Saluting ‘The Colonel’
After recovering from COVID-19, Mays gets ready to take over as Rich Township’s coach
For the past two decades, catching up with Rich South girls basketball coach BrianMays during Christmas break meant finding him at the HillcrestHoliday Classic.
Well, I don’t need to tell you that itwas a little bit different this year.
I actually caught him lastweek in the middle of cooking.
“This pandemic got me into the kitchen a lot,” Mays said, laughing. “I love it.”
What he’d love morewould be for the Illinois High School Association to announce he can get back on the court with his Rich Township girls to prepare for a spring basketball season.
But he also knows howreal
COVID-19 is— up close and personal.
“I caughtCOVID in October, two days aftermy birthday,” Mays said. “So I knowwhat it’s like. I want everybody to be safe.”
If and whenwe have a season, things will be much different in Mays’ neck of the south suburban sportswoods.
There is no longer a Rich East, Rich Central, Rich South rivalry triangle. Rich Eastwas closed, and the three programswere combined into one under the
Rich Township banner.
Initially, the district created co-head coaching positions for Mays and former Rich East coach Jonnie Bass. Ironically, both started in 2001 as head coaches at their respective schools.
The two didwork together at camp. But in October, Bass turned in her resignation.
That leavesMays as the lone head coach.
Itwould have been interesting to see howtheir styles might have mixed. But it easily could have been problematic. I don’t blame Bass at all forwanting to run her own program.
When Bass catches on at another school, the Southland will be blessed once again to have two different schools with good coaches.
“I wish herwell,” Mays said. “I honestly do. Iwanted to reach out to congratulate her, but I didn’t knowif itwould be taken right at that time.
“I haven’t put it out in public, and I haven’t spoken to her about it since she told me that shewas resigning. But I wish her the best.”
Mays, meanwhile, continues a coaching run at Rich Township that’s pretty … let’s just say unusual.
It’s not easy being an out-ofthe-building coach, especially at a public school.
For one thing, you aren’t around all day. That makes it harder to keep track of your players’ educational progress.
Plus, your coaching job is never 100% safe. An in-school candidate can always come along, and with union backing, can pull a bump-and-run.
Mays is the assistant principal and athletic director at Colin Powell Middle School inMatteson. He has kept that reality in the back of his mind ever since taking the head coaching reins at Rich South.
It hasn’t affected his performance, though.
Mays posted a stellar 330-169
record at Rich South. His teams won seven conference titles with one sectional and six regional championships.
Beyond the coaching record, Mays is a great role model. During the GulfWar, hewas as an airport transportation officer with theU.S. Army in Saudi Arabia. Years later, he missed coaching the 2005-06 season while with the military at Camp Shelby in Mississippi.
I remember that seasonwell, especially the HillcrestHoliday Classic. Substitute head coach JustinMarlo slid over and let Mays join him on the bench.
“Well, I actually coached the team,” Mays said. “I had been staying in contact. I’d be on the
phone during games, having people giveme play by play.
“It did makeme feel good to be on the bench. I don’t thinkwe won a game that tournament. But my whole thingwas trying to showthe coaches what they needed to do.”
WhenMays returned fromthe military, hewas reinstalled as the head coach.
That’s when those who knew him began to call him “The Colonel.”
“The announcer at Rich South started that,” Mays said. “He knew Iwas in the military, so he did it. And it kind of stuck. I make it a point to put it onmy roster. I like it.”
I do, too. He’s earned it.