Article Courtesy of the Daily Local News)BETSY GILLILAND , Staff Writer 05/25/2004
The soccer world and the West Chester community lost a favorite son Saturday when Melvin M. Lorback, 76, died of leukemia at his home.
Lorback, the mens varsity soccer coach at West Chester University from 1957 to 1991, brought a soccer championship to then-West Chester State in 1961 with a 2-0 victory over defending national champion St. Louis in the Rams first appearance in the title game.
"He was a dynamic leader, a tremendous motivator," said his son, Michael Lorback. "And I think maybe his biggest strength was his ability to push people out of their comfort zone and achieve at a level even they didnt think they were capable of achieving."
Michael Lorback, the Henderson High School soccer coach since 1987 and a former soccer player on his fathers West Chester team from 1979 to 1982, was one of many soccer players who followed in his fathers footsteps.
Melvin Lorback also coached former Indiana University soccer coach Jerry Yeagley, a member of the 1961 team that captured the national title.
Yeagley, who retired at the end of the 2003 season, capped off his 30-year career at Indiana with his sixth NCAA soccer championship. His Hoosier teams also captured the national soccer crowns in 1982, 1983, 1988, 1998 and 1999.
The two legendary coaches were honored together in January at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention in Charlotte, N.C.
Yeagley won the NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year honors. Lorback received the NSCAA Honor Award for his lifetime contributions and achievements in soccer.
Yeagley, who will deliver the eulogy at Lorbacks funeral Mass, praised his mentor last winter.
"Coach Lorback was instrumental in my
success as a coach," he said at the awards banquet. "The instructions and lessons I learned playing for him were important in shaping my future. He truly taught me what it means to be a champion."
His friend of more than 50 years and an assistant coach for the 1961 national championship team, Hank Goodwin said Lorback could be hard on his players.
However, he said, he did not think anyone else could have won a national title with the Rams 1961 squad.
"We didnt necessarily have the best talent," Goodwin said. "He made kids play at the best of their abilities."
The two men, who met in graduate school at Pennsylvania State University in the 1950s, taught together at West Chester. Their classes were a valuable recruiting tool for their 1961 soccer team, he said.
Although Fred Gusz never played for Lorback, he played under Goodwin on West Chesters 1961 freshman soccer team. He said the assistant coach shared his bosss passion for ensuring that his players were in shape.
"I dont know that we were always the best team on the field," said Gusz. "But we were always the best conditioned team."
Goodwin, who said Lorback was a pioneer in emphasizing conditioning, agreed.
Lorback played a crucial role in developing U.S. soccer coaching techniques. He coordinated the coaching education program for the U.S. Soccer Federation, where he served as staff coach for their licensing schools. He was chairman of the NSCAA coaching and teaching committee for 15 years and served as its president in 1974. The organization also honored him with the prestigious Bill Jeffrey and Walt Chyzowych awards after he retired.
A health and physical education professor at West Chester, Lorback taught a wide variety of graduate and undergraduate courses. He was project leader and university representative for the development of the South Campus Physical Education and Athletic Department complex in 1970. He also served as chairman of the Physical Education Department for 12 years.
"Hes really one of the traditions of WCU," said West Chester Mayor Dick Yoder, a former WCU football coach and athletic director. "He was there for so many years and affected the lives of so many young people."
State Rep. Elinor Z. Taylor, R-156th, of West Goshen, also knew Lorback at WCU.
"He was a coach that reflected the best of his athletes," she said. "And he was able to get them to perform at their highest level."
Lorback was WCUs head soccer coach from 1957 to 1989. He was named the NCAA National Coach of the Year after winning the 1961 crown. In the 1960s and 1970s, his teams won six regional and three conference championships.
"He was a real interesting and unique kind of personality," said his son, Todd Lorback. "He could be intense. He was very funny. He could be very generous. He was dedicated to teaching and coaching and very much loved his experience at West Chester."
Lorback started his career as a teacher and a coach in 1955 at Panzer College in East Orange, N.J.
Born in Rochester, N.Y., on Aug. 31, 1927, he was the son of the late Charles and Maude Lorback. He grew up in Brockport, N.Y., and he earned a bachelors of science degree at Brockport State. He earned a masters degree from Penn State in 1955 and a fellowship in exercise physiology at Lankenau Hospital in Lower Merion in 1963.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1945. Later serving in Korea in the U.S. Air Force, he retired from the Air Force Reserves as a lieutenant colonel.
In addition to his sons, Mr. Lorback is survived by his wife of 53 years, Patricia; a daughter, Cynthia Kirkman; a son-in-law, Frank Kirkman; two daughters-in-law, Denise and Nancy Lorback; and five grandchildren, Shane, Chelsea and Troy Kirkman and Scott and Melissa Lorback.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Agnes Church, 233 W. Gay St., West Chester. Interment will be private.
Contributions may be sent to the Mel Lorback Soccer Endowment, c/o Doug Kleintop, WCU Athletic Department, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383; or to Chester County Hospital, 701 E. Marshall St., West Chester, PA 19380.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by DellaVecchia, Reilly and Smith Funeral Home, West Chester.
