Remembering A Legend

Coach John Hoerster: October 12, 1949 - August 25, 2003

Six years ago today, the Loyola Academy community lost our beloved, legendary Coach Hoerster.  This is the story of just one of the thousands of lives he touched.

I was 13 when I first met Coach Hoerster and his smile, his booming voice, and his enthusiasm for life have stuck with me ever since.

I, along with fellow Bombers, Blake and SeanHef had the privilege of playing under Coach for four years - and six years later, the lessons learned on and off the field have shaped the person I've become.

Coach was a constant walking reminder that every day above ground was a good one, that every morning was reason to thank God, or as he put it, that it was a "GREAT DAY TO BE A RAMBLER" and he lived his life accordingly until the end. Coach could get you jacked up about anything - got a chemistry test in 10 minutes? "GREAT DAY TO BE A RAMBLER!" Didn't get a hell of a lot of sleep last night? "GREAT TO SEE YA, BILLY! GLAD YOU'RE HERE!" I remember sitting in a dark hallway at Loyola Academy at 7 in the morning, sleep still in my eyes, football pads still soaked through from yesterdays' two-a-days. In walked coach. "IS THERE ANY PLACE YOU'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW THAN RIGHT HERE AT LAKE AND LARAMIE?" and in that instant, there wasn't. That was one of coach Hoerster's gifts. He could always remind us why we were there. He could remind us how much we loved football - how we lived for "the pop of the shoulder pads". But it went beyond football. Coach Hoerster wanted us to be the best football team we could be sure, but more importantly, he wanted us to be the best men we could be. Accountability, responsability, punctuality, family, loyalty, these were all values that we were constantly reminded of while in Coach Hoerster's presence. He instilled confidence, he created leaders, he prepared us for life after football, life after high school.

I was never particularly good at football - getting in occasional reps on special teams or when a starter went down.  I was undersized to play interior line and never had a great grasp on the playbook.  But I knew I wanted to be a part of Loyola's football program.  I knew I wanted to play for Coach Hoerster.  Amazingly, he made me feel like he wanted me to play for him too.  Not bad for a scrub with a bum wheel.  Just as I was hitting my stride athletically, I destroyed my left knee in post season wrestling practice.  It took over a year to rehab and the number of times I wanted to quit are too many to count.  But Coach wouldn't let me. Neither would my teammates.  That was the culture Coach Hoerster promoted among his players.  Nothing was too hard.  There was no problem that couldn't be overcome.  This is one of the most valuable lessons I took from Coach.  Adversity builds character, makes you stronger.  

Equally as important were the characteristics he exemplified and expected his players and students to embody - character, integrity, dignity, humility, and class.  We had constant reminders of how we were expected to conduct ourselves - from the iron grip handshakes at the end of practice and as we entered school in the morning (where he always reminded us to look him in the eye and break his hand with our grip) to the daily warnings that wherever we went and whatever we did we represented our football program.  Looking back, it was about so much more than football.  What Coach was really telling us was "Be a man, live up to your potential, live by Jesuit values, always be a man for others".  And it paid off.  You can always spot one of his players by how they carry themselves.  Basic things like confidence and courtesy were engrained in every player and student he came into contact with. 

Coach Hoerster's record was as immaculate as they come, going 133 and 57 in 16 seasons with a state title, four Catholic League North titles, and three Prep Bowl titles.  His teams only missed the playoffs four times and he was given just about every coaching accolade the Chicago Catholic League had to offer.  He's a member of Loyola's Hall of Fame as well as the Catholic League's.  But his legacy is so much bigger than that.  

Today, on the anniversary of his death, I'm not focused on wins and losses.  I'm focused on lessons learned.  I'm forced to take a moment to look at my values, my choices and my priorities and wonder if I'm making Coach John proud.  I can only hope that I am.  The best I can do is try to follow his example.  Always put others first, go the extra mile to brighten someone's day.  Coach Hoerster's involvement with students extended far beyond the football program.  As Athletic Director, he was involved in every aspect of Loyola's massive sports culture and did all he could to make sure students supported each other.  He held his athletes to a higher standard - not because we were special, but because playing sports was a privilege.  As a administrator, he knew the name of every student he passed by in the hall, every student ,and colleague he greeted each morning as they arrived at school.  He was active in Campus Ministry and in retreats, every year, extending the crop of students he got to know on a personal level.  Not because of sports, but because he saw it as his job as an educator to be a positive influence on as many kids as possible.  

Our team my senior year, the last team he coached for an entire season was undersized and disappointing, finishing the season 3-6 and not making the playoffs. It was frustrating not achieving what we wanted to on the field, but Coach was proud of us and it was clear that the off the field lessons were more important to him than wins and losses.  The Saturday reminders to go to church on Sunday and spend time with our families reflected what was really important to Coach.  He would rather we were good citizens, good students.  He expected us to conduct ourselves with class, make good grades and succeed in life - not just August through November.  Luckily, his last team redeemed us, winning the 2003 Prep Bowl.  Coach Hoerster's last team was a championship team.  

I last saw Coach on graduation day in May of 2003.  He shook my hand congratulated me, wished me well at Marquette and told me that I "cleaned up nice". That was his way.  Always complimentary, but with that smirk that let you know that humor was more important than ego.  I might have run into him once or twice that summer, but thought nothing of it as I assumed I'd be back in the fall to catch a football game or that I'd pop into his office when I was home for Thanksgiving as I'd seen hundreds of alums that had gone before me do.  But that never happened.  Coached died of a heart attack early in the morning watering his garden.  It was fitting, as gardening, like football, family, and service was a passion of his.

We got the news that he was gone just a few days after arriving at school.  There were a lot of Loyola guys in my dorm and the news traveled quickly.  We wondered how a man who was larger than life, who had taught us so much, could have been taken from us so suddenly.  In that moment, I wished I could have said good bye, wished I could have said thank you.  Thank you for challenging me to be better.  Thank you for showing me what I could achieve, for making us leaders, for taking a punk kids and turning us into a confident young men, for showing us all what it truly means to be a Rambler.

Rest in Peace Coach.  Your legacy lives on in the thousands of lives you touched. 

-Billy