CENTER TWP — As his four children grew up tossing a baseball ball around the diamond, Jerry Oliver made sure he would be there to cherish the moments.

Sitting in the dugout turned out to be a great view.

Oliver, 46, of Butler has been coaching baseball or softball in the Center Township Athletic Association for 16 years. His first experience with the organization came while his daughters, Stephanie and Jessica, played softball in the late 1990s.

He followed suit with his son, Dominic, in baseball and still coaches him in hockey.

Now, it's Jerome Jr.'s turn, who plays for his father on the 11-year-old all-star team.

“I just wanted to be supportive of our children and help them compete in sports and also help the community,” said Oliver. “I got involved that way and it's been an enjoyable experience ever since.”

And it's not just his children who make it a fun task.

“The rewards are you get to work with young people and be around their energy, their enthusiasm,” Oliver explained. “It's always nice to stay with a group of kids and see them grow and mature, not only as ballplayers, but more importantly, as people.”

Oliver is more than happy to show a young player how to lay down a bunt or circle under a fly ball, but he hopes his most valuable lessons translate beyond the ballpark.

“Teach them basics and fundamentals of softball and baseball and also basics and fundamentals in life — how to compete, how to work to together toward a common goal, how to handle defeat and how to enjoy and embrace victory,” said Oliver.

“Anytime I coach children — my own children and their teammates, as well — I always think about the big picture and how their experience is going to resonate with them when they're young men or young women,” he elaborated.

“I've always tried to keep that in perspective. That's the most important thing to me, is that it becomes a positive life lesson, and it's something they can grow from and carry forward.”

In his own youth, Oliver was no stranger to sports.

Raised in a large household, sports were an outlet among his siblings.

“I come from a big family,” he said. “I have five brothers and four sisters, so we've always been active in sports and competitive and grew up loving sports as kids. We had a passion for that.”

Oliver played baseball and hockey, but he excelled in football. After graduating from Ford City High School, where he met his wife of 24 years, June, he went to play on the gridiron for Mercyhurst College, where he was majoring in prelaw.

However, after one year at Mercyhurst, he opted for a different path.

“I actually didn't finish college,” Oliver said. “I just decided to enter the business world, and I've been doing that ever since I was 19.”

It turned out to be a good choice.

Since then, Oliver has been self-employed after blossoming as a real estate investor. He eventually started the advertising company “Bee Seen with Billboards.”

The leap from college to business was made easier with the backing of his parents, Joe and Pauline Oliver, who still live in Ford City.

“They both gave me a lot of support and love growing up and always led me to believe that I could do whatever I wanted to do and be successful,” said Oliver of his parents.

Oliver's monetary flexibility has, at times, allowed his charity to reach beyond instruction.

“I've been able to help out the organizations at times when they needed a little bit of financial help,” said Oliver. “I've been fortunate enough that I've been able to make some contributions in that regard, which certainly feels good.”

Although Oliver is his own boss, that hardly leads to a laid-back life.“Being self-employed doesn't mean that I only work 20 hours a week,” Oliver explained. “Usually it's the opposite — 50, 60 or 70 hours sometimes.”Despite the demands with the business, there are some unique advantages. He has the freedom to work around his family's schedule and compensate at a more opportune time.“I've always been fortunate and happy that I could always be there for my family, for my children. I can count on one hand the sporting events I've had to miss because of work responsibilities,” he said, smiling. “That, to me, is the great benefit of being self-employed. It's even more important than the financial aspects.”That freedom has allowed Oliver to soak in memories with his children.When his son Dominic was 12 years old, Oliver fondly recalled their team coming from behind to win their home tournament championship.Just last year, Jerome Jr.'s 10-year-old team had a game go into at least the 11th inning, when the typical contest lasts just six frames.“We ended up losing that tournament,” said Oliver, “but it was a great game and a great experience and something that I'll remember for a long, long time. And hopefully, the kids will as well.”Behind every memory, there has been a familiar and comforting face by Oliver's side — his wife, June.“She's not just my wife, but she's my best friend and my biggest supporter. She's always been right there with me,” he said.“When you volunteer to lead anything, especially a sports team, it becomes a team effort to really do it well. It's important to have the support of your spouse.“She's done everything and then some. She's gone above and beyond the call of duty to make it as easy as possible for me to do my job as a coach and that's been awesome.”

<B>Age: </B>46<B>Family: </B>His wife, June; daughter, Stephanie, 26; daughter, Jessica Kowalski, 24; son, Dominic, 18; and son, Jerome Jr., 11<B>Employment: </B>Self-employed real estate investor, owner of outdoor advertising company Bee Seen With Billboards, 1768 N. Main St. Ext., Butler<B>Community leadership: </B>Longtime coach of baseball and softball in the Center Township Athletic Association<B>LEADERSHIP IS:</B>“One of the definitions I’ve heard that I really like is you inspire others to be more, to do more and to dream more. I think that’s pretty cool if others can look at you, especially young people, and become inspired to maybe reach beyond what they think they’re even capable of. Who knows where that ends? The rippling effect can be pretty awesome.”<B>INSPIRATION:</B>“I think Abraham Lincoln for sure. The early part of his life was mostly about failure, and I think he had more impact on today’s world than anybody in the last couple hundred years. If he wasn’t such a strong person and wasn’t able to preserve the United States of America and that had dissolved, I mean look at what’s happened since. It would have affected everything.”