Matt Schreiber is entering his 37th season coaching high school boys’ basketball. During that time, he has won over 500 games, but you would not know it. And that’s just fine with him.
“If you’re an old guy still coaching, then you know that you have some number of wins,” says Fernandina Beach head coach Matt Schreiber.
The only hint of his longevity and success in the game that he loves is a plaque hanging on the wall of his office inside the Fernandina Beach High Gym which was given to him toward the end of last season in remembrance of his 500th victory.
“Looking back, I don’t even know the night that I got my 500th win,” he says. “I knew at the start of the season that I could get it if we had a good year, but I don’t have a running tab. I’ve got to go back and dig it up in my folder.”
From day one, Schreiber gravitated to basketball, and it was not long into his own high school career that he knew coaching was the perfect fit.
“I’ve always had a passion for basketball, and I never really thought about doing anything different,” he says. “It teaches you all the right values of life, and if you’re always true to the game, everything will work out.”
He quickly discovered this while growing up in Indianapolis, coming from a state with a very proud basketball culture. The importance of fundamentals was at the forefront of what he learned, and he continues to coach with that mindset.
The philosophy has endured many changes throughout the decades since he started, but the fundamentals that the game was founded upon remain a fixture.
“The style of basketball has changed since then, but if you came to a practice now compared to then, about half of it would be the same,” he says. “You’re allowed to be so much more aggressive now as far as what a foul is and what’s not.”
As the game changes, so does the mindset of the players, which has caused Schreiber to adapt along with the ever-changing landscape of the sports world.
“Everybody’s parents tell them that things were different when they were growing up,” he says. “Generations change, and growing up for kids is a lot different now. It is rarer to find the ‘gym rat’ type of kid who is always playing basketball wherever it is.”
Though focus on the court is an integral part of success, he wants his players to understand that the high school experience may include competing on several of the athletic teams.
“I never get in the way of another sport,” he says. “You go through high school one time, so don’t have any regrets. One benefit from having coached for so long is that I know a lot of that stuff isn’t that important. I’ve had kids play in a football game on Friday night and score 25 points on Saturday.”
Schreiber’s first job was a two-year stint as an assistant under Joe Reynolds at Fletcher, and shortly after, he received his first head-coaching job at Hilliard in the fall of 1982.
Regardless of the program, during his lengthy career, he has always found a home.He spent 18 years at Hilliard before making the switch to Fernandina Beach, where he now enters his 14th season at the helm.
“Coaches that don’t stay for the long haul are focused way too much on the postseason,” he says. “Coaches get out of it when they are no longer as successful as they used to be. It’s easy when you’re good and winning.”
He has made deep postseason runs at both stops and lost to the eventual state champion on a couple of occasions.
Family and basketball have created a unique relationship within the Schreiber household over the years. At one point, Schreiber coached the boys’ team while his wife held the same position on the girls’ team. This coincided with his son and daughter playing on each respective squad.
“Nothing is scheduled before you think about what’s going on with basketball at that time,” Schreiber says. “You learn that it is a priority.”
His son, Jeremy, has followed in his footsteps and is currently the associate head coach at Webber International. Schreiber coached his son during high school and is proud that he was able to follow his passion as well.
“He’s a lot like me in a lot of ways,” he says. “It has always given us a bond, but if he never touched a basketball, he would still be my son.”
The game of basketball has been good to Schreiber, and in return, he continues to show it the respect that he believes it deserves. At the end of the day, it is more about the journey than the actual number of wins.
“I really didn’t know much about what I was doing back then, and a lot of people have had to be patient with me,” he says. “Figuring out how to make a team as good as you can with that sum of qualities is why I love coaching. That’s the part that I never get bored with.”
