Meet the Coaches

Shawn Cirton

Varsity Assistant Coach

I am excited to be entering my fourth year as the Lane Tech Flag Football Team Varsity Assistant Coach! I look forward to our continued success at Lane Tech in producing quality student athletes, teaching our players the fundamentals of the game, and advancing further in the State Playoffs during the 2026 season! 

I was born and raised in Chicago. I’ve always loved sports, particularly football, which I grew up playing from sunrise to sunset on the Southside of Chicago. I played four years at Gordon Tech High School (where I played wide receiver, cornerback and safety) and four years at North Central College (where I played both safety positions). I also played intramural flag football during college and continued to play flag football in competitive adult flag football leagues (e.g., USFTL leagues) in the Chicagoland area for 18 years (6 year as player and head coach).  

I started coaching youth flag football in 2006, when my son first started playing football. I’ve coached as a head coach every year since then, except during the pandemic. I’ve coached teams at Portage Park, the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club, the i9 Sports program, and at Disney II Elementary School while my son and daughter attended school there.

I coach girls basketball at Over the Edge travel basketball program on the Northside of the city. Our program is geared towards teaching kids the proper fundamentals to become successful high school basketball players. Similarly, when I coach flag football, I focus on teaching kids the proper fundamentals to become successful high school flag football players! With the growth of flag football at the collegiate level, I look forward to teaching our players the right way to play the game! There are numerous collegiate opportunities that are presenting themselves daily and I will work hard to prepare our players to play flag football at the collegiate level, if they desire, and to take advantage of scholarship opportunities that are available.

Outside of sports, I am married and I have a son, who just completed his junior year of college, and a daughter, who just graduated from Lane Tech and played varsity flag football and basketball at Lane Tech. For my “regular” job, I am a Fish and Wildlife Biologist and I’ve worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 27 years.