Parkesburg Resident Named Coach Of The Year

Coach Gene Lambert

Kudos to Parkesburg native and current resident Gene Lambert for being named 'Coach of the Year' by Chester County's The Daily Local.

Lambert led Octorara's boys basketball team to a 23-6 record and a run at a state championship all the way to the quarterfinal round of the Class AAA PIAA playoffs before losing to eventual state champion, Neumman-Goretti.

The money quote from the Daily Local News article below:

Lambert is quick to point out that the Braves' success is a team effort and he did not deserve all the praise for this season's triumphs.

"Without my assistants there is no me," Lambert said. "Jason Ralston, Chris Henly, Kendell Dixon and Jim Kaufmann all did a great job preparing the kids. I cannot say enough about them, and they all played at Ocotara at one time or another. We worked together as a team." 

 Here's the article:

Lambert guides Braves to lofty heights

By PETER DiGIOVANNI, Staff Writer
 
To be a successful coach at any level, one must stay the course and be confident and cool during the lean times and not let his players feel any extra pressure. It takes someone who is focused on the long term goal and strong enough to believe his group is heade in the right direction.

Octorara boys basketball had some losing seasons during the early 2000's but the Braves talented coach, Gene Lambert, kept building the program, encouraging his players and telling them that better days are ahead. Well, those better days came in the 2010-11 season.

This season Octorara finished with a 23-6 mark, captured the Class AAA District 1 championship and advanced all the way to the quarterfinal round of the Class AAA PIAA playoffs before losing to eventual state champion, Neumman-Goretti.

It is for building the Braves program into one of the better ones in District 1 and leading Octorara to its best season ever that Gene Lambert is the Daily Local News Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.

"Gene did a great job with his kids and to win a district title at any level is a great thing," Rustin coach Keith Cochran said. "His kids played hard every game and that is a sign that he had them ready to play."

Lambert is quick to point out that the Braves' success is a team effort and he did not deserve all the praise for this season's triumphs.

Read the entire article here.