Sad but true: Coach Komaromy decides it's time to go

It didn't come as a surprise. In private conversation we had discussed it for, to be honest, the last couple of years.

But the reality that came through the telephone line Thursday afternoon, and the 40-minute conversation, actually seemed a bit surreal.

See, things change. As much as we sometimes wish they wouldn't, they do.

And the latest change is this -- Dundee-Crown girls basketball coach Joe Komaromy will retire at the end of the season.

"It's just time," Komaromy said. "I'm retiring as a teacher and it's just time to get some new blood in here. I know what needs to be done with the program and I just don't have the energy to do it. I'm tired."

We tell 17-year-olds who cry about being tired not to because they're young.

Komaromy deserves to be a little tired. Over the last 26 years no one person has invested more of himself to a high school athletic program than Joe Komaromy. Nor has any one person earned the respect Komaromy has for the way he runs his program. He's an IBCA Hall of Famer, as well as an inductee to the Dundee-Crown Athletic Hall of Fame, both honors he richly deserves.

The record will reflect that he will be seeking his 450th career win tonight when his team hosts District 300 rival Jacobs in what will be Komaromy's final home game. The record will also show he has 267 losses, giving him a winning percentage of .625. His teams have 20 winning seasons in his 25 years at D-C, a job he got when Crown and Dundee merged in 1983 after he spent his first year in D300 going 12-12 at Crown.

His first D-C team made it Downstate, the only time the Chargers advanced to the Elite Eight. There were two other Sweet Sixteen appearances, in 1998 and 2003.

But Komaromy's career is far from being just about wins and losses. It's about a man who built a program from the ground up and not only made it successful on the court but who also helped mold the lives of many young ladies in such a positive way.

"It's been an outstanding 26 years," said Komaromy, a staunch family man who always had great support from his wife Kathy, son Scott, and daughters Alison and Kristin.

"There are such great memories and such outstanding relationships with coaches, assistant coaches and parents. I've been so fortunate to have good coaches and to have so many players come back and coach in the program. And so many parents have become good friends over the years. Those are the things that are so important to me and meant so much to me."

That list of former players coaching in the program includes current varsity assistant Melissa Tarrant, as well as current sophomore coach Michelle Russell, the program's all-time leading scorer. Both could be considered leading candidates for the job if they are interested.

"I've had the privilege to coach some great athletes who have become great friends to me and my family," said Komaromy, whose teams won five Fox Valley Conference titles and 12 regional championships.

"My son Scott grew up idolizing Michelle Russell. I'd ask him who his favorite basketball player was, thinking he'd say Michael Jordan. Nope, he'd say, it's Michelle Russell."

Russell, who graduated in 1991, has the utmost respect for her former coach.

"He runs a great program and kids come in and want to play for him," she said. "As a friend, a father and a husband, he's just an incredible man. The little things he does for people, the things people don't see, are just outstanding. There's so much more to him than just being a coach. The respect he has from all across the state can't be replaced.

"Playing for him and coaching for him has been a really good experience for me."

Komaromy, an avid Packers fan, earned respect from his players like no coach I've ever known.

"It's so hard to put coach Komaromy into words," said former D-C standout Nicole Wells after Coach K won his 300th game in 2000. "It's remarkable what he does for other girls and the community. He was definitely the major influence in my life concerning my college decision. He's a good role model and he's always there no matter what.

"He focuses so much on us and he puts in so much time and commitment to us. He has to feel good inside but he doesn't show it. I have so much respect for him."

Coach K has his favorite moments and things he's rightfully proud of. On top of that list is the 1984 regional championship win over Crystal Lake South -- "(CLS') Michelle Zimmerman and (D-C's) Stephanie Miller just went toe-to-toe that night," he says -- and the supersectional win over Conant that sent the Chargers to state.

There are many others, enough that he could write a book. He says the best coaching job he and his staff ever did was in 2004-05, D-C's last FVC championship team. Shawna Jensen was his assistant that year.

"We really made the best out of what we had that year," he said. "That was an overachieving year."

He also recalls with great fondness when the Tarrant sisters came into the program, with Melissa opting to go to D-C instead of Jacobs.

"That said a lot to me about our program and about the Tarrants as people and parents," Coach K said.

Lest we forget the Charger Classic Christmas Tournament, something Komaromy says that, along with the D-C summer league, he has agreed to continue to help coordinate. The Charger Classic has become the state's best holiday tournament for girls not only because of the superior competition but also because of the way Komaromy runs it.

"The tournament really put Dundee-Crown on the map and that came from a lot of really good people working together," said Komaromy, a master at deflecting credit from himself and sharing accolades with everyone around him.

Coach K, who hasn't ruled out possibly coaching at some level down the road, also became a great friend of the media over the years, present company included. He thanked me Thursday for all the things I've written about him, his program and his family over the years.

To that all I can say is, no Joe, thank you.

It's been an honor and a privilege. And may your retirement be one that is healthy and filled with happiness.

Coach K's career

Year Record

1982-83 12-12*

1983-84 24-5**

1984-85 11-14

1985-86 11-15

1986-87 14-8

1987-88 16-10

1988-89 18-10

1989-90 17-10

1990-91 23-6

1991-92 15-11

1992-93 11-15

1993-94 14-12

1994-95 15-12

1995-96 22-8

1996-97 22-8

1997-98 26-5

1998-99 16-12

1999-00 22-7

2000-01 22-7

2001-02 19-9

2002-03 26-5

2003-04 18-10

2004-05 19-9

2005-06 15-16

2006-07 11-17

2007-08 10-14

Career 449-267

* -- At Crown

**-- Elite Eight berth