Walt worthy of the Wall
St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame chair Peter Partridge, left, Wally Oprzedek, centre, and St. Catharines mayor Mat Siscoe. Photo: BILL POTRECZ
Walt Oprzedek has a lengthy and impressive resume as a coach and athlete, but the victories were only a small part of his story.
Oprzedek was inducted into the St. Catharines Hall of Fame as an athlete/builder in football and handball the Meridian Centre Wednesday by his son, Wally Oprzedek, who said the family name still elicits warm memories and smiles of his former students and players.
“So his legacy is really not about championships,” Wally Oprzedek said. “The only way I can describe it is that our family has pretty much stayed local — here in St. Catharines and Niagara. When people find out your name is Oprzedek the next question is often, ‘Are you related to Walt?’ And when you say yeah, you get the big smile. And that smile followed by the fact that we get to hear people’s stories, it’s absolutely amazing and it’s got me off a few speeding tickets!
“We get to hear their stories, how he was their favourite teacher. And they talk about the respect he had for students, how he helped them when they had issues and problems.”
Walt Oprzedek is perhaps best known for his time at Grantham and Lakeport high schools where he was a coach for more than 30 years, winning numerous city, zone, SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) and OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) championships in football, basketball and gymnastics. He also coached the Grantham Optimist bantam girls team to a provincial softball championship in 1985.
Oprzedek was also a standout handball player who was a perennial winner/finalist of several WMCA open singles/doubles championships and was a standout football player and even received a contract offer from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for their rookie camp.
Current St. Catharines Collegiate Saints football coach Nathan Greene has fond memories of his time at Lakeport where he played for Walt Oprzedek.
“Mr. Oprzedek was the caring adult many of us desperately needed at Lakeport,” Greene said. “He was a steady force you could always count on. Nothing got him overly excited — the most critical moments in games were no different than the ones that started the game. He instilled a quiet confidence that endeared him to his student athletes. We would go through a brick wall for him! He believed in us and it made us want to be the best version of ourselves. He is a father figure I owe so much to. In so many ways he has impacted my life and I continue to reap the benefits to this day. Walt was one of a kind.”
Wally Oprzedek also remembered a sillier side of his father.
“During warm-up and he would do calisthenics and he would sing a song (Knees up, knees up, get them up). And those are the things people remember.
“The fact that for 30-plus years, he ran a paddle ball unit, very similar to handball at Lakeport and the class champion would always get an opportunity to try and beat my dad at paddle ball. And he’d line up all the kids around the court, and he went undefeated in 30 years. When you’re getting up there in your 50s, it’s not so easy anymore.”
Through it all, Wally Oprzedek said his father had the foresight to stop and enjoy the moment.
“Whether it was celebrating a big win or analyzing a tough loss at Bugsy’s or in the backyard, road trips to Penn State, he considered himself very, very lucky.”
Also inducted were Bob McLaren, Andy VanRuyven, Carole Price, Bob Adams and Ted Nelson.
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 6,400 other stories found on our website, please consider hitting the Support Us button on the right-hand side of our home page and making a PayPal contribution to our website. Your support would be much appreciated. If you are a business owner, please consider advertising on our site. Our rates are reasonable and we provide plenty of exposure for your business. Contact bpotrecz@outlook.com for more information.
