Lucien Gava

Lucien Gava coached his first high school basketball game at the old Commerce High School in Windsor back in 1973.

He would go on to coach both boys and girls for nearly 50 years, the bulk of it at Ecole Secondaire L’Essor.

Beyond the championship games his teams often appeared in, Gava was much more interested in the development and growth of his student-athletes as well-rounded motivated young adults.

He was a tireless fundraiser so that his teams could partake in a yearly exchange trip to Europe that put as much emphasis on history and culture as foul shots and zone defenses.

For this and all other selfless endeavors, Gava is the 2026 recipient of the Bob Turner Recognition Award given annually by the Windsor-Essex County Sports Hall of Fame.

The Turner Award recognizes a member of the community who has provided years of dedicated service to athletics while promoting participation, improvement and wellbeing.

In addition to guiding both L’Essor girls’ and boys’ teams to OFSAA tournaments (winning gold in ’06 with the girls and silver in ’05 with boys and girls), Gava was a long-time organizer of the Franco Boys All-Ontario tournament, co-founder and organizer of the Franco Girls All-Ontario tournament and the founder of the Franco Girls All-Ontario soccer tournament. Gava valued the Franco tournaments for their promotion of sport and fraternity.

He additionally founded the Southwestern Ontario Fracophone Basketball Association.

Gava has been recognized by OFSAA and the Windsor and District Referees’ Association for his contributions and WECSHOF is happy to join the chorus.