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Gerald Gentner* 2015
Coach
Williamsville South High School
Gerald “Gerry” Gentner was 67 when he passed on January 27th, 2012.His memory, however, lives on in all the hearts and minds he touched both on and off the field. He has been described as a great man with an enormous passion for life that was infectious. According to Patrick Nagy of the Amherst Bee, Gerald’s “upbeat nature combined with a fierce competitive nature led him to an unbelievable coaching career at Williamsville South”.
Gerry began his coaching career in Hamburg as a physical education teacher from 1966 to 1970.While there, he coached the boys’ varsity soccer team to an 18–0 season, allowing only 1 goal that season. His team won the regular season league title and went on to win the Section VI championship. Gerry was inducted into the Hamburg High School Wall of Fame in 2012 for his achievements in those years.
In 1970, Gerry left Hamburg High School to pursue a lifelong career as a financial planner with L&M Financial Services, a position he remained at until his passing. He never lost his passion for athletics however. From 1997 to 2011, he once again took up the coaching and mentoring mantle for the girls’ varsity softball team at Williamsville South.
As head coach of the Lady Billies, Gerry amassed an overall record of 259 wins and 65 losses, yielding an unheard of winning percentage of almost 80%. competing in the very-difficult Class A field, Gerry’s teams became league champions 12 out of the 14 seasons he coached, were 8 time Section VI champions, and won 3 state championship titles in 2000, 2004, and 2006. Gerry was honored with the Coach of the Year Award for those same three years.
In addition to his time with Williamsville South, Gerry volunteered his time as a coach and board member for Amherst Girls’ Softball for 16 years. In keeping with his personable nature and incredible generosity, Gerald also established an annual college scholarship for senior softball players at Williamsville South.
Gerry is also believed to have coined the phrase “Just Show Up” and held true to it in all areas of his life. Gerry believed that good things would happen when people were fully present in the moment, put forth their best efforts, and held a positive attitude.
* Posthumously awarded