This is the second in a series of six articles profiling the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.

ADAMS TWP — At the urging of several club soccer players, Blair Gerlach came to Mars High School 17 years ago.

He's never left, creating quite a legacy in the process.

After spending five seasons as the head coach of the Planets' boys team, Gerlach took over the girls team and has since led the Planets to an overall record of 187-34-13, four WPIAL championships and one state title.

Gerlach will be inducted into the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame next month.

Gerlach starred as a scholastic player at Hampton High School, helping the Talbots to a share of the state championship in 1990. He originally went to the University of Maryland to continue his athletic career, but following a back injury, transferred to Slippery Rock University, where he was named a regional All-American.

It was near the end to his collegiate career that he was introduced to coaching.

“A few of my (SRU) teammates were coaching on the side with Northern Steel and they said I had the right personality and should give it a try,” said Gerlach. “I hopped in the car one day with them to check it out and I liked it. I became more involved with it and within a year and a half, I was running camps.”

A few years later, some Northern Steel boys players from Mars mentioned to Gerlach that their high school team needed an assistant coach.

Again, he was up for the challenge.

“The head coach at the time, Al Maiure, made me promise to stick around because he was going to retire. I spent that first season as an assistant, then became head coach in 2002.”

Gerlach helped Mars' boys reach the WPIAL playoffs all five of his seasons as head coach. The team made the state playoffs for the first time in its history in 2003.

It has been with Mars' girls program, however, that Gerlach has enjoyed his most successful seasons as a high school mentor. He took over as head coach in 2007, which coincided with him becoming the Girls Director of Coaching for Northern Steel.

“I had become very familiar with a lot of the girls players for Northern Steel, especially through the U13 to U17 teams. I knew many of the girls who were coming up to the varsity level at Mars.”

Under his tutelage, the Planets won WPIAL crowns in 2010-12 and 2015 and claimed the program's first and to date, only state title in 2011.

That season, Mars went 25-0-1 and defeated Villa Joseph Marie, 1-0, in the state final in Hershey.

“We've had several teams here that I believe were capable of competing for a state championship,” Gerlach said. “There's a lot of parity once you get deep into the state playoffs. A lot of times, it comes down to whether you get a bounce to go your way.

“One thing that I do remember from that 2011 team was how close the players were. They were always playing pick-up games with each other and had played on big stages before winning at states.”

Gerlach's teams play a certain brand of soccer, one that often overwhelms opponents. On his watch, Mars went a staggering 85-0-1 in section play in a stretch that spanned eight seasons, ending in 2016.

“We have a pretty imposing offense and like to run downhill at teams, suffocate them,” he said. “It helps that we are very organized in the back and teams don't score many goals against us.

“I've been involved with our junior high girls teams as well,” he added. “We like the freshmen coming in to know what to expect. Playing for the high school is a lot of fun for the girls, but it is also demanding.”

That high level of play has led many of Gerlach's players to the college game, some on scholarship.

Gerlach, who has already been inducted into Hampton's Hall of Fame as a player, knows being honored as a coach takes cooperation from people.

“I've been lucky to have worked with fantastic people, from the administration at Mars, (athletic director) Scott Heinauer, to the parents, who are very committed. We've always had a lot of great players, too. I am very honored by this (induction), but people should know it's not just about me.

“I've found a niche as a coach, but what I enjoy most about it are the relationships I've formed and the opportunity to affect people's lives. Being involved like this with people often leads to talks about things more important than soccer.”