Chicago Bears Name Lockport Township's George Czart High School Coach of the Year

Lockport Township High School head coach George Czart has been named as the Chicago Bears' 2021 High School Coach of the Year.

Czart led the Porters to the school's first Illinois high school football state championship since 2003. Lockport Township won the Class 8A championship and finished the season ranked No. 103 in the High School Football America 100, powered by NFL Play Football.

Czart becomes the Bears’ nominee for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year award. Each of the 32 NFL clubs nominates a high school coach for the award, which will be presented at the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas in February.

"We here at LTHS have truly succeeded together to accomplish a great feat that the whole community can be proud of," Czart said. "I humbly accept the award on behalf of the community, administration, alumni, parents, staff, coaches, and most of all the players that made it happen. Thank you to the Chicago Bears organization for recognizing that we, the Porter Nation, succeeded together."

Czart took over at Lockport in 2019 after serving as the assistant coach at Lincoln-Way West High School. He was the defensive coordinator for Lockport from 1994-2006, during which time the Porters won two state championships in 2002 and 2003. The year before Czart took over the program, the Porters finished 0-9.

The Bears will make a $2,000 donation to the LTHS football program in Czart’s honor. Since 1996, the Bears have donated more than $325,000 to Illinois high schools in support of their football programs.

Below, High School Football America’s Jeff Fisher talks with Coach Czart about receiving the award and how he and his staff turned around the LTHS program in a short period of time.