David Peplinski Latest Recipient of Patrick C. Fetterman Award

By WRILEY NELSON
COOPERSTOWN

Lifelong Cooperstown resident, teacher and coach David Peplinski was welcomed into honored company at The Otesaga on Thursday, October 12. The long-serving and beloved modified boys soccer coach, golf coach and sixth-grade teacher received the Clark Sports Center’s Patrick C. Fetterman Award for outstanding dedication to local youth athletics. The Fetterman Award is a signature sign of genuine appreciation by the Clark Family, The Clark Foundation and the sports center; many of the biggest and most beloved names in Cooperstown’s recent history are engraved on the trophy. More than a dozen of these previous recipients attended the presentation brunch last week.

Clark Foundation President Jane Forbes Clark noted the highlights of Peplinski’s lifelong dedication to Cooperstown: He was born at Bassett, graduated from Cooperstown High School in 1988 and has taught middle-school students for more than 30 years. During that time, he trained generations of modified boys soccer players to succeed at the varsity level, coordinated the sixth-grade hike each year and spearheaded Cooperstown Central School’s relationship with Outward Bound.

“It takes a village, as they say,” Peplinski said as he thanked the community leaders who shaped his life in Cooperstown. “First of all, I need to thank my father, for inspiring me to go into education in the first place, and Frank Miosek, for dragging me out of my classroom to start coaching.”

Harry Peplinski attended the brunch and delighted the crowd with a lighthearted roast of his son. He also highlighted David Peplinski’s love of skiing and golf. 2018 Fetterman winner John Lambert joked that 2003 honoree Frank Miosek, whose varsity boys soccer team has long punched above its weight, owes Peplinski “about $150,000.00 in ice cream money” for acting as the most successful program recruiter in Cooperstown history. Miosek, in turn, thanked Peplinski for drawing hundreds of middle schoolers to soccer and preparing them for the varsity team.

The Fetterman Award trophy, sculpted by local artist Fred Blatt, is on display at the Clark Sports Center. Recent honorees include Val Paige, Pete Henrici, Harold “Bud” Lippitt and Mike Perrino. A complete list of award winners and a description of award criteria may be found at https://www.clarksportscenter.com/fetterman-award/

Iron String Press is pleased to join the Cooperstown community in honoring a great coach’s decades of commitment to training and educating local youth.