BACK HOME AGAIN

Share this article with a friend.

March 10, 2021

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

Twin brothers come back to their alma mater to coach basketball.

Andy and Matt Durkin have been each other's shadow for a long time — not unusual for twin siblings. But the Durkins have taken it to a whole new level. They attended St. Joseph Catholic School in Lake Orion for grade school, spent four years together at Notre Dame Prep and then both graduated from the University of Dayton. So you couldn't blame them if they finally wanted to head their separate ways.

But not for these two, part of a close family that includes five other NDP alums.

Andy and Matt now both coach the Irish boys freshman basketball team, with Andy drawing the long (or short?) straw and assuming the head coach position.

"I always wanted to come back to NDP and contribute in some way, whether it be coaching or teaching," said Andy, who also currently teaches math at Holy Family Regional School in Rochester. "I was fortunate enough to play football for Coach Fox and basketball for Coach Robinson, so when an opening for coaching at NDP became available, it just seemed like the perfect thing to do."

For Matt, it was a no-brainer. The obvious thing once again was to join his brother. 

"We both coached freshmen basketball at Bellbrook High School, a public school in Bellbrook, Ohio, which is just outside of Dayton," said Matt, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from UD. "That was in our junior and senior years of college while I was finishing up playing football for the Flyers. As far as coming back to NDP to coach, this is my first stint here coaching basketball, although I was an assistant on the JV football team with another brother, Dan." 

He said it always was in the back of his mind to come back and coach at ND Prep. 

"Actually, I was planning to help Coach Robinson out at the varsity level last season, but the pandemic changed those plans," he said. "But to be honest, I'm glad it worked out this way. The freshmen players are awesome to coach. I also wanted to do this because NDP's basketball and football programs gave me so much as a student-athlete — from the awesome memories to important life skills. I just wanted to give that back to the school and to these current student-athletes."

Maureen Radulski, assistant athletic director at Notre Dame, said the school is glad the two brothers are coaching together for the Irish.

"The Durkin boys exemplified our schools mission when they attended Notre Dame as student-athletes and now they get to teach and model this to our young boys," Radulski said. "Not only are they proficient in the Xs and Os of basketball, they totally get the character factor that goes into coaching, too. They truly are assets to our program and we hope they consider coaching here for the long term."

Coming home

Matt said attending NDP meant the world to him as a student and as a person. 

"It was like a family to me; I went to school there, played sports there. That's really the same sense I get now from NDPMA. It's like home," he said. 

Andy added that while the academics at NDP were at times challenging, he can say that the lessons he learned there stayed with him through college and beyond. 

"It was an environment that challenged me to do my very best as well as to learn from my mistakes," he said. "I am able to utilize the tools provided to me by NDP, to be resourceful and and to allow others at this great school to guide me in the right direction. I always was grateful for the opportunity to attend Catholic school my whole life and then eventually go on to become a teacher at a Catholic school. And importantly, I'm very proud to say I attended NDP. I made lifelong friendships during high school and continue to meet more new friends as a coach here."

Best version of himself

Matt Durkin said it was cool to see how excited and welcoming everyone at the school was when they took the coaching jobs. 

"I think that speaks to the teachers, staff and other coaches at NDP, but further, there are students who also were excited for us to be back, I think mainly because we are young with new and different ideas.

"As a student, I had the best time of my life in high school," he said. "Sometimes you hear horror stories about others and their high school experiences. And I feel incredibly sorry for them. But the experiences I had, from athletics to Irish Week, even to passing time in between classes, I valued those exchanges so much. As a person, no doubt, Notre Dame Prep helped raise me to be the best version of myself and I deeply appreciate that." 
 

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.

About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.