Our annual newsletter included a scaled down version of the Gil Yates story and we have decided to include the complete remembrance, including pictures of our “Coach”, on our alumni website.
Life with “Coach”
Provided by Brenda Yates Abrams ’86, on behalf of the Yates family
Many people remember our father, Gilbert Yates, as “Gil,” “Mr. Yates,” or “Coach”, but to us, he was simply “Dad”. He was a father of eight children, four boys and four girls. Still, as the K-12 Physical Education teacher and coach of various sports, he was also a father figure to hundreds more kids throughout his nearly 30-year tenure at Arkport Central School. When he passed away at the age of 94 in October of 2022, many people could hardly believe he was even that age. Tragically, he was predeceased by his 14-year-old son, Gary, in 1979, in a motorcycle accident; his wife of 48 years, Diane, in 2008; and another son, Rob, in 2020, which were all significant impacts that forever changed him. As for Gil, though, even in his 90s, he was still sharp and remembered things from his youth and the many, many decades that followed.
As a teacher, he may have been considered strict at times, “scary” or stern (although the worst he ever said in anger was his famous line, “sakes,” and you knew he was mad), but mostly he was the guy who was always smiling his crooked smile, and an old softy. But the most memorable traits he had were his sense of humor and his ability to remember and tell stories… he was not your average “gym teacher.”
For a quick background, Gil grew up in Marion, New York, with three sisters, and graduated from Marion Central School in 1948, where he was the class salutatorian. While in high school, he excelled in sports and “lettered” in baseball, basketball, and soccer. Following his high school graduation, Gil enlisted in the United States Air Force and served for 4 years during the Korean War. While in the Air Force, he worked in the Air Force Security Service and was stationed in Illinois, Texas, and Alaska. He received his honorable discharge in 1952.
A funny story about his time stationed in Alaska… apparently, our dad liked to have fun. According to him, he went out with some buddies the night before assignments and was not very attentive the next day. When the commanders asked, “Who would like to go to Nome?” (Alaska), he heard, “Who would like to go HOME?” … so, he volunteered! He ended up in Alaska for a year… spying on the Russians. (Okay, he was helping to “monitor communications” during the Cold War, so same thing). Even though it was a beautiful place, he was more than happy to get out of there and vowed never to go back. Even when the family considered planning a cruise to Alaska over 50 years later, he emphatically said, “No way!” We finally got him to go on a cruise when he was 88, but it was a Caribbean cruise, which he liked very much. There were 35 of us family members, and we wore T-shirts that said, “Cruising with Gil, 88 years in the making!” By the end of the cruise, tons of people apparently caught on and said, “Hey, are you with Gil?!”
He never did go back to Alaska, but he did get the opportunity to go to Russia in the 1990s, courtesy of his friend Jim Burke and the Prattsburgh baseball team. He allowed himself to go as a chaperone because the Cold War was over; the KGB was disbanded, so his name was no longer on “the list” from his spy time in Alaska. He had a great time with Burke, the team, and chaperones!
After the military, Gil enrolled at Brockport State College (under the GI Bill), majoring in Physical Education. After graduation, he taught P.E. at Fredonia State College for a year, where he also coached golf and basketball. He finished his master’s degree at the University of Indiana.
After college, Gil moved to Ellicottville, NY, where he taught P.E. for three years at Ellicottville Central School. This is where he met his future wife, Diane. They moved to Arkport, and he began a 30+ year teaching career at Arkport Central School.
“Coach” was known for a few catchphrases, including, “Toes on the line!” for lining up in gym class, and “Three to a seat, so double-up!” on the sports bus. I’m sure there were many more. Gil also made a difference behind the scenes. He didn’t ask for recognition. He once said that a couple of students were at risk of not graduating because they had to miss gym classes to go home and work on their family farm. Our dad grew up on a farm and knew the hard work involved, and that they were getting far more physical activity and fitness than he could teach in a 40-minute gym class, so he made sure those students received credit for being physically active, and they graduated. Ironically, years later, we had a flat tire, and the jack had collapsed, leaving us stranded on a rural road. One of those former students stopped to help us and used his massive farm tractor to lift the car so we could change the tire. He said he never forgot what our dad had done to help him graduate, and obviously, he was still in the family business and doing well.
Coach Yates had many fond memories of students, teams, players, and sports seasons, but one close to his heart, and his pocket, was his 1972 BASKETBALL team. What many people don’t know is that sometime after that season, Gil carried around a 1972 Fifty-Cent piece in his pocket. He carried it for so many years that the markings on both sides were nearly rubbed off. The team also unknowingly rewarded him many years later when Gil was stopped in Hornell for a “traffic infraction.” After the police officer asked for his license and registration, he said, “Hey, didn’t you have an excellent basketball team in ‘72?” My dad smiled and said, “Yes, I did!” The officer said he remembered them, too, and let him go with just a warning!
An interesting SOCCER memory was when Coach Yates received his “200th win.” His regular coaching career, spanning many seasons, had unfortunately ended just shy of 200 wins… To get to his 200th win, he was called out of “retirement” by his good friend Ozzie Tripp from Cohocton. Gil was allowed to be an honorary coach on the field (for both teams…), so whoever ended up the winner, he would have his 200th win! He received a plaque and celebrated the “victory” with his signature crooked smile.
It seemed like “everybody” knew our dad, and we are very proud that he was recognized for his contributions across several areas, including sports. In fact, he was honored with the “Nadeau-Fenner Award Winner, Steuben County Lifetime Sports Pass,” which entitled the bearer to a free lifetime admission to any local sporting events. He was very proud of it, calling it his “Gold Card,” and used that pass for many, many years, including when his grandchildren later played sports in the area.
Arkport was good to our dad, and he made several life-long friendships. From fellow teachers and coaches playing cards or golfing, to painting houses in the summertime, he was fortunate. Grammy, Kickbush, Recktenwald, and Sheils, to name just a few, showed us that teachers were real people, too! Apparently, our dad also had a sweet tooth… and the ladies in the business office kept a candy dish of hard candies stocked for when he stopped by (which apparently was A LOT!). In fact, when he retired, they gifted him with a 50-pound bag of candy to hold him over for a while after he was home. After a capital project moved the soccer fields off campus, the school district honored our dad by dedicating the new On-Campus “Arkport Central School Gil Yates Athletic Field” complex in his name. It’s an honor knowing his name is still attached to the district. Hopefully, his legacy and memory will live on for many more years.
To summarize our father’s “legacy” or lessons, maybe it’s not to take life too seriously. Keep your sense of humor (even at your own expense!). Do the best you can with what you’ve got, keep smiling and be kind… You never know what kind of impact you may have on others. Our dad had a fantastic memory of people and stories over his lifetime, but he would sometimes get embarrassed if someone came up to him and said hello or asked if he remembered them, and he couldn’t recall them. What he sometimes forgot was how many people he had met, taught, coached, friended, or impacted along the way, and that THEY remembered HIM… and that’s pretty special.
Young Gil Yates
“Captain Yates”