Another basketball season has come and gone, and like clockwork teams saw varying degrees of success, whether it was measured in wins or by lessons from losses.
Locally, however, the basketball landscape endured a loss of another kind this season.
Gordon "Spike" Gielczyk, a former longtime varsity boys coach at Bear Lake, passed away at the age of 99.
One can't coach for 30-plus years without making an impact on young lives, and for Gielczyk, his was lasting.
The former Bear Lake teacher cemented his legacy with the Lakers by coaching the program to its first district title in 25 years in the 1971-72 season, but is more importantly remembered for a love of sports and his commitment to molding the young men who played for him throughout the years.
One of those men, Patrick Purgiel, recalls his time under Gielczyk's guidance fondly, and as the foundation for his own career path.
"Being an individual who played basketball for him, Coach Gielczyk motivated and directed me to become a successful basketball coach also," he said. "He was not only a great coach but also a great teacher of the game."
Purgiel said Gielczyk inspired him to not only coach, but teach as well. And he went on to do both for 35 years at Hastings High School.
"He made me a more driven person through basketball," Purgiel said of Gielczyk. "It was his role modeling that I followed while I coached both boys and girls basketball for 35 years."
Purgiel went on to see his own share of success, while heading up Hastings girls varsity program for many years.
"I can honestly say it was Coach Gielczyk's enthusiasm, encouragement and direction that began the process for me of becoming a good coach," he said. "I attribute my coaching career and success to him."
Gielczyk, who graduated from Manistee High School in 1939 after attending St. Joseph's Parochial School, had athletics in his blood from the start.
In 1934, he served as the first bat boy for the freshly formed Manistee Saints, the area's famed semi-pro baseball team that still competes today. Later in life, he played for the organization as a standout third baseman, which earned him an induction to the Manistee Saints Hall of Fame.
Gielczyk also participated in baseball and boxing at Western Michigan University, where he would graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Science. He went on to earn his teaching certificate from the University of Michigan.
After teaching at Fruitport for a stint, Gielczyk returned to the area to embark on a long tenure as a teacher and varsity boys basketball coach at Bear Lake.
Following his 33-year career, Gielczyk continued to remain close to the pulse of local sports, mainly through his son Greg Gielczyk, a longtime local sportswriter and former sports editor of the Manistee News Advocate.
"When he was healthier he would travel with me to games I covered, and being a former coach always enjoyed watching the games," Greg said, "although, he complained that he could never get the coach out of his being.
"It was a pleasure to have him along on the road trips with me, as we passed the time on the drive to and from various venues with conversation," he added. "On the return home, it was usually about the game and what went wrong or right."
Greg said his father, forever a coach, would engage with the current athletes and coaches too.
"I couldn't help but grin whenever we went to a gymnasium, when I had to interview a coach for a season preview, and see dad interacting with the players, girls or boys," he added. "I always appreciated how he was treated by them. Not as an annoying old man, but an interested fan. They were often surprised when he told them that he used to be a coach.
"The coaches often said hello to him too, and took the time to chat about coaching. It gave me a warm feeling."
Aside from local sports, Gielczyk was a diehard fan of the Chicago Cubs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
"Although he was a big Notre Dame fan — particularly football, but he followed all Irish sports — dad had trouble watching games if the Irish started to commit turnovers and got behind," Greg said. "His nerves couldn't take it! He would have me switch to a different game, usually the Big Ten.
"There was always good, lively conversation even if we weren't talking about a game."
The two made a good team, themselves, as Greg cared for his father as he aged. And Gielczyk proved he was a fighter right to the end.
"Obviously, as he grew older there were health problems, primarily with his heart," Greg said. "Before having four bypass surgery, he had angioplasty to open an artery. Years after his bypass surgery, he would have to have a stent and finally a pacemaker, which he had for about eight years."
On Feb. 17, Gielczyk passed away at the Cedar Ridge AFC home in Brethren.
"I've been more fortunate than most to have enjoyed my dad's fellowship for all my life," Greg said, "and I was grateful to have been able to allow him to live most of his life at home until the end.
"I'll miss him, but I have a treasure trove of good and great memories. He was my dad. And my best friend."
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April 17, 2021 at 07:05AM
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Forever a coach: Gielczyk leaves lasting impact on local sports - Manistee News Advocate
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