Coach Ben Loeb retiring from boys tennis after nearly three-decade dynasty at Rock Bridge

Park Hill boys tennis coach Rustin Reys was coaching in the 2022 state tournament when he noticed a master of his trade.

His player missed an off-speed backhand volley. Across the way, Reys observed his counterpart, longtime Rock Bridge head coach Ben Loeb, writing something down.

A few games later, Reys' player made a similar error. Loeb pointed to the Bruins player and gave an emphatic fist pump.

"Yup," Reys recalled. "I’m being outcoached."

Reys knows that coaching style well.

He played under Loeb, the winningest high school tennis coach in state history, in the early 2000s at the beginning of Loeb's dynasty at Rock Bridge.

This spring was the last season of Loeb's illustrious career coaching boys tennis. Loeb is retiring from the Rock Bridge boys program after 27 seasons, 19 consecutive Final Four appearances from 2002-2021 and eight state championships, he told the Tribune.

Loeb's decision comes with mixed feelings. It's not easy for him to step away from a sport he loves and has built such a strong foundation in. But it's a decision he isn't backing down from, as his plans involve spending winters and springs in Arizona with his wife now that his son, Ben, has graduated from Rock Bridge.

Over his three-decade-plus coaching career in boys tennis, Loeb prioritized being a leader as opposed to a dictator, he said.

"I'm not an authoritative type coach," Loeb said. "There are times when I feel like a coach has to be that way, but I'd rather take the approach of collaborative, but I'm the leader. So in the end, I need to make the final decision and I need for you to go with it."

Loeb's career coaching boys tennis began at Hickman in the spring of 1989 when he was offered a chance. Ray Odor was stepping away from coaching tennis due to health reasons at Hickman, and the Kewpies needed an interim coach.

A temporary solution became a permanent fix. Loeb coached at Hickman until 1994, helping win the Kewpies' only state title in 1994 and his first of nine total boys titles.

More: 'It's a we thing': Rock Bridge tennis coach Ben Loeb breaks Missouri dual wins record

His start coaching high school wasn't a given. Loeb was coming from coaching women's tennis at the University of Missouri and was deciding if he should stay at the college level.

Loeb took a teaching job at Rock Bridge in the spring of 1988 teaching a business education course and waited for a tennis coach opening.

"I had to decide pretty early whether I wanted to hold out and look for something in the college level or take this and try and make something of it at the high school level," Loeb said. "There was no (open) tennis coaching job to go with it at either school, Rock Bridge or Hickman."

That year, Loeb didn't have time to coach tennis even if he wanted to.

"Sometimes I'd be the only one in the school and I'd have to re-arm the system before leaving," Loeb said. "It was kind of an eerie feeling. It's so quiet in there, and it's night and all that, but I just had a lot of work to do to get ready for classes the next week."

The spring of 1989, however, is when Odor stepped down. Loeb seized his opportunity.

That was just the start of a coaching career that's been guided by advice and words of wisdom from coaches of all kinds of sports and levels of competition.

From former Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel, to former athletic directors Loeb reported to and ADs he reports to now, Loeb's philosophy is one that evolved with the times as opposed to trying to force time to abide by his principles, he said.

One of his most memorable lessons came from Colorado head football coach Bill McCartney.

McCartney detailed how there were three aspects to being a coach. There are players who will appreciate what you do for them. There are also players who appreciate it in a few years after they've gone from the team.

"It's the last part," Loeb said. "Some people will never know or never appreciate what you try to do for them. As the coach, you need to learn to be OK with that. And that shows a real inner strength."

That inner strength is guided by some of the most difficult challenges.

Perhaps Loeb's most impactful moment of his life came in 2005 as his tenure at Rock Bridge began to take off. Loeb's father was in his final days battling leukemia as Rock Bridge was playing for a state title.

Among 20 total boys Final Four appearances under Loeb, the Bruins finished fourth in 2005. The finality of life overshadowed the finality of any sports season in that moment for him. Loeb told his father about the state finish, and his father acknowledged him. That moment told Loeb his father was proud of him and his accomplishments.

His father passed away the next day.

That's when Loeb began to understand it's not about the wins and losses, or the title glory. Coaching was about enriching the lives of others with a journey that creates memories that outlive decades.

Previously: How Rock Bridge tennis seniors are prepped for one final postseason

His former players have gotten to live that experience.

"The effect he had on his players far outweighs any amount of wins," former player Kamran Farid said. "I am thankful to have been a part of those accomplishments, and I am more thankful for the team experience he gave to all of us."

"Coach has been great in conducting camps and clinics from a young age to get my brother and I into the community of tennis, which has carried through high school tennis," current player Akhil Elangovan said. "I got to know a lot of people through it."

"He taught me to believe there is always a way to win," Reys said. "To play for the love of competing. He would work on our mental game and give us little quotes on slips of paper. I still carry one."

That's what made Loeb's career special and will continue to make his career special as he still plans to coach the Rock Bridge girls in the fall. Loeb owns 10 state titles coaching the Bruins girls. From fall 2015 to spring 2019, the Rock Bridge boys and girls combined to win a state-record eight straight team state championships.

Retiring from boys tennis behind was not a decision Loeb made lightly.

But it's one that reverberates around the state.

That's due to the success Loeb created and the foundation he planted in mid-Missouri, taking on the best that Kansas City and St. Louis have to offer in a fashion that will be hard-pressed to ever be replicated at such a high level in high school tennis.

"The success that we've had over an extended period of time, for a public school in central Missouri in Class 3 tennis, I don't think you'll ever see it again anywhere in Missouri with a public school," Loeb said. "I think it's a real tribute to the players on the team that have made this a priority and invested in the journeys that we've gone on together."

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 573-815-1857.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Rock Bridge tennis coach Ben Loeb retiring after 27 seasons