Bobby Hoffman was a man who did what he loved and loved what he did. Everywhere he went; everyone who met Bobby was affected whether they wanted to be or not. His personality was too big and too great to miss. I am one of the many people who Bobby touched in a short amount of time.
The first time I met Bobby was right before a basketball game at the end of my sophomore season. He was in the locker room talking to Coach Dugan, and all of us figured that he was just another alumnus who thought it would be cool to visit the locker room one last time. Little did we know, he would become a much more permanent part of JHS basketball.
The following summer he started showing up to our open gyms and coming to some of our summer games. He sat on the bench with us and even gave some advice. He was really becoming a part of the team. During this time, I tried to add him on Facebook.
Basketball season finally got under way, and Bobby was a part of the family now. He was joking around and coaching and motivating us.
Bobby had the same effect on and was a role model to every guy on the team; however, he had a different individual effect on each of us.
To me, Bobby was more than just another coach. He continually pushed me to be a better basketball player and a better person. As I will freely admit, I am not the greatest basketball player on the JHS team and am better suited for other roles on the team.
That never stopped Bobby from staying after to help me with a shot or help me work on my defense. He urged me to keep practicing and getting better even though I was not getting any play time.
Off the court, Bobby always said hello with a smile when he saw me and struck up a conversation if there was time. He treated me like an equal and a friend. All of this came with me still trying to add Bobby Hoffman on Facebook.
At a shootout at IC, one of our players fresh out of the game used the N-word in an extremely derogatory way toward a player from the other team. Bobby quickly stopped our player and explained that there was never any reason for that kind of language. That’s how Bobby was, and it never changed according to who was around him.
When the basketball team found out that Bobby had passed away, we were all in shock: we lost a coach, a friend, a fan, and a role model. It is hard to lose a member of your family, whatever that family may be. We know that Bobby will be cheering for us in the season to come and forever after that. This next season is for Bobby and he will always be in our hearts. BH24.