Schnettgoecke grew up in St. Louis where he graduated from McBride High School.
[1] He began his professional career in 1978 with the Philadelphia Fury in the North American Soccer League.
He then moved to the Columbus Magic of the American Soccer League for the 1979 and 1980 seasons.
In the fall of 1979, he signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
In 1988, he was on the backline for the Budweiser-30 team from St. Louis which won the USSF Over-30 national championship.