If home is where the heart is, then Scott Lawler is in a good place.
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He doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon.
Lawler began his new job this week as Benet’s athletic director. He’s just the fourth person to hold the position in the past 72 years, replacing fellow Naperville resident Gary Goforth, who retired after a 30-year tenure.
Lawler had been Goforth’s assistant for the past 10 years. He also serves as baseball coach and director of recruiting.
“I’m excited,” Lawler said. “Working with Gary for the last 10 years was a lot of fun.
“I did not know when Gary would retire, but he said he was ready to pass the torch and I will gladly accept it.”
Goforth recommended Lawler for the job and a hiring committee made the selection last month.
“Scott is going to do a great job,” Goforth said. “He just seems like the right fit, plus he knows the school.
“I think the athletic director’s job is going to change, if it hasn’t already started to change. They’re going to be more involved in fundraising in some capacity, and Scott has done that for years. He did that in the college ranks and he’s done that here.”
Ironically, Lawler never foresaw himself working as an athletic director — or even at a high school.
The 1995 Naperville Central graduate played football, basketball and baseball for three distinguished coaches in Joe Bunge, Bob Sterr and Bill Seiple, as well as his father, Phil, who was Seiple’s pitching coach.
Lawler played baseball at Morehead State and Simpson College before following his uncle, Jim, into the college coaching ranks. He was associate head coach at Notre Dame from 2006 to 2010.
But his father’s death in 2010 prompted Lawler, then 33, to reconsider his career path. He and his wife, Kim, who ran cross country at Northern Illinois, were expecting their third child and the itinerant life of a college recruiter lost its appeal.
“That was really tough,” Lawler said of his dad’s passing. “But sometimes great things happen through the storm.
“Finding my love for being at the high school level, which I don’t think I ever would have thought of doing, came out of that because I wanted to be closer to home.”
Lawler took a job as athletic director at Dowagiac High School in Michigan. A year later, he was hired as Goforth’s assistant.
“One reason I feel so indebted to Benet is it’s really allowed me to raise my family,” Lawler said. “As a recruiting coordinator for 10 years at all those colleges, I was on the road a lot.
“It is a tough life, kind of gets you used to putting in the hours as an athletic director, which is a different kind of work. You’re busy but you’re busy at the school and close to home.
“Benet has completely allowed me to be there for my kids and my wife.”
Lawler’s kids Luc, Lexi and Tucker have been fixtures at Benet sporting events.
Luc, who will be a sophomore at Benet, plays football and baseball. So does Tucker, an incoming sixth grader. Lexi, a volleyball and softball player, is entering eighth grade.
They all have become close to Goforth, who plans to continue attending games but won’t interfere with his successor.
“I told Scott, ‘You’ve got to do what works for you,'” Goforth said. “It’s human nature that we’re going to put our own stamp on things.
“If there are changes that make things flow more smoothly for him, he’s got to do that. I did the same thing.”
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Lawler wants to continue the facilities upgrades that began under Goforth and improve the department’s use of technology. But that’s not his main aim.
“My ultimate goal is to try to be the ultimate assistant coach for our all of sports,” said Lawler, who will continue coaching baseball. “We have phenomenal head coaches. I try to help them have a better experience and their kids have a better experience.
“It’s not that they’re not having a good experience now, but sports change. So I’m listening to what they need to grow so they can have continued success.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.