‘No one could’ve imagined this:’ Family of beloved sports coach Brian Cummings shares his legacy

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A beloved coach, father and overall great guy. Those are the words family of Rochester-based sports coach Brian Cummings are using after he died suddenly at the end of June.

Brian had just turned 39 on June 4. He died of a heart attack on June 23 at 39 years old. His brother-in-law Josh said while his time was cut short, his legacy, and the thousands of people he coached will live on forever.

“I think everyone’s just really like, coming to the realization that he’s actually gone, you know, but it’s been nice to all be together as a family and all that, you know, find strength or each other to get through it,” Josh said.

Brian Cummings lived for his career — centered around sports. One part of that, was coaching at Total Sports Experience.

“It was everything to him,” Josh said. “He did lacrosse at West Genny High School. And he went to Fisher and played lacrosse, he was an amazing goalie. And then all after college, the last, he was 39, so the last 18 years that he’s been out of college, he’s spent the whole time in sports”

Those 18 years serving as a jack of all trades. Brian coached thousands of up-and-coming athletes in Syracuse, Rochester, and Chicago. Josh tells me it was Brian’s personality that made him so loveable.

“Just any room he walked into it just immediately, like, elevated the whole vibe of the room,” Josh said. “He was just like, the best guy in the world. His aura around him was just so positive. And he was just so like, genuine and funny and happy all the time. So anytime he showed up anywhere, it made everything 10 times better.”

That passion continued outside of work. Making time for his three children, all under the age of ten, and his wife Abbey who he now leaves behind.

“How much he loved his kids. It was incredible,” Josh said. “If he was working like a 12-hour day, he would get home and just immediately be a human jungle gym for them for hours until they went to bed. So, his wife, his kids and his work, it was everything to him. He helped create three amazing kids, so I think that’s the hardest part about all this.”

Josh says Brian had always been a stocky guy. Brian had recently been told he was pre-diabetic and had other health problems, but never expected this.

“You would have never, ever guessed that this guy would go down like that, because he was strong as an ox,” Josh said. “You know, probably wasn’t the healthiest most in shape guy, but he was. He was strong as could be. He spent his whole days on his feet, you know, working, playing with his kids, so it’s just kind of shocking, honestly.”

The Cummings family says the community’s messages during this time have helped showcase how great of a guy he was. A GoFundMe has been started by Josh on behalf of Abbey and has reached almost $100,000.

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