Butler continues to teach Madison student-athletes in girls soccer

Sep. 21—Of all the things Chad Butler would like to be known as, being realistic would not be one of them.

Butler is in his 10th season as coach of the Madison girls soccer program.

A sophomore english teacher at Madison High School, the same school he graduated 20 years ago, teaching in the classroom is one of the things he said has helped more than anything as a coach.

It's also the one lesson he hopes his team never forget is to not think anything is beyond their reality.

"I tell my girls all the time that I'd rather be wrong every day believing I can do anything than to ever be right about something that I can't," Butler said. "Honestly, I could care less about records and that kind of stuff, as long as I have a group of girls that are achieving at their top level."

He may not care about records, but having a mindset that nothing is beyond his team's grasp has led to a good bit of success for the coach.

In the span of a decade, Butler has coached the Blue Streaks to 96-64-19 record. They've won three conference championships, four sectional titles and were district runner-ups twice and district champions once.

Upon graduating high school in 2003, though Butler did not play in college while attending Baldwin Wallace, he had already decided to return to Madison as a teacher and a coach.

He served as the junior varsity coach for three years and has been at the helm of the varsity program ever since.

In the classroom, Butler was a teacher, but when it came to soccer, he was in learning mode as much as anything.

"I played the game in high school, but when I started coaching, I really became a student of the game ... watching non-stop and learning everything that I could," he said. "All the success I've had as a coach comes from being a teache. Knowing how to teach skills and that type of stuff."

For soccer, all he's ever coached is girls teams. Whether he coached boys or girls was not something Butler said he ever even considered when he decided he wanted to coach.

After 14 years on the sidelines of girls games, not to mention his three daughters, Butler said he can't see himself doing anything else.

"I'm a girl dad through and through," he said.

Through and through he's had good teams as indicated by his career win/loss record and postseason resume.

Butler said he's been lucky to have many talented players over the years.

More than that, though, if you're a girl and you have a desire to play soccer, Butler can find a role for you and will probably make you successful.

"With soccer, if you're organized and disciplined, you can make something out of it," he said. "I think that's where our teams have always excelled. Everyone knows what their role is and what things they have to carry out."

Finding a role is something he can always do for anyone, regardless of who you are.

"I think if I can do something, anyone can do it," Butler said. "If there's something they can't do, then I need to see what I can teach them so that they can. We've had plenty of girls who came into the program with not much of a soccer background and they went on to become varsity starters for us."

Of course, he's also had his share of experienced talented players that he knows would be successful with or without him.

But seeing the progress that players make over the years is something that he has found most rewarding.

Butler's best team was the 2018 that captured a district championship.

"That team was phenomenal," he said.

The 2017 team that lost in the district finals may have been even better, though.

"We were so strong defensively," Butler said. "And, we had two of the best strikers to ever come through Madison at the same time."

This year's team is 6-5-1 after a 6-0 win over Lakeside on Tuesday.

In a recent match against Conneaut, Reese Meister broke into triple digits with career varsity points.

Butler calls them "talented but unproven."

Regardless of whether they are as strong as some of his other teams or not doesn't alter the love and passion he has to see them reach their full potential.

"At the end of every season, the only thought on my mind was I wish we had more time," Butler said. "You get so attached to them. You spent four years with them and then you just wished you were going to practice the next day. But, on the flip side, if they couldn't move on, then I wouldn't have done my job. My job is for them to grow beyond me. Keeping that ball rolling is what it's all about."