'Coach Bear' marks 35 years with Fitch basketball team

AUSTINTOWN

David Patrick, informally known to players as “Coach Bear,” celebrated his 35th year of volunteer service with Austintown Fitch’s boys basketball team.

Patrick, 50, said he enjoys more than anything volunteering with the students.

“It’s fun, and I like working with the teams,” Patrick said. “The kids are nice to me, and they are fun.”

Patrick first got the equipment-manager position under coach Rich Deneman in 1982, the same year he inherited his nickname for a bear-themed Halloween costume.

“He [Deneman] asked about me, then asked if I wanted it,” Patrick said. “I said, ‘Sure.’”

His mother, Dolores Patrick, said her son, who has delayed coordination and a speech impediment, has gained so much from being able to volunteer – even a job.

Austintown schools pay Dave Patrick $15 per game to run the clock during middle-school and freshman basketball and volleyball games.

“It’s something he likes to do and since he doesn’t drive and we don’t live too far, he’s right there,” Dolores Patrick said.

Read more about this beloved team member in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.