Rob Nunn hired to coach Mendota baseball

Growing up, Rob Nunn spent most nights playing baseball or playing catch in his backyard.

In high school, he helped Marian Catholic to a state championship in 2012, when the Spartans beat La Salle-Peru in the Class 3A title game, before pitching at Western Illinois University.

Now, he’s passing on his love for the game.

On Wednesday, the Mendota High School Board of Education approved Nunn as the school’s baseball coach.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Nunn, who has served in the MHS program for four years, first as an unpaid varsity assistant and the past two years as the JV coach. “Baseball is a sport that’s been part of my life for my entire life. When I was a kid, my dad was my baseball coach up until high school. Every night, I’d go out and play baseball or play catch in the backyard. To be able to share this passion with the next generation is a real blessing.”

Nunn, who replaces Aaron Sester, said he thinks having been part of the program will make the transition easier.

“Aaron Sester has been a mentor to me,” Nunn said. “He was rooting for me when I applied for the position. When he stepped down, he said he’d help in any way to make sure it was as smooth as possible and make sure it was going to be as successful as possible. I love the program he build and I want to continue to build it and bring that same energy to the program.

“Because I’ve already been at Mendota a few years, I know the majority of the guys. I know what the community is like. I have a lot of experience and repertoire with a lot of the players. So, stepping in, a lot of them already know my expectations and where I want to go from here.”

Nunn said he expects his players to be good role models for children in the community, put forth good effort and have good attitudes.

He hopes to build the program’s numbers.

“The numbers have been low the last couple years,” Nunn said. “I’m hoping in the next few years we can build something in the community where we can bring younger guys in at earlier ages to get them skilled and playing at a higher level. We want to have guys coming in and teaching younger guys to follow the same pattern. When it comes to playing, we want to keep it as simple as possible. We’re going to hammer fundamentals out of the gate. Hopefully from there, we can start expanding, getting more guys to come back to baseball and the program and continue building within the community.”

Sester, who took over at his alma mater in 2012, stepped down for family reasons.

“My wife and I had our third child back in May, and my wife got a job as a dean of students and athletic director in another district,” Sester said. “It comes down to a family decision of wanting to be home with my three daughters and watch them grow and spend time with them. Eventually, I’ll probably go over to coaching softball to be around them more.”

Sester said he enjoyed his time coaching the Trojans.

“It was unbelievable,” Sester said. “Not a lot of people can say they had a chance to come back and coach their alma mater. I was lucky enough to be able to do that. Really, it was all about the relationship with the players. It’s really cool to see the students and players you taught and coached six, seven or eight years down the road and be able to catch up with them. It’s fascinating to build the relationships, watch them grow and get to be part of the process. That’s really what mattered most to me.”