Andre Fontenette, a Churchville-Chili graduate (Class of 2000), is Gates Chili’s new head football coach. Fontenette’s leadership comes after the retirement of longtime teacher and high school football coach Jason Benham.
Fontenette began his love for football as a young boy. He played for the Chili Lions when he was seven years old, and this is where he really began to learn the game. At Churchville-Chili, Andre played JV football in his freshman year as a wide receiver. He moved up to varsity in his sophomore year.
His coach, Paul Dick, had a profound influence on Andre. “Coach Dick is a great man of faith; he built into me, helped me prepare for the future, and went out of his way to promote me to colleges to continue playing.” Thanks to Coach Dick’s efforts and Andre’s talent, Fontenette received nearly twenty college offers to play football. “I chose to play for Syracuse University because it was close to my family and I formed a great relationship with the recruiter, David Walker,” said Fontenette.
Upon graduation from Syracuse University, Fontenette coached football at the collegiate level, including at SUNY Brockport, Wagner College, and the University of Maine, and advanced to full-time coaching at Campbell University. In 2013, when the coaching contracts were not renewed at Campbell, Fontenette returned to his hometown of Chili. He began looking for coaching opportunities locally. “I don’t love anything else,” Andre said.
He interviewed for an opening as the head coach at his alma mater, Churchville-Chili, but was not chosen. “It was a blessing in disguise,” said Fontenette. “I was not ready for a head coach position back then.” Fontenette then accepted a position as assistant coach at McQuaid, where he spent nine seasons working alongside head coach Bobby Bates. McQuaid went on to win five sectional seasons in a row. “I learned so much during my time at McQuaid,” he said.
In 2018, Fontenette married his wife, Carrie. He also completed his master’s degree that same year. The couple welcomed daughter Annie in 2022. “I love being a husband and father. It really motivates me to do what I need to do each day to be the best I can be for them,” he said.
In addition to coaching football at McQuaid, Andre worked as a case worker at the Industry Juvenile Residential Center. Two years ago, Andre left Industry to work for the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office as a Client Advocacy Supervisor, where he now helps adults mitigate challenging legal circumstances.
This summer, Fontenette was inducted into the Section V Football Hall of Fame as one of the best receivers and kick returners in school history. He set many school records in football and was First Team All-County (1998) and First Team All-Greater Rochester (1999). In his senior year, he was selected for the 2000 Governor’s Bowl.
Earlier this year, Andre decided to throw his hat back in the ring of head coaching when the Gates Chili head football coach, Jason Benham, retired. He applied for the head coaching position and was offered the position the following week.
Fontenette began pre-season training at the end of August. “I am most excited to build relationships with these kids, invest in them as players, and hope they will invest in me as their coach,” said Fontenette. “I want to use football as a platform to help these players better themselves. I feel that kids can relate to me because I come from a background that is like them,” he said.
Fontenette’s own football experiences – playing and coaching at the high school and collegiate level – in combination with the extra dimension of experiences he got working with teens at the juvenile facility, refined his skills to be ready for this role, enabling him to not only be a good football coach but to also have the discernment and ability to help kids who might be struggling.
As Andre Fontenette kicks off his first season as head coach, he reflects on all the people along the way who contributed to who he is today. “First, I am grateful for my parents, George and Precious, who always supported me and never missed a game. Having my parents, my brother Adrian and my sister Alicia support me along the way meant everything,” he said. Key coaching influences in Andre’s past were Coach Sam Messina, his first football coach, Coach Paul Dick from Churchville-Chili, and Bobby Bates, the McQuaid head coach who taught him so much about coaching over the past eight years.
In addition to loving his role as the head coach, Andre gets so much joy from seeing his daughter and wife at team practices. He looks forward to having them and his parents at the Spartans first game, supporting Andre and the entire team.
Fontenette looks forward to their game schedule as school resumes and football season is underway. “Week five will be interesting because I will be coaching against my alma mater,” he said. “I want to make football fun again!” he exclaimed.
For more information on the Gates Chili football schedule, visit https://tinyurl.com/2j8dx8a9.
