True dedication
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — Their enjoyment of a particular sport can keep athletes returning year after year.
The same is true for those in the coaching ranks.
Dan Sample has served as a mentor to jumpers on the Seneca Valley track and field teams for 42 years. He retired from teaching social studies at Seneca Valley High School in 2009, but has remained a fixture in the spring sports scene as a volunteer.
“It's not about who succeeds the most, it's about watching the kids develop,” Sample said. “Some of the ones you remember most aren't the ones who achieved the most.
“As a coach, you really are more of a teacher than a lot of people realize. You have to be able to communicate with the kids and I really look at it as an extension of the classroom.”
Sample's tips and guidance have contributed to a combined 70 straight winning seasons between the Raider boys and girls track and field teams. He also coached jumpers on the indoor teams for 15 years and will be inducted into the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame Sept. 24.
Sample graduated from Seneca Valley in 1969. After playing baseball and basketball at Geneva College, he returned to his old stomping grounds in 1974 and began coaching.
“When I first started, we only had three coaches, so I was responsible for all of the field events, including the jumps,” said Sample. “We started to recruit and I would go to basketball games, volleyball games, trying to lead kids into our program and letting them know what it could do for them.
“I think kids should play more than one sport. The most successful ones in high school do.”
Through the years, Sample has coached many talented athletes.
“Kari Bonomo, Da'Lynn Mills and Connor Barrett, those are three of the best, but I could name hundreds of kids,” he said. “The vast majority of kids who have come through Seneca are bright. They are well-educated and come from good families. When working with teenagers, the work ethic is not always 100 percent, but sometimes they just need some guidance.”
One aspect of his time with track and field that Sample has found rewarding is former head coach Wayne Roccia.
“He was a great head coach,” Sample said. “He let us (assistants) do our own thing and we had the same philosophy.
“Obviously, there are kids who make the state meet and they have a lot of talent, but I feel you need to treat everybody the same. You want to make the kids feel they are part of something and that's one of the reasons why we have been so successful.”
“Kids come first with Dan,” said Roccia. “He took an innumerable amount of them to both the WPIAL and state meet, but he wanted everyone to participate and have a positive experience. He is a fantastic coach and a better individual.”
Sample will be joining some of his former athletes in the Hall.
“I am humbled, believe me,” he said. “People say I put a lot of time in, but when you are doing something you love, it's not a sacrifice.”
