Mr. Rakers was born August 28, 1975 at Memorial Hospital
in Belleville, Illinois. Jim and Marilyn (Richter) Rakers are his parents. Jim
and Marilyn have 7 children and Mr. Rakers is the youngest. He grew up on a farm
northwest of Aviston and attended Aviston Elementary. In grade school Mr. Rakers
enjoyed playing baseball and basketball. He graduated in 1989.
After his grade school graduation, Mr. Rakers attended Mater
Dei High School. He played both basketball and baseball as a Knight. While
basketball was fun and educational, baseball became his focus. Working hard in
the off-season earned him a batting title as a senior and MVP honors as a junior
and senior. Outside of sports, he gained his love for history and education at
Mater Dei. Mr. Rakers graduated from Mater Dei High School in 1993 and was
inducted into their
Hall of Fame in 1998..
Following high school graduation, Mr. Rakers attended
Kaskaskia College and Quincy University on academic and baseball scholarships.
After two years at KC, he moved on to QU, where he received his bachelor degree
in history. While in college he received many honors in baseball such as
pre-season All-American, All-Great Lakes Valley Conference academic honors, and
GLVC athletic honors. Mr. Rakers’ was proud that the 1997 Quincy University
baseball team was the first to make the NCAA tournament in school history. His
peers chose him as team MVP his junior and senior year. In 2008 he was inducted
into the
Quincy University Hall of Fame. It was after his days at
Quincy University when his life changed forever
.
Quincy University
During his final days at Quincy University he met his lovely
wife Colette. They were married on May 13, 2000 and reside in Aviston. Colette
works in downtown St. Louis for AT&T. Colette and Mr. Rakers had their first
child on November 15, 2003. Their son, Easton James Rakers, was born at 7:36
p.m. at St. Joseph's Hospital in Breese. They had their second child named
Aubrey Nicole Rakers at 6:42 on October 17, 2007. Mr. Rakers loves spending his free time
with his family.
After his days at QU, the
San Diego Padres drafted Mr. Rakers
in the 34th round of the 1997 free agent draft. His days of playing
professional baseball sent him all over America. Playing baseball, he lived in Phoenix, Arizona,
Idaho Falls, Idaho, Clinton, Iowa, Rancho Cucamonga, California, and St. Charles
Missouri. An arm injury dampened his chances of making it to
the major leagues, but all told, he played three years of minor league baseball.
Even though his professional career had some tough times because of injury he was
able to recover and become a Frontier League all-star in 1999. The road trips, flights, and people
he met around America highlighted a wonderful experience that baseball gave him.
(
(San
Diego Padres)
Following baseball, Mr. Rakers’ first teaching job was at
Centralia Jr. High in Centralia, Illinois. After 2 years in Centralia, he was
hired in Aviston where he has been since 2002. At Aviston, Mr. Rakers is a
social studies teacher, government teacher, baseball coach, and athletic
director. Mr. Rakers also completed his Masters in
Education Administration at Lindenwood University in May of 2007.
Along with with his duties at Aviston
Elementary, he is also the varsity baseball coach at Mater Dei High School.
Being active in the community is also something he enjoys. He was a member of the
park board for 7 years and is a member of the
Aviston Community Improvement Club.
As he embraces the new millennium, Mr. Rakers truly looks
forward to, and loves the opportunity to teach and coach in the town he has
always called home.
College Baseball in Quincy, IL 1996
Idaho Falls, ID 1997
Phoenix, AZ Spring Training 1998
Clinton, IA 1998
St. Charles, MO 1999
