EDWARDSVILLE - Mark Heiderscheid, who had been an assistant coach for nine seasons prior, was appointed head boys soccer coach at Edwardsville High School for the 1999 season.
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Twenty-six seasons, 384 wins, and two IHSA state championships later, he's entering his final season as head coach of the Tigers, hopeful of having a big 2025 campaign to go out on.
The Tigers play their home opener Sept. 2, 2025, against Belleville West at Tiger Stadium, which starts his final journey into what hopefully will be another trip to the IHSA Class 3A finals, this year being held Nov. 7-8, 2025, at Hoffman Estates High School in northwest suburban Chicago.
Edwardsville went 15-6-1 in 2024 and finished fourth in the finals, losing the semifinal to eventual runners-up Chicago Lane Tech 3-2, then fell in the third-place game to Hinsdale Central 3-1. In between, the Tigers went to state a total of nine times, winning the Class AA title in 2000 over New Lenox Lincoln-Way 4-1, and the 2013 Class 3A title over Wheeling 2-1. Edwardsville has also finished second twice, in third twice, and fourth twice.
Heiderscheid lost his first two games before gaining his first one over DeSmet Jesuit 2-1 on Sept. 4, 1999. Since then, he's achieved remarkable success, helping to turn the program into a St. Louis-area power, and has also turned the Tigers into perennial state contenders each year.
As he enters his final year, he's very much looking forward to all the challenges and is also very reflective of his career as Edwardsville's head coach.
Heiderscheid said when asked about looking forward to his final season as Tigers' coach: "I think in the last year, my athletic director, Amy Boscolo, said you need to really enjoy each game," he said, "take a pause in each practice, and she's right in that. I think you have to make time to enjoy everything, because this is it. I had a remarkable (English department) chair who used to say that how you leave is how you'll be remembered. So, you think, in this case, my memories go pretty far back, always fast, of course. But I think you want to have very, very good memories of that last year."
His players will always be a precious part of his memories, and the positive influence and lessons he helped to teach in each of them.
"It's the latest group of kids you get to work with," Heiderscheid said, "after more than 40 years of coaching soccer. So anyhow, yeah, I just really want to, sometimes, just reflect, just about how special to be out here with kids."
