Assistant offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Geoffrey Schick was elevated to offensive coordinator by head coach Wilbert Kennedy. Schick replaces Matt Nelson who stepped down after two years in the role to focus on his duties as president of the organization.
Schick takes over an offense that has consistently been one of the best offenses in the MidStates Football League (MSFL) over the past decade. He inherits the last two offensive players of the year in the MSFL in wide receiver Joe Garcia and running back Howard Triplett. The Raiders will likely have to find a new quarterback for the 2023 season as Mitch Farr indicated he plans to retire and not return.
“Mitch Farr was a mainstay at quarterback for some time, and replacing his experience will not be easy,” Schick indicated. “We’ve had excellent interest from prospective players that see an opportunity to be part of a historic franchise loaded with talent and I foresee some tough decisions this Spring in terms of developing a depth chart.”
The offense has other key pieces in veteran wide receivers Jordan Payne, Will Norwood, and Terrence Fitch. Jersey Eickhorst is attending school in England and does plan to return if he’s able to do so as well. The offensive line featured several veterans and rookies this past season and, if most return, could be primed to be one of the best in the country.
“Drawing up the X’s and O’s on a whiteboard is the easy part of designing an offense. Understanding the talents and limitations of your personnel groups and developing a relationship where those players can TRUST coaches to put them in a position to be successful is going to be the bigger challenge.”
Geoffrey Schick, new Racine Raiders offensive coordinator
“At this level we have players from widely differing football backgrounds – from D1 to JUCO to high school experience only and our responsibility is to give these talented athletes the platform to put their skills on display,” states Schick. “During the week they are teachers, small business owners, police officers, financial advisors, and nurses, but on Saturday nights in the summer, we want them to be stars in front of our fanbase.”
Schick will have to navigate playing in a new league as the Raiders have joined the Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL). The GDFL is a national league with teams from coast-to-coast and offers a better level of organizations and competition than the MSFL.
Schick brings nearly two decades of coaching experience and a winning pedigree as a player into his new role. He was an all-conference and all-county linebacker during his time at Washington Park High School. Schick was a member of the 1988 state championship team.
Following high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he was a two-time letterwinner while playing tight end and a member of the 1990 conference championship team.
His first coaching opportunities were at Union Grove High School where he coached wrestling, track, and football. He was a varsity assistant coach in 1992 and was quickly elevated to defensive coordinator the following season.
His success at Union Grove led him back to UW-Whitewater as a student assistant football coach for linebackers for the 1994 conference championship team.
Following college, he joined the Racine Raiders as a tight end from 1995 to 1998. During that time, he played on the 1995 national championship team and the 1998 national runner-up squad.
“This is the level we want to get back to and we’re not that many years removed from a deep run into the national playoffs,” states Schick. “My goal is to help Coach (Wilbert) Kennedy build a team that will once again bring home a national championship and put a ring on the hand of every Raider.”
After taking some time away from the game, Schick returned to coaching as a youth coach. Between 2007 and 2015, he served as a volunteer coach for Racine Youth Sports and the Racine Gladiators youth football team. He also coached the FBU South Wisconsin All-Star team from 2012-2013.
He volunteered with the William Horlick football team from 2014-2018. In 2020, Schick began officiating football for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and joined the board of directors of the Racine Raiders.
If you’re interested in playing for the Racine Raiders in 2023, please complete a short player recruitment form and a coach will contact you. There are two scheduled organized team activities days planned for 2023 at the MOSH Performance Center in Franklin. The first is February 12 from 11 am-2 pm and the second is March 4 from 5 pm-8 pm.
