Dan has been active as Head Coach for the Pagosa Springs High School since 1990.  Since 2004, he has ran the Pagosa Springs Wrestle the World Team Camp bringing wrestlers from all over the western states among numerous Olympic and National Champion clinicians.

When Dan Janowsky took the reins as Pagosa Springs High School’s wrestling coach in 1990, the program by no means had the deep roots of some of Colorado’s “blue blood” programs.

But in his two decades in Pagosa, Janowsky has built a program of which the community can be proud and one that has wrestled its way into the conversation as one of the state’s consistently quality programs.

In Janowsky’s tenure, the Pirates have produced seven top-five state tournament finishes — four in the last six years, including a long-elusive state championship in 2021. Along the way, Pagosa has celebrated 78 state tournament medalists, with 16 champions and 12 runners-up. That list includes two-time state champion Michael Martinez and three-time champ Cameron Lucero, also the 2021 3A Wrestler of the Year.

“A lot of programs in the state have deep roots that go back for generations,” said Janowsky. “Part of our legacy is that we’re kind of a newcomer to the sport and we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished.

I’ve been privileged to lead a group of people, a community, dedicated to cracking that circle.” Janowsky made wrestling part of the Pagosa community by building a foundation. He encouraged a strong youth program and also started the Pagosa Springs Wrestle the World Team Camp, an annual event that has attracted some of the top names in the sport as coaches and clinicians, including NCAA champion and Olympic medalist Terry Brands.

Janowsky was a top-four state finisher for Fountain-Fort Carson High School before wrestling collegiately at Fort Lewis. That was the springboard to a coaching career that has produced a lifetime of memories.

“There is a quote from a story about wrestling that says the sport gives you the opportunity to find out who you really are,” Janowsky said. “I’ve been fortunate to pass that ideal on to young wrestlers.”

The winner of 245 duals in his coaching career, Janowsky has earned his share of individual honors. He is a five-time Intermountain League Coach of the Year, has coached in the CHSCA All-State dual (he also competed in that dual as a prep standout and his son, Caleb, also competed in the dual), and was named the 2021 3A Coach of the Year.

But he is quick to note that all of Pagosa Springs’ successes have been a team effort — beginning with the support of his wife, Nyana. “She has been absolutely essential,” Janowsky said. “Coaches’ wives are the unsung heroes behind a lot of coaches.”

While he has enjoyed a long list of great moments, Janowsky said the biggest accomplishment has been building a program with staying power.

“It’s not any one event as much as looking back at all the athletes I've had the privilege of coaching and all the families I’ve gotten to know,” he said. “You build relationships that last a lifetime. Those are the things that stick with you as a coach, the honor of having that opportunity to have an impact on young people’s lives.”

Presenter-Phil Grasmick