A mentor has left us

Walt Teike was Kearney's first wrestling coach, the boys' first phys ed instructor and our first football coach.

 

We remember Mr. Teike fondly. He was supremely competent and an indefatigable workhorse who considered twelve hours of labor to be a cheat day. He exuded an aura of gravitas one would not expect from a sports figure. He knew how to get boys to perform better as individuals and as a team. He had an uncanny ability to spot undeveloped and sometimes even unsuspected talent, and he knew how to develop it. 

He got the BK wrestling team started on the way toward becoming a major player in Monroe County athletics, then left Kearney and did even better, turning nearby Spencerport High into a nationally respected powerhouse. In the two years before he took over, Spencerport's wrestling team had been 4-11 and 7-9. He turned that around to 10-3 in his first year, and by 1971 he had achieved back-to-back undefeated seasons. By 1975 Spencerport was the state champion.

More important, he knew how to help boys become men. 

Upon his death, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle honored his achievements with a lengthy tribute, which you can read here.