Vande Merkt bled Blue and White

The southeast corner of Riverside-Brookfield High School’s main gym was Bill Vande Merkt’s favorite spot.

It was close to his office, and no matter what was going on during the day or in the evening, he was there, leaning against the wall, watching with rapt attention.

It’s one of Tracy Sloan’s enduring memories of her father, who enjoyed a 34-year career at the school as a teacher, coach and athletic director. He retired in 1990. Sloan, a 1989 graduate, played volleyball and basketball in the gym, along with softball.

“He was such a presence over there,” Sloan said of her father, who died Nov. 17 at age 91 in Burr Ridge. “We would be playing a game and he would always be over. Other coaches and teachers would come in, and he would be sitting there. There was a school program going on in the middle of the day, he was there.”

For Vande Merkt, it was great to be a Bulldog.

He grew up in Oak Park and attended Oak Park and River Forest High School, before moving on to Western Illinois University, where he played quarterback and set school records for total offense and passing yards in a single season. He was inducted into the Western Illinois hall of fame in 1984. He also earned a master’s degree in education from Northern Illinois.

But perhaps his greatest joy was his three-plus decades at RB, and the people he impacted, like Otto Zeman.

Zeman entered the high school in 1961 and had Vande Merkt for physical education class at the bleary hour of 8 a.m. He went on to play football for Vande Merkt in 1963 and 1964; after graduating from college, he returned as an assistant coach. 

Oh, the memories. There was one game in the fall of 1970 where Riverside-Brookfield played a stout Hinsdale team. Down 7-0, the Bulldogs scored, and then Vande Merkt elected to go for it instead of kicking the extra point.

“Nobody knew whether we got it or not, but they called it a two-point conversion,” Zeman recalled via phone conversation from his winter home in Naples, Florida.

Game over. But the legend was just beginning.

“Amazingly in 1970, he and I were the only two coaches on the varsity,” Zeman said. The one thing, it made you learn how to coach everything. He taught me everything I knew about coaching.

“He was emotional with the kids, and that was one of his strengths.”

Here’s another story that illustrates Vande Merkt’s character: Larry Rocco interviewed for a football coaching position in the early 1980s. By that time, Zeman was the head football coach and may, or may not, have wanted to hire Rocco.

Vande Merkt overruled him, Rocco recalled, adding that he spent a year coaching the sophomore football team before bumping up to varsity, along with 15 years as softball coach … where Zeman was his assistant. They became great friends.

Vande Merkt and Rocco were both Chicago Cubs fans, and last summer the pair would be on the phone almost every day, lamenting the fortunes of the northsiders.

“He’s going to be missed,” Rocco said. “Just a wonderful guy. I would never have been at RB if he hadn’t told Otto to hire me.”

Vande Merkt’s namesake is the Bill Vande Merkt Thanksgiving Classic boys basketball tournament, which concluded Saturday with the Bulldogs dropping a 63-59 heartbreaker to Thornwood in the title game.

His family, including Sloan, was there for a moment of silence and highlights of Vande Merkt’s career pre-game, and then to hand out the championship trophy post-game. Normally, Vande Merkt came to the games to present the winning team with their trophy.

The tournament began in 2003 and was the brainchild of former boys’ basketball coach Tom McCloskey, Rocco and Zeman.

“He was a great man,” said McCloskey, who preceded current coach Mike Reingruber. “He gave me my first head coaching job. The thing about Vandy that stood out, everybody loved to go into his office, close the door and talk to him. He had good stories and had good advice. I owe him a lot.”

Reingruber, who grew up Brookfield, has fond memories of Vande Merkt’s presence at the tournament.

“When he would come to all the Vande Merkt Thanksgiving Classics, he would sit in the stands or off to the sides,” Reingruber said. “He took a lot of pride in being able to give those championship trophies to the teams, no matter what team it was.”

Of course, in a long career at one school, there are bound to be tough times, too. Vande Merkt’s late son, Scott, was his quarterback in the late 1970s, and when he passed, Vande Merkt coached his grandson, Billy, in travel basketball.

“Vandy was coaching his team and Billy was in seventh or eighth grade when I saw him play,” Reingruber said. “He was so into coaching this group of seventh and eighth graders, he was leaving it all on the floor, putting his heart and soul into it.”

Heart and soul. That may be the finest thing Bill Vande Merkt left behind for RB.

Vande Merkt is survived by his wife, Norma; his children: Robin Adamchik (Bill) and Tracy Sloan (Jim); his nine grandchildren: William (Billy) Vande Merkt (Stephanie), Alexandra (Alleigh) Vande Merkt, Jack Vande Merkt, Shelby Adamchik, Will Adamchik, McKenna Sloan, T.J. Sloan, Charlie Sloan, and Braeden Sloan; and his great granddaughter: Ava Lauren Vande Merkt.

He is preceded in death by his son, Scott William Vande Merkt (Jayne) and his siblings, Albert (Mary Ann), Joan Leakakos (Jim) and Richard (Betty).

In honor of Vande Merkt’s wishes, there will be no public services. The family is planning a public celebration of his life to be held in 2026 with more information forthcoming.