Rick Commers has coached some of the area’s greatest athletes, including a Division I golfer and 16 Division I basketball players. Of the 16 basketball players, two of them were Mr. Basketballs.
“I’ve been fortunate to have great athletes,” Commers said. “Mat Blair was a Division I golfer. I was able to serve as an assistant to coach two Mr. Basketballs, Delray Brooks, and Dan Palombizio. I had other Division I players too, so I've been very fortunate.”
After high school, coaching was one of Commers’ first jobs. He was also a teacher during his career.
”I graduated from Fort Wayne Southside High School, but my first job was working in a summer baseball program which hired high school athletes to coach and teach baseball with a director over each part,” said Commers. ”There were 17 of them, but that was my first coaching job. I did it for four years, working my way up to becoming an assistant director.”
As his coaching and athletic career continued, Commers coached alongside multiple Hall of Fame coaches.
“I got to work for Hall of Fame coaches, and Bill Hahn was at Rogers High School (now Michigan City High School) when I got here,” Commers said. “He hired me along with Doug Adams. I coached with Bill for three years, then with Earl Cunningham for seven years, and I became head coach for Rogers from 1989 to 1995.”
As a coach, Commers always considered his greatest accomplishment helping build his players’ athletic skills and their character.
“I've been fortunate to have a great coaching career with a lot of great players that turned out to be great men, too,” Commers said. “That's what makes me the proudest; to work with these kind of individuals, and maybe somewhere along the line, help develop them into that kind of person they are.”
When his athletes went through hard times, Commers was there for them. For example, when Blair lost his dad, Commers stepped up to support him. Blair was very young at the time.
“Mat was young when his dad passed away,” Commers said. “I told his dad that I'd keep an eye out on him.”
Across his career, Commers prepared his athletes for life, and he’s still there for them when life throws them hurdles and challenges.
”Part of my philosophy on teaching and coaching was making sure that I prepared my students and my athletes for the real world,” he said. “I told my students and athletes what they needed to hear and not what they wanted to hear.”
For this, Commers’ impact will reap dividends that go beyond the course and beyond the court.