Basketball takes Schwagmeyer-Belger all over world, brings her home for next challenge as QU coach

QUINCY — Ali Schagmeyer-Belger’s high school and college basketball career allowed her to travel all over Illinois and the United States. She went on to play professionally in five countries and on six continents for 18 coaches.

“Antarctica is the one (continent) I haven’t touched yet,” she said with a smile.

The road traveled through all those experiences has led her back home. She started out as a kid playing basketball at her family home in Camp Point. Now she’s back in Adams County, teaching basketball with her husband Courtney Belger while living in Coatsburg.

“The crazy thing is I came back here without even a job because I knew I wanted to be in this community,” Schwagmeyer-Belger said.

She was introduced Tuesday afternoon as the next women’s basketball coach at Quincy University, replacing Courtney Boyd, who resigned April 4 to take a job at Valparaiso.

The press conference was held in the Hall of Fame room outside Pepsi Arena, where Schwagmeyer-Belger enjoyed many memorable moments during a two-year stay. She was a two-time all-Great Lakes Valley Conference performer and finished with 978 points, 398 rebounds and 207 assists in her career.

However, she also remembers meeting her husband for the first time during the summer of 2009 — just down the hallway from Tuesday’s press conference.

“When I was at Charleston Southern (where she played two seasons before transferring to QU), my sister she called me, and she’s like, ‘Hey, I met your husband,’” Schwagmeyer-Belger said. “And I was like, ‘Angie, stop.’ And she’s like, ‘I promise you, this summer, I’m going to introduce you.’”

The Belgers met in the Health and Fitness Center. The Schwagmeyer sisters eventually played a game of two-on-two against Courtney and one of his teammates.

“I was 16 hours away (in Charleston, S.C.), and Angie still knew,” Schwagmeyer-Belger said. “So not only is Quincy a deep spot in my heart just because of everything they’ve done for me, but because my sister and I shared a lot of memories and moments here.”

Angie Schwagmeyer died in a crash in the early morning hours of Dec. 21, 2015, on Interstate 55 in St. Louis.

Returning to Adams County always warms Schwagmeyer-Belger’s heart.

“There is no community like this community,” she said. “If you show that you are going to work hard, and you are going to give back to the community, the community will give back to you. There are very few places like that in the world. The world is all, ‘What can I take? What can I take?’ If you give, this community gives back.

“It’s no secret that I’ve been through some hard times in my life, and this community has been the one that’s always picked me up.”

Schwagmeyer-Belger must get to work quickly. She and her husband have coached an AAU basketball program since 2020, and he is expected to be her first hire as an assistant coach.

“Nothing’s official, but you could make the assumption,” she said with a grin.

She must restock a roster that is down to five players from last year’s team that posted a 25-8 record and won the Great Lakes Valley Conference postseason tournament. Quincy lost 108-72 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional to Grand Valley State, which went on to win the national championship.

“We want to find people who are not only talented but are going to buy into our system, buy into our program and become lifelong family here,” Schwagmeyer-Belger said. “I truly believe that if you have a work ethic and you’re committed and dedicated, then we’re family. If you have that chemistry, that can take you above and beyond what any talent can.

“Don’t get me wrong. We’re going to be talented players, but that’s also what we are looking for. So for the next 30 days, we have to get recruiting.”

Chomp Danso, the only returning player who saw significant minutes last season, first met Schwagmeyer-Belger, a volunteer coach, during her freshman season at QU. 

“(When the position opened,) I know I instantly thought of her,” Danso said. “She is definitely a person I would love to stay and be coached by. She gives us a leader. She’s someone who’s going to come in and have set rules and expectations. I just feel confident that she’s going to bring players in.”

Schwagmeyer-Belger has just one season as a head coach under her belt, guiding John Wood Community College to a 10-20 record last season. She is unconcerned about a perceived lack of experience.

“What is experience?” she said. “When other people my age were being college coaches and being assistant coaches working their way up, I was playing at high levels. I was playing against WNBA players and Olympians. The biggest thing that’s going to help me is that I played for 18 coaches. That’s a lot of different systems, a lot of different offenses, a lot of adaptability, a lot of contacts, a lot of defenses.

“I’ve pretty much seen it all, and I’m able to take all the good pieces from each and every one of those coaches who I’ve had and made my own vision.”

Schwagmeyer-Belger said she’s not worried about the basketball part of the job.

“Basketball is always going to be basketball,” she said.

She wants to help Quincy University become the place where her players make memories like she did.

“Sports in general teach kids so many things about life,” she said. “It is truly a blessing to be a part of a team. It teaches kids how to share. It teaches kids how to be happy for other people’s success, even when their success isn’t coming at the moment. It teaches kids how to be resilient, perseverant, hard-working, dedicated, committed. What else in life can teach you all of those things, and you can still have fun?

“I want to be involved in something that’s going to change lives. Basketball at Quincy University and in this community can help change lives. I want to be someone who will be a part of that.”