Staff

David Rivera- Head Coach/ Defensive Coordinator

Coach Rivera played a key role in starting the football program from scratch in 2015. His vision of what Von Steuben football could look like one day, along with the help of other believers, eventually led to the approval of a football program at Von Steuben. As one of the founding fathers of the Panthers football program, he worked as the Defensive Coordinator while coaching middle linebackers and special teams for the first three seasons. He ascended to the position of head coach in July 2018.

His high school coaching experience in CPS spans 19 years, across multiple sports. He is also the assistant head coach of the Von Steuben baseball program. Coach Rivera began working at Von Steuben in the fall of 2005 as a school security officer, and is the Dean of School Culture at Von Steuben since 2019.

Coaching Experience:
2011 - Tilden HS - Assistant Coach
2012 - Clemente HS - Defensive Coordinator
2013 - Lane Tech HS- Middle Linebackers Coach
2015 - Von Steuben HS - Defensive Coordinator/ Assistant Head Coach
2018 to present - Von Steuben HS - Head Football Coach

Carlos Jones- Offensive Coordinator

Coach Jones will be entering his 1st season as the Offensive Coordinator for the Panthers. He brings a wealth of coaching experience, most recently serving as Head Football Coach at Senn High School in 2019. Coach Jones played at Stebbins HS in Riverside, Ohio and played Wide Receiver at Concordia Chicago.

Coaching experience:
Senn High School (Head Coach - 2019)
Wisconsin Dragons Women’s Tackle Football (Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator - 2018)
Lakeview High School (Asst. HC/Defensive Coordinator - 2018)
Leyden Lions Men’s Semi Pro (Offensive Coordinator - 2017)
Chicago Force Women’s Tackle Football (Defensive Backs Coach - 2012-2017)
Depaul University Club Football (Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator - 2013-2014)
Loyola University Club Football (Wide Receivers/Running Backs Coach - 2012)
Chitown Blaze Men’s Semi Pro (Owner/Head Coach - 2008-2013)
Illinois Seahawks Men’s Semi Pro (Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator - 2007)

Demetrius Hughes- Offensive Line Coach

Coach Hughes is one of the original coaches on the 1st coaching staff from our inaugural 2015 season. He is our offensive line coach, whose passion and dedication to his craft make him popular with our players and a valuable part of our coaching staff.

Bill Altman- JV Head Coach/ Assistant Head Coach

Coach William Altman joined the coaching staff in 2018. He has been the JV Head Coach since 2019 and will be the Assistant Head Coach going into the 2022 season. He played 4 years of high school football at Streamwood High School and Burlington Central High school.

Coaching experience:
St. Edward High school 1995-96
Schurz high school 1997-2005
Chicago Vocational Career Academy 2006-07
Von Steuben 2018- present

Mathew Legg- Strength & Conditioning/ Outside Linebackers

Coach Legg is our strength and conditioning coach. He designs and supervises our strength program. He brings great energy and passionate to our workouts. He is the outside linebackers coach and assists coordinating special teams. Coach Legg is also a security officer at Von Steuben.

Dan Messina- ATI Athletic Trainer

Hello, I am Daniel Messina. I graduate from Carthage college with a degree in Athletic Training. I enjoy watching and playing sports, spending time with my family, and being outside. I played basketball at Carthage college at the D3 level. As the Athletic trainer I will be performing a number of duties that I have plenty of experience in. First Aid, Preventative Care, Injury Evaluation, Rehabilitation, and Liaison are just some of the duties that I will be performing throughout my years at Von Steuben. GO PANTHERS!