ZELIENOPLE — Wayne Roccia calls it a group award.

The 1968 Seneca Valley graduate and long-time Raiders track and field coach will be inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame at the organization's 52nd annual banquet April 29 at the Butler Days Inn.

“I'm extremely humbled and honored by this,” Roccia said. “But without all of the loyal assistant coaches — and, of course, the athletes — I had through the years, this doesn't even happen.

“To me, this award belongs to all of those people.”

Roccia admits he “fell into” his teaching and track and field coaching career at Seneca Valley.

“All of the chips fell just right. I was blessed that way,” he said.

He was a member of the first full four-year class at Seneca Valley, playing football and running track there. Roccia was a wingback-defensive back and was a sprinter on the track team.

He was named football team MVP in 1967.

“We threw the ball a lot and I could catch it. That's all it was,” Roccia said.

A baseball player most of his life, Roccia was a center fielder and played three years at Edinboro State College. He played for the Fighting Scots' first baseball team.

“I was student teaching at Seneca Valley when one of the teachers got pregnant,” he recalled. “Back then, you couldn't teach if you were pregnant.

“They asked me to stay on as a sub and I was hired the following year. It worked out perfectly for me.”

Roccia was a sixth-grade teacher in the district for 35 years, retiring in 2007.

He was an assistant football coach for the Raiders from 1974 through 1982. He coached junior high cross country off and on for 18 years.

But his real claim to fame came through coaching the high school track and field team.

“Ray Ondako was told he had to coach track as one of his duties, but never really liked it,” Roccia said. “Danny Sample and myself pretty much ran the program and I was named head coach shortly afterward.

“Danny stayed on as an assistant. He, Sue Ennis, Bob Harsh, Ray Peaco ... All of those people coached with me for 20 years or more.”

Roccia was SV boys track coach from 1976 through 2007, girls coach from 1980 through 2007. He won 221 dual meets and lost 104 for the boys, won 223 and lost 76 with the girls.

“We won through participation,” he said. “We encouraged kids to join the team and every one of them ran some event at every home meet. We'd have as many as 180 on the team at one time. It was common for us to have 90 boys, 80 girls, numbers like that.”

Gus Nichol in the 3,200 meters won SV's lone state title under Roccia during the early 1980's. But his boys teams reeled off 29 consecutive winning seasons, the girls 24.

Combined, Roccia produced 120 individual section champions, 20 WPIAL champions and 131 PIAA meet participants. His teams won five section championships and made seven WPIAL playoff appearances.

“I still come back and help out with the meets,” Roccia said. “I've worked on technique with the middle school kids since I retired. I do it less and less each year now, though. I've moved on.”

Roccia played Eagle County League baseball from 1964 through 1995 for Callery, Middle Lancaster or Zelienople. He was president of the league from 1987 through 1005.

“Years ago, they were desperate for players to fill out lineups,” Roccia recalled. “My uncle used to bring me along to games when I was 13. Sometimes I played at that age so they could put a full team on the field.

“I played baseball for a long time. It's always been my favorite sport.”

Tickets for the April 29 HOF banquet are $35 in advance, $40 at the door. Ticket outlets include Parkers Appliance in Chicora, Bill's Beer Barn, Moses Jewelers and Snack-N-Pack in Butler, and Saxonburg Drug.