Coach Czes grew up in Crystal Lake, IL and played football, basketball and baseball at CL Central HS. He began coaching at a junior high in 1995 as a sophomore at Arizona State University and fell in love with the profession. He spent the next several years coaching school and club teams in Arizona and working various basketball camps across the country during the summer.

He returned home in 1998 and worked in the IT department for School District 47 while serving as an assistant baseball and basketball coach at CLC. He then spent 2 years at Judson University as their Network Administrator and assistant basketball coach before returning to CLCHS in 2003 to serve in a newly created Tech Coordinator position.

In 2006, he was named Head Boys Basketball Coach at CLC and served in that role until 2019, when he resigned after 20 years and 30 seasons of coaching basketball and baseball for the Tigers. He left CLC as the all-time leader in games coached (369) and 2nd all-time in wins (171) over the 93-year history of the school.

He is a regular speaker on the basketball clinic circuit including presentations for USA Basketball, TPG Sports Group, PGC/Glazier, the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, the Basketball Coaches Association of New York, the New Mexico High School Coaches Association, and several clinics and camps in Belgium and London. 

Rich also serves as the Director of Development for both the NHSBCA (National High School Basketball Coaches Association) and IBCA (Illinois Basketball Coaches Association), and is a member of the NHSBCA Court of Honor, which recognizes individuals who have had an impact on scholastic basketball nationally (inducted in 2014). 

Rich lives in Crystal Lake with his wife (Molly), son (Jimmy) and daughters (Jordan and Jules).