Dan Popik, the N.C. State men’s soccer assistant head coach, began working for the Wolpack as a part-time goalkeeper coach for the 2005 season and has since moved his way up to the assistant head coaching position.
Popik began playing soccer as a first grader. In the seventh grade, he began playing goalkeeper for his club team. From there, in recreational and club play, he moved his way up and eventually found himself on the U.S. men’s U-17 national team, playing with the likes of now-famous players such as Tim Howard, who currently plays for English Premier League club Everton. One of Popik’s fondest memories is from his international debut.
“My first international cup was when I played for the U-17 national team,” Popik said. “We played against Honduras in New Jersey, which is close to my house. I was happy my family got to see that.”
Popik also played on the U.S. U-20 international team while playing college soccer at UNC during the 1997 season and at St. John’s in 1998 and 1999. Popik experienced a lot of success and gained many long-lasting relationships at the latter institution.
“I take a lot of pride in winning the Big East Championship with St. John’s,” Popik said. “Overall there are a lot of times when you look back, I think you look more at the friendships you made and just going to training everyday and putting in a good day’s effort. Winning championships is great, but the process to win championships is a lot more fun.”
Before finishing college, Popik signed with his first professional team, the Milwaukee Rampage, of the then-A League (now known as the USL Division 1). Popik’s first professional hardware was obtained with the Rampage.
“We won the A-League championship in 2002, which was a lot of fun and a great memory,” Popik said. “That was my first team that I signed with when I was 20 years old. The cycle of building the team together to win a championship was a lot of fun. I made a lot of good friends off that team.”
Immediately after winning the championship, the Rampage’s coach was fired from the club. Popik then made his move to the MLS in 2003, signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Popik played for the Galaxy for two seasons but was the back-up keeper for Kevin Hartman, the first MLS goalkeeper to win 100 games in his career.
“I had a great time with Kevin,” Popik said. “He’s still a friend of mine. I went out to dinner with him and his family when I was last down in Dallas recruiting. He was a fantastic goalkeeper. Unfortunately, I was his No. 2 in the peak of his career. It was good training with him, though. It was a great environment. I got released after the 2004 season and they brought in a younger guy.”
Leaving the Galaxy marked the beginning of Popik’s transition into coaching. He began working with the Wolfpack in 2005, seeking to settle down his lifestyle.
“There were a lot of factors of why I stopped playing,” Popik said. “At the end of the day, I had options after my contract wasn’t renewed to look and explore new teams. To be honest, I just kind of wanted to go a new direction. I didn’t have my college degree yet and I had just got engaged. With professional soccer, it’s a lot of moving. And it’s very unstable.
“It’s not great money, either, at least not for the majority of people. I started taking classes at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Then the opportunity opened up to come down here and start out as a part-time goalkeeper coach for the 2005 season.”
Coach George Tarantini has nothing but good things to say about his assistant coach.
“Dan is the engineer of this team,” Tarantini said. “Dan is great and provides incredible support for the team. Everything we are is because Dan has a tremendous vision and commitment to this program. Every single player here is very, very grateful for the work he does.”
One of these players, senior midfielder and captain Chris Zuerner, said he recognizes the impact that Popik has had on his fellow teammates.
“Dan’s awesome,” Zuerner said. “He does a lot of things behind the scenes that people wouldn’t necessarily see if they weren’t on the team. It’s a huge credit to him and his knowledge of the game and his contribution to the team. We’re just thankful to have him.”
Popik enjoys every facet of soccer. Other than playing and coaching, he also enjoys watching the game.
“I don’t have a die-hard team I root for,” Popik said. “I enjoy watching goalkeepers. I loved to watch Peter Schmeichel when I was growing up. He played for Manchester United. I used to watch Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel as well because they were Americans playing in Europe.”
While coaching for N.C. State, Popik also goes to school here. He earned a B.S. in sports management and is currently taking graduate-level classes for the same major.
“My master’s work is going great,” Popik said. “I’ll be graduating in May.”
In addition, Popik has a two-year-old son named Gavin, who seems to have inherited his father’s athletic genes.
“He always says he wants to play soccer at State,” Popik said. “He’s definitely a sports guy. He always has a ball in his hand, whether it be a soccer ball or a football. He just always wants to play with a ball. Whether it’s soccer or football, it’s his choice, no pressure from me.”
