Blumhorst one of the good guys in coaching

When you’ve been around this business for as long as I have, you meet a lot of good people. Good coaches, good teachers, good officials, good administrators and good kids.

Brian Blumhorst is one of those good guys. You will meet none better.

The Malden native has coached and taught for 31 years, the last 20 at Mendota High School along with stints at Tampico (F/S coach 1987-89), Annawan (head coach 1989-95) and Polo (head coach 1995-98).

He’s touched and influenced countless number of young athletes along the way with his good humor and compassionate manner that makes his well liked and respected by all.

Blumhorst’s career has not always been all rosy. After five years as head coach at Mendota, he was let go as the head boys basketball coach in 2006. His last team won five games with a senior class that won no games at the freshman level.

I was stunned to see such a knowledgeable coach let go, but then again not really surprised, after all I’ve witnessed over the years with external and internal pressure placed on coached.

Blumhorst took it all in stride.

“To be honest, my wife and kids were probably more upset than I was,” he said. “Yeah, I felt bad that night. But I got up the next morning, looked at the mirror, and said, ‘You know what, I did everything I thought I possibly could to get our kids better.’”

Some people in his position would vow to never coach again or quickly put that school in their rearview mirror. Not Blumhorst.

He became the freshmen girls coach the following year at Mendota, and was back on the boys bench the year after to become varsity assistant under former Trojans head coaches Eric Lawson and Jan Thompson. He’s also been the Trojans longtime golf coach.

He said he never looked anywhere else with Mendota between where his wife’s (Patti) and his parents lived.

“There were more important things than me being head coach,” said Blumhorst, who teaches in the science department at Mendota and finds it ironic he went from the purple-and-gold colors from one MHS school (Malden) to another.

“To be honest, I still like being around kids. No matter where I’ve been, the kids are always the same. Kids make it fun and make it worthwhile more than anything else. My kids are out of the house, so nobody at home. I might as well do something.”

That’s what makes Blumhorst one of the true good guys in the business. He’s in it for all the right reasons.

Sports was the way of life for Blumhorst and his younger brothers, Troy and Kyle.

“Growing up, all I ever did in the summer and most of the year, was play games. My brothers and I would ride our bikes three miles into town just to play tennis ball or basketball. Whatever we could get our hands on,” he said.

He got his start playing basketball in the fourth grade at Malden Grade School, where he developed his game under coach Lloyd Johnson.

“Lloyd had fourth grade through eighth. I tell you what, those seventh- and eighth-graders took care of us. They were our basketball buddies. They took care of us,” he said.

Due to low numbers, Blumhorst got to play on the seventh-grade team as a fifth grader, though he said he wasn’t very good.

“I was like the greatest practice player. For some reason, when I’d get in the game, I was just God awful. I couldn’t make anything, I was a turnover waiting to happen,” he said. “I’ll never forget, over Christmas vacation, Lloyd said one of these days, ‘You’ve got to take what you’re doing at practice to the game.’ I started approaching games like practice and after that, I was fine.”

He also honed his game nearly every night playing more basketball on the full court his dad built for the kids in the barn.

“Shooting around rafters, hanging tires and work on my behind-the-back passes. It was just fun,” he said.

Johnson ran the boys through all the old Pistol Pete and Oscar Robertson drills, putting an emphasis on defense, rebounding and assists, Blumhorst said, and never ever talked about scoring.

“Lloyd tracked which one of our guys gave up points, because we always played man to man. I remember one game we gave up two points at half and our biggest argument and discussion was who should have been assigned those two points,” Blumhorst said.

Blumhorst became a pretty good scorer over time, breaking Mike Farley’s 20-year-old all-time scoring record at Malden (1,374) with 1,498 points. While he knew he was listed at the top of the area in Hugh Skinner’s annual listings here in the BCR, Blumhorst said he never knew he was No. 1 all-time at Malden until a certain sports editor came around and told him.

“My scoring and high jump record will never be broken,” he said with a laugh with Malden closing her doors in 1983. “It’s kind of cool. Some of the old-timers here give me a lot of grief.”

When asked if he can beat his sons, Chance and Trey, now a senior star at Rockford University, he laughed and said, “Maybe in H-O-R-S-E. The 1-on-1 days are over.”

I remember writing about them all years ago (1998) when Blumhorst and his boys were in a car accident and Brian and Chance (then 8) were stuck and couldn’t get out of the car and Brian sent Trey (then 4) to go get help. We said they always had a Chance.

Sports have been good for Blumhorst, and Blumhorst has been good for the sports and the kids he’s coached.

“I still remember to this day my oldest son coming home from first grade and looking at me in the eye and said, ‘Dad, what do people do that don’t like sports,’” he said. “That’s kind of been my life. I can’t imagine not being a dad, not teaching. And the coaching I’ve stayed in. I’ve had a blast. Even going through the firing and all that, it’s still been a good to me. I’ve never seen a reason to get out of it.”

Kevin Hieronymus is the BCR Sports Editor. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com.