‘I can’t think of a better place to end my career’: Altmix returns to Quincy Notre Dame for one last ride

QUINCY — Greg Altmix plans on finishing his coaching career at Quincy Notre Dame.

“I plan on being here until I can’t do it anymore,” Altmix said.

At 57 years old, the newest QND boys basketball coach has been roaming the sidelines for more than half his life. Even though he has embraced the salt-and-pepper look, he still has that same passion he had when he began coaching in his 20s.

“No matter how many gray hairs I have, I’m excited that love for the game is still there,” Altmix said after he was introduced Tuesday at a press conference in the QND library as the Raiders’ next head coach.

Altmix and QND athletic director Bill Connell have stayed in touch since they met in 1996 when Altmix became the Raiders’ head sophomore coach on Scott Douglas’ staff. Fast forward nearly 30 years, and Connell’s trust in Altmix has only grown.

“If I had to put together a short list of three people that in my eyes were possibilities, (Altmix) certainly would have been at the top of that list,” Connell said.

Altmix also has decades worth of experience as a teacher. Altmix primarily has taught English at Quincy Junior High, Quincy High School and Highland High School since 1989.  Connell, who was also the head football coach at QND for 26 years, said coaching and teaching go hand-in-hand.

“Teachers and coaches are essentially the same thing,” Connell said. “A teacher teaches in a classroom, a coach coaches on a field or on a court. Education is in his blood. Teachers work with these young people all day long, and then they come to the field and we teach them about Xs and Os, but we also teach them about life. I think a big part of Greg Altmix is going to be educating people about life.”

Altmix made clear his intentions of fostering not only basketball success but academic success as well.

“To me, it’s about the young men, and whatever program I am a part of, they need to know I’m invested in them not only as a player but as an individual,” Altmix said. “I want them to succeed on the basketball court, but more so I want them to succeed in the classroom.”  .

“I want the guys to have good memories and enjoy their playing days here. Results will come from the energy and enthusiasm in what we’re trying to do.”

Wherever this final journey takes him, Altmix is more than content with where the previous expeditions have led him.

“I can’t think of a better place to end my career,” Altmix said.