Special invite shows the impact John Gause has made to CYO kids for 40 years

By John Shaughnessy

Beyond the tough losses and the exhilarating wins, there are other emotional moments that especially touch a coach’s heart.

John Gause experienced one of those moments a few years ago when he received a special invitation from a fifth-grade boy he had coached.

As the coach of a football team at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis, Gause followed the parish’s tradition of inviting boys from the nearby parishes of St. Joan of Arc and St. Thomas Aquinas to play when those parishes don’t have enough players to field a team.

The fifth-grade boy was a student at St. Joan of Arc School, a child whom Gause often picked up at his home to take him to practices and games—or arranged rides for the boy. The child remembered those extra efforts and the way Gause treated him when his school had its annual day for students to invite and honor a special person from their lives.

“He picked me and asked me to join him on Special Persons Day,” Gause recalls. “I thought that was cool. I felt blessed. Afterward, I was able to take him to breakfast. I think coaches can play a pivotal role in the development of boys who do not have a father figure in their lives.”

It’s one moment from Gause’s 40 years of commitment to children through the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), which recently honored him with its highest honor, the St. John Bosco Award.

In a way, those 40 years—as exemplified by the impact he had on that child—have represented Gause’s efforts to pay back someone who had a defining influence on him through his young life.

The late Phil Wilhelm coached Gause when Gause played football at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Indianapolis. Wilhelm also followed Gause’s playing days at nearby Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School, where he graduated in 1980. And Wilhelm was influential in helping Gause attend and play football at the former St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind. Upon his graduation, Gause helped Wilhelm coach at Our Lady of Lourdes.

“I could talk all day about the impact he had on me as I grew up,” says Gause, a father of three. “He was a really big influence on my life.”

That includes Gause’s desire to influence the lives of young people.

“You pay it forward,” he says. “As far as I’m concerned, the CYO is the best sports league I’ve ever been associated with. It’s a wonderful, faith-filled community. There are lots of people like me who had really good mentors like Phil. Phil made the time to do it. I’ve always worked a lot of hours, but I’ve made time to do it.”

Gause believes the football outreach of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish to St. Joan of Arc and St. Thomas Aquinas has brought those Indianapolis North Deanery communities closer together.

He also says, “I believe there are lots of ways to bring people into the Church, and sports is one of them. I know we’ve brought some kids to Catholicism through sports.”

Most of all he believes in the words that a friend and mentor once shared with him.

“He was focused on giving back to the Catholic Church and the archdiocese,” Gause says. “He always found that whatever he’s given, whether it’s time or treasure, he’d gotten back three-fold or more. And I believe that, too. That’s not why you do it, but I’ve been blessed. I’ve had a lot of breaks. I’ve been lucky. I’ve had the opportunity to pay it forward, and I’ve enjoyed it.”

It made a difference to a fifth-grade boy. †

 

See more Catholic Youth Organization award winners