Weissman, who inspired many with his unwavering dedication to having a positive influence on young athletes through baseball, died Dec. 3 after a battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with an aggressive and advanced form of the disease in August.

To those who knew him best, no one loved baseball and Westerville more than Dave Weissman.“No one wanted to win more than Dave, but being a (junior varsity) coach he knew developing players and young men was more important,” Bates said. “Teaching his players life lessons was as important to him as teaching baseball skills. He loved his players and they loved him.Adam Tischler, a senior at South and a member of the baseball program, said Weissman pushed him to succeed.“He gave me a drive to work harder,” Tischler said. “He had a great coaching ability. He was able to push my buttons just right to make it so that I wanted to play as hard as I could. When I was playing under him, I definitely wanted to try my hardest because I was trying to prove to him and everybody else that I could be a great baseball player.”