“500 miles…”
January 20, 2026
“Been driving 500 miles, got 500 to go, yeah; I got rock ‘n’ roll music on the radio…”
- “Light of Day” by Bruce Springsteen
This week’s RTD comes to you from The Sunshine State where, according to the news, there have been reports of snow and freezing temperatures up in the panhandle.
Well, I guess I’ve just been lucky. In my week of Florida travels, nights have been cool but not cold, and most days have seen sunny skies and temps anywhere between 60 and 80.
Beats shoveling the driveway in Oswego.
Today is Day 8 of this year’s 10-day Florida Odyssey. I got down here last Monday evening and spent the first two nights in Lakeland visiting my mom. We went to the bank, shoe-shopping, wristwatch band-adjusting, cell phone cover-searching, and treated ourselves to Arby’s for lunch. Dinner was in the dining hall with her friends.
On Wednesday I journeyed east on Rt 60 all the way over to I-95 near Vero Beach, then drove south a few exits to Fort Pierce, where I had lunch with former Laker co-captain Carlos Rodriguez ’94. In my 28 years of coaching at Oswego, I certainly had my favorite team captains, and Carlos is definitely in the Top 8 (I made that number up; I’ve never made a list). He helped lead a team into its first-ever post-season, its first-ever USILA Coaches’ Poll Top 20 ranking, and its first-ever league championship. After graduation, he joined the Tampa Police Department, where he rose up the ranks to Major of Special Ops before retiring after a 23-year career. Now he serves as the Field Training Officer for the Fort Pierce PD – teaching self-defense, hand-to-hand, defensive driving, etc. I try to catch up with him every time I get down here.
After lunch I continued down I-95 to Boca Raton, where I met up with my junior high soccer and varsity lacrosse coach Tony Seaman. He’s still coaching; he’s been the head coach at Saint Andrew’s Prep for 11 years now, and his team has won the Florida state championship three or four times in that span. Like Carlos, I try to touch base with Tony every time I get down to Florida. His wife Guri lived around the corner from me, the older sister of one of my best friends. I went to that wedding, and he came to mine (that’s another story – Tony takes credit for playing matchmaker). We worked together at his brother’s ranch every summer – I was there for seven years; he probably worked there for 15 or so. His 1982 CW Post team beat Oswego my senior year, and I saw him coach games while at UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Towson, Denver (Outlaws), and Saint Andrews. We go back a long way.
Also staying at Tony’s house last week was Tommy King and his family. They’re from Colorado, and they stay at Tony’s place every January when Tommy comes down to play in the Florida Lacrosse Classic. Tommy is a certified lacrosse fanatic, even if his introduction to the game wasn’t until he caught the fever at a Vail Tournament a long time ago – no scholastic or college experience necessary.
Thursday afternoon I continued further south than I’ve ever been before, down I-95 to Fort Lauderdale, then west on I-75 to the Home 2 Suites in Weston. I was scheduled to do nine games over three days in the FLC, thanks to Lake Placid contacts Jim Vacco and Paul Cicio. It was my first time being part of this tournament, which was celebrating its 25th year. Age groups ranged from 40+ to 45+, 50+, 55+, 60+, 65+, and yes, even 70+. Nine fields with up to seven games per field…
I drew one of the first 8 AM games on Friday morning, where I just happened to end up reffing Vince Lang ’88 playing attack for the Old Goats (60+). That surprise was overshadowed when I discovered that two former Lynbrook HS teammates – David Guill ’77 and Pace Kessenich ’78 – were also playing for the Old Goats!
And that’s pretty much how it went for three days. Tony came down to watch Tommy play for the Eldest Statesmen, and I heard later that my junior high coach, HOFer Larry Glenz, and former LHS Owl teammate Mike Canella ’77 were also on site. There were lots of faces I usually see in Lake Placid or at the Heritage Cup – Bob Deegan, Tom Ford, Tommy Gagnon, Rory Whipple, Mark Rice, Bill Berosa, and Lynn Reitenbach, for instance; plus Steve Caruso ’92, who lives down here and officiates every level of lacrosse all over the state. I met a lot of Florida referees, and we were treated extremely well from start to finish – lots of swag, plenty of food and drink, and plenty of storytelling and laughs.
After my last game on Sunday afternoon I started the second half of the Florida loop and drove west on I-75, across the Everglades, and then north on I-75 to go visit former LaFayette coach and Upstate Hall of Famer Ket Weist in Venice.
I’ve written about Ket in the past. I think this was my third visit to his home in Venice, and we had a great time talking about his childhood, his days at Mount Vernon, Mt Hernon, and then Denison, and his teaching and coaching days at LaFayette Central School. He started the boys lacrosse team and coached them from the spring of 1960 through the 1966 season before moving up to a career in school administration. He coached Alf Jacques, Leo Nolan, brothers LaVerne and Ron Doctor, Steve Wood, Bob Shaw, and others, while providing motivation for graduation and college careers.
Want amazing? In the program’s first seven seasons, under Ket’s leadership, the team went 71-12. From 1963 through 1966, they were the County Champions. He coached five players who went on to be captains of their college teams: Steve Wood (West Point), John Porter (Hobart), Bob Shaw (Cornell), Laverne Doctor (Syracuse), and Mark Werder UAlbany).
I truly hope to write a book about Ket and the LaFayette Lacrosse program’s first decade and have done some interviews with Bob Shaw, Travis Cook, and Leo Nolan. I have another interview set up for next week. Stay tuned!
So yesterday I left Ket and drove north again on I-75 and then east on I-4 back to Lakeland, where I had dinner with my mom once again. Google Maps says my six-day clockwise trek around south Florida was just over 500 miles. And my Nissan Altima rental has Sirius XM Radio, so yes, there was plenty of rock and roll on the radio.
For the next three days I’ll continue my visit here in Lakeland, hopefully visiting Coach Marty Ward’s Florida Southern lacrosse practice on Wednesday before flying home on Thursday. On my way to the airport, I hope to meet up with Marcus Peworchik ’11 – a K9 officer with the Tampa PD – to complete this year’s list of friends, coaches, alumni, and other lacrosse connections I love to make when I’m down here.
And next week?
Oswego State starts its 52nd year of NCAA lacrosse with practice on Monday – and I can’t wait!
Thanks for reading this week. Please consider subscribing at roadtripdad.com to receive weekly RTD pieces via email. It’s free – really! No fine print; no catches.
Please, drive carefully, and put down that cell phone! Donate blood. Get vaccinated. Volunteer. Stay safe, stay smart, and stay kind. Help someone in need – and be sure to take care of your crew!
- Dan Witmer
Dan is the author of four books: The Best of Road Trip Dad – The Laker Lacrosse Collection is an accumulation of 45 articles written for www.JustLacrosseUpstate between the years 2012 and 2018, about the history and traditions, the people, and the stories of the Oswego State men’s lacrosse program. … and piles to go before I sleep – The Book of Wit is his memoir describing his 33-year career teaching HS English and coaching at Hannibal Central School. His third book, The Best of RTD – A Lacrosse Coach’s Handbook contains more than 55 weekly Road Trip Dad blogs spanning 2012-2020, featuring Xs and Os, highs and lows, and even some Dos and Don’ts, and plenty of advice for coaches of all levels. His latest book, The Best of Road Trip Dad – On the Shoulders of Giants: Upstate’s Lacrosse Founders and Legends, profiles more than 50 icons who helped grow the game in Upstate NY. All four books are available at www.amazon.com.
Dan grew up in Lynbrook, NY before coming to Oswego State to earn his teaching and coaching certifications. He then taught English at Hannibal High School for 33 years before retiring in 2015.
In addition to coaching the Oswego State Laker men’s lacrosse team part-time from 1982-2010, Dan also coached JV and varsity girls’ soccer at Hannibal for 16 years, girls’ ice hockey at Oswego HS for 8 years, and boys’ JV and varsity lacrosse at Oswego HS for 12 years.
Dan is now in his 18th year assisting Summit Lacrosse Ventures with their various tournaments, especially the annual Lake Placid Summit Classic, and he worked for 3d Lacrosse for three years as well. He has served on the staffs of the 2014 FIL World Games in Denver, the 2015 FIL Indoor Championships in Syracuse, the 2018 FIL World Games in Netanya, Israel, the 2022 U21 World Championship in Limerick, Ireland, and the World Lacrosse Championships in San Diego in 2023. He was the game ops staff director for the World Lacrosse Men’s and Women’s Box Championships in Utica in September of 2024, and he served as the field manager at the World Lacrosse Men’s U20 championships in Jeju, South Korea in 2025. In 2023, he created Witmer Solutions LLC, a lacrosse event staffing and internship offering service that he hopes will get his foot – and others’ – in the door at lacrosse events worldwide.
Dan served as the Community Service Coordinator for the Oswego State athletic department from 2010-2023 and has been a certified lacrosse referee for the past seven years. He has also been the Volunteer Event Organizer for the annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser in Oswego for the past 18 years, raising more than one million dollars for childhood cancer research.
In 2023, he returned to the Oswego State coaching staff as an assistant coach, where he currently serves as defensive coordinator and alumni liaison.
Dan and Sue Witmer live in Oswego, while their older son Brian, his wife Jane, and son Benji live outside of Prague, Czech Republic, and younger son Eric lives in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado.
The hope is for many, many more road trips to come!