to coach basketball for a living. I am grateful to have played a small part in the lives of some really awesome kids. I have seen former players go on to be preachers, doctors, lawyers, business leaders, principals, teachers, good fathers, good husbands, etc.”
For Pilz, their success as adults is much more important than any win or loss.
“I believe everyone is a coach. Coaching is about encouraging, lifting up, getting people to believe in themselves before they believe in themselves,” Pilz said. “High school basketball allows you to compete and work with others for a common goal, which lends to the opportunity for many life lessons throughout your four-year high school basketball career. The adversity faced and the successes you achieve as a player will help prepare you for future success. I enjoy helping students navigate high school and building relationships that will last a lifetime. I feel I have learned as much from our players as they have learned from me.”
Pilz has tallied 411 wins while coaching 771 career games at the collegiate and high school levels. The 2013-14 Waynesville team went 24-3, had a Sweet 16 appearance and finished as the No. 1-ranked team in the final regular season Missouri Coaches Poll. Pilz also had a pair of teams (2002 and 2015) participate in the prestigious Bass Pro Tournament of Champions.
“It’s humbling to be honored by your peers and join this elite group,” Pilz said. “This honor is really a shared success of a lot of people. We talk with our players all the time about celebrating others' successes. I believe this award is all about teamwork and a celebration for all those who have played for and assisted the teams I have coached. I have been very fortunate to share my passion for basketball with my players and had amazing people to work with at every stop on my journey. I grew up watching and playing basketball in the great state of Missouri and I know many of the coaches who are in the Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame have been in my basketball path.”
Prior to joining WHS in 2011, he coached at Salem, Senath-Hornersville, Hazelwood Central and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
“Waynesville is a great place to go to school, raise a family, and become part of a community,” Pilz said. “One of the best parts in my coaching career was having the opportunity to attend high school with all three of my daughters. We have a great staff at Waynesville and I still wake up everyday excited to go to school. I hope my footprint is known for being a ‘champion for kids everyday’ and being a great teammate.”
In addition to coaching boys basketball, Pilz serves as the A+ coordinator at WHS.
“If you treat people right, do your best everyday and take care of kids, you will be successful,” Pilz said. “I still have players who will call and seek advice from their old basketball coach.”
After 29 years as a head coach, Pilz still dreams of winning a state championship.
“We have a mantra ‘Champion is an Attitude.’ Once I learned you can be a champion without winning a championship I became a much better coach. I would like to see us win the big one,” Pilz said, “but I also know that no matter what the scoreboard reads, I am a difference-maker who is impacting America’s youth daily.”
