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Will Rey is a native of Havana, Cuba and received his Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern Illinois University and his Master of Arts in Guidance and Counseling from Concordia University. Currently, he is pursuing a second Master’s degree in Theology from Holy Apostles’ College and Seminary. Will has more than 30 years of basketball coaching experience at the university and high school levels. From 1976 through 1985, he taught and coached basketball at Gordon Tech, Crete-Monee and Fenwick High Schools. While at Gordon, the Rams made one IHSA Class AA "Elite Eight" appearance and a pair of "Sweet 16" appearances. In the spring of 1985, Coach Rey moved to the University of Evansville of where he assisted Jim Crews for four years. At Evansville, he helped Coach Crews win two conference championships with second round appearances in the NCAA and NIT tournaments, a 35-consecutive game home winning streak and a Top-25 national ranking. In 1989, Will was named head coach at Loyola University Chicago where his teams defeated national programs such as Wisconsin, Purdue, Notre Dame, Dayton, Northwestern, St. Louis and Butler. In addition, Will coached at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Coach Rey returned to his Chicago roots in the spring of 2004 when he accepted his current position at Northridge Prep. Will also was a lecturer, resident coach and administrator at the nationally renowned Five-Star Basketball Camp for more than 20 years. In 2005, he was inducted into the Five-Star Basketball Hall-of-Fame with the likes of Bob Knight, Rick Pitino, Hubie Brown, Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Christian Laettner, Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. Will has produced 6 basketball instructional videotapes for coaches and players that are sold world-wide. Coach Rey is member of the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches), the IBCA (Illinois Basketball Coaches’ Association) and a basketball consultant for Catholic Athletes for Christ, a Washington, D.C., based ministry for athletes and coaches of all sports. Along with his duties as Athletic Director and Varsity Basketball Coach, Will teaches one class in the theology department. He and his wife of 29 years, Diane, have three children: Christina, Jacqueline, and Robert.
Meet Darrell Miller, Sports Faith International Advisory Board
Darrell Miller spent most of his professional baseball career in the minor leagues but did play in parts of five seasons at the Major League level from 1984-88, all as a member of the California Angels. Listed as a catcher/outfielder, Miller showed his versatility by playing in 97 career games behind the plate, 95 in the outfield, 16 at first base, eight as a designated hitter and one at third base. In all, he played in 224 career Major League games, batting .241 with 13 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 394 at-bats. After being selected by
California in the ninth round (223rd overall) of the 1979 Major League draft, Miller made his big league debut on Aug. 14, 1984 at the age of 26. In 1986, the Angels won 92 games under manager Gene Mauch and advanced to the American League Championship Series, losing to the Boston Red Sox. Today, Miller serves as the director of Major League Baseball’s first
Urban
Youth
Academy, which opened on Feb. 28, 2006 on the campus of Compton (
Calif.) Community College. The $10 million facility, which is owned and operated by Major League Baseball, provides free instruction in both baseball and softball to
Southern California youth between the ages of 8-17 and features a 10-acre complex operated year-round by Miller. The academy has state-of-the-art facilities, including a show field complete with a scoreboard, a grandstand that seats nearly 200 fans, dugouts and lights; an auxiliary field; a softball field; a youth field; and a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse consisting of a weight room, locker room and other training facilities. It is establishing itself as a training ground for future baseball and softball players and those who may seek a career in other areas that support the game. The academy’s mission is to break down barriers facing youth interested in baseball and sports-related professions and provide them, at no cost, with support and expert instruction in their areas of interest. Before being drafted, Miller played three seasons at
California
State
Polytechnic
University,
Pomona. Miller is a member of one of the most successful sports families in history. His brother, former Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller, was one of t he top players in the NBS, and his sister Cheryl Miller, was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic gold medal women’s basketball team and regarded as one of the greatest women basketball players of all time. Cheryl is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame inductee, and Reggie is a future member of the NBA Hall of Fame. Darrell was raised Baptist and as an adult converted to the Catholic faith after studying the history of the Church and the writings of the Early Church Fathers on the Eucharist and Papal authority. Miller has been a featured speaker around the world at Catholic conferences and adult retreats. He was also invited to the
Vatican to participate in the first ever “Council on Church and Sports.” Miller has been married to his wife Kelly, for 18 years and thy have three children: Darrell Jr., Nicole and Cameron.
Meet Matthew Tomlinson, Sports Faith International Executive Committee
Matt currently serves as Executive Vice President of Business Development for Fifth Media by BVM Olenti, Inc. a pioneer in Cause-related marketing using new and traditional media and integrated marketing solutions. Matt manages sponsorship and marketing opportunities for Sports Faith International. Matthew has over twenty five years expereince in creating market awareness for leading edge and state of the art products, and is a seasoned veteran in sales and sales management. He also serves as an assistant coach for Lacrosse at Mundelein High School in Mundelein Illinois.
Meet Rev. Francis J. Hoffman
Fr. Rocky, as he is more commonly known as, joins the Sports Faith team after being recently named as Senior Director of Mission, Programming, and Development of Relevant Radio, the Catholic talk radio network. Fr. Rocky began as a special guest on Morning Air and later joined the Morning team as the regularly scheduled guest of the popular Morning Air "Question and Answer segment. In addition, Fr. Rocky is one of three rotating priests who host a new program on Relevant Radio "Go Ask Your Father," which debuted on July 6, 2009. His column is published in "The Catholic Answer" (OSV) and Catholic New World (Chicago).
Previously, Fr. Hoffman was the CHaplain of Northridge Preparatory School in Niles, IL. His background includes a B.A. Northwestern University, M.B.A. Notre Dame University, and J.C.D. Pontifical University of Holy Cross, Rome. Prior to his ordination by Pope John Paul II, he worked in sales for the Inland Steel Company, Chicago and later in tax and audit for Crowe, Chizek and Company, CPA's, South Bend. He is an avid skier (both snow and water), photographer, and an NRP, Cubs, and Bears fan as well as an accomplished Jazz musician.
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