Celebrate Gilman Now
The news is good.
Chemotherapy is attacking the cancer and Wayne Gilman is in the midst of another round.
The optimism of the Ferris basketball coach is being rewarded.
Now would be a perfect time for Ferris to reward Gilman.
There should be a ceremony before the end of the school year to name the Ferris gym or basketball court after this legend and have it carry over to any such future facility at Ferris.
Gilman is embarrassed by the thought and Ferris administrators are worried about the perception.
It’s not that they don’t believe Gilman is deserving of the honor - quite the contrary - but naming athletic venues after sports figures often carry the burden of being memorials.
But the truth is Gilman is staring mortality in the eye.
If cancer beats him, the gym will bear his name before the next basket is made.
Better than celebrating his memory would be to celebrate his life.
Gilman is on the same basketball pedestal as legendary Lewis and Clark coach Squinty Hunter.
Since Gilman became coach at Ferris in 1983-84, the Saxons have gone to state 11 times. The rest of the league has 14 appearances in those 17 years.
Ferris has nine state trophies and four appearances in the title game, including the 1994 championship. The rest of the GSL has nine trophies, with Shadle Park capturing the 1990 championship.
The list of accomplishments goes on and on - nine league titles, eight District 8 titles and two Eastern Regional titles, plus five coach of the year awards.
Gilman’s record is 497-272, counting nine years and a state title in Oregon. He has 362 wins in Washington and a 332-109 record at Ferris.
He’s in the record books at Selkirk High School and Eastern Washington University for his prowess as a player.
That information isn’t for an obituary, it’s for the Hall of Fame.
There are gymnasiums, courts and fieldhouses named for giant figures. Squinty Hunter Fieldhouse at LC and Tuffy Ellingsen Fieldhouse at Rogers are two in District 81, which includes Ferris. Those men were honored after they retired.
Shadle Park honored Linda Sheridan when she quit coaching for health reasons, although she is still teaching.
The same would be done for Gilman, but he is only 54 and with this health scare, there’s no guarantee he’ll get that opportunity.
Gilman’s cancer scared a lot of people. Some of us have had the chance to wish him well. Many of the people he has touched haven’t had the opportunity.
Gilman can deal with the self-consciousness of coaching games in “his” gym. It’s a great daily reminder that he isn’t fighting the battle alone.
That’s why the time is right to do the right thing.
Celebrate Wayne Gilman’s life and accomplishments.
And pray he will be there for many, many more.