Canon-McMillan basketball coach Rick Bell retires
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Big Macs head coach Rick Bell yells instructions to his players during a WPIAL Class 6A first-round basketball playoff against Seneca Valley at West Allegheny High School in the 2017-18 season.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
In this file photo, Canon-McMillan High School boys basketball coach Rick Bell celebrates after a victory.
When Rick Bell took the Canon-McMillan High School boys basketball coaching job, he was told it was one of the worst jobs around.
That can no longer be said.
After spending 31 years as a basketball coach at Peters Township and Canon-McMillan high schools, Bell announced his retirement to his team Tuesday morning.
Bell, 54, said his main reason for stepping away is to watch his son play basketball at Geneva. R.J. Bell, who played for his dad at Canon-McMillan, has been voted as a team captain for next season, his junior year.
“It’s bittersweet,” Bell said. “It’s not easy. It’s been hard. I’m crazy enough that I think I can do everything. Heck, I thought we’d beat Kennedy Catholic and Mt. Lebanon, if we got another shot, this year. But one of the things I vowed to my family and Canon-Mac is that if I could do both, then I would do both. I’m not going to cheat him or the people here.”
Bell is the second longtime boys basketball coach in the area to retire from the coaching ranks since last season. Carmichaels’ Don Williams left after 44 years with the Mikes.
Bell, who spent his first 13 years at Peters Township and made 11 straight trips to the postseason, coached the Big Macs for the last 18 years. He led Canon-McMillan to the WPIAL playoffs six times. He guided Canon-McMillan to the most wins (21) in the 2017-18 season. In the past five years, the Big Macs had a 74-45 record and qualified for the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs three times. They advanced to the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in school history last season.
“(Our coaching staff) is very proud of what we accomplished here,” Bell said. “It was a tough task and a tough road to hoe. When I got the job 18 years ago, I was told it was one of the worst basketball jobs around. It’s not that anymore.”
Bell finished his career with a 428-316 record.
“Rick runs one of the best programs, from top to bottom, that I have been around,” Canon-McMillan athletic director Frank Vulcano said in a press release. “In my five years at Canon-McMillan, Rick has taken this program to heights that have have never been seen in school history. He has been a great mentor to all of his assistants and great role model to his players through the years.”
Bell met with his team during the first class period Tuesday to announce his decision.
“There is an old saying, ‘They won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,'” Bell referenced. “It was validated this morning. I didn’t want them to read it on social media. I wanted to look them in the eye, and them look me in the eye, and tell them.”
With R.J. Bell having two more years at Geneva, Rick Bell said he would not rule out a return to coaching, but his plans are to stay away from the sidelines.
“I’m not 25 anymore,” Bell joked. “The next two years I’m going to watch my son play. I don’t believe I can recreate what we have with our coaching staff. I’m just going to enjoy the heck out of watching my son these next two years.”
Bell said he’s been blessed to work with the athletic directors he’s had, including Joe Maize at Peters Township and Guy Montecalvo and Vulcano at Canon-McMillan.
“I’ve been very blessed, extremely blessed,” Bell said. “They’ve all been extremely professional and supportive. They’ve provided every resource we’ve needed to be successful. All I’ve wanted to do was make a positive difference. That’s always been my little secretive motto or creed to myself. Just to try and make a positive difference in people’s lives. When we meet our maker, it’s not going to be about how many championships you’ve won.”