Teri Rodgers, LHS basketball star becomes star coach
• The following is part of an ongoing series of articles in celebration of Libertyville High School's 100th anniversary.
Teri Rodgers was a 1987 Libertyville High School grad and an outstanding athlete. She is currently the successful 20-year head coach for girls basketball at New Trier High School.
Growing up, Rodgers did what all kids did back then, playing multiple sports: softball, volleyball, soccer, swimming and, of course, basketball. In fifth and sixth grade there was no girls basketball team, so Teri played on a boys team.
In high school, in addition to her four years of basketball, Rodgers played four years of volleyball and three years of softball, switching to soccer her senior year. In basketball Rodgers was a three-year varsity player.
During Rodgers' time on the varsity basketball team, LHS went 76-10 under the direction of coach Tom Murphy. They won three conference championships, three regional championships, and the 1985 team qualified for the state tournament. Rodgers was named to the All-State Basketball team her senior year. She earned the Newsom Award that goes to the outstanding senior athlete. She was a National Honor Society student.
Her choice of college, which would include playing basketball, came down to Duke, Princeton and Iowa. She chose Duke as she appreciated its balance between school and sports. She also enjoyed the school spirit and social elements of the campus.
She didn't get too much playing time in her Duke career. In hindsight, she felt it was a bit above her ability. But she thought it was the best thing that could have happened to her regarding her future coaching career. It taught her to value all players in her program, no matter how big or little their playing role on the team. Also, she had a daily intimate view of one of the best coaches in the country: Duke Men's' Basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski.
After her Duke graduation with a degree in history and psychology, Rodgers taught and coached at Niles North for three years, serving as the freshmen coach.
Moving over to New Trier, she coached three years as the varsity assistant, taking over the head coaching position for the 1998 season. During her 20 years, Rodgers has a 497-158 coaching record. Her teams have won 14 regionals titles, eight sectional titles, and four super sectional titles. Her 2001 and 2015 teams finished third in the state. Her 2004 team was the state runner-up.
Although she will exceed the 500 win mark next year, there will be plenty more wins before her coaching career is done. In addition to her basketball and coaching career at New Trier, Rodgers took the head softball position for a year in 1995 and took her team to the state tournament.
Teri's 9-year-old daughter, Norah, is an athlete as well in soccer, basketball, softball and swimming. Teri and Norah aren't interested in specializing in one sport; Norah loves the variety. She also enjoys being her mom's New Trier assistant coach.