Woog Honored with Soccer Scholarship in His Name

By James Lomuscio

UPDATE For years, lifelong Westport resident Dan Woog has been a tireless teacher, soccer coach, columnist, author, blogger and all around writer.
Mark Gudis (rear) presents Dan Woog with a commemorative gift. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Sunday night, Mark Gudis, president of the Top of the Hill Club, a two-year-old booster club for boys soccer at Staples High School, gave Woog a new title, “no better representative of Staples soccer.”

Gudis’ plaudits came as he announced the establishment of The Dan Woog Dedication Scholarship Award, an annual $5,000 grant offered in perpetuity to an outstanding Staples soccer senior.

Gudis told Woog at the ceremony that the award would also go to “an alumnus in college who gives back to Staples Boys Soccer with the same dedication and enthusiasm that you have exhibited to Staples soccer for decades, and we hope, for decades to come.”

Gudis noted that his son Greg, who will play soccer at Columbia University next fall, has been coached by Woog for the past four years.

“What is different about Dan than other coaches is that for Dan, it’s more than soccer,” Gudis said. “It’s about building character on an off the field.  He views off the field more important than on the field because what happens off the field affects on-the-field performance.

“He teaches them about success and adversity and how to overcome adversity,” he said. “Dan challenges kids to think outside the box, to come up with new ideas, to not accept the status quo and to set their own legacy within the broader Stapes soccer tradition.”

Gudis said Woog was instrumental in the team’s more than 125 wins and three Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC) “victories in a row, 2008, 2009 and 2010.”

“He’s more than just a soccer coach,” he said. “Dan is with these kids 12 months a year, not only as a coach but their advisor, and he knows what’s going on in their lives.

“He gives so much back to the community and the kids at large,” Gudis said. “Why not celebrate this while he can enjoy it?”

“I am humbled and grateful for this honor, but it truly belongs to the entire Staples community,” said Woog, a 1971 Staples graduate. “I am grateful to be able to spend time with so many creative, inspiring young people, parents, alumni and friends.”