Loy Norrix Mourning Death of Longtime Coach, Teacher Duckett: 'He's All Knight'
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
January 19, 2026
KALAMAZOO — Theophlis Duckett, known to generations of students and alumni as the more familiar “Ted” Duckett, dedicated 57 years of his life as a teacher and coach at Loy Norrix High School.
After his unexpected death Jan. 8, people will have a chance to show their respect and share memories at a community celebration of life, Saturday, Feb. 14, from 11 a.m.-noon (with doors opening at 10:30 a.m.) at the Loy Norrix auditorium.
At age 79, Duckett continued to teach three classes of physical education as well as coach the Knights girls and boys track & field teams.
“There aren’t many educators who have worked as long as he has, especially all those years in the same building,” said Andrew Laboe, Loy Norrix’s athletic director. "He connected with kids very well. He had a generational following: kids, parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents.”
Some memories of Duckett bring a laugh from Laboe, who said he and Duckett had a running joke about his years as a Knight.
“I’m 55 years old and I told him I was negative-2 (years old) when he started working here,” Laboe laughed. “I believe he was a parapro or a locker room aide when he started here.
“In the teachers union seniority list, he is listed as 1969-70 for his first year teaching.”
Laboe said in losing Duckett, the school and community have lost a great resource for his knowledge of the history of the school and the people connected to it.
“He knows everybody,” Laboe said. “He was a consistent person in the lives of the kids he taught every day. Kalamazoo is not small like a lot of small towns around us, but it’s not very big, either.
"Ted knows everybody. You could get help from Ted on everything about children, who are they related to, who they are connected to, who can we contact to help them in any situation. That’s very helpful.”
During his tenure at Loy Norrix, Duckett coached football, basketball and track.
“He’s definitely a good sprinter coach for track,” Laboe said. “He was a fixture at Loy Norrix forever. He’s all Knight.”
Duckett’s coaching tenure included developing several all-state football players. Among those were sons Tico and Todd, who continued their football careers at Michigan State and then the NFL.
Tico Duckett played for Washington while Todd was a first-round selection by Atlanta in 2002, and he also played for Washington, Detroit and Seattle.
Laboe laughs when he looks back on his first meeting with the coach.
“My first year (at Loy Norrix) was 2004,” Laboe said. “Ted came into my office the first day. I said, ‘Hi Mr. Duckett, how are you? I’m Andrew Laboe.’”
He told Laboe he already knew.
“He said, ‘I just want you to know you have one year to get all the information out of this head that you need to run this athletic department because I’m retiring in one year.’”
No matter how much Laboe got out of Duckett’s head that first year, it didn’t matter.
“I’ve been here for 22 years and he was still here. It’s crazy,” Laboe recalled.
“He’s one of a kind. I don’t think it will ever be replicated in my career. There’s not people like that anymore that are that dedicated to one school like Ted Duckett was to Loy Norrix.”
(Photos courtesy of the Duckett family and Loy Norrix High School/Knight Life.)
Vast Experience Shapes Retired MLB-er Gates Into 3-Time Finals-Winning Coach
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
August 1, 2023
If there is anything that Brent Gates knows for sure, it's that there is no single explanation for three MHSAA Finals baseball championships.
For starters, the Grand Rapids Christian coach credits the superior coaching he had as a youngster, especially for helping him make the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Dream Team in 1988.
From there, Gates points to the experience gained as a former Big 10 Baseball Player of the Year, a seven-year major league playing career that saw him rubbing shoulders with such notables as Hall-of-Famer Tony LaRussa and Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly, and then landing at a high school where the critical support he received from players, community and administration was priceless.
Put it all together and that, at least in part, explains Gates becoming the first Grand Rapids-area baseball coach with three state titles on his resume.
The Eagles' 2-1 win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the June 17 Division 2 Final marked Gates' third title as a coach. His Grand Rapids Christian clubs had previously won back-to-back titles in 2012-13.
Gates passed former Grandville Calvin Christian coach Jay Milkamp as the Grand Rapids-area coach with the most state titles. Milkamp won in 1994 (Class C) and 1996 (Class B).
Gates, a member of three Halls of Fame, is quick to deflect the credit for three championships and two other championship game appearances. What he treasures most is being mentioned in the same breath as other legendary west-side coaches such as Jenison's Gary Cook, Ron Engels of Wyoming Park, Hudsonville's Dave Van Nord, East Grand Rapids' Chris LaMange, formerly Rockford and now Ada Forest Hills Eastern's Ian Hearn and Milkamp, most of whom Gates either played against while an all-stater at Grandville or through coaching at Grand Rapids Christian.
"I'm just a small piece of what has transpired in 11 years," he said. "Just to be mentioned with them and their success is an honor. (Three titles) is not an individual thing, but because of many people and what they can do working day in and day out together.
"I've always said the west side doesn't get the recognition it should in baseball. There are some great coaches here with great baseball talent, and I think you see that in the postseason."
If basketball can spawn what is affectionately known as "gym rats," then Gates is surely a classic example of the diamond's version of someone who has lived and breathed baseball his entire life. He was a two-time all-stater at Grandville who went on to a standout career at the University of Minnesota that included a lifetime .387 batting average. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1991 and consensus All-American. Gates played internationally with USA Baseball on the 18U team in 1988 and then the collegiate national team in 1989 and 1990. Over those two seasons on the collegiate team he appeared in 68 games, hitting a combined .363 with 49 runs scored and 54 RBIs.
He was drafted by the Oakland A's in the first round (26th overall) of the 1991 draft and went on to hit .264 in 685 major league games over seven seasons.
Upon his retirement, Gates founded the Frozen Ropes training facility in Grand Rapids, worked as a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays, became the West Michigan Whitecaps' second-ever manager in 2001, coached Byron Center for two years and has compiled a remarkable 298-89 record in two coaching stints at Grand Rapids Christian.
After virtually a lifetime in baseball, Gates said his coaching success can be spread in many directions. He said it began at Grandville, was influenced by such managers as John Anderson at Minnesota and LaRussa and Kelly at the major league level, and with brushing shoulders with many of Grand Rapids' most successful coaches.
The experience led him to a coaching philosophy that includes a priority on building relationships with players, providing a full explanation of his thinking to the players, a quiet but firm coaching of fundamentals, and, above all, communication. If there is anything that Gates does not do, it's relying on the "old-school" coaching method where coaches demand excellence in no uncertain terms.
"I've taken little bits and pieces from a lot of people," said Gates, a member of the Grandville, University of Minnesota and Grand Rapids Halls of Fame. "I want players to figure out who they can be. Whether it's Ken Griffey Jr. as a hitter, Randy Johnson as a pitcher or Terry Steinbach in catching, you don't just take one person and say who can I be? If you want to compete at a high level, you need to be better than anyone you go up against.
"Part of being a good coach, and it doesn't matter if it's a 9U program or high school, is about making players understand and be able to apply what they learn. Baseball is a hard game, one of failure where if you succeed three times out of 10, you're a star. You have to get players to understand failure."
Gates said all three Grand Rapids Christian champions were marked by different strong suits. The 2012 club, for example, breezed its way to a 36-5 record, while the 2013 club finished the regular season just 12-15 but put together a torrid seven-game winning streak during the tournament. This year's team was marked by a deep pitching staff and what Gates describes as a "group of gamers."
"All of them were different, but I firmly believe that pitching and defense win championships," Gates said. "But you also have to get hot at the right time."
It's not unusual for major leaguers to completely hang up the spikes once their playing days are over. They're tired of the pressure, the frustration of fading talent and losing the battle with Father Time, and the constant travel away from family. Gates faced all that and still found himself enthralled with the idea of coaching.
"I've loved the game since I was like 4 years old. There's nothing better than smelling pine tar or the look of manicured grass. The smells and sounds of baseball, that's what I love," he said.
One of his coaching goals is to impart the love of the game to his players. And it seems the message is getting across.
"It's awesome playing for him," said first baseman/pitcher Ty Uchman, who graduated this spring. "He gets us to focus on the little things. If there is something on our minds, we know we can go to him. He's an open book. I know he'll always talk to us, and that builds trust and a bond."
Another recent grad, infielder Kyle Remington, will follow Gates' footsteps to the University of Minnesota and said one particular trait sticks out to him about his coach.
"He's very patient," Remington said. "There are all levels of players in high school, and he treats them all the same. Doesn't matter if they're struggling; he never raises his voice. He's a very comfortable and relatable coach to play for.
"He knows baseball is a game of failure so if you don't understand a drill or an adjustment to have to make, he'll talk to you in a patient way."
Gates said he suspected even when he was a major leaguer that coaching was likely in his future.
"I did, and it was an easy decision. God has a plan, and I had a feeling I would stay in the game," he said. "Baseball has given me everything. I love the game, and I know I've been blessed. I want to take what I've learned and pass it along. That's always been a part of me."
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PHOTOS (Top) Brent Gates appears on the USA Baseball collegiate national team in 1989 and makes a pitching change during this spring’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Gates makes a tag at second base while playing for the national team. (Below) Gates presents the championship trophy this season to his Grand Rapids Christian players. (National team photos courtesy of USA Baseball.)