Pine Bush High School’s Kyle Schneider has been named the New York Jets Girls Flag High School Coach of the Week Game Changer.
Coach Schneider will receive a $2,000 donation to benefit the flag football program here at Pine Bush. He will also be invited to attend the Jets Play Football preseason game in August at MetLife Stadium, where he will be honored on the field.
As a lifelong Jets fan and a dedicated coach, Schneider is thrilled.
“I’m pretty excited about this honor,” said Coach Schneider. “To be recognized is great, especially by my favorite team.”
“Congratulations to Coach Schneider on receiving this honor from the New York Jets,” said Pine Bush Athletic Director Jen Evans. “Coach Schneider does a tremendous job with our flag football team. He is dedicated to our athletes and deserves to be recognized for all he does for the program and the sport of flag football.”
Schneider, who also is an assistant coach with the boys varsity football team in the fall, said his flag team this spring is double the size it was last year, with 26 players and a manager. Last year’s team finished with a 10-2 record and went to the Section IX final game. The team is currently 10-2 after a 6-0 playoff win against Kingston in five overtimes.
This afternoon, Wednesday, May 15, the team travels to Monroe-Woodbury for a semi-final match against the Crusaders at 5 p.m.
Schneider coaches his flag team in the same manner he does his tackle team in the fall. He puts in a lot of time, scouting opponents by watching videos of games. He comes up with a plan and they execute it.
“I don’t treat it any differently than the fall,” he said.
There are a handful of players on the flag team who play with travel teams, which definitely helps the team as a whole, both on the field and for others to learn more about the game.
“This is a great competitive group,” said Schneider about his flag team. “They take that extra step to learn and be their best. I give them as much as they can take – they take a lot!”
Schneider speaks fluent football. While at Pascack Valley High School, he played quarterback and earned first team all-state honors in New Jersey. He went on to play at SUNY Cortland, where he received a bachelor of applied science in sports management, as well as a degree in business and managerial economics. He teaches business at PBHS. Coach and his wife, Amy Schneider, recently had a baby girl.
Currently there are 16 teams in the section with more coming next year. Flag is definitely a growing sport. This year is the first year for a state championship.
Schneider is grateful to the Jets Foundation for more than this honor. The Jets funded the Pine Bush team as well as all others in the area to get the sport started. “It helps grow the sport and helps create a love for it,” he said.
From the press release from the Jets Foundation: “The Coach of the Week Game Changer presented by Visa award is given to a coach in the tri-state area who serves the best interests of the game through the teaching of sound football fundamentals, the motivation of young players to achieve and the promotion of youth football by way of dedication to their community, their school and their student-athletes.”