Former Iowa Hawkeyes captain Jon LaFleur brings winning tradition back to his high school alma mater

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – When one of Iowa’s most storied high school football programs fell on hard times, it called on one of its own to help restore order. 

Jon LaFleur was named the 11th head coach in the history of Sioux City Bishop Heelan High School on Feb. 4, 2022.

In the three previous seasons prior to LaFleur’s arrival, the Crusaders had a combined record of 3-23.

That was uncharted waters for a proud program that had reached 13 state championship games and produced four titles.

LaFleur, a 1993 Heelan graduate who went on to become a team captain as a defensive lineman at the University of Iowa, had watched from a distance and became a volunteer assistant in 2021, when the Crusaders suffered through a winless 0-9 campaign.

In his first season as head coach, Heelan finished 2-7, but with a talented senior class returning this fall, LaFleur had an inkling that fortunes would change. And, boy, have they ever.

Beginning with a tense 22-19 season-opening victory over Carroll Kuemper, Heelan won its first four games before suffering its only loss, 21-0, at Sioux Center on Sept. 22.

After that, the Crusaders picked up steam, easily rolling past their next four foes, ending the regular season with an 8-1 mark.

In three nail-biting playoff games, Heelan edged Clear Lake (22-19), avenged the loss to Sioux Center (27-26 in two overtimes) and knocked off top-ranked Creston (16-13). The semifinal triumph over Creston sent the Crusaders into the Class 3A state championship game, where they will tangle with Williamsburg on Friday at the UNI-Dome on campus of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

“What these kids have accomplished has been great,” said the 48-year-old LaFleur, who followed in his father Dan’s footsteps as an Iowa Hawkeye football player. “These senior guys literally winning three games in their prior three years and coming back to be where they’re at with an opportunity to play for a state title, it’s just unbelievable.

“It really shows the resiliency of the kids and what kind of character they have. They’ve been a lot of fun to coach.”

LaFleur was a two-time all-state honoree at Heelan, as a junior playing on the 1991 squad that reached the Class 4A state title game before falling to Bettendorf, 6-0. Interestingly, LaFleur played against his future Iowa teammate Tavian Banks, who was a star at Bettendorf, in that contest.

“He used to remind me of that on a daily basis,” LaFleur quipped. “He never let me live that one down.”

The father of four daughters, LaFleur had an opportunity to coach them in youth sports. 

“About three years ago my youngest became a freshman in high school and some people asked me to maybe come back and coach, so I came back two years ago as a volunteer assistant," said LaFleur, who continues to work full-time in his family's livestock business.  "That kind of re-ignited that football vibe that you never really lose.”

When former Crusaders head coach Chad Moseman, a 1990 Heelan alum, resigned as head coach after two seasons,  LaFleur had several long talks with his wife, Katie, and eventually applied for the  job and was hired.

“At that time, we had a new strength and conditioning coach (Trevor Westhoff) come in, and you have to give him a lot of credit,” LaFleur said. “To get those guys to understand what they had to do, not just during the season but throughout a whole year to develop themselves as athletes.

“They really embraced that and once we started summer we were pretty regimented on what we had to do.”

That included practice sessions four days a week at 5:30 a.m. as well as evening workouts with coaches throughout the summer.

“They really wanted to win. They wanted somebody to give them direction. They wanted to work hard,” said LaFleur, the 1993 Sioux City Journal Metro Athlete of the Year who won two state shot put titles, was a three-year baseball starter and played on a state basketball qualifier. “It didn’t take them long to embrace the whole idea of what it takes to win.”

He didn’t have to be there, but LaFleur showed up for every one of those early morning weight lifting sessions.

“I wanted to show up and let them know I was just as committed as they needed to be,” LaFleur said. “I had several coaches do the same thing and I think when they see you there and realize you’re not just a mouthpiece talking, they embraced that.”

Even though the team won only two games that first season, LaFleur said it was an entirely different team than the previous year.

“They were competing and playing hard the whole game,” he said. “They needed that year to comprehend what we were doing and, quite frankly, I did as well. We weren’t getting blown out of games like we had the prior season.

“You could see it changing, but it wasn’t quite there yet. This year, from the Kuemper game on, the kids learned how to win and not just compete, and a lot has to be said about that.”

LaFleur gained a considerable amount of knowledge from the two coaches he played for – Joe Malsam at Heelan and legendary Hall of Fame head coach Hayden Fry at Iowa. He’s tried to convey those teachings to his players, who are now just a win away from the school’s fifth state championship with its last coming in 2013. 

“I’ve got a great staff with a bunch of really quality guys and as coaches you have to show up and do the work," he said. 

“I read something the other day and it really holds true as a coach. You’re never as good as your record, whether you win or lose.”

--Barry Poe