By Brian Guinane ‘26
I have had the pleasure of being a manager for the Brother Rice Basketball Program for all four years. Sophomore year, I reached out to Coach Stamas regarding the manager spot opening. He then sat me down for a meeting and I was sold instantly. I was the only sophomore on the varsity team, which was different and extremely cool. Guys like Caden Workman, Cale Cosme, and Max Justic brought me in as family and I cannot thank them enough.
Managing comes with many responsibilities including filling up the water bottles during practice, keeping track of time during practices, and assisting the coaches in drills as a drill dummy. During games, I keep track of stats, distribute waters during timeouts, and film most of the away games.
Junior year was the highlight of my time here at Brother Rice. The tasks were the same, but the people were what made this experience so unforgettable, whether it was listening to Zach Bryan with the Mikrut brothers and Jack Weigus on the bus rides, team hangouts after games, and the countless memories we made throughout the season. This team was special; it was a family. We made history being the first team to make it downstate since 2005. The bus rides, team dinners, and hanging out with the guys in the University of Illinois basketball locker room were the coolest parts of the trip.
At the end of the season, the team was informed that Coach Stamas would not be returning for our senior year. The news was hard, especially since I managed under him for two seasons, but I was going to finish it out regardless.
Coach Romeli was hired in June, and I made sure to reach out quickly to get my name out there. When I sat down to talk to him, I saw his extremely genuine personality and was confident that Brother Rice hired the perfect guy.
Although this may be my last season on the sidelines, the friendships and memories will last me a lifetime, and I can’t thank Brother Rice Basketball enough for everything it has given me.
