Judson High School football coach Jim Rackley, who guided the Rockets to the Class 5A Division I state title in 2002 and coached with the zeal of a preacher at a tent revival, is calling it a career.
Rackley, who turns 64 on Friday,?announced his retirement, effective Jan. 31, on?Tuesday.
Rackley's passion for coaching never waned during a career that spanned 42 seasons, but the physical toll the job has taken on his health and a desire to spend more time with his family finally pushed him toward retirement, he said.
Rackley had quintuple-bypass heart surgery in 2008 and has been slowed by a bad hip in recent years.
?Today is a day of mixed emotions for me," Rackley said. "I?m excited about the future, but I?m going to miss the camaraderie of the coaches and just being around my players. It?s tough to leave them because I love them so much."
Rackley succeeded D.W. Rutledge as head coach in 2001 and went 101-37 in 11 seasons, leading the Rockets to a state title in his second season and two other appearances in the state finals. Judson lost to Euless Trinity both times, 28-14 in 2005 and 13-10 in 2007.
Speculation started almost immediately after Rackley's retirement announcement that Judson graduate Mike Jinks, who led Steele to the 5A Division II state championship in 2010 and the title game this season, will be the Rockets' next coach.
Jinks, 39, declined to comment on the job opening when reached Tuesday night. Jinks is 62-17 in six varsity seasons at Steele.
"This is a time to talk about Coach Rackley and all the great things he did at Judson," said Jinks, a 1990 Judson graduate. "He embodied all the great things about that community. These next few days should be about him, not who is going to be the next coach."
The Judson Independent School District said Tuesday it would start a search for Judson's next head coach immediately.
Defensive coordinator Mark Soto, 39, has been named the Rockets' interim head coach. Soto, a 1991 Judson graduate, and Jinks are former teammates and good friends.
Jinks praises Rackley's consistency
Rackley coached Jinks for one season as quarterbacks coach in 1987, when Jinks was a sophomore starter on the varsity, before getting hired as head coach at Southwest in 1988. Rackley and Jinks were also on Rutledge's staff?in 1997,?with Jinks coaching the Rockets' quarterbacks and Rackley coaching?the running backs.
"Having played under Coach Rackley?and coached with him, I can say I have tremendous admiration and respect for him," Jinks said. "The thing about Coach Rackley that I'll never forget is that he was consistent. He just had a passion for working with kids and coaching.
"He believed that there's something bigger than an individual's talent. It's what lies within that makes you who are you. I never understood that when I was a kid, but I have carried that as an adult."
Rackley had two different stints totaling 27 seasons as a coach at Judson, starting as an assistant in 1980 when he was hired? by new head coach Frank Arnold. The Rockets won their first?state championship three years later under Arnold.?
Rackley, whose animated, high-energy coaching style contrasted sharply with his soft-spoken nature off the field,?was the last member of?Arnold's original staff?still coaching at Judson. ??
Rackley said he had been mulling retirement since the Rockets? 25-24 loss to Madison in the first round of the 2011 playoffs. Judson finished the season 8-3.
?My wife (Gerry) and I kind of evaluate everything during the holidays,? Rackley said. ?We had been talking about it and thought we?d make a decision then. It?s the right decision. It?s time. I enjoy what I?m doing, but it?s good that you can leave something when you?re still enjoying it."
Rackley faced a health crisis in April 2008 when he had the quintuple-bypass heart surgery after experiencing severe chest pains, but he was back at work within a month and never missed a game.
Rackley also was head coach at Antonian, Southwest
Soto has been on the Rockets' staff since 2005. He was a linebacker on the Judson varsity for three seasons (1988-90).
"What I've learned from Coach Rackley the last five or six years is to be very meticulous with your work, to dot the I's and cross the T's, all the time," Soto said. "You have to be organized and keep things simple for your players so they can react quickly on the field.
"Another thing I've learned from him is to make sure you're living for the Lord and doing the right things.?As a coach, you're here?to teach kids how to be good men."?
Rackley retires with a 137-71-1 career record. He was also a head coach at Antonian for two seasons (1976-77) and at Southwest for five (1988-92).
After returning to Judson in 1993, Rackley was the Rockets? assistant head coach until getting promoted when Rutledge resigned in March 2001 to take a position with the Texas High School Coaches Association.
Rackley, who lives in the community of Zuehl, between San Antonio and Seguin, plans to become a full-time rancher and spend more time with his family. He and Gerry, who have been married 38 years, have three children and eight grandchildren.
"I think the worst thing I could do would be to sit on an easy chair and prop my feet up," Rackley said. "I'm going to set the alarm and get up early, and try to get after each day like I did when I was coaching."?
More than anything, Rackley relished the challenge of putting together?a new team each season.?
?The favorite part of my job was practice,? Rackley said. ?It all starts in the offseason. You go through boot camp and then spring training. You work so many hours before you get to Friday night. That?s when you get your message across. That?s when the building of character takes place. The games reveal that but it starts in practice.?
Coaching career started?in Mathis
Rackley broke the news of his retirement to his staff Tuesday morning and told his players shortly before noon.
?I tried my best not to cry, but it was tough,? Rackley said. ?I?ve always been proud of our kids. I think they?ve always done a good job of representing what we?re trying to do in a class way. We were sick and disappointed to lose to Madison this season, but our kids know there?s a right way to lose. There was nobody throwing any tantrums.
?There have been some great stories about our kids through the years, and the best ones are the ones when they come back and show you a picture of their family. Those are things that will last. It makes you feel that you?re making a difference for the right reason.?
Always the mentor, Rackley had one more message for his players Tuesday.
?I told them they have a responsibility to uphold the things that we?re trying to do at Judson,? Rackley said. ?Not just the winning, but for doing the right thing in life and being a responsible father and husband. I told them, ?You have a responsibility to go out in the community and be a productive citizen.??
Rackley was born in Corpus Christi, but was raised in Mathis, where he graduated from high school in 1966. He started his career with a three-year stint at Mathis in 1970 and moved to Central Catholic in 1973, where he worked under Harold Keller, his high school coach at Mathis, for three seasons.
After coaching at Antonian, Rackley was an assistant at Clemens for two seasons before joining Arnold?s staff at Judson in 1980.
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