Jake Gilbert has helped develop the Westfield football team into one of Indiana’s premier programs over the past several years.
Under Gilbert’s leadership, the Shamrocks have reached the state championship game three times in the past eight years. Also under Gilbert’s leadership, Westfield has been making major contributions off the field, with several charitable and community service initiatives.
All these accomplishments are getting recognized on a national level. Gilbert was named the winner of the 2020 Region 3 Power of Influence Award late last year. The award is presented by the American Football Coaches Association and the American Football Coaches Foundation, and was designed to “honor deserving high school football coaches,” according to the AFCA’s website.
The Power of Influence award recognizes coaches “for their impact on their team, as well as the legacy they leave with the school and surrounding community,” said the AFCA’s website. It pointed out the award “is not based on wins and losses,” although it said that “coaches of powerful influence have longevity and success.”
Gilbert has been the head coach at Westfield since 2011. During that time, the Shamrocks have reached the state championship game three times, in addition to winning five sectional and three regional championships.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment that is truly humbling,” said Gilbert. “There are 244,000 high school football coaches. To be a finalist for the highest honor a high school coach can get is mind boggling. This is an honor for our entire program and our administration that has allowed us to run our program this way.”
There are five different regional winners of the Power of Influence Award, and all five of them were made finalists for the national award, which was given out during the AFCA’s virtual convention in January. Don Smolyn, the coach of Lenape (N.J.) Valley Regional High School, received the national award.
In addition to on-field success, the Power of Influence Award also takes into account off-field activities, where Westfield has stepped up in a major way. The Shamrocks have been solid contributors to their community.
“We are trying to build a culture of family and commitment,” said Gilbert. “We are here to outwork and outlove who we were yesterday. Our kids have served each other and our community on a major scale. We have hosted yearly Special Olympics clinics, given more blood than anyone in the state, held several food drives, and raised thousands of dollars to fight cancer. We’ve helped Wounded Warriors, Habitat for Humanity, and Indiana Women in Need. Our players have confronted teen suicide, opioid abuse, and racism. We’ve sent 14 people to Haiti and 10,000 meals to Africa. Our kids have made a difference and I am so proud of them. All the while we’ve been to the State Championship three times in eight years. God has been so good to us. I am so very blessed to be here.”