Mission accomplished for these brothers

When they first met, on a basketball court at Northwest Middle School, Rob Flowers and Rick Perez did not click. Anything but.

“I wanted to fight him,” Flowers said.

That feeling didn’t last long. They became friends and, along with Rob’s younger brother Matt, soon became an inseparable trio. They spent their summers playing video games in the Flowers’ basement or pickup basketball games at Stoudt’s Ferry Bridge Playground; eventually they played football and basketball together for Muhlenberg.

“(Rick) lived right around the corner from us, and we hung out every day,” said Matt. “(Ever since) that’s been what we know.”

They formed a bond around sports and family that has grown only tighter over the years. More than 25 after they first met they continue to spend their summer days at a Muhlenberg playground, doing what they do best: Leading young people and sharing their love.

“We love kids,” said Rob, 40, the head football coach at Daniel Boone, “and they see us being Dad, they see us being Coach, they see us being role models.”

When the coronavirus hit hard in March 2020 and many schools went to virtual learning the three fathers — Rick has three children, Rob and Matt each have two — were determined not to let their kids sit around the house.

Each day they brought them to Jim Dietrich Park, near their Muhlenberg Township homes, to run and jump and maintain their fitness.

“We were not letting our kids sit around,” Rob said. “They would do school in the morning, then we scheduled time for them to work out. Then, we just started grabbing other neighborhood kids.”

“Kristin Boyd (whom Rick worked with at Reading High) called (and said): ‘Can I bring my kids over?’ ” Rick said. “Then a couple friends called. Before you knew it, there’s 35 kids here.”

That’s how 3BrothersOnAMission was born.

They opened their day camp to the public last year and have been running it this year since June 13. They hold daily sessions, from 11:30-1:30, Monday through Thursday. They charge $18 per day, or $65 for the week. The camp will remain open until July 7.

They teach the kids, who range from ages 6 to about 15, the importance of physical fitness and run them through drills. The camp’s about way more than that, though.

“Our mission is to utilize physical fitness as the key to motivating, empowering, and building relationships with our youth,” according to the website. “We thrive on building relationships and providing an unconditional support system to help families throughout their journey with their children.”

They bring in guest speakers each week — one week it was an artist; Wednesday it was a yoga instructor — and spend time on creative exercises, such as writing poems or creating stories, or on public speaking.

The three instructors — each of whom coaches at the high school level and has a background in education — engage with the kids to instill self-confidence and self-awareness.

“It’s all about positive affirmation,” said Rick, 40, the head basketball coach at Reading High and the Regional Director of River Rock Academy. “It’s a feel-good type of atmosphere.”

They teach the kids to engage with each other and with adults — something that’s difficult for some children. When a visitor showed up at camp this week the kids made their way over to say hello and introduce themselves.

“It’s always about making them grow,” said Matt, 38, the head boys basketball coach at Muhlenberg and a Behavior Coach at the Amity Campus of River Rock Academy.

Rick, along with Matt, a former Red Knights assistant coach, built a state basketball powerhouse on love, loyalty, faith and empowerment. Their day camp is based on the same principals.

“How many people did you love today?” Rick says. “How many people did you make feel good today? How many people did you hug today?”

He often sounds more like a minister than a high school coach; he talks more about love and sharing and respect than he does about half-court traps or the pick-and-roll.

“It’s all about positive affirmation,” Rick said. “Everything is about creating a sense of awareness so that they feel empowered.

“You’ll be surprised about how many people you can impact with those little interactions that you have,” he said. “They’ll remember that for a lifetime.”

With the three brothers it’s all about family all the time. When Rob addresses his players at Daniel Boone, or the kids at camp, he can hear the voice of his father, Robert Flowers, or of his uncle, Danny Gilmore Sr. reverberating in his head.

He and Matt were raised in a strong family with a rich sports background. Their mother Karen is a Gilmore, one of the great athletic families Reading has ever known; their father was a top baseball player at Holy Name and well-respected coach in the Northwest Athletic Association.

Robert Flowers coached his sons in baseball, football and basketball, teaching lasting lessons that have spread to hundreds of families across the county.

“He always encouraged us to just give, give and give and give, and that’s what we’re doing,” Rob said. “It’s pretty powerful to see how it’s all transpired.”

Rob quarterbacked one of the greatest football teams in Inter-County League history in 1998. Unbeaten season or not, Robert wouldn’t allow heads to swell in his household; he constantly reminded his sons they could work harder and do better.

“You can always go up a level,” Matt said, repeating his father’s message. “Don’t be scared of going to the next level. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, but once you get there you feel great.”

Matt brought that philosophy with him to Reading High, where he and Perez won PIAA championships in 2017 and 2021; he now uses it at Muhlenberg, where he pushes his players to the max and gets great results. The Muhls were the only team in the county to beat Rick’s Reading High team last season; Matt was named Berks Coach of the Year a month later.

Matt struggled with his decision to take the Muhlenberg job. He didn’t want to leave Reading, or Rick’s side. They have been practically attached at the hip since they were teenagers. They lived in the same neighborhood then; they’re neighbors now, too. Rob and Rick live on the same street; Matt is just around the corner.

“You really can’t separate us,” Perez said. “If one of us is doing something, the other one is not far away.”

Their families spend holidays and vacations and just about everything else together.

Matt longed to coach at his alma mater but the fact that he would have to go against Rick a couple times each season made the decision to switch difficult.

“We both want to win for our kids,” he told the Reading Eagle after being hired last year, “but at the end of the day we always will be brothers.”

Their first meeting, in early February in Laureldale, seemed bigger than the county final. The Muhls played at a feverish pitch and won, 63-61. Trash-talking aside, it didn’t leave a dent in a relationship forged with equal parts love and respect.

Not that long ago the three all coached at Reading High and worked closely on a daily basis. Rob took the job at Daniel Boone in 2018 and Matt moved to Muhlenberg last year. The chance to again work together each day made the idea of #3BrothersOnAMission inviting.

Their lives were already busy, what with day jobs, coaching jobs and families. This is an especially busy time of year for Matt and Rick, what with nightly summer basketball leagues and weekend tournaments. No matter. They make time for everything and everyone.

Rick calls this venture their “calling.”

Matt hopes the camp continues to grow.

“We would love to see it go world-wide,” he said. “See Three Brothers on a Mission in New York . . . in Philly . . . just spreading our message and what we’re about: Empowering these kids, loving these kids. Most of these kids aren’t our kids, but we still love ’em like they’re ours.”