Dartmouth High sports fans filled the school’s gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 7 for a dedication ceremony for the school’s basketball court.

The court was christened the Coach Steve Gaspar Court after the 28-year veteran head coach who retired in 2013.

In an emotional speech, Gaspar thanked school officials for the honor and many others for their contributions to his long career.

“There are so many people I want to thank who influenced me along the way,” he said.

Gaspar was introduced by Mike Grandfield, the current head coach of the basketball team and a former player on Gaspar’s team.

“Trying to summarize Coach Gaspar’s resume is an incredibly daunting task,” he said. “I could continue on all night.”

Grandfield said that Gaspar’s dedication reached far beyond the court to the “genuine and sincere” relationships he built with his players, making the team feel like a family.

Gaspar racked up 324 wins in his years as head coach and led the team to 19 MIAA state tournaments.

He is a two-time member of the Dartmouth High Athletic Hall of Fame, having been inducted as a student-athlete in 1993 and as a coach in 2018.

In addition to his work with the basketball team, Gaspar was a teacher for the school for 35 years and the founder of the school’s after-prom party which he directed with his wife, Kathy, for over two decades to give students a safe place to celebrate.

Despite his many accomplishments, Gaspar accepted the honor with modesty, asserting that he owed his success to the student-athletes who played for him.

“To all the players that I had the privilege of coaching,” he said, “thank you for your dedication.”