A memorable teacher who ignited passion for potential in and out of the classroom has been honoured at his former school.
Gary Schmalfeldt was a maths teacher at Woolooware High School in 1979-1999, and also ran the the basketball program.
During those 20 years, he plucked raw talent from the court, eyeing rising skilled players as they navigated their way through adolescence.
Mr Schmalfeldt took the team to the National Championships on more than one occasion in the 90s, and nabbed school trophies in several other winning titles. As NSW Head Coach Metropolitan East between 1987-2002 and a state selector, his mission was to inspire and guide.
But above all, he was a formative mentor to teenagers, volunteering his time to support them through their schooling.
Mr Schmalfeldt was diagnosed with cancer after he retired. It was a shock to those who knew and admired him.
To recognise his achievements following his death in 2018, former students, basketballers, staff, and his family including wife Anne and children Lee and Drew, gathered outside the school basketball stadium to unveil a plaque in his memory.
There to say a few words about the effect that his former teacher had on his life, was St George Police Detective Sergeant Stiven Atanasovski, who described Mr Schmalfeldt as not only a well-known figure of the Sutherland Shire basketball community, but as a friend.
"He dedicated his life to helping others," he said. "I was one of those kids who could have gone either way. I didn't hang out with the nicest people and my grades weren't great. But Gary took it upon himself to nurture me. He made sure I sat in the front of his maths class. He always had time for a conversation."
It was in Year 7 when the schoolboy crossed paths with Mr Schmalfeldt. "I remember the basketball team trials," he said. "There were far better players trying out. I approached Gary and said 'I don't understand what's going on, because these people are not making the team, yet you're keeping me on.' He put me aside and said, 'You're right. They are better than you now, but they haven't got half the heart you've got.'
"I went from not touching a basketball to making a NSW All School State team by Year 11 and 12. He made Woolooware one of the top schools in basketball. He ran camps outside of school hours, and his wife Anne made sandwiches and fruit for the boys.
"If you were a basketballer playing at Sutherland and you were any good, you'd get a tap on the shoulder from Gary."
The police officer's son made the under-12 representative team at Sutherland, where Mr Schmalfeldt once stood courtside. "I ended up coaching those boys, trying to emulate what Gary did," Detective Sergeant Atanasovski said.
Family tradition also continues for the Schmalfeldt family, with Gary's son Drew, teaching maths at Cronulla High School.
Morgan McCarthy got a tap on the shoulder, in 1993. He was a student at De La Salle College at the time, but was soon bouncing a ball at Woolooware.
"I don't even know how it happened, but Gary said to me ''I heard you can play basketball.' The next year I suddenly found myself wearing a Woolooware jacket," Mr McCarthy said.
"It became a joke with teachers that he was getting all these tall, lanky kids into the program. We were just this little school going up against dedicated sports schools, which had six foot 10 guys destined for the NBA."
There was a lighthearted side to his personality, the former student recalls. "He was a prankster," Mr McCarthy said. "He would often ring my house and pretend he was a basketball coach from America, looking to recruit. Then he'd laugh and say 'It's just Gary'."
About a year before he died, Mr Schmalfeldt shared news of his health on a Facebook fan page launched by Mr McCarthy, during the teacher's final stages of life.
"I've had pain on my left side that went down my leg...I've got lung cancer and have never smoked a cigarette in my life," Mr Schmalfeldt wrote. "I will beat it. I'm going to be in the group that survives."
An aggressive tumour that was growing in his tailbone was compressing a nerve in his spine. Scans revealed lesions on the vertebrae. He was also diagnosed with bone cancer, and died four years ago.
Before he died, he emailed Mr McCarthy, humbling downplaying a title given to him by his students as "coach of the century".
"[I was a] coach who did his best with no experience other than playground ball in high school and college," Mr Schmalfeldt wrote. "When I decided to become a teacher, it was so I could make a difference. I did things I wasn't required to do, and I enjoyed that. My success, for those who consider I had any, was making a positive difference to the lives of the students."
The impact he had on likely thousands of students, Mr McCarthy said, deserved recognition. "When he retired we had a beer with him and us kids were talking about the path some of us could've gone down if it wasn't for Gary," he said.
"One said he'd be in jail. He kept us on track during those rebellious teenage years, but it wasn't in an authoritative way, he just inspired you. Being in his program was like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes."
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