Dan Logatto, A Towering Figure in Oakland's Youth Recreational Sports
Dan Logatto, Oakland's softball and wrestling commissioner, knows first-hand the benefits that children derive from sports.
He wasn’t the first parent in Oakland who coached their own young kids in the backyard, but he is certainly one of the few who dedicated 25 years of quality time to help create a youth sports program in our borough that is recognized as one of the best in New Jersey.
Oakland Recreation Commission Chair Mike Guadagnino says: "Dan has been an integral part of recreation for over 15 years. Without Dan, Oakland Recreation would have been without an important rudder."
Logatto, who graduated from Villanova University, has run his own business since 1991 and has lived in Oakland since 1995. He and his wife Cheryl have a son and two daughters who are products of their nurturing home, Oakland’s good schools and involvement with sports in a town that offers an exceptional recreation program.
Today, his son is in medical school, his daughter recently started her nursing career at Valley Hospital and his youngest daughter is a sophomore at Clemson University.
Logatto cites Guadagnino with inspiring him to get involved in the borough’s recreation program.
“Back in 2003, when my son tried out for travel baseball, I watched Mike Guadagnino run the tryout, communicate with the parents and coach the kids,” Logatto says. “I listened to him talk about the program and loved his vision. I said to myself, ‘I want to be a part of this.’ Right then and there, I offered to help. Mike knew I could be of value. It was then that I became Mike’s right-hand man.”
“I would have to say what I loved most and am proudest of was coaching all three of my kids as they came through the rec program while I helped to enhance the recreation program for the hundreds of kids who came through since.”
As the recreation program grew in stature, wherever he was needed is where he turned his attention and gave his time. He did so with pride, with modesty and always with an eye to providing the youngsters with skill and with a feeling of belonging to the team.
“It didn’t matter if we won or lost,” he says. “What mattered is that I tried to make all my players feel that they were part of something special and valuable members of the ‘team,’ no matter what the score or the outcome of the game.”
In 2011, Logatto was appointed softball commissioner. He promised to give girls’ sports an equal footing to boys’ sports. His daughters came through the softball travel program during the years when Logatto made good on that promise.
“Trust me, the girls’ rec program was never in bad shape,” he stresses. “There were a lot of great people that came before me. People like the late Bob Alexander, the Levine family, the DeYoung family and Joanne Cribier, among many others. They were really the ones that laid a great foundation, and I just took the ball and ran with it.”
Logatto refuses to take sole credit for the strength of the girls’ softball program.
“They set the bar high and I just continued to try to improve on it,” he says. “I had the luxury, and still do, of having right-hand people who’ve helped develop the program with me, guys like Jason Herrick and the guy that I could never do this without, Neil Malmud. What’s special about Oakland’s softball is we are a family. We coach, we teach, we win, we lose, and we do it as a family.”
“Another highlight is that many of our girls go on to play in high school with Coach Joe Leicht, who in many ways is just as instrumental in the advancement of our rec program as anyone. That’s how special our program is”
Over the 25 years, Logatto has worn the hats of commissioner, director, coordinator and coach of many sports. Currently, he is the wrestling commissioner, hard at work with his wrestling director, Bobby Sherrow, and the outstanding coaches that are endeavoring to make that program excel, as well. They are all dedicated to building the skills of the young wrestlers and teaching them the value of training, winning and losing.
“Do not sleep on our wrestling program, they’re coming!” he warns. “Our recreation complex is gorgeous and it’s thriving. Volunteerism is in Oakland’s DNA. Every second spent in any sport here were the best days of my and my wife’s life.”