Family, friends honor, run for Estero track coach Jeff Sommer

• Sommer had just watched his girls 4x800 team win a state championship
• He had been coaching for almost 40 years

Jeff Sommer, the athletic director of Estero High School who coached numerous runners to state championships, collapsed and died at the state track and field championships Saturday.

The girls 4x800 relay team of Daley Cline, Breeana Salcedo, Megan Giovanniello and Megan Slater had just won the FHSAA state championship in Jacksonville and were celebrating when Sommer collapsed, witnesses said. He was taken to St. Vincent's Medical Center and died there a short time later.

Sommer, who was 58, influenced countless runners and coaches throughout Southwest Florida and far beyond. He had been coaching in Lee County for 38 years.

Two of the first individuals in the hospital were Evangelical Christian School senior Sarah Candiano and girls' distance coach Wes Penberthy. They were deeply affected by the loss.

"He was so passionate about what he did," Penberthy said. "He loved those kids. He put a lot of time and effort into every single one of them. I didn't even go to Estero, but he put so much time into everyone. He would help anybody that he could."

Clayton Simmons, the principal of Estero, released a statement shortly after Sommer's death.

"There are no words to express how deeply saddened the Estero family is over the loss of Jeff," the statement read. "He leaves us a legacy of love, leadership and passion that will endure forever in the many lives he touched."

Kacy Smith, an outstanding Estero runner who is attending Ole Miss on a rare full scholarship for cross country, won numerous individual state cross country and track titles and was the lead runner on the Wildcats' three-time reigning cross country state champions.

"He's definitely the definition of a coach," Smith said. "He loved all of his runners; he didn't care if they were fast or slow."

Sommer, who opened his challenging high school runners' workouts to anyone who wanted to participate, loved being with "his kids," Smith said.

Former Estero runner Araceli Leon, who was part of the Wildcats state cross country championship in 2013, was deeply saddened by the news.

"He had a great impact on a lot of people," said Leon, who was able to compete for Sommer's team in her senior year. "He was like a father figure to us and he was just a really good coach."

Coaching was his life, Smith said.

"He loved waking up every morning; you'd never see him without a smile on his face," she added.

Smith knew Sommer for much of her life. She started running young, in elementary school and it seemed, she said, like she'd always run for him.

He was a tough coach, but also knew how hard he could push each of his runners, she said.

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"He just ... took the time to get to know everybody. He knew how far he could push you. He knew how to work well with everybody," Smith said.

"He was just amazing person, and I'm really going to miss him."

Sommer suffered a heart attack in July 1999 and returned to coaching only three weeks later.

One of Sommer's first great runners at Estero, Matt Whaley, a three-time state champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 and a former All-American in the 3,000, considered the coach one of his best friends. The last time he spoke with him, on his 37th birthday in January, he told Sommer how much he loved him.

"He was one of my best friends," Whaley said. "He was somebody I could tell everything to. We worked so well together. I trusted him and he trusted me so we could get the job done."

Whaley was there in 1999, back on break from the University of South Florida, when Sommer suffered his first heart attack. He always believed in Sommer's ability to bounce back and create opportunities for those around him.

"I think he had the greatest of both worlds," Whaley said. "He died doing what he loves to do. Nobody knows when their time is up. With him, he took life and grabbed it by the moment and he loved every single minute of it."

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John Rinkenbaugh, who owns the Run Florida on McGregor run shop in south Fort Myers, knew Sommer as a runner and a neighbor.

"Coach lived the next block over in my neighborhood and I met him pretty early on when I moved down here in 2003," Rinkenbaugh said. "I was immediately impressed by his passion for running.

"He reminded me of a lot of great coaches I've come across. I've known a lot of great college and high school coaches and Jeff was one of the best coaches I've ever come across. He was always real positive about his kids and was excited about the sport."

About the same age as Sommer, Rinkenbaugh said both were from the same school of running — "work hard, run hard." Rinkenbaugh appreciated him as a competitor.

"In all the years I ran down here, I only beat him once, when he was coming back from his last health episode."

Ray Romero, a former athlete at Fort Myers who graduated in '98, had worked as an assistant coach with Sommer in 2013 after head coaching stints at Lehigh and East Lee County. He was shocked to hear the news.

"It's a pretty big blow to the whole area," Romero said. "There's not a coach here that hasn't been affected by him at one point or another. Most of the coaches in this area have grown up with him."

The news sent shock waves all the way to Kansas City, where John Williams, a former Cypress Lake track coach from 1996 to 2001, was hit by the news.

"As a friend, there was a bond there and it's sad to hear about a friend that I can no longer talk to," Williams said. "I'm sad for his family and my heart goes out to him. He died doing something he loved. Track and field and cross country was his passion. I hate to see him be out of our lives and I'm sad that he's gone."

Tyler Bennett, one of the top runners at Fort Myers High School — Estero's biggest rivals in Southwest Florida — said Sommer was always supportive despite that rivalry.

"He was just .... a really cool guy, always saying 'good job,' always really friendly," said Bennett, who just finished his freshman year at the University of North Florida. "We were pretty much in the same meet with them in every weekend.

"Even though we were rivals," Sommer praised Bennett's efforts and those of the many other runners he knew.

"He pretty much knew everyone and everyone knew him," Bennett said.

Even as an athletic director, Sommer made a lasting impression on coaches. First year wrestling coach Nick Venditti was hired by Sommer. He remembers the interview process with Sommer, how he emphasized the importance of growth over wins.

"He wanted to make sure I was committed to the kids and that I wasn't planning there being there a year and leaving," Venditti said. "He wanted someone to mold those kids and be there for the long term. And so, he wanted coaches there who were there to make these kids grow as students and athletes."

Sommer won four state boys' cross country titles in 1992, 1997, 1998 and 2010. He had runner-up teams in 1993 and 1995. His girls' teams won four straight state titles from 2010-2013.

He was named Florida Track and Field Coach of the Year in 2012-2013 and had been named Florida Coach of the Year eight times by the Florida Dairy Farmers. His cross country teams have been ranked nationally five times.

Personally as a runner, he ran the Boston Marathon in 1982 and 1985.

Rachel Lee, a superlative runner who owns The Run Shoppe in Cape Coral, knew Sommer as a friend and had participated in some of Sommer's team workouts.

"He was one of the most incredible men I have ever met," Lee said. "I was extremely fortunate to cross paths with him about 15 years ago and maintain that friendship.

"I can honestly say I would not be where I am in life without learning what I learned from him."

Sommer's team workouts were also part of his 3 D Running Club, which was started in 1985 and is open to anyone who wants to run, for fitness or to race. The Ds stand for discipline, desire and dedication.

"What he teaches you in those workouts ... he instills those virtues in you and that carries over into your whole life," Lee said.

"He left his mark in this world. He did what he was supposed to do. He instilled those values in people."