Rob Hamers Memorial Softball Fund

Rob Hamers, the father of Jill Gadwood ‘03 & Christie Turner ’06, served as a youth athletic coach for his girls as they were growing up and once in high school, he joined the MDHS Softball Staff as the JV Coach.  Coach Hamers led the way for the Monarchs for 13 years.  Rob passed away suddenly on January 9, 2020.  His loss was felt throughout the Mater Dei Softball Community as well as the wastewater field where he was a highly respected engineer in Costa Mesa since the early ‘80s.  After his passing, Jill and Christie knew immediately they wanted to do something in his honor to support the Mater Dei Softball Program he loved so much.  As the long time JV Coach, Rob worked with hundreds of Monarchs.  His passion for coaching went beyond working to make the girls better players everyday on the diamond; Rob worked daily to help them become the best young ladies the could be as well.  He encouraged the girls to work just as hard in the classroom as they did on the field and to use the lessons learned as teammates in everyday life.  Hard work, teamwork, leadership and dedication were expected of his players and he knew those skills would serve them well their entire lives.  Always cheering their accomplishments on the field, Rob was equally, if not more proud of his players’ accomplishments in the classroom, in college and in their careers and adult lives.   Knowing their dad’s love of MDHS Softball, his daughters decided to create the Rob Hamers Memorial Softball Fund.  Each spring the family will select one or more student-athletes from the Mater Dei JV softball team who maintains at least a 3.5 GPA and has qualified for need-based financial aid through the Mater Dei Business Office.  Through the fund, two recipients received the inaugural awards for fall of 2020.