Don Dziagwa
Episode 71
8 JUNE 2020
The Athletic Director and basketball coach at Tampa Catholic High School, where he has been for over 30 years and was a 2015 inductee to their Hall of Fame. Back in HIS high school days he played four years of basketball and baseball, plus one year of football. A lifelong Catholic, he also had coaching stops in West Virginia as well as five years at another high school in the Tampa Bay area. He’s also a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Notable guest quotes:
“It goes all the way back to my parents, who were, of course, Catholic. And their parents, my grandparents, Catholic, coming over from Poland. It’s pretty deep rooted as far as our Catholic faith goes.”
“(I) grew up, at least my younger years, were in Chicago, which is a very Catholic-oriented town.”
“We moved to West Virginia and the Catholic faith certainly came along with us. I went to Catholic grade school, St. Margaret Mary Catholic grade school… And from there I went to Parkersburg Catholic High School.”
“I think I just try to be a good person in regards to everything that I do and hopefully that means I’m a good Catholic too.”
“What really has been very great for me is the fact that I have spent so much time in Catholic schools, ya’ know, been around the faith.”
“I think what I try to do… is being a good role model and being a good leader in regards to faith.”
“All of our sporting events, we begin with a prayer, whether it be in the locker room, we also begin with a prayer before all of our athletic events, no matter what athletic event that is.”
“Next year we’re actually going to have a priest also on campus, which is really kind of an unusual type thing for Catholic high schools, I guess, that maybe we all don’t have the opportunity to have our own priest.”
“We have a great program… in regards to our students going on retreat. So… all of our athletes, not just my basketball players… are involved with those type of things where, whether they’re Catholic or not, it certainly is devoted to them having a faith life and having God in their life.”
“That’s a blessing ’cause there’s a lot of people that certainly will go to their job and there’s no indication that anything there would be faith-related or Catholic-related… and I kind of am exposed to that almost all the time.”
“My faith path, I’m not one maybe that’s out in the community talking all the time about my faith and things of that nature. I think I have a very personal relationship with Jesus.”