The Greats

“A good coach can change a game. Great coaches can change a life.”

Juni Wingfield is nothing if not quotable, and this typical pearl of wisdom from him last week speaks volumes about the impact a special group of coaches, Wingfield among them, has had on generations of South Fork athletes.

Richard “Juni” Wingfield, Carl Johnson, Herm Lamison, Nick Thomas, Howard Wood, Ron Gholson and Ronnie White — it’s a roster of winners, both on the court and walking the sidelines as coaches. But their biggest legacy isn’t about X’s and O’s. It’s about life lessons and setting an example for success.

The seven men were honored over the weekend at the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, which was a touchstone for each of them, at a special ceremony for the region’s Black coaches. They are role models in the community as well: Lamison with the Southampton Village Police, Thomas as chief financial officer of The Express News Group, Wingfield as community liaison in the Southampton schools, White as president of the Bridgehampton School Board, and Johnson, Wood and Gholson are all familiar faces in local schools.

In a diverse community, it’s invaluable for every boy and girl to see Black role models, but student athletes of color in particular benefit seeing the successes — not just trophies and titles but the kind of steady leadership these men have shown off the basketball court.

Bonnie Cannon, the center’s executive director, noted that Saturday’s event was something of a homecoming, since the seven men all found themselves on the court together at the center at various points. But as Thomas noted, basketball has served a different purpose for these men, providing “a platform to make a difference and lifelong impact.”

There are many examples of that. Wingfield, for instance, has helped run summer programs in Southampton for kids. Thomas worked with the Kendall Madison Foundation to allow East End kids to enjoy travel basketball — a path of success, and a road to college, for many youth. Johnson, who will resume his storied coaching career at Bridgehampton, is now the athletic director of the center in Bridgehampton, where he was once a kid playing on the grounds. Today, he’s helping to raise money to build an indoor basketball court and a swimming pool, paying forward the opportunities he benefited from.

What’s true of these seven men: They were all very good coaches who certainly changed a lot of games involving local boys and girls. But, more importantly, they should be celebrated for their greatness: They’re changing lives.