If you’ve heard of Westhampton before you must be familiar with Coach Schaum and Hurricane football. Bryan Schaumloffel, the head coach, has been coaching football at WHB for over 29 years during which he has proved himself as one of the most influential people at WHB.
The name Schaumloffel has a much deeper meaning than just a last name. To some Mr.Scahum is a history teacher who has had a lasting impact on their lives or a coach who has had a crucial impact on their life and character.
Over the years Schaum has established himself as a role model for WHB students and a symbol of Hurricane Pride. He loves Westhampton and raised his children here. He said, “Westhampton Beach has been great to me and my family. I met my wife in Westhampton and all four of my children attended school here. It is a tight community and I love the history of the East End and the part Westhampton plays in it.”
Schaum began his coaching career in 1995 at Wantagh High School as the JV football coach. He coached there for two years before coming to Westhampton Beach in 1997 to teach history and continue to coach football.
Being a history teacher at Westhampton has taught him many lessons that transfer to his tactics and motives as a football coach. “The lessons of history of successes and failures, can easily be translated to the athletic field,” he said. These lessons help Schaum bounce back from losses and continue to strive through adversity. He said, “There is always adversity and the best way to handle it is to show up and get back to work.”
Schaum became the head coach of Westhampton in 2018 after head coach of many years Bill Parry retired following the 2017 season where the Hurricanes won the Long Island Championship. Stepping in as the head coach after such an amazing season like 2017 created high expectations for seasons to come after that, but coach Schaum did not fold under the pressure as Westhampton continued to be one of the top football programs in the following years.
Over the years Schaum has established himself as a role model for WHB students and a symbol of Hurricane Pride. He loves Westhampton and raised his children here. He said, “Westhampton Beach has been great to me and my family. I met my wife in Westhampton and all four of my children attended school here. It is a tight community and I love the history of the East End and the part Westhampton plays in it.”
His favorite moment from coaching at Westhampton was the 2017 Long Island championship game. “It was a magical season and the community support was unbelievable. The police escort back to the HS from Stony Brook was something I will never forget. When we arrived back at the HS there were hundreds of people waiting, cheering us on.” This shows the importance of the community when it comes to Westhampton football and why Schaum loves it so much.
Coach Schaum has also made an impact on Suffolk county football as a whole. Inspired by big college football programs having their own media days each year, he always wished Suffolk County football should have something like it. It was something he was thinking about for years and in 2024 he finally took action organizing the Suffolk County Division III media day at Hauppauge high school. “It was a great success and today Nassau and Suffolk Counties both have media days,” he said. He sees it as “great for the players of Long Island to get recognized,” and hopes the event can continue for years to come.
Coaching for almost 30 years coach Schaum has learned many valuable life lessons, he said, “There are a lot of lessons I have learned over the years I guess the biggest is dealing with the highs of athletics, but also dealing with the lows It is never as good as you think and it is never as bad as you think also that success is not easy. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment.”
While Schaum has learned many things during his career he has taught many valuable lessons and inspired so many, Coach Schaum is a true WHB patriot.
