Bob McPhee: A Coach for All Seasons

BOB MCPHEE:

A Coach for All Seasons

BY JIM BRODERICK KING ’87, DIRECTOR OF IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY & FORMATION

How does an institution, let alone any individual, handle the reality that a pillar of their community is leaving? To speak for myself and for many people who off ered input on this tribute, the answer is: We don’t handle it well.

After 32 years of service to Regis Jesuit High School, Bob McPhee is retiring. As another stalwart veteran of our community stated, “I can’t say anything for this tribute, because I just can’t admit that Bob is leaving.”

That is how we respond when we grapple with a vision of RJ without Coach McPhee, someone whose words, ideas, pranks, choices, laughter and relationships are basically woven into the fabric of the community. We don’t like imagining a PE hallway without Bob’s barks, teasing or gentle encouragements to have a better day. We can’t think of a faculty meeting, committee or an off -period without his wit or hijinks.

In a futile attempt to put a cap on Bob’s career at Regis Jesuit in this constrained word count, I relied on students and colleagues for the words that come to mind when they think of him. Easily, the light-hearted bits surfaced fi rst. Students used the words: loud, push-ups, playful, short-gentle-giant, “gird your loins,” air chairs, Troublein-the-Bubble and just plain fun. Colleagues likewise recalled bits of humor in their memories: prank wars, Diet Coke at 8:00 am, mischievous, technologically frustrated and unhinged. Many of us consider ourselves victimized but also privileged by Bob’s mid-class interruptions and distractions, when he spent his off -periods roaming between our classrooms to pop-in for a tirade, a prank or reminiscence. No matter how people interfaced with Bob, everyone recognized that, in the sometimes too serious or too stressful realities of a school, we needed some overthe-top silliness and pranking shenanigans from “Captain Fun,” as Bob has sometimes been called. While he would feign frustration at being the butt of the joke, you always knew he relished the interplay. As a fellow (younger) coach described one scene, “We took a typical trip through the drive-through at McDonald's, and, while picking up our order (that I, of course, paid for), the cashier said, ‘Oh, how sweet! Are you taking your dad to lunch?’ As I quickly replied, “Yes, they let him out of the facility so I could take him to lunch today!!!’” Of course, such an exchange enraged Bob, but it always became fodder in his love for repeatedly sharing absurd memories.

Still, three decades of chuckles and yells came packaged with a deeply engaged, spiritual and loving friend in Bob. He came here in 1989 as a passionate football coach, but the whole package brought a skilled science teacher with a traditional midwestern worldview, a committed family man who would not hesitate to share his home and family with colleagues and teams and even an adopted son, and a Christian faith that guided his leadership and his teaching. Students who used the humorous descriptions above said in the same breath that “Coach” would always make a personal connection, checking- in with students in the hallway as they passed, whether a quick affi rmation for the overlooked kid or a fi rm hand on the shoulder for a student struggling with life’s burdens. Past and present athletes praised his uniquely blunt and caring way of coaching, such as with the freshman runner who considered himself on the path to be a great RJ sprinter, until Coach pulled him aside with clear advice. “This isn’t your event. You won’t go to State in the 100. You need to focus on the middistances. That’s where you’ll be good.” After that honest but caring exchange, that runner did excel in the 400 and relays and now coaches track at RJ. Similarly, multiple athletes said that Coach always had extremely high expectations of their performance, but all affi rmed they always knew he walked shoulder-to-shoulder with them on the way to those goals.

Bob’s colleagues also provided reflections that, in the same breath as a hilarious memory, emotionally recounted his sincere and serious character. One consistent phrase recollected is our Jesuit school maxim: Being Open to Growth. Colleagues attest to his deep humility and incredible curiosity, evidenced in Bob’s willingness to engage with any person, especially those who didn’t agree with him. While Bob would openly share his own outlook, he consistently sought to find common ground with others. Bob and I would argue politics almost daily, almost always ending the conversation with what we agreed upon. One could make quick judgments about Bob’s Evangelical religious background, but those assumptions were always misplaced when he shared his deep spiritual convictions that inspired Catholics, Protestants and agnostics alike. Friends often identify Bob as a role model as a person of faith, as a teacher, as a spouse and parent who loves family gratuitously and as a child of God. “Bob is the first person to tell you why he is far from perfect, but he’s closer than he thinks,” said one veteran colleague.

Many of us who have been lucky enough to know Bob closely over the years know that the thin veneer of the stubborn and cantankerous Coach quickly gives way to the generously loving, “warm, fuzzy, gooey” side of Bob, who wears his heart on his sleeve. As teachers, we admire the kind of commitment Bob shows as a PE teacher who doesn’t just throw out the balls but picks up a stick and plays a physical game of floor hockey with his students. One colleague described Bob’s teaching this way: “I put Bob on the top of the podium when it comes to sheer passion as an educator. If you’ve had a classroom near Bob, you’ve heard him teaching quite loudly and clearly. The kids sense his commitment and his own deep goodness, and year after year they have walked out better people because of him. Bob has labored with every bone in his body to make his students better, more Christ-like, young adults. He’s like the guy in the parable who labored in the vineyard all day long but is happy to see those who show up at 4:00 get the same pay. Bob just wants the Kingdom to grow, and he’s been opening doors for that for a long time.”

We often talk about “legacy” in remembering a teacher’s career. Bob’s humility would want to avoid this. Yet there are so many ways that his character and contributions are strands in the tapestry of Regis Jesuit. Few realize that Bob helped write the first mission statement of the school or that he chaired numerous committees and initiatives which still have an uncredited impact on what we do and value. Decades of administrators can recall difficult dialogues with Bob which may have been filled with tension but could only be taken as honest and wise advice. Every current or former colleague knows by Bob’s example that it is okay to disagree passionately or challenge the status quo, as long as interpersonal rapport and a shared higher purpose prevail in the end. Whether they know it or not, every RJ coach has been influenced in the fiber of their methods by the dichotomy of the frenetic but deeply personal approach with student-athletes. Whatever a teacher-coach’s legacy means at Regis Jesuit, with Bob it will be named for many years as an enigmatic combination of fun, consternation and purpose and as a barely-hidden but profound love for other people.

We'd Love to Hear From You!

Share your fond memories or well wishes for Coach McPhee at alumnioffice@regisjesuit.com