After leading the Warren Hills Girls Bowling team to a State Championship victory, Coach Greg Rottengen, 74, passed away  this past August.

Rottengen passed away suddenly due to complications with open heart surgery, but although he is gone, he will  live on in the legacy he left behind.

Fondly known as “Coach” to his team, Rottengen inspired young people to bowl, no matter their previous skill level.

Rottengen served in the Vietnam War in his youth and frequently enjoyed fishing and hunting.  As an adult, he served as a science teacher in the Parsippany School District for over 35 years.  He often spoke of his crazy,  but educational science lessons during bowling practice.

Rottengen was dedicated to teaching youth about bowling, and about the future of the sport.  He became a Silver Level Coach in 1994 and joined the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) in 1996.

He became the Varsity coach of the Warren Hills Girls and Boys Bowling Teams in 2005.  Since then, he has left a lasting print in the community, constantly dedicating his time and knowledge.

During his time coaching the Warren Hills teams, he always let his student athletes take credit for their achievements, saying, “I didn’t do anything, it was all the kids.”

Rottengen was the guiding light behind the most recent accomplishment, winning the 2016 State Championship, but would take no credit for the win.  He never had any children, but often saw his team as a second family.

He stood as a coach, friend, and family member to all those who knew him, most importantly to the Warren Hills team he left behind.

“Coach Greg Rottengen was always a great coach.  For some of us, like myself, he taught us how to bowl from knowing nothing at all,” Warren Hills Alumnus, Kala Hopkins (16-17) said.  “But he was more than just a coach.  He helped make the bowling team a giant family in my years on the team.  He was the best coach I ever had.”

Believe it or not, the boys and girls teams did not always get along, but with Coach’s guidance, he united them into one big family.

Current captain of the Boys Bowling Team, senior Eric Lawson said, “Coach was a great man who will stay in our hearts forever.”

At every Winter Sports Awards, Rottengen would always give the most vibrant speeches about his athletes, calling them “Diamonds in the Rough” until winning a title that he had desperately worked for since he began coaching Warren Hills.  Then he decided that the team had finally shone like the diamonds he always knew they were.  But some teammates would beg to differ that he was the diamond amongst them all.

“He always went the extra mile to make sure we were okay and always helped in learning how to be the best bowlers we could be. “ Warren Hills Alumnus Jenna Henderson (16-17) said.  “I am completely blessed to have as much time with him as I did  and I’m sure