Students packed the gym to see the Revere Minutemen men’s basketball team. As they watched the game, they recognized one familiar face on the sideline. As players over the years have come and gone, their leader has remained for longer than any of them have been alive.
Dean Rahas has made an impact on Revere students for 23 years as a teacher and coach.
Rahas has compiled an impressive resume as a coach including Suburban League Coach of the Year (2010, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023) and Summit County Coach of the Year (2011, 2018, 2019).
Rahas got into teaching and coaching because he enjoys being around the kids.
“I love coming to work every day. There’s not a lot of people that can say that… I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Rahas said.
Despite the love he has for his work, Rahas said there have been challenges along the way. He said the start was particularly difficult.
“When I took over it was not a good program. They were about 3-39 over the previous 3 years, not only losing but losing badly… We had some down years. It took some time to get the program up to where it is,” Rahas said.
Rahas initially approached teaching and coaching the same, and he said he has continued this through his career.
“It’s really a lot of the same, just instructing. There’s a lot of similarities,” Rahas said.
It is very rare to have a coach stay in one place for so long due to a number of reasons, but Rahas’s success on the court and connection to the school has kept him around for over 2 decades.
“I love where I’m at. I’ve had opportunities to go to other schools, but I could never leave. I have such an attachment here… I always felt I had a responsibility to be here. I just love it here,” Rahas said.
Rahas’ career has been seen by his brother Pete Rahas, who is also a teacher and a coach on the football team. Pete said his success has been longstanding and evident.
“His stability and standards have spread all the way through the community,” Pete said.
Having a very similar career, Pete said he and Rahas have helped each other instill their values into the young men they coach.
“We always grew up with the same principles, one big one was ‘never disrespect the family with your actions’… we emphasize the same things,” Pete said.
Pete said the success Rahas has achieved as a head coach is a standard for everyone in the building.
“We compete constantly. He’s had a certain level of stability in basketball that I hope Coach Nickol can bring to football,” Pete said.
Pete said it’s a healthy competition and they bring each other up.
He also said they stay connected with their students and hope to bring the best out of their student-athletes.
“We constantly talk about players… and pushing them to kids that are impressive for the entire Revere district. We all support the same thing and we kind of expect that from all the other coaches here,” Pete said.
One of those players is Junior Uriah Pulliam, who said Rahas has had a big impact on him over the years.
“He brings you off to the side and talks to you about your interests. He’s always been supportive of me,” Pulliam said.
Pulliam said Rahas keeps him positive and pushes through the course of the season and makes him better.
“He doesn’t let you get down on yourself. He knows your already hard on yourself and he doesn’t want to be another voice in your head,” Pulliam said.
A good coach can cater to his individual players’ personalities and help them maximize their potential, which Pulliam has seen in Rahas.
“He knows some guys are quieter so he will get on them behind the scenes. Then he knows there is some guys he can get on in front of everyone,” Pulliam said.
As a highschool student with dreams of playing college basketball, Pulliam has drawn to Rahas and learned from him.
“He’s been one of the biggest helps… he knows what it takes,” Pulliam said.
Pulliam is just one of the hundreds of students who Dean Rahas has impacted during his time at Revere. He will continue as a standard to all athletics in the Revere district.
