The competitive side of David Mercer wasn't enough to convince him that it wasn't time to give up the Lincoln Northeast boys basketball coaching job after eight seasons.
Mercer announced his resignation Thursday on the heels of an 0-24 season. He guided the Rockets to three straight Class A state basketball appearances from 2014-16 and just missed a fourth consecutive berth in 2017 when they lost in the district finals to Kearney in overtime. Northeast reached the state semifinals in 2015.
Northeast, however, struggled this past winter with perhaps the youngest team in the state, relying primarily on sophomores who entered the season with no varsity experience. The Rockets returned just one letterwinner from 2017 and saw sophomore all-stater Malcolm Whitlow transfer to Carrollwood Day School, a prep school in Tampa, Florida, during the offseason.
"One of the hardest parts of this decision was knowing the success this group is going to have the next two or three years and how much fun it would be to be a part of it," said Mercer, who will continue to teach business at Northeast. "Our (family) schedule with our kids (two sons, ages 8 and 4) is changing and they're getting more active. It was a tough decision, but it was time to move on and reset my priorities."
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Mercer, a third-generation Rocket, is a member of the Northeast Athletic Hall of Fame as an athlete, playing on three straight Class A state title teams before graduating in 1998. He was the Rockets' boys JV coach for six years before moving up as head coach when Steve Bartek slid over to lead the Northeast girls basketball program in 2010.
Both his grandfather, Rex Mercer Sr., and father, Rex Mercer Jr., are also in the Northeast’s Hall of Fame. His grandfather was in the first graduating class at Northeast. His wife, Jenny, and all of his siblings also are Northeast graduates.
"They say, 'Once a Rocket, always a Rocket,''' David Mercer said. "I've enjoyed teaching and coaching at Northeast, and I intend to be there cheering these guys on."