The Godfather

I recently shared a conversation with you that I had with Harry Cooper and Jan Stahle, a pair of names many in the soccer community are familiar with. During that conversation they helped me understand the early days of soccer in Springfield and pointed me to the fellow pictured on the left. Frank Dinka can be considered the Godfather of soccer in Springfield, helping to nurture the game from it’s organized beginnings on the Southwest Missouri State University campus. He founded the Club team in 1967 that would ultimately become an NCAA Division I team in 1981 and is the team we root on now. Frank was the Head Coach in those early years and led the team from 1981-1986. Jan Stahle was the second coach followed by Tom Howe, now Director of Coaching for Scott Gallagher SC in St. Louis. Jon Leamy is the fourth coach and has headed the program since 1992.

Frank didn’t limit his efforts to the campus. In 1977 he teamed with the folks at the YMCA to help establish the earliest Youth programs here in town, acting as the Coaching Director and recruiting players from his club team and the International Student Organization on campus, including Jan Stahle, to provide coaching on any piece of grass they could find around town. It wasn’t long before they reached out to the surrounding community as well, putting on clinics in Willard, Marshfield and other areas. He was active in the establishment of Lake Country Soccer and supporting the establishment of soccer as a Varsity sport in the school system. He accomplished all of this while holding down his position as a Professor of Political Science at SMSU, a job he retired from in 1991. I look forward to sharing more with Springfield Soccer readers as well as introducing you to the others that were part of building the community we enjoy today.

I’m looking forward to talking to the YMCA, Lake Country Soccer, Drury, Springfield Public Schools as well as the many individuals who have been part of this great game. In the meantime, I’d like to say “Thank You Frank!”