Culver City Observer -

Culver City High “Coach of the Year” Dave Sanchez, revered for his soccer coaching expertise for the Centaur’s varsity boy’s team, is this year’s 2012 Fiesta La Ballona grand marshal.

The beloved coach who is active in the Culver City community was named grand marshal at a 2012 Fiesta La Ballona committee meeting in March.

Chairman Mike Cohen of the 2012 Fiesta La Ballona said there is a great sense of community at this event and glad Dave will be a part of it.

“Dave exemplifies the spirit of giving back to the community and the impact of volunteerism he has had on the kids over the years,” Cohen said.

In a phone interview conducted in July from his home in Toledo, Ohio, where he and his wife Chevy are vacationing and spending time with their daughter, son-in-law and Chevy’s family, Sanchez said he is proud to be a part of such a great event by being named grand marshal of this year’s Fiesta La Ballona.

“I am tickled and honored to serve as grand marshal,” Sanchez said. “It’s a dream come true. It’s something I never expected.”

Hosted by the City of Culver City and supported by local businesses and the community, the annual event marks its 62^nd year with the theme “Party in the Park.”

Celebrating the heritage and diversity in the community of Culver City, Fiesta La Ballona 2012 will take place at Veteran’s Park the weekend of August 24. Festivities during the three-day event include carnival rides and games, interactive workshops, a petting zoo, pony rides, live entertainment on two stages, regional cuisine, vendor booths, a beer and wine garden and a host of other activities for the entire family.

The 24-year Culver City resident who will take his grand marshal duties as seriously as his soccer coaching and teaching duties said he looks forward to walking around the three-day event and waving at all the people.

“I am going to be the grand poobah,” Sanchez boasted happily. “Attending and participating at Fiesta La Ballona has been a family tradition over the years. I am proud to be part of such a great event.”

Sanchez, 58, who graduated from UCLA in 1975 with degrees in math and teaching, is the father of five children, with his four sons and parents who live in Los Angeles, has been an avid sports fan of all things athletic from an early age.

“I am a true-blue sports fan.” Sanchez said. “I wanted to be a baseball player, basketball player and football player.”

But it was Sanchez’s entrée to soccer in the late 1960s while his father was stationed in Guatemala serving with the U.S. Army when he discovered an interest for the sport.

Army brat Sanchez was born in Monterey, California. Growing up, he was exposed to many different cultures living in a number of places such as Okinawa, Kansas and Indiana, yet the worldly Sanchez said he remained a sports fanatic no matter which city he resided.

“I lived in 17 houses in 21 years,” Sanchez said.

But it wasn’t until the 1980s when three of his kids fell in love with soccer, which confirmed his passion for the sport after so many years.

“My passion for the sport came through my kids while coaching them in the American Youth Soccer Organization,” Sanchez said.

With his love for sports, Sanchez was responsible for starting the athletic program at Culver Middle-School.

From there, with an inclination for teaching, Sanchez’s first position at Culver City High was teaching algebra as a long-term substitute.

The self-proclaimed math nerd, who has been with the Culver City School District for 20 years, also taught calculus for 10 years at Culver High.

Along the way, Sanchez became assistant varsity soccer coach in 1997 for the Centaurs, but then eventually took over as head coach for Coach Dwayne at the high school.

With an impetus toward teamwork and intrinsic motivation and love of the sport, Sanchez laid the groundwork for molding a team culture when he began coaching the boy’s varsity soccer team in 2001.

With a philosophy that imparts team friendship, camaraderie, passion and appreciation for the game, Sanchez said it’s important to build life memories for the kids.

“It’s never about winning. That’s second,” Sanchez said with conviction. “I teach cooperative skills so kids can use it to deal with adversity.”

Adversity struck the Sanchez household in February of this year. Blindsighted, Sanchez was faced with a new nemesis with a diagnosis of stage IV pancreatic cancer that metastasized to the liver, forcing him into an unplanned retirement that began June 23.

With a Herculean task ahead, Sanchez said he feels awesome after enduring several months of uncharted territory of aggressive chemotherapy.

“I am getting my energy and strength back,” Sanchez said. “I feel really good.”

In the emotionally charged subject of pancreatic cancer along with the intrepid drive to beat the disease, Sanchez’s spirits are high and he continues to maintain a positive attitude and looks forward to the upcoming soccer season.

Casting his sights on next season, the de facto leader on the soccer field has no plans to step down as coach. Sanchez said he plans to return to Culver City High to coach the Centaurs when practice begins in October in order to be ready for the winter season.

Proving to be a major game-changer, the original plan was to move back to Toledo where Sanchez and his wife own a home, with the idea of splitting their time between Toledo and Culver City.

“Our plans have been revised,” Chevy, who is a nurse at Brotman Medical Center, said. “The plan was to split our time between the two homes.”

Sanchez said he and Chevy remained in Toledo spending time with family before making the drive back to Los Angeles in late July in order to have surgery August 3 at Cedars Sinai Hospital.

Not only is he spending quality time with his family, Sanchez is busy keeping a watchful eye on his favorite soccer team, Madrid Real and becoming reacquainted with his classical guitar.

“With the love and support of family, friends and the community, I feel very positive during this health scare,” Sanchez said.