Bid Farewell to the Boss

Dan Lopatka is trading in his parka and scarf for some shorts and sunscreen. Make that a lifetime supply of sunscreen as the retiring teacher plans to spend most of his retirement on a beach in Thailand.

The 56-year-old South Peace Secondary School gym teacher and Penguin football coach oversaw his final game with the Dawson Creek high school club a couple of weekends ago. It was fitting that his SPSS club won the Northern B.C. Championship in that game with a 34-19 win over a Duchess Park squad from Prince George.

The title marks the last time that Lopatka will command the Penguins and wraps up countless hours watching film, instructing rookies and vets and running practices as the bench boss of the local high school program

. "In February I will go to Thailand and my plan now is to come back and coach football for a few months every year and have lots of beach time. I am retiring from teaching, but not from football and certainly not life," said Lopatka after the victory.

Football has always been a big part of Lopatka's life. He has been coaching high school football since 1972, starting in Edmonton. He began coaching at SPSS in the early 1990s.

"Every year that that I have coached has been a great year," recalled Lopatka. Naturally the winning seasons stand out as fond memories, such as the Peace Bowls in 1993 and 1994, but every year has been memorable in its own way, pointed out Lopatka

. "Every year we are almost there. We are one injury away. We are a referee's call away. We are always there, but the name of the game is to be a team and every year I want us to be a team and for this year, like all other years, we are a team.

" So the plan is to spend most of the year in Thailand where his wife is a businesswoman and he will coach high school football in the fall. Not a bad gig.

"My career isn't over. My career will be over some day when I am in a coffin. I live football.

" Unfortunately, for Dawson Creek football fans, he will likely coach in Edmonton.

Lopatka sees this next step as another in the road of life. And the road has taken him to some interesting places. While most recently he has been a teacher, he has also had such varied lifestyles as the manager of a fitness centre and at one point was studying to be a Buddhist monk. But football has always been central to his life.

Just ask his son Chet, one of two who has gone through the Penguins' program.

"He knows a lot about it. He knows everything about the game. He loves the game. He makes something out of nothing," said Chet Lopatka.

And he has most certainly made something out of nothing. Every year he takes kids who have never stepped on the gridiron and have absolutely no clue about the game and turns them into a team that usually has a winning record and makes the playoffs.

Come next fall when the trees are turning colour, school is back in and the summer holidays are just a memory, his absence will most certainly be felt, pointed out co-coach Roger Anderson.

"We will never be able to fill the shoes that he leaves behind. He has been the football program in Dawson Creek for many years. We are a provincial-level football team and a provincial-level program because of his efforts. We will miss him big time as a coach and as a friend," said Anderson.

But it's all been so enjoyable and very rewarding, said Lopatka. Like many who dedicate so much time volunteering with sports organizations, or any other organization for that matter, the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices.

"It's a win situation for me too. You put a lot in, but you get a lot back. Every team I have coached here - I have loved every team. The players have been great and nothing will make me feel better than to come back here in 10 years and watch a great Penguin football team."

By Rick Davison - Dawson Creek Daily News - Published Tuesday Nov 20, 07

Photo by: Andrew Bergland