Meet Our Coaches
Tim Cantu – Varsity Golf Coach
Tim has been the golf coach since 2015. He is dedicated to growing the game of golf as evidence by his involvement with the sport. He has chaired the ILS Golf Outing for many years, helps run a golf league through his job at Ford, and plays in a weekend golf league. He’s even managed to lower his handicap into the single digits!
Coach Tim’s coaching philosophy: I’m willing to help you as long as you’re willing to learn. Learning is a process, improve at the step in front of you and don’t worry about the step after that until you get to it.
Tim and his wife Debbie have 4 children; Tea, Joey, Timmy, and Vinny (all ILHS graduates).
Nate Hinz – Varsity Boys Basketball Coach
Coach Hinz has been coaching at ILS since 2001. He has coached basketball, soccer, and softball. He was the junior high boys head basketball coach for 16 seasons. He took over the high school team in 2018.
What are your other interests: camping with my family, umpiring softball, and playing golf.
Coaching Philosophy: I like to teach life lessons and core values through sports along with teaching the basic fundamentals. I love Jesus. I love our school. I love the sports I coach and want the kids to love these three things as well.
Coach Hinz and his wife Ginger have 2 girls, Hannah and Mollie (both ILHS graduates).
Phil Adickes – Varsity Girls Basketball Coach
Mr. Phil Adickes was born in Fort Atkinson, WI. His family moved to Arizona in the late 70s when his dad was Called to Arizona Lutheran Academy. Mr. Adickes attended Phoenix College and also worked with a professional photographer during those years until he decided it was time for a change. He enrolled in Martin Luther College in 1993.
In 1997, Mr. Adickes was assigned to California Lutheran HS as a dorm supervisor for one year. Then in 1998 he was assigned as grades 6-8 teacher, Athletic Director, and Principal to Faith LS in Tacoma, WA. They spent 16 years there until 2014 when he accepted a Call to Zion in Denver. Mr. Adickes accepted the call to serve as the Dean of Students at Illinois Lutheran in 2018.
Mr. Adickes and his wife, Anne, have three children: Leah, Levi, and Grace. In his free time, he loves listening to music, being outside, working in the yard, riding his bike, skateboarding, playing basketball, and working on his 1978 Convertible Volkswagen Super Beetle. His favorite pastime is cheering on the Packers.
David Kenyon – Varsity Softball Coach
Coach Kenny has been involved in the softball program at Illinois Lutheran since 2018, assisting the grade school and varsity teams before becoming head coach in 2020. He previously served as an assistant coach at Michigan Lutheran High School from 2012-2014 and played four sports until attending Central Michigan University to study journalism.
Coach Philosophy: Our players know three things: You’re safe, you’re valued and you’re going to work. I place an emphasis on excelling at fundamentals and enjoy teaching our players to mentally understand and execute the game at a high level. I love building relationships with our athletes and supporting them both in softball and their other sports/activities throughout the year.
What do you do when you’re not coaching at ILS: I serve in several other ways, including as a board member at church. Along with being a sportswriter, I enjoy spending time with friends, golfing and teaching financial literacy.
Coach Kenny is married to Emily, who is the superior athlete in the family.
Jacob Lash – Coach of the Scholastics Team & Track Coach
Mr. Jacob Lash was born and lived his whole life in Racine, WI. He is the oldest of three children of Brian and Kim Lash, who have both lived in the Racine/Kenosha area since childhood as well.
Mr. Lash graduated from Shoreland Lutheran High School in 2013 and immediately went to Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN the following fall. After spending five years there, he graduated from Martin Luther College in the spring of 2018 with a double major in Secondary Mathematics Education and Elementary Education. Just a few hours after graduation, Mr. Lash received an assignment from the WELS assignment committee to teach high school and junior high math at ILS.
Mr. Lash began talking to and met his future wife Kelly in May of 2019. In October of 2020 he proposed and she said yes! They were married on July 17 of 2021. Mrs. Lash is the office manager of Zion Lutheran Church. Mr. and Mrs. Lash love playing Cribbage and Sequence together as well as going for nice walks in the evenings.
Andy Biesterfeld – Varsity Soccer Coach
Coach Biesterfeld has been coaching soccer at ILHS since 1995 – head coach since 1998. Before that he played 2 seasons at Bethany Lutheran College where he helped the team with 2 junior college regional titles. While at Northern Illinois University, Coach B played indoor soccer for 3 years. He is a member of the United Soccer Coaches Association and the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association. He has attended numerous soccer clinics and is a real student of the game.
Coaching Philosophy: I love sports and competition. Being able to work with young people through sport to teach discipline, commitment, leadership, and working with others from a Christian perspective. So many life lessons can be learned through participation in athletics, especially how to deal with failure and achieve success. Building a foundation of fundamentals in athletics is no different than building a strong foundation for life.
What you do when you’re not coaching at ILS: I enjoy all types of sports, especially those involving my children. I also spend a lot of time with family and friends, cooking, completing projects around the house, and being involved at my church.
Coach B and his wife Laura have 4 children: Trent and Paige (ILHS graduates), Zoe and Tristan (ILHS students).
Ruth Junker – Varsity Volleyball Coach
Coach Junker has been coaching volleyball at ILHS since 2012 when she started as the Assistant Junior Varsity Coach. She then coached Junior Varsity for the next two years before becoming the Varsity Coach in 2015. Prior to coaching at ILHS, Coach Junker coached at Grant Park High School for 8 seasons. She also coached at Grant Park Junior High for 5 seasons.
Coaching philosophy: I try to encourage teamwork, respect and a good work ethic. Working together and encouraging one another, whether on the court or off, is essential for building a team. I emphasize hard work, while still leaving room to have fun and enjoy the sport. Teaching skills and relating them to game situations is also a foundation of my coaching.
What do I enjoy when I’m away from ILHS: I enjoy going to the theatre, reading and listening to music. I also watch my favorite sports teams when possible. I watch a lot of volleyball and especially follow Penn State. My favorite team is the Cubs (I also cheer for the Bears)!
Coach Junker and her husband, Shawn have three children. Josh, Jessica (ILHS graduate) and Emily (ILHS graduate). They are members of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Grant Park, IL.
Jonathan Witte – Micahtam Director
Mr. Jonathan Witte grew up in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where he attended Faith Lutheran Grade School and graduated from Winnebago Lutheran Academy in 2013. He graduated from Martin Luther College in December of 2017 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Music Education. His first five years of ministry were at Luther High School in Onalaska, Wisconsin where he was the grade school and high school band director.
At Illinois Lutheran Schools, Mr. Witte serves as music teacher as well as director of bands and choirs. He loves to share his passion for music with students of all ages!
Jonathan and his wife, Carley, moved to Crete in the summer of 2023 with their two cats Milo and Millie. Outside of making music, Jonathan enjoys taking photos, making videos, and dreaming of being an astronaut.
Mr. Witte’s favorite bible passage and confirmation verse is Zephaniah 3:17 – “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”