Sample

JACKSON TWP — Dan Sample is used to watching his athletes receive honors.

Last month, he was given one of his own.

Sample, the jumping coach for the Seneca Valley boys and girls track and field teams, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the WPIAL at the championship meet May 14.

"I was extremely honored and wasn't expecting it," said Sample, 58. "To be recognized by your peers for something you've done for a long time, it means a lot."

Sample began teaching social studies at Seneca Valley High in 1974 and started coaching the following spring.

He will soon retire from teaching, but Sample said he isn't finished coaching just yet.

"I don't want to make any long-term commitments, but I will be back to coach at least one more year," Sample said.

Sample, who grew up in Evans City, was a track and field star at SV before graduating in 1969. He competed in the hurdles events and the high jump.

Though he considers the high jump to have been his best event, he once held the school record in the 120-yard high hurdles at 15.2 seconds.

But it was the impact then-coach Dick Lane made on Sample that has stayed with him over the years.

"He was not only a great motivator, he was also a wholesome person," said Sample. "We all thought the world of him."

Sample has taken the values instilled in him and tried to pass them on to his athletes.

"He coaches the way he taught," said former SV coach Wayne Roccia, who coached with Sample for more than 30 years. "Kids have always been his number one thing. He's able to see the potential a kid has early on and I always thought that was pretty cool."

"I also had Coach Sample as a history teacher," said senior Zach Francis, who placed third in the WPIAL in the boys triple jump, earning a trip to the state meet. "He's able to relate to the kids on the team because he knows we have things to do for school outside of track and field. He knows what's going on in our lives."

Sample planned to teach at SV for a long time. Coaching is another story.

"I never thought I'd be coaching for over 30 years," said Sample. "A year after I began coaching, (Roccia) took over as head coach and that was a big reason why I coached for so long.

"Wayne's a great guy to work with. If you coached under Wayne, you felt like you were a head coach. He let me do my thing."

Through the years, Sample has coached athletes who have won WPIAL titles and finished well at the state championships, but that is not his greatest satisfaction.

"I always look back to the kids who people didn't think would do much," he said. "And to see them try their best and earn a letter, that's been great."