Talking with Wierzal
Former Sandburg football and track coach finds vocation on cable TV after retiring as a teacher
Dave Wierzal can talk sports. He can also talk about the law. And he has some sociological thoughts on disinformation.
Wierzal retired after teaching English at Sandburg for 34 years. He coached football and track at the Orland Park high school for many of those years.
He has talked about those topics and more in his new venture as the host of “Spotlight Issues,” a TV show that airs on Channel 4 of the Palos Heights cable-access outlet.
The archived shows can be found on YouTube under the PHTV4 account.
Wierzal was the varsity football coach at Sandburg from 2007 to 2015. He had a 53-37 record with seven playoff appearances. It was the third-most playoff appearances for a coach in program history behind Tom Seliga with 10 and Mike Navarro with nine.
This spring, Wierzal was the co-coach in boys track with John O'Malley, but the Eagles had just one indoor meet before the Illinois High School Association cancelled spring sports due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Wierzal, a Palos Heights resident, then retired as a teacher and coach. He had a few ideas on how hewanted to spend his time.
“I had a list of volunteer things I wanted to do when school stopped,” Wierzal said. “I had five or six things I planned on doing. Then the COVID thing happened and several of my options started disappearing.”
Last Christmas, he planted a seed for the Channel 4 project. His wife, Jeannine Kacmar, is the head of public services at the Palos Heights Public Library and has done programs for the local channel.
During a holiday party, Wierzal had a discussion with executive producer Ron Jankowski. Wierzal said when he retired from Sandburg, he would like to work at the TV station in some capacity.
After a short time behind the scenes, Wierzal had a few ideas for shows and said he wasn't bucking for an on-air gig. But Jankowski gave him a shot in front of the camera in October, and he has taken to it.
“He was a producer and learned the camera and the operations of the studio,” Jankowski said. “We talked about bringing in some stories and we created a whole new show, andwe can go in any direction with that. He's been very instrumental in doing shows for the station.”
“Spotlight Issues” has done shows on voting, high school sports during the pandemic, teaching during the pandemic, becoming a judge and interpreting the law, information vs. disinformation, and one on the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center.
His favorite episode was a sit-down with Rev. Chris Hopkins of the Palos Park Center for thoughts on celebrating the holidays during the pandemic.
“I just wanted to talk to her about the stress of the holidays and not being able to do the things you like to do,” he said. “I wanted to find out how you stay mentally and emotionally OK and happy. She was so positive. She was wonderful.”
Wierzal has a handful of future topics rolling around in his head.
He's mulling over the prospect of talking to local restaurant owners about their plight during the pandemic and the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill. He said he would also love to join his wife in co-hosting a show on books.
When he retired, Wierzal figured he would miss teaching and coaching and would do some substitute teaching and try to latch onto a coaching position somewhere. But the IHSA has postponed or canceled sports, and many schools are using remote learning because of the pandemic.
“In an odd way, the transition to retirement is easier because of the way teaching and coaching is now,” he said. “There is no Friday night football. No teacher that I know is happy now. I miss teaching but teaching theway itwas.”