Players and staff called it “the dungeon.” I liked to think of it as Gordie Kerkman’s inner sanctum.
The basketball office at West Aurora High School is one floor below and just off the northwest corner of the gym where the veteran coach and his players entertained generations of Blackhawk fans for 39 seasons.
Kerkman taught the game he loves in that gym for 53 years since following Clay Rabadeaux to town in 1962, two years out of college from his first teaching job in his native Iowa.
Rabadeaux lasted just three seasons. Kerkman never left.
He stayed on through 11 seasons under John McDougal (209-85 record) before finally getting his shot as a head coach. Kerkman had big shoes to fill, but leaves bigger ones.
Earlier this week, the 78-year-old Kerkman informed school officials he decided to retire from coaching the Blackhawks. The fifth winningest coach in Illinois boys basketball finishes 805-313.
“At 78, I do enjoy coaching and I think I’m gonna miss it next year,” he said. “But I had to ask myself why keep on going.”
His health and energy aren’t what they used to be.
“So little of the work is actually coaching,” West Aurora athletic director Jason Buckley said. “It’s actually a small percentage, and that’s what wears people down.”
The game will always be fun.
“It wasn’t the kids, wasn’t the administration,” Kerkman said. “All of that was real good. I’ve been blessed to have a bunch of good kids who were good players, along with good assistants and tremendous community support.
“I’ve always said when this job feels like work it would be time to stop.”
In addition to the 2000 state championship and wins over arch-rival East Aurora, favorite memories of Coach K for West’s large, loyal base of season ticket holders will no doubt include Kerkmen prowling the sidelines. He never sat, or so it seemed.
For me, though, it will be the occasional one-on-one weekday interviews I had with him down in “the dungeon.” It was one of the perks of this job I’ll forever cherish.
It’s old school, a place where brick and mortar blocks decent cell phone reception and limits access to the social media Kerkman disdains.
It’s a place he withdrew to and focused on film study, watching DVD replays on an old TV sitting atop a cart in the middle of the crowded office’s clutter. A place where game plans came to life for a team that almost always was well prepared.
More Top Picks Breville Scraper Mixer Pro
A relaxed Kerkman sat at his desk, office windows on two sides nearly covered by clippings and momentos, barely allowing him a view of the claustrophobic hallway outside leading to the team’s locker room.
From the adjoining desk, I’d ask questions and enjoy his stories. Sessions scheduled for 15 minutes easily could go on for an hour or more, with neither of us noticing. Retired from teaching but still coaching, Kerkman then left to tend to his courier business before returning to school for practice.
What a treat.
Former rival DuPage Valley Conference rival coaches Mark Lindo and Scott Miller can relate. Lindo, who grew up on Aurora’s east side, coached 10 years at Aurora Central Catholic and 15 at Naperville North.
Miller, who grew up in Yorkville but lived across the street from East Aurora for several years as a teen, coached 12 years at Plano before moving to Glenbard East, where he’s been for 16..
Both estimate their teams played the Blackhawks about 40 times in conference and the postseason over the years.
“I saw (Kerkman) coach when I was in high school,” Lindo said. “When I coached against him the first time, I was actually in awe. Then we beat them in overtime in the regional championship that year. It was surreal.
“I never once felt like he felt he was above me. I looked up to him and put him on a pedestal, but he always treated every other coach with the same kind of respect and courtesy.”
Miller enjoyed hearing Kerkman’s stories when DVC coaches met for preseason or postseason meetings and when they took their wives to dinner the Saturday after sectional finals each season.
“To me, (Kerkman) is the all-time greatest,” Miller said. “You see those coaches with big numbers, but I got to know him. He was always a great guy and supportive of what we were trying to do here.”
East Aurora coach Wendell Jeffries was surprised to hear the news.
“I always thought it would be a situation where we’d know, going into a season, that it was going to be Gordie’s last year,” he said.
There will be no farewell tour, though. It’s not his style.
“The game of basketball in the state of Illinois, the whole game, will miss him,” Jeffries said.
West Aurora broadcaster and Blackhawks sports historian Neal Ormond reported that Kerkman’s 53-year record at the school, including his sophomore and JV teams, was 982-421.
That’s the stuff of legend. And well worth putting his name on the gym.
It’s something that could and should happen before the 2015-16 season home opener, don’t you think?
More Top Picks Best Light Pads For Artists
Twitter: @RickArmstrong28