As legendary coach, Tom Landry, once said, “Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence. If you are in control, they are in control.” Xavier High School’s head football coach, Duane Schulte, has inspired confidence and trust in his players during his 28 years of coaching. Schulte started coaching in 1994, at the same school where he played and graduated from: Lasalle High School. “I got into coaching because of my high school coach Tom Kopatich. He was a role model of mine in football and life,” Schulte said. After coaching at Lasalle for 4 years, Schulte moved to the newly built Xavier High School for the 1998 season. Schulte has been the only head football coach in Xavier history and has amassed over 200 wins with the program. He has led the Saints to three state championships, along with two state runner-up titles. He is the only coach in Iowa high school football history to win a state championship in both the 4A and 3A class. His impressive career has led him to be inducted into 2021 class of the Iowa Football Coaches Association’s Coaches Hall of Fame. “I was humbled,” Schulte said. “It reminded me of how grateful I was for all the help I received to get there and all the lessons I have learned.” Jim O’Connell has served as an assistant coach for Coach Schulte’s entire career and is one of the people he credits his success to. Along with Coach O’Connell and his other assistant coaches, many alumni and former players for Schulte have returned to coach at Xavier. One of the assistants is 2017 state champion, Joey Drahozal (X18). “I always knew I wanted to coach football. Xavier was the obvious choice. I could learn from Coach Schulte and give back to a program that taught me so much. Coach Schulte is the smartest and one of the most successful coaches in the state,” Drahozal said. “As a player I always saw him as someone who I could look up to. Now he is more of a friend to me and it is cool to be able to talk and joke around with him.” Though it may seem that Coach Schulte has achieved about everything there is to achieve in high school football, he continues to work just as hard everyday. “I like being around young guys that work hard, it is fun to see that hard work pay off,” Schulte said. “I want my guys to be hardworking, tough, gritty football teams that love to compete. I love to try and mold guys to play that way.” Xavier senior Tommy Reinwart understands that Schulte is not only teaching him how to become a better football player but also a better person. “It is amazing to play for such a successful coach and I know I can trust him to lead our team. Day in and day out he is consistent. His approach to practice shows how much cares about his players you can tell he is doing this for us not himself,” Reinwart said. “He always incorporates life lessons into practice. He has shown me that working hard will make me a better player on the field, and a better person in life.” Coach Schulte and the Xavier football team on October 1st at 7:30 at Pella High School.