Sam Leishure wanted to have an impact on young people. And he did.

A gifted athlete himself, he worked for 16 years as a high school basketball coach, including at Centennial High School right after the school opened in 1977. When he couldn't work in physical education anymore due to rheumatoid arthritis, he found a way to help students while working as a guidance counselor for another 20 years.

One of those Mr. Leishure left his mark on while at Centennial, was Ciaran Lesikar.

Lesikar credits Mr. Leishure with not only inspiring him to finish high school, but to excel at basketball, get a college scholarship and then to become a basketball coach himself.

"I couldn't even begin to quantify the impact that he had on my life. I couldn't imagine where I would be today if was not for him," said Lesikar, who coached basketball at Glenelg High School for 15 years.

Alice Leishure said that her husband wanted all those he coached, like Lesikar, to continue their education.

"If their families were unable to arrange a college visit, he took them," she said.

C. Samuel Leishure, of Reisterstown, died June 1, 2008, of cardiac failure, at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Baltimore. He was 65.

Born May 25, 1943, in Baltimore, to Paul Cleveland and Jeanette Turner Leishure, he graduated from Edmondson High School, in Baltimore, in 1961. While there, he competed as a star varsity athlete in football, basketball and baseball.

"Sam was one of the top athletes. A coach looks for leadership and Sam was my leader for four years. And when it came time to put the ball in the basket, he could do that, too," said Lefty Elliott, Mr. Leishure's coach at Edmondson.

He was recruited in 1961 by Western Maryland College, now called McDaniel College, to play basketball, where, according to family members, his record of 307 assists still ranks among the school's all-time best. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree, earning a Master of Education degree, also from Western Maryland, the next year.

He married Alice Weller in 1965, whom he met at Western Maryland, where she was also a physical education major.

"Sam was all about education with a little spice thrown in for flavor. Even our family vacations were always to an historical location but we always had one day devoted to an amusement park or a zoo," Alice Leishure said.

In 1966, Mr. Leishure was hired to start a varsity boys basketball program at Northwestern High School, in Baltimore, where he taught physical education and coached basketball, lacrosse and football for 11 years.

In 1977, he was recruited to work at a then-new Centennial High School in Howard County, where he was a guidance counselor and coached the boys varsity basketball program from 1977 to 1984. He retired in 2002.

"He was a quality guy that loved to be working and loved to be around kids," said Jim Welsch, Centennial's former athletic director.

Chuck Bragg, one of the 46 original staff members of Centennial who worked with Mr. Leishure in guidance and coaching, said that Mr. Leishure was someone you could count on, especially "if he said he could help you."

"He had pride in his work, he cared about being good and doing things right," Bragg said.

During the summers of 1970 to 1981, Mr. Leishure worked as an assistant camp director at Camp Airy, in Thurmont.

Stacey Karten, who worked as an assistant counselor said that Mr. Leishure was "a quiet man, who got things done in a quiet manner" but that he was creative in his approach.

"He was innovative in his sports program. He introduced some concepts to the camp. ... As someone who enjoys playing ball, I appreciated those things he did," Karten said.

In 2002, Mr. Leishure started working as an admissions counselor, specializing in nursing and allied health, at Howard Community College. He worked closely with the health sciences division and Howard County Fire and Rescue.

Mr. Leishure-- who was a member of the Maryland group, the Free State Daylily Society-- propagated day lilies in his spare time. He also enjoyed carving songbirds and decoys out of wood.

In addition to his wife of 42 years, Mr. Leishure is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law, Aimee D. Leishure and Dominic Faloni, of Finksburg, and Karen L. Leishure, of Timonium; two sisters, Barbara Kaelin, of Perry Hall, and Mary Lou Lee, of Arbutus; and two grandchildren, Olivia Paige Faloni and Samuel John Faloni.

Memorial services were held June 6, 2008, at Northminster Presbyterian Church, in Reisterstown.

Memorial donations may be made to The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, MD 21217 or online at www.marylandzoo.org.

Sports editor Carol Gralia contributed to this story.

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