Coach Gause built a legacy of love, leadership and generosity

Richard Gause's celebration of life had enough positive spirit in the air that you could wear it like a bright-colored football jersey.

Lots of people. Lots of love. Together.

At least 1,000 people were in attendance to honor Gause at Bethel Christian Fellowship in Rochester. The coach and business owner died at the age of 64 on Sept. 2.

There was family from the Miami area, where Gause was born. A mix of relatives and friends from the city of Atlanta attended, too. There were also friends who Gause treated like family from Las Vegas, the states of California, Connecticut, Michigan and Oregon and Ottawa, Canada. And, of course, plenty of people from right here in Rochester. Lots of people.

"I see why dad was always on the phone, he was pouring out to other people," Quentin Gause said. "He always poured into other people."

That list of people included Vielka, his wife since Sept. 6, 1986. Their children Rachel Hurt, Brandin, Quentin and Joseph Gause. His seven younger brothers and sisters. His three grandchildren. The coaches he worked with on youth and Section V teams at public and private schools. The coaches he met at skills and showcase camps. The youngsters who once filled baseball diamonds, football fields, track lanes and basketball courts who grew into men before you knew it. The teammates of his sons.

If a thorough list of people who Gause "poured into" was made, it would be "wide and deep," which was the description of Gause's circle of friends in the tribute to him.

"He was Coach Gause," 23-year old Atlanta Falcons running back Nate Carter said. "My dad knew him way before I did. My dad liked coach Gause because of the man that he was, rooted in his faith. He treated me like I was one of his sons.

"I had another father figure in my life to look to for wisdom, especially in the realm of recruiting (and advancing in college football) and also in the spiritual sense. He didn't have to do it, and he didn't just do it with me. I seen it with my teammates."

Kala Gause watched his oldest brother, too, and followed the 1980 Edison graduate into sports. Big brother was so much of a prescence at Kala's youth games that "a lot of people thought Rick was my dad."

"At the end of the day, you wanted his validation that you did something right," Kala Gause, 50, said. "You had your accomplishments and he would celebrate with you.

"You get a new car, he was happy like he bought it. He was happy with you.”

The brothers were 14 years apart, but long before Kala Gause moved to Atlanta, they would talk and text 10, maybe 12 times a day.

According to Kala, Richard Gause was seen with another brother so much that their first names began to sound like one word.

"It was Rick and Al, Al and Rick," Kala Gause said. "He’s gonna call at 2 or 3 (in the morning), 'I just called to see if you were up', or during the first break (while working at the restaraunt, G&G Steakout).

"I don't know where he had the time to call all of those people that he knew. He checked up on (all) of us."

Kala Gause was 23 years old when his oldest brother gave him his first coaching assigment while with the Rochester Rams youth football team. Richard was the first person to refer to him as "coach." They would go on to coach together again with the 10th Ward Tigers youth organization in the city of Rochester.

It was time to team up again when Richard's son, Quentin, progressed through Section V to Rutgers University and then to the National Football League.

It was that guidance that led these two Gause brothers to build the Beyond Athletics and Next Level & Beyond sports mentorship programs. A large number of their shared experiences became the inspiration for Kala Gause to become a published author for the first time.

"They pulled me in," Webster Schroeder assistant coach Sean Banks said. "He invited me into his home, made travel plans (for) and talked about what we needed to help kids. His own son was going through the process, it made it really genuine.

"He's one of the grandfathers of development and understanding the college football recruiting process, of how to do it - taking trips (to showcase for and learn about colleges), getting parents involved, getting coaches involved. Just good dudes, they worked with people, they weren't trying to have all of the credit. They just wanted to see kids succeed. The mentor, the father, the life coach, the relationship with God, Quentin represents all of that."

Kala Gause said his brother Rick "was an advocate for finding a solution."

"To be able to climb the mountain, no matter how high it was," Kala Gause said. "He was always saying, we've got to push through."

Together.

James Johnson, who grew up in the city of Rochester, has worked as a full-time journalist covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996. His career began as an intern during the summer of 1990, before the start of his senior year at Edison in the Rochester City School District. He has become a two-time winner of the Rochester Press-Radio Club's Sports Media Excellence Award.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Richard Gause remembered for leadership woven through generosity