In a vast majority of situations, the coach of a team has a certain connection to the game itself. Maybe they played that sport in high school or at the collegiate level, but for Denise Gorski, the love for track and field wasn’t through participating in the sport herself, but becoming a student of the game through coaching it.

On Friday, the former Boardman coaching legend will be inducted into the Ohio Association of Track & Cross Country Hall of Fame for her contributions during her 36-year career as the coach of the Boardman girls track and field program.

What started off as an assistant role from 1978-1981 turned into a head coaching position from 1982 until her retirement in 2014.

For Gorski, the award speaks volumes of the dedication of her student-athletes and support from her husband Dan over the years.

“I just felt really humbled for this very prestigious honor,” Gorski said. “The Ohio High School Track Hall of Fame normally only inducts eight people a year into their hall of fame, and that’s including the men’s and women’s track athletes and coaches, and the men’s and women’s cross country athletes. You’re talking about eight people selected in the state, that humbled me even more.

“I share this award with all of the coaches and athletes I worked with all of those years. They inspired and motivated me to want to be a better coach for them and without them and the performances, I wouldn’t even be receiving this high honor.”

LET’S START

AT THE BEGINNING

Time to turn the clock back a few years.

As a 1973 graduate of Cuyahoga Falls, Gorski was a three-sport athlete in high school, playing volleyball, softball and basketball. Knowing that she wanted to go into some form of education, she earned a degree in physical education at Kent State. She also tried out for the basketball team at the time and played some golf.

The field of women’s athletics looked very different in the 1970s. Title IX had just been signed into law during the summer of 1972, and many teams saw limited schedules and postseason opportunities compared to what exists today. Gorski knew she wanted to coach and continue the growth of females in sports and eventually landed at Boardman High School as a physical education teacher in 1977.

Time with the girls basketball team with the likes Brenda Owen and Ron Moschella, along with acting as the school’s girls golf coach for several years kept Gorski occupied during those early years. But, she eventually found out that her heart was truly with the track and field program.

So, how does one coach a sport they’ve never participated in?

That was some of the challenge, especially with so many different areas of discipline within the sport itself. Gorski remembers becoming a student herself, reading plenty of books and publications about running and throwing.

It wasn’t like today where most schools have individual coaches for each area of the team. Gorski would only have one assistant, meaning the workload had to be split up between the morning and afternoon.

“What I really liked back then is that I wanted to learn how to coach every event, yet that was very challenging to do that too,” Gorski said. “There were times when I would bring the throwers and the jumpers early in the morning, and then I’d have the runners come in during the afternoon. So that was a two-a-day for me, but that was okay because with only two of us coaching, that was the best way we can give the girls the attention they needed to.

“Throwing was one of the events that was pretty complex to coach to, and so one of the girls would come in, and she was a senior at the time, and I said ‘Just bare with me, just show me what it means to open up your body too soon or whatever.’ I’d have my book right there on the floor, and she was doing some throwing for me, and I was really fortunate to have some athletes who handled that really well. The big thing for me is that I wanted to learn as much as I could.”

Gorski could name numerous athletes who came through the doors, but Laurie Gomez-Henes had some of the biggest impact on the track and field program during her time.

A STAR PUPIL

A 1988 graduate, Henes was a three-time state champion as a distance runner, including the National High School Indoor Champion in the 2-mile, as well as being ranked number one in the nation for the 1600m and 3000m. She was also named the Gatorade Ohio Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Henes went on to compete at and become an NCAA champion at North Carolina State and was named head coach of the program in 2019. She has served on the Wolfpack staff since 1992 after winning a national title in the outdoor 5000m during the 1991 season.

Originally wanting to maybe seek a career in athletic administration, Henes’ time as a graduate assistant lit the spark when it came to coaching, but it was her time at Boardman with Gorski that made her realize how much of an impact she can have.

“Having more female coaches where you can, I do think it’s important, I think that was a big factor for a lot the women on the team with having Denise on the team as a high school coach,” Henes said. “So hopefully I can help other women at this this level see that it’s a viable option for their career as well. Denise does a great job in that, motivating people individually. She gets to know them very well and so she knows what motivates one person might be different that what motivates a different person.

“Figuring out how to get people to work together is definitely one of Denise’s strong points, because we really felt at Boardman that it very much was a team sport, even though you were pretty much out there individually. The relays were very important to us and the team score was very important to us.”

Gorski knew how good Henes was, knowing she’d had to study even harder as a coach to help push Henes to her fullest potential. That experience early in her coaching career helped lay the groundwork for others to come through the program.

“I remember saying to my husband (Dan) it’s scary how good she can be,” Gorski said. “Having an athlete of her caliber made me want to learn as much as I could for her and the other girls as well. With Laurie’s experience, we went to the Olympic training center, she was invited to all of these national meets and clinics, and I was fortunate to learn a lot through having an athlete of that caliber.”

GROWING THE SPORT FOR WOMEN

Gorski would go on to become the representative for OATCCC’s District 1 that covers Columbiana up through Ashtabula County from 1993-2002. She helped promote women in the world of track and field, as well as cross country. Experiences during that time helped her grow the Spartans program even more, as she eventually served as the Boardman Athletic Director for a period of time.

“My experience on that board really helped me to say to the other members on the board, ‘Here’s some of the things we need to do to really improve the exposure of female athletes,'” said Gorski, who spoke at a panel in Cleveland last May for the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

HELPING HER ATHLETES

Always one to stand up for her athletes, Gorski recalls a time when due diligence paid dividends.

Back in 1998, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Adriane Blewitt-Wilson was the state runner-up for discus, but also found herself competing on the biggest stage for shot put.

Like many other coaches, Gorski kept detailed notes of each throw as the competition moved on, making it very clear to see where Wilson stood amongst the field.

After three throws, they announced who was selected for the finals and Blewitt was left out, despite having a longer throw than one of the finalists.

“I went to the head shot put official, and I said sorry, you have the wrong athlete, let me show you my thing,” Gorski said. “I had other coaches in the stands with their athletes, doing the same thing. They said ‘Listen, show them this,'” Gorski said.

They wouldn’t halt the competition, so Gorski found herself having to sprint to the games committee. Back in this era, the throwing events were held at one end of the Horseshoe that’s now built up with additional seating for Buckeyes games.

Gorski had to quickly maneuver to the opposite end of the colossal stadium just to go to bat for her own athlete. Filing for an appeal, the girls went ahead and finished the shot put finals while Gorski fought her case with Fred Defler, the commissioner for track and field.

As they brought the six girls over to the podium, right before it was too late, Defler called for a meeting, eventually honoring Gorski’s request. She now had the task for refocusing Wilson who was given her opportunity to make three throws.

“When they told me to get your athlete ready to go, I went running out the stadium and down to the throwing area, and there she is crying, and I’m trying to pump her up, saying come on, we have three more throws,” Gorski said.

Wilson remembers.

“I went from being super excited thinking I was in the finals, to totally crushed seeing that my mark wasn’t officially correct, and the officials said I’m sorry we have to go by what’s on our sheet,” Wilson said. “To just really disappointing because that was my last meet of the year. You’re hoping to perform better than what the sheet said.

“All the sudden when Mrs. G came back just running, saying we have to get you ready, I said ‘What?’ But her encouragement, her excitement, it’s contagious. Her excitement just really helped fuel me to get ready for the finals.”

Wilson finished in sixth place with a mark of 41′ and earned All-Ohio honors. Gorski remembers the girl wrongfully selected, having guilt in the throwing area, with another thrower booted off the podium because of how well Wilson finished.

An error in stat-keeping led to the mess, but Gorski knew she had to do what was right.

“It was not a good situation for many, three athletes right there, but I will never regret fighting for my athlete.” Gorski added.

Wilson went on to throw at Ashland University, a Division II powerhouse, but her time at Boardman holds a special place in her heart because of Gorski.

“She’s just a tremendous mentor to just every athlete she meets, she just wants to help and she always does,” Wilson said. “She finds the confidence in every athlete, she nurtures them, she’s an incredible coach, and I love her very much. She’s still involved in my life 20-plus years later. That’s the type of friend that she is, very caring and always puts others first.”

GORSKI’S GIRLS

There’s always that family element toward a track team, after being invited to be in wedding parties and all forms of other events over the years, the connection between Gorski and her former athletes is deep. Dan and herself are godparents to Henes’ daughter, Elly, who just won the 5000m outdoor NCAA title last year.

After all of the exceptional athletes she coached over the years, the 16 Mahoning County titles, 12 Steel Valley titles, nine district titles and so on, one thing always remained true.

Gorski’s Girls.

During her final season in 2014, members of the Spartans track team printed t-shirts with “Gorski’s Girls, and it ends with us.” to proudly display. Dan and her never had children, but each year the senior class would buy something small around Mother’s Day, whether be flowers, or a card.

It’s the longevity and immense impact at Boardman that led toward the hall of fame induction, but for Gorski the most important element wasn’t always the best athlete, it was treating everyone with the same care and attention to detail to ultimately benefit the team.

“There would be a tendency in track or any other individual sport to just concentrate on the best, and I never wanted to do that. I got as much satisfaction out of seeing that average athlete who didn’t make the league team or whatever,” Gorski said. “Watching them get their personal best was just as rewarding. The family aspect was very important to me, and I feel that contributed sometimes when we may not have been favored to win something.

“The girls were so behind each other, and they inspired each other more because they were like a family and it’s still like that for me.”