Dan Witmer - Road Trip Dad

Soon after Dan finished his 28-year head coaching stint at Oswego State in 2010, he decided to chronicle his travels and thoughts as he followed his own sons’ college lacrosse experiences. For the first time, he now had time to attend both their home and away games and, ever since February of 2012, his “Road Trip Dad” articles have enabled him to share those exploits with us.
However, older son Brian graduated in May of 2013, and Eric graduated in 2014. Originally intended to describe his experiences as a dad-with-a-coach’s-perspective, Dan’s RTD pieces have continued since then to include his sons’ post-collegiate lacrosse experiences, his work coaching high school sports (including girls’ soccer, girls’ ice hockey, and boys’ lacrosse), his experiences working for 3dLacrosse, Summit Lacrosse Ventures, and his nostalgic if not historical perspectives on people, rules changes, and anything else related to the great game of lacrosse.
During Dan's career as part-time head coach at SUNY Oswego, the Lakers appeared in six ECAC tournaments, winning the championship in 1996 and finishing second in 1994 and 1997, won three Empire Lacrosse League titles (1994, 1995, 1996), and were ranked among the nation’s top 20 teams in both 1994 and 1996. Dan also sent seven players to the prestigious annual United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) North/South Game and worked with six USILA All-Americans, one USILA Scholar All-American, and 100 all-conference players. Dan was named Empire Lacrosse League Coach of the Year in 1990 and 1995, and SUNYAC Coach of the Year in 2009. He coached in the D-III USILA North/South Game in 2002, and in December of 2010 Dan received the Lifetime Service Award from the IMLCA (Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association).
Dan taught English at Hannibal High School for 33 years before retiring in June of 2015. He is currently in his ninth year as the Community Service Event Coordinator for the Oswego State Athletic Department, and he has reduced his coaching load to just boys’ lacrosse at Oswego HS. Retirement also allows him to referee lacrosse, plan an annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser in Oswego every spring, and continue his role as Competition Manager and Legends Director for Summit Lacrosse Ventures.
Dan is the author of two books. The Best of Road Trip Dad – the Laker Lacrosse Collection is an accumulation of 45 articles written for JustLacrosseUpstate between the years 2012 and 2018, about the history and traditions, the people, and the stories of the Oswego State men’s lacrosse program. The book is available on Amazon.com, and at the river’s end bookstore in Oswego, the SUNY Oswego College Store in the Marano Campus Center, The Sports Outfit on West Genesee Street in Fairmount, and Geared 2 Sports in Cortland. ...and piles to go before I sleep - The Book of Wit is his memoir describing his 33 year career teaching HS English and coaching at Hannibal Central School. It is available on Amazon.com and at the river's end bookstore.
Along with this extensive resume, Dan is a well-known and well-liked fixture in the Upstate Lacrosse community, and we're lucky that he is willing to let us be the vehicle for sharing his thoughts on lacrosse with the Upstate lacrosse family. At times, though, his opinions may not necessarily reflect those of JustLacrosse Upstate.
All Road Trip Dad content is Copyright Daniel Witmer 2012-2019, all rights reserved.
Got a comment? Idea for Dan to cover? E-mail him at daniel.witmer@oswego.edu

2020

September 14 - Special Edition: Watching Live Lacrosse Again
September 8 - Special Edition: Remembering 9/11 - Again and Again

March 23 - "It's farewell and not good-bye"
March 16 - Now Is the Time To Be a Good Teammate
March 9 - Exclusive RTD Upstate D-III Rankings
March 2 - The Next Time You See a Yellow Lacrosse Ball

February 24 - Bronze Pottery?
February 17 - Lacrosse and St. Baldrick's - and a Challenge for the 585
February 10 - Mardked Safe From . . . 50-degree Temps In Florida
February 3 - How Do You Do It? Part 2

January 27 - How Do You Do It?
January 20 - Coaches' Convention Highlights
January 14 - You Don't Have To Wait Till March for Lacrosse
January 6 - RTD Looks At 60

2019

December 30 - Why Every Hockey Player Should Love Lacrosse
December 23 - An RTD Christmas Tradition: "T'was the Night for Lax Santa"
December 16 - Team of HOF Rivals (Part II)
December 9 - Team of HOF Rivals
December 2 - Gift Ideas for Your Lax Guy

November 25 - One Less Plate At the Table
November 18 - A Book Report: Dom Starsia's I Hope You Will Be Happy
November 11 - Culture Changes
November 5 - The World According To RTD

October 29 - "We stand on the shoulders of giants . . ." - The 2019 Upstate Lacrosse Foundation’s Hall of Fame Inductions

October 22 - JV to Varsity
October 14 - Mon the Clyde
October 7 - Thinking Inside the Box
October 4 - BIG Lacrosse Weekend(s)!

September 30 - Telling the Jim Onaki Story
September 23 - Cortland Celebrates Success
September 16 - From Radotin, Czech Republic – My First Frank Menschner Cup
September 9 - Remembering 9/11 – Again and Again
September 3 - For All the Seniors Starting Their Final Year of College Lacrosse

August 26 - Didn't See This Coming When I Sarted Writing RTD
August 19 - 2019 Lake Placid Postscript
August 9 - 2019 Lake Placid Legends Celebration
August 7 - Find Your Summit
August 5 - Lake Placid - Full Circle