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Mount Greylock Regional School track coach Brian Gill is flanked by, from left, seniors Elizabeth Dupras, Charlie McWeeny, Briana Dowling and Jacqueline Wells.
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Members of the 2021 track and field program at Mount Greylock stand behind coach Brian Gill at the end of Wednesday's award ceremony.

Mount Greylock's Coach Gill Receives Final 'Frankie'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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Ed Noel, left, presents the 25th and final Frank A. Zoltek Passion for Coaching Award to Brian Gill of Mount Greylock.
 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock Regional School track and field coach Brian Gill says one of the keys to building a program is just knowing what his kids are doing.
 
And that goes equally for the athlete who never scores in meets as it does for the ones gunning for sectional titles.
 
"When a kid drops from 15.9 to 15.7 in the 100, you run to them and say, 'Did you see what you did? That's great,'" Gill said Wednesday morning just prior to receiving the Frank A. Zoltek Passion for Coaching Award.
 
Gill, who also coached girls basketball and golf during his career at Mount Greylock, became the 25th and final recipient of the North County coaching honor when he received the trophy from Ed Noel, who created the Frankie in honor of his friend and mentor, legendary Drury and St. Joseph's High School coach Zoltek.
 
Ideally, Gill would have received the award two years ago, in a class with MCLA baseball coach Mike Gladu. But Noel was not able to arrange a presentation before the spring of 2020, and starting in March 2020, in-person ceremonies were not possible.
 
On Wednesday, it was possible for Gill's current student-athletes to gather outside the middle-high school and see their coach be recognized.
 
Several students stepped forward to talk about the impact Gill has had on their lives.
 
"Even in practices, you never stop cheering," recent alumna Briana Dowling said. "Like the day when I couldn't hit the block with the discus. I couldn't get it further than 70 feet. And he starts getting everyone to yell at me, 'Hit that block.' And [the cheer] got faster and faster.
 
"And I threw my first 84 feet with the discus. And you hugged me. And it just made my day. I was so upset that day because it was the last day of school, and it was sad for me. And you cheered me right up. You're literally the best coach I've ever had."
 
Junior thrower Ryan Goss echoed Dowling in talking about the spirit Gill brings to the team.
 
"Something I very much admire about you is how enthusiastic you are, whatever the situation is," Goss told Gill. "You make sure it's a family environment, and that comes before the winning. Everyone's together.
 
"I think that's why you've made track my favorite sports season."
 
Elizabeth Dupras pointed out that she has been learning from Gill since kindergarten and her days in the Little Kids Track program. Next fall, Dupras will be joining the "big kids" at Division I Providence College as a recruit on its track and field team.
 
"One thing I admire about coach Gill is his determination and coaching skills," Dupras said. "He always knows how to make his athletes motivated but also not kill them. He makes you love the sport, which is a gift because I have had coaches throughout the years who work you too hard and you start to not like what you're doing.
 
"But coach Gill always pushes you just the right amount to still help you go far and achieve your goals."
 
In the 13 years of the Frankie Award, 25 individuals have been recognized by their fellow coaches for contributions to youth, high school and college sports. It was, perhaps, fitting that the final presentation took place at Mount Greylock, where 10 of the recipients, including Gill, have coached.
 
It also was fitting to see all the North Berkshire connections on display. Gill played high school basketball against teams coached by Zoltek. Noel coached basketball against Gill. Noel also coached the father of Goss, one of Gill's proteges.
 
Wednesday's honoree was thinking about more connections as he looked at the youngsters assembled to watch the ceremony.
 
"You stand on the backs of hundreds of other track athletes who have come before you," Gill said. "Some of them are now coaching here. Some of them are coaching other places. But they have caught the love of sport, and that, to me, is more satisfying than anything else.
 
"Just the relationships I've created over the years with you guys is the most special thing. And if this is a symbol of anything, it's a symbol of those relationships."
 
Winners of the Frank A. Zoltek Passion for Coaching Award:
2007 - Bill Robinson
2008 - Ray Miro
2009 - Bob LeClair and Bob Rivard
2010 - Jack Racette, Holly McGovern, Paul Barrett
2011 - Ed Noel and Erika DeSanty
2012 - George Canales and Steve Phaneuf
2013 - Shawn Flaherty
2014 - Al Giorgi and Mike Larabee
2015 - Blair Dils, Hilary and Hiram Greene, Steve Messina
2016 - Paul Sniezek and Ron Wojcik
2017 - John Jacobbe
2018 - Larry Bell, Mike Dowling
2019 - Mike Gladu, Brian Gill

Tags: coaches,   sports awards,   

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Mount Greylock School Committee Votes Slight Increase to Proposed Assessments

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to slightly increase the assessment to the district's member towns from the figures in the draft budget presented by the administration.
 
The School Committee opted to lower the use of Mount Greylock's reserve account by $70,000 and, instead, increase by that amount the share of the fiscal year 2025 operating budget shared proportionally by Lanesborough and Williamstown taxpayers.
 
The budget prepared by the administration and presented to the School Committee at its annual public hearing on Thursday included $665,000 from the district's Excess and Deficiency account, the equivalent of a municipal free cash balance, an accrual of lower-than-anticipated expenses and higher-than-anticipated revenue in any given year.
 
That represented a 90 percent jump from the $350,000 allocated from E&D for fiscal year 2024, which ends on June 30. And, coupled with more robust use of the district's tuition revenue account (7 percent more in FY25) and School Choice revenue (3 percent more), the draw down on E&D is seen as a stopgap measure to mitigate a spike in FY25 expenses and an unsustainable budgeting strategy long term, administrators say.
 
The budget passed by the School Committee on Thursday continues to rely more heavily on reserves than in years past, but to a lesser extent than originally proposed.
 
Specifically, the budget the panel approved includes a total assessment to Williamstown of $13,775,336 (including capital and operating costs) and a total assessment to Lanesborough of $6,425,373.
 
As a percentage increase from the FY24 assessments, that translates to a 3.90 percent increase to Williamstown and a 3.38 percent increase to Lanesborough.
 
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