DECORAH — In the hyperbolic world of sports journalism the moniker of ‘legend’ is often tossed around, sometimes too frequently.
There are, however, situations and individuals for which the moniker is more than apt, and when the subject in question is Dennis Olejniczak, the term is more than appropriate.
Olejniczak, father of Jason Olejniczak of Perry, recently resigned after spending 54 seasons as head baseball coach for Decorah. Truly an icon in the game, Olejniczak became the Vikings skipper in 1963, and his career accomplishments are as impressive as they come.
His 1,417-560 record (.717) includes an 8-7 mark at Janesville, where his career began. The win total is second nationally to the 1,754-398 career standard of Gene Schultz of Lansing Kee.
“I have been blessed to spend my life doing what I love most, teaching the game of baseball,” Olejniczak said. “The demands on coaching have changed in the past few years, and it was becoming later and later at night that I would finally get back home, and I just decided that enough was enough.”[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
Olejniczak led Decorah to 11 state tournaments, nine state title game appearances and three state titles. Along the way the school won 18 conference championships.
A three-time Iowa Coach of the Year, he was named the 2009 National High School Baseball Coach of the Year.
His 1968, 1970 and 1972 teams finished second each year in the spring tournament. The ’70 squad won the summer tourney state title, recording seven shut outs and allowing one run twice in winning the nine games necessary to capture the 400-plus school one-class crown.
Decorah appeared in five consecutive tournaments beginning in 1989. Central Lee topped the Vikings, 5-2, in the title game despite three base hits from Dennis’ star player, his son Jason.
The Vikings returned to the 1990 title game, beating Urbandale, 11-2, as the smallest 4A school. In 1991 they were the biggest 3A team (where Decorah has remained), scoring six sixth-inning runs to best Perry, 7-3, for the championship.
The last state appearance for Decorah was in 2012, when they fell to DC-G in the 3A title contest.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]
A passionate advocate for Little League baseball, Olejniczak bemoaned putting pressure on young players to win at all costs.
“There can be a couple of ways to make a play the right way, but I wanted the kids to learn the best way to do it,” he said. “I have also felt you need to reward and congratulate and encourage youngsters whenever you can. The goal is to teach the game and to make sure they have fun playing the game.”
Three full generations of youngsters played Little League and high school baseball in Decorah for Olejniczak, learning proper techniques and, importantly, how to conduct themselves as sportsmen along the way.
A legend? Absolutely.
