GENE AMMIRANTE

WHEELING — For more than four decades, Gene Ammirante has been synonymous with youth basketball in the Ohio Valley, especially in the high school landscape.

Ammirante has cemented himself as one of the best high school basketball coaches in the region’s history, with 471 wins to his credit. Yet his influence goes well beyond high school basketball, and basketball in general, because his mission stretches well beyond the court.

Ammirante is a dedicated mentor to youth through basketball and other sports. That devotion to the youth of the Ohio Valley has led the Wheeling YMCA to honor him with the 2025 Dr. Lee Jones Patron of Youth Award.

That award will be bestowed upon Ammirante at the annual Wheeling YMCA Light of the Valley luncheon, to be held at noon Aug. 13 in the ballroom of Wheeling Park’s White Palace.

On top of Ammirante’s award, the luncheon’s guest speaker is scheduled to be Bellaire native, 16-year NFL veteran and current ESPN college football analyst Joey Galloway.

The Dr. Lee Jones Patron of Youth Award has been bestowed upon many notable Ohio Valley residents over the years who have served the region. Past recipients have included G. Randolph Worls, the late Bishop Bernard Schmitt, Robert Nutting, Bob Contraguerro Sr., Bob Robinson, Gary West, the late Jim Bordas and his wife, Linda, Jim Crutchfield, the late Joe Viglietta, Dr. Gregory Merrick, Dr. Daniel Joseph, Lisa Allen, Bishop Darrell Cummings and Tom Bechtel.

Wheeling YMCA Executive Director Adam Shinsky said Ammirante is the perfect person to join those notable names.

“You hear the term all the time ‘bigger than basketball,'” Shinsky said. “He uses basketball as a format to just make kids better at whatever sport, academics or anything else in their lives.”

Ammirante began his coaching career in 1976 as an assistant at Bellaire High. He then spent 30 years as the team’s head coach, compiling one of the most decorated careers in the Ohio Valley. Within those 471 wins were 14 OVAC championships, six district championships and one trip to the Ohio state semifinals.

Yet his impact on youth stretches past that one sport. He was a program supervisor for the city of Wheeling’s Parks and Recreation Department for 14 years. He initiated the department’s youth basketball program, the Saturday Morning Basketball Program with “Coach A” and the Bellaire High School Basketball Camp. He also helped run events in several other sports.

Ammirante will always take an opportunity to teach, said YMCA board Chairman Jamie Bordas.

“He’ll see a kid and he’ll just go over to him at the gym and help him out a little bit,” Bordas said. “That’s just who Gene Ammirante has been all his life.”

One of the biggest lessons Ammirante teaches that transcends basketball is the importance of teamwork. In a society where so much these days is individualized, Bordas said it is important for kids to understand what it means to be part of a team.

“You have someone like him who continues to let kids know that, hey, you are a part of something bigger than yourself,” Bordas said. “That’s going to continue throughout life, whether it be as part of an organization, a job or part of a family unit. You got to look at things as being bigger than yourselves.”

Galloway is scheduled to speak at this year’s luncheon, Shinsky said, but there is a chance that his ESPN obligations could keep him away. During Galloway’s long NFL career, he cemented himself as a premier receiver and punt returner. He has nearly 11,000 receiving yards to his credit with 77 touchdowns. He has been with ESPN as a college football analyst since 2011.

He also was an All-Ohio basketball selection for Ammirante at Bellaire.

“For him not to forget his roots and still be there for a coach in what wasn’t even his main sport, it’s just a testament to how good of a guy Joey is,” Shinsky said.

Those wanting more information on the luncheon can call Shinsky at the YMCA at 304-242-8086.