Mark, the youngest son of Henry and Catherine Osowski, was born in Leominster on February 14, 1963.  He grew up on Lowe Street with his parents and four older brothers: Hank, Peter, John, and Tom.  When he was just six years old, his father died suddenly.  Since his brothers were much older (13 years or more), he was brought up by his mother and older brothers, particularly John, to whom he was extremely close.

Mark was an all-around athlete who grew up playing baseball, football, street hockey and basketball, often being coached by his older brother, John.  However, once he found basketball, he was hooked.  He discovered a true love of the game, spending countless hours dribbling around the neighborhood and playing at local playgrounds.  All his free time was spent playing basketball.

From a young age, Mark knew that basketball was his path.  When asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, he said he would be in the NBA.  Most people just answered with a polite nod and smile, while others laughed at what they deemed to be the foolish dreams of a young middle-schooler.  But Mark was no ordinary young man.  He was determined.  Whether anyone else believed him didn’t matter; he believed in himself.  Even when he was asked to go out for other sports in high school, he refused.  Instead, he decided to focus all his energy on basketball.

What Mark realized and others did not was that the connections he was making, even at the age of 12, would come back to reward him down the road.  One of the most notable was with Boston Celtics legend, Dave Cowens.  Mark attended the Dave Cowens Basketball Camp as a camper.  Eventually, he would return as a camp counselor, ultimately taking over daily operations and running the camp.  When Cowens was appointed as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, there was one man he knew he wanted at his side: Mark Osowski.  During his NBA coaching career, Mark would frequently return to Cowens’ camp as a guest speaker.

Although Mark’s career as a basketball player continued through his time in high school, college, and recreationally at the Bennett School, he always understood that even his incredible drive and spirit were not enough to take him to the NBA as a player.  But his passion and devotion to the sport of basketball remained, so he found other ways to stay involved.  He accepted coaching offers from small, local colleges, doing stints at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and Assumption College in Worcester.  It didn’t matter that he didn’t have the talent to succeed as a player, his love of teaching and commitment to the game made him the ideal coach.  He seized every opportunity that presented itself and put his full effort into each and every one.  Mark also sought out and created his own opportunities.

In 1990, while attending an Osowski family reunion in California with his soon to be wife, Kristin Esper, Mark arranged a meeting and drove to the Los Angeles Lakers office to introduce himself to the assistant coach, Bill Bertka.  This gutsy move landed him a job as a scout for the Lakers as well as a job coaching in their summer league for several years.  After being named “Coach of the Year” in 1992, Mark was certainly attracting some attention from the big leagues.  He was a finalist for a job as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks.  While he was disappointed when he did not get the job, he refused to let the setback knock him down.  A year later, he took a job as the assistant coach for the Rapid City Thrillers in the CBA (the NBA minor leagues).  It wasn’t the NBA, but it was professional basketball; Mark was thrilled to be a part of it.

Once the first professional coaching opportunity arrived, with all the hard work beginning to pay off, Mark could see the light of the NBA on the horizon.  It would be after a stretch in Connecticut (with the Hartford Hellcats and Connecticut Pride) as a CBA assistant, and later head coach, that Mark would land his first NBA coaching position.  On August 13, 1996, Mark Osowski was announced as the assistant coach of the Charlotte Hornets.  This was it.  He had taken action on his dreams for so many years, and now his dreams were coming true.

The Charlotte Hornets were just the first stop on Mark’s NBA journey.  He coached for the Golden State Warriors, leading talented young players like Gilbert Arenas, Mike Dunleavy and Antawn Jamison.  During his final NBA season (2003-2004), Mark was the assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers; this was LeBron James’ rookie year.  Basketball had given him the opportunity to work with some of the most talented people in the world all over the world, working at camps in Spain and Germany (with Dirk Nowitzki) and participating in the “Basketball Without Borders” campaign.

For all his years of success, his Leominster roots remained one of the most important things in his life.  He never forgot where he came from and where it had brought him.  In 1997, he began the Mark Osowski Basketball Camp to give back to his beloved hometown.  He was at camp every summer, spending the entire week coaching and leading drills.  It was always one of his favorite times of year, often making it hard to distinguish who was having more fun, the kids at camp or Mark.

In July 2004, Mark was in Leominster preparing for camp when he fell ill.  He spent nearly a month fighting a serious infection with the same determination he approached everything in life.  Sadly, it was not enough, and Mark died on August 22, 2004.  He left behind a legacy of dedication, passion, courage, perseverance, spirit, and proof that dreams do come true for those willing to work for them.