Written by Arius Gatson
Steve Kollar is the head coach for men’s basketball at Concordia University Chicago (CUC). Kollar was born and raised in Wheaton, IL. He attended Greenville University (formerly known as Greenville College) and transferred and went to Elmhurst College for his last three years. He majored in secondary education physical education and health while he was in school. He started his career in 2006 as a physical education and health teacher at a middle school. Shortly after, he long-termed subbed and did student teaching at the high school level, but as he started to get a full-time job, he continued to be a physical education teacher for middle schoolers while working as a coach for high schoolers. As time went on, he wanted to continue his career in sports, and he realized that coaching would create a major impact on students and their lives.
Kollar has been coaching since 2006. He started as a high school coach from 2006-2009 and has been a college-level coach. He has been coaching for 15 years and loves it like no other. Although Kollar has been interested in many sports and has a passion for football, he chose basketball because he really has a strong passion for basketball. He knew this was the route he wanted to take, and he took it.
Kollar has always been passionate about sports. In high school, he played football, basketball, baseball, and he also has a black belt in taekwondo. In college, the only sport he played was basketball. While Kollar played sports in high school and college, he had the opportunity to have coaches to push him forward and make a difference in his life, and that’s something that helped him understand the importance of the role in being a good coach. His coaches were the main reason that he wanted to pursue his career in coaching.
During our time together, Kollar also discussed what a typical day for the team looks like during the season and during the offseason.
“During the season, the team would typically start their day off with morning lifting before classes. Around 3:30 p.m., the team would then have practice in the gym. After that, the team sometimes has a film session which only lasts 20-30 minutes. Later on, the team has study tables. Study tables usually happen twice a week, and this is when the team gets together for about an hour or two to do homework. Off-season, on the other hand, is more individual-focused. The team has to lift four days a week, followed by skill work that happens in the open gym. Similar to when the season is in play, they also have study tables. The offseason is typically the team working and building their skills on their own,” stated Kollar.
Kollar described his coaching style to be, “passionate, detail-oriented, and encouraging.” Kollar discussed how his goal in coaching is to push people to be the best versions of themselves as possible. As a coach, he believes that it is important to build a relationship with his team. Kollar stated, “We want them to do certain things like compete and play, but in order to achieve that, I feel that they need to know that we care about them outside of the floor. As a staff we really take time and we really invest in them to get to know them, how they are doing in the classrooms, and what’s going on with their families.”
Kollar chose CUC because he felt like he fit the role in what they were looking for. The importance of the program and how CUC wanted it to be structured was really important to Kollar. Another reason he chose CUC was because of the area. CUC is in a nice area and is surrounded by the Chicago area. Kollar believes the recruiting process wouldn’t be so hard because of it. He’s also close to home, and he’s able to create relationships within the big city and be close to home.
