On Saturday, May 13th the community and school district in Oakfield-Alabama will be having a varsity baseball field dedication ceremony for the late Dan Gilbert. The longtime coach and teacher was a great guy and is sorely missed after losing a long and couragous battle with cancer.
- At 10 a.m. on May 13, there will be a community softball game for adults and home run derby for kids. There will also be basket raffles, concessions and face painting.
- At noon will be the field dedication and ceremony.
- At 1 p.m. there will be a varsity baseball game O-A vs. Lyndonville.
Organizers are asking the public to consider donating an item to be raffled or making a monetary donation to benefit the Oakfield-Alabama Central School baseball program and to fund a scholarship in honor of Coach Gilbert. All proceeds to benefit the OACS Baseball Program in memory of Coach Dan Gilbert.
Anything that you can donate to help make Dan's dedication ceremony a special day will be greatly welcomed and appreciated. Make checks payable to: OACS, and send attention to Dan Gilbert Memorial, 7001 Lewiston Road, Oakfield, NY 14125.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Mary Kalinownski at: mkalinowski@oahornets.org -- or Marc Johnson at 948-5838, or mjohnson@2ki.net
Here is a summary of Coach Gilbert's coaching achievements:
● Section V Coach of the Year – 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008
● Genesee Region Coach of the Year – 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010
● Genesee Region Coach of the Year, Softball – 2011 (Dan’s only season as softball coach)
● Coach Gilbert’s teams won 12 Genesee Region League Baseball titles
● Coach Gilbert’s teams won four Section V titles (2000, 2001, 2003, 2009) and advanced to States in 2003
season.
● Overall record of 284-Wins against 58-Losses
According to his family and friends, "less quantifiable, yet just as impressive as his coaching accolades, was Dan’s uncanny ability to see something special in each of his students and/or players. He made believers out of his players and students which allowed them to dig deeper, become more confident and excel at levels they never knew were possible. This talent seemed to come easy to Dan, and for that, thousands of kids from our community are grateful."
