Bill Geppert did not like having his picture taken.

We worked together coaching the Cape Henlopen High School golf team for seven years. I don’t have a single photograph of just Bill from any of them.

Whenever I made the attempt, he would redirect my picture-taking back to the golfers, regardless of whether it was during practice, a match or a post-match gathering.

He always wanted the focus to be on the kids, and in this case literally.

We first met while on competing teams during trivia night at the old Dewey Beach Club. I also knew him as my daughter Julia’s swim team coach in the early 2000s. 

Rob Harrod put us together in 2020 when he asked Bill for help as an assistant for Harrod’s second year as Cape’s head golf coach. Two weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season, but not before I obtained this quote from Bill for my column: “Golf has a technical side to it, not unlike swimming. I really love teaching and helping kids improve in anything that they do.”

I saw hundreds of examples of that love during the next six golf seasons, especially after he became the team’s head coach for the 2025 season.

Bill was completely open to the golfers about his coaching philosophy, grounded on the same benefits of constant competition that he also demanded from his swim teams. To paraphrase what he often said, “My job as the coach is to replace you. Your job is to make it impossible for me to do that.”

The opening tryout results created the first set of starters. Keeping a spot required staying below a maximum score or else earning it back in a play-in contest before the next match. Bill loved studying the constantly updated spreadsheets ranking golfers by average scores to see who would be in those play-ins.

The kids accepted the challenges, often rose to meet them, and loved the fact that their opportunities came from their own efforts.

Bill knew that would happen.

His constant competition principles paid off, with the team’s first Henlopen Conference title in 21 years in 2025 and two successive fifth-place finishes in the DIAA championship. Bill was extremely proud of Cape’s reputation as one of the best regular public school golf teams in the state.

The man loved to pose questions about potential golf situations to assistant coach Lisa Hutchins or me. He wasn’t testing our knowledge of the rules or practice drill options. He wanted to eliminate variables and increase the certainty that things would go as planned.

Bill never really accepted that golf doesn’t work like that, especially at the high school level. 

After several rounds of what-ifs, I would often suggest he was being more theological than practical. He would laugh, and then ask another what-if.

Bill’s competitive instincts and long sports memories kept him fully engaged during the matches, especially when facing longtime rival teams. He loved it when Cape defeated Caesar Rodney this spring, which had not happened for many years.

I enjoyed our long conversations during practices and matches about golf, our personal histories and challenges, and various screw-ups. A golf cart accident at Rehoboth Beach Country Club a few years ago earned Bill a concussion and later a highly decorated helmet for a ceremonial first cart ride after he recovered. Bill gamely wore that helmet for a group photo, because he was fully capable of laughing at himself.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Cape Region folks have their own stories about this well-loved, well-respected teacher and coach, felled by a heart attack at only age 60. I learned much from him about coaching, working with teenagers and ways of thinking about competitive sports.

Bill Geppert was a great person. I am glad I had the opportunity to know and work with him.

Local club competition results

The Kings Creek CC 9-Hole LGA played an Ace Day game July 30 in both gross and net categories. The format uses stroke play scoring with a maximum four over par gross limit.

Marie Murray won first gross in the first flight, with Diane Knizer in second and Denise Sills in third. Donna Romer won first gross in the second flight, followed by Joanne Yurik in second and Patricia Magee in third.

Susan Julbe won first net for the first flight, with Deborah Chase in second and Anita McMullin in third. Nancy Derrickson took first net in the second flight, followed by Kaye Allison in second and Deborah Hinderer in third.

The Kings Creek CC 18-Hole LGA also played their Ace Day game July 30.

Lesley Corydon won first gross in the first flight, with Jacqueline Everett taking second and Anita Pettitt taking third. Cynthia Robinson won first gross in the second flight, with Donal Renninger in second and Kathleen Nilles in third.

Lynn Sweeney won first net for the first flight, with Erin Reid in second and Jennifer Flinchbaugh in third. Kay Woolen finished first net for the second flight, followed by Jeannine Doane in second and Roberta Monkman in third.