26 March 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Making the decision to put down the whistle and clipboard after 48 years was not an easy one for Rick Bloomquist.
For those who have heard anything about Topeka West head boys’ basketball coach, it’s no secret he’s a coaching legend in the state of Kansas.
“Coach Bloomquist is a hall of famer in my opinion,” his long-time assistant coach March Hunter said.
Hunter has been coaching alongside Bloomquist since he took over as head coach at Topeka West in 2012. However, Coach Bloom’s career began long before he arrived in Topeka.
“I’ve been doing this for 48 years, that’s a long time,” Bloomquist said. “I go back to when I first started in Kingman, Kansas back in 1976, I was 21 years old.”
He then coached at Emporia High School for just over two decades. After his time with the Spartans, he inherited an 0-21 Charger team. Over the past 12 years, Bloomquist has built Topeka West boys’ basketball from the ground up while working his way to 576 career wins.
So, the question is, why is such a successful coach taking a step back?
“I have two sons, one’s a ninth grader, one’s an eighth grader,” Bloomquist said. “”I think I’m going to be a great parent, and I want to be the greatest dad. For four years.”
By that, Coach Bloom means, he doesn’t want to miss any more time watching his sons play basketball in Emporia.
“This has been going on for a while, and it’s been pulling on me a lot,” Bloomquist said. “I love coaching, coaching at Topeka West, I love coaching in 501. It’s really been pulling on me, but obviously the boys are really important to me. And I think it’s important that I watch them and be with them and be a dad instead of a father.”
The decision was emotional, but one he felt was the right one to make. It’s hard enough to step away from the incredible treatment he says he’s felt while being at Topeka West, but with several starters returning to the court next season, Bloomquist has high hopes for the team.
The Charger head coach made one thing very clear though, this isn’t a retirement. If his health allows, he plans to return to the court in roughly four years, when his sons graduate high school.
However, he knows there’s a small chance he may have walked off the court for the last time in 2024.
“If I don’t [return to coaching],” an emotional Bloomquist said. “It’s been fun. It’s been a good ride.”
Coach doesn’t plan to be involved with the T-West next season, he wants the next Charger head coach to make the team their own. He says, however, he’ll still be a big Topeka West supporter from afar.