Scott Koenigs has been around the sport of baseball for the majority of his life, so it was tough for him to walk away. Even if it’s just for awhile.

Koenigs recently resigned as head coach of the Riverland Community College baseball team after 16 years on the job, but he’s not turning his back on baseball forever.

“I’m giving up baseball, at least for now. We’ll see how it goes. It might be a short term thing. I don’t know that I’m done forever,” Koenigs said. “It’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, to walk away from a program that has been ranked in the top 10 in the nation for nine straight years. Not too many programs can say that and it’s a difficult decision that’s still eating away at me. But it’s a done deal and I’m not going to coach next year.”

Koenigs is still going to be around baseball at a much lower level this summer as he will help coach his son’s youth baseball team. He is also going to remain as Lyle-Pacelli’s head boys basketball coach.

In his time at RCC, Koenigs led the Blue Devils to two NJCAA Division III World Series and he’s had the Blue Devils consistently ranked in the top 10 over most of the past decade.

“It’s been a great experience. I’ve gotten to know a lot of really good people through baseball with parents and families,” Koenigs said. “The experience has been awesome and it’s been a positive experience. It just got really difficult with the budgets going down and where I wanted to the program to go. There’s also a lot of stress that comes with coaching thirty 18, 19 and 20-year olds. I’m teaching full time and coaching basketball [at Lyle] and something had to give. I want to be around my own kids more and coach them too.”

Koenigs will be replaced by Derek Hahn, who is also RCC’s men’s basketball coach. Hahn has served as Koengis’ baseball assistant over the past few years and he once played baseball under Koenigs at RCC. Hahn said that Koenigs can be a little bit intense as a head coach, but he’s always had his players’ best interest in mind.

“As a player, sometimes it was hard to understand the tough love that Coach K presents at such a young age,” Hahn said. “Looking back on it now it not only got the most out of me as a player, but has brought the best out in so many of our student-athletes over the years that I have coached under him. I think a true testament to what type of leader Scott has been during his time here at Riverland is how many of his former players stay in contact with him well beyond their playing years. That to me validates the type of respect players have for him as a coach.”

Koenigs said that Hahn is definitely ready to take over an RCC program, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. Koenigs used to have to grab players out of the hallway to fill out the Blue Devils’ roster, but the team has drawn in players from Puerto Rico and Wisconsin in recent seasons.

“Derek filled my shoes in basketball and he’s done a great job and I don’t really expect anything less than him in baseball,” Koenigs said. “He’s going to be really busy and he’s going to have to manage his time. He’s a guy that plans on doing a lot of the same things that we’ve done for years.”

Hahn said that Koenigs has taught him about the patience that is required when trying to build a program. He also noted how much Koenigs will be missed.

“Young coaches like myself think we’re going to light the world on fire overnight. It doesn’t work that way. I will forever be in debt to Scott for the opportunities he presented me with as a player and now as a coach,” Hahn said. “I know I speak for a lot more alumni than just myself, but a tip of the cap is in order for the legendary status Scott is leaving behind here at RCC.”