Father and daughter end Cheney High School careers with Greater Wichita Sports awards
It would be difficult to think up a better ending for Rod Scheer’s career as the Cheney girls basketball coach.
Scheer was able to guide Cheney to a perfect 25-0 season and win the Class 3A state championship this spring with his daughter, Kylee, leading the way. It was the second time Scheer had won a state title at Cheney and the first was with his oldest daughter, Payton, on the team.
With all three of his children graduated from high school, Scheer decided after this school year that there was no better time than to step down and retire from coaching after 11 seasons and 198 wins in Cheney.
On Thursday, the ending got even sweeter with Scheer being named the High School Girls Coach of the Year and his daughter, Kylee, being named the Lynette Woodard High School Female of the Year at the Greater Wichita Sports banquet at the Drury Plaza Broadview Hotel in downtown Wichita.
“There’s a lot of people that went into this, like the players and assistant coaches and especially our community with all of their support,” Rod Scheer said. “Having Kylee on the team and this being my last year, I’m not sure you can end it any better than that.”
Scheer said that he knew that this would be his final season before it began, which gave extra motivation for the players during their undefeated run.
“He always told me to enjoy the moment,” said Kylee Scheer, a 5-foot-8 guard who averaged 22.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.3 steals. “He always told our team, ‘You only have four chances to play high school basketball, so enjoy every moment you get with your teammates and wearing Cheney across your chest.’ To do it with him and to go out like we did was pretty special.”
While basketball is her top sport — Kylee is signed to play at Emporia State — the winter was only a fraction of what became a truly special senior season for her.
Kylee Scheer helped the Cheney volleyball team reach the Class 3A quarterfinals, then led the girls basketball team to an undefeated state championship and topped it off this spring by leading the Cheney softball team to a 25-1 record and the first state championship in program history.
“That’s something we’ll talk about the rest of our lives,” Rod Scheer said. “It’s very special to be a part of.”
Now that he’s stepping down from coaching, Rod, whose career started at the collegiate level at Newman at Neosho Community College, will be a full-time fan for his three children. His oldest daughter, Payton, recently accepted the head volleyball coaching position at Nickerson, while his son, Trent, is entering his senior season playing basketball at Baker University and Kylee is about to begin her college basketball career at Emporia State.
“I’m thankful I’m healthy enough to (travel and watch his kids) and now I just want to sit in the stands and cheer them on,” Scheer said. “In coaching, you miss so many things when your kids are growing up and now I’ll try to catch up on those things at the end of my career.
“I loved every minute that I’ve coached, but now it’s time to relax and go enjoy it and try to help them out in any way that I can.”
Kylee Scheer said having a coach as a father growing up was an advantage for her.
“I was always in the gym with my siblings growing up, never missing a Sunday open gym,” Kylee said. “Having my dad there for both the good and bad times, mainly good. It was just a really enjoyable experience for the whole family because we’re a big basketball family. I think it was special for all of us.”
While it will be strange for the Scheer family to no longer be associated with Cheney sports, the father and daughter said there no doubt always be a special place in their heart for the tight-knit community.
And while her father may no longer be her coach, Kylee said she knows she can always count on him for advice.
“I’m sure he’ll keep telling me what I need to improve on,” Kylee Scheer said. “It will be fun to see him sit back and just watch me and my siblings. I think it will be a little weird (not seeing him coach at Cheney), but I think you can expect a lot of Scheers up in Emporia for the next four years now.”
2021 Greater Wichita Sports award winners
High School Female of the Year—Kylee Scheer, Cheney volleyball-basketball-softball
High School Male of the Year—Jack Johnson, Andover basketball
High School Female Coach of the Year—Rod Scheer, Cheney basketball
High School Male Coach of the Year—Chris Grill, Maize basketball
Junior College Female Athlete of the Year—Madi Young, Butler Community College softball
Junior College Male Athlete of the Year—Dalen Ridgnal, Cowley College basketball
College Female Athlete of the Year—Madisno Perrigan, Wichita State University softball
College Male Athlete of the Year—Kameron Frame, Newman University wrestling
Professional Athlete of the Year—Anthony Beauregard, Wichita Thunder
Coach of the Year—Drew Dallas, Hutchinson Community College football
Buster Posey Award—Matheu Nelson, Florida State University
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 6:30 AM.
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