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With cancer down, milestone is next

By JOE SMITH
Published January 12, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Ted McLaren] Calvary Christian boys basketball coach Dave Blintz, watching his players practice Wednesday afternoon, will try for his 500th career victory tonight when the Warriors host Oldsmar. Blintz, 56, has a 499-347 record in 32 years of coaching, including a 14-2 mark this season and a 24-6 record at Northside Christian in 1995.

CLEARWATER - Call Dave Bintz the "Organic Man."

The Calvary Christian boys basketball coach dramatically changed his diet four years ago, when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Coca-Cola became juiced carrots. Salmon became salads.

And Bintz's wife, Cindy, soon became his inspiration.

In battling and beating breast cancer last season, Cindy, 54, would undergo four hours of chemotherapy in the morning, then put on a hat and keep score for the Warriors' games at night.

The couple, both cancer survivors, will be at center stage tonight when Bintz goes for his 500th career win as Calvary Christian hosts Oldsmar Christian.

Bintz, a 53-year-old New Jersey native, has built several small Christian school basketball programs from scratch in the past 32 years.

Along the way, Bintz drove buses, cleaned carpets and sometimes held practice in converted bus garages.

But now Bintz's Warriors, at 14-2 his best team ever, are his best shot for a lengthy postseason run.

And, as always, Cindy will be at his side, keeping score, serving as a constant reminder of "the Lord's work."

"She's my hero," Bintz says, choking up. "I couldn't have done it without her."

The couple, high school sweethearts who will celebrate their 35th anniversary Monday, nearly never met.

Dave attended a small private school, Ambassador Christian Academy in Glassboro, N.J., near his hometown of Vineland. Cindy was two hours away, unhappy at a public school in the Mount Holly area.

For her senior year, Cindy decided to attend Ambassador. Every day, she made the two-hour bus trip from Mount Holly to Moorestown, then to inner-city Camden, where family members would take her to Glassboro.

"One month after I met her, I knew I wanted to marry her," Bintz said. "It was meant to be."

The early years were tough. The couple married in January 1972 - Dave's freshman year at Cedarville College in Ohio - and welcomed their first of three children, Ryan, now 33, his junior year.

Foundry at night

By day, Bintz went to class. At night, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., he worked at a foundry, burning himself while pouring molten metal into molds.

The job, wearing as it was, proved symbolic for Bintz's greater passion - building sports programs.

Like many Christian schools in the 1960s and '70s, Ambassador struggled to field sports teams. As a result, Dave couldn't play high school basketball. Having never been taught the game, Bintz struggled and was cut when he tried to walk on at Cedarville.

"I wanted to give kids opportunities that I never had," Bintz said. "That was my mission."

Bintz did just that at tiny schools in Alexandria, Va., and Altoona, Pa., before landing a job at Northside Christian in St. Petersburg in 1989.

Inheriting a program without a winning season in eight years, Bintz took some lumps, but in 1995, he was named the Class 2A coach of the year for guiding Northside to a 24-6 record.

'Radioactive Dave'

Two years into his latest rebuilding project at Calvary, Bintz faced his stiffest challenge.

In 2002, a routine physical revealed he had prostate cancer.

Fortunately, like Cindy's breast cancer later, Dave's disease was detected early and treated through surgery.

Bintz didn't miss a beat on the court, continuing to coach his summer basketball camps. Due to radiation therapy, Bintz was told to stay "6 feet away from the kids."

"I was 'Radioactive Dave,' " Bintz said, laughing. "The kids had fun with that."

Bintz, a fiery coach with an otherwise introverted personality, still lets loose with his other hobbies - surfing and stock-car racing.

"I may be getting older," Bintz said. "But I'm not going quietly."

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@sptimes.com or at 727 893-8129.

Dave Bintz

Record: 499-347 (32 seasons). He seeks his 500th career win at 7:30 tonight when Calvary Christian hosts Oldsmar Christian at 110 N McMullen-Booth Road in Clearwater.

Coaching jobs: Engleside Christian School (Alexandria, Va.) 1975-78; Calvary Baptist Christian Academy (Altoona, Pa.) 1978-80; Victory Christian (Williamstown, N.J.) 1980-89); Northside Christian (St. Petersburg), 1989-2000; Calvary Christian (Clearwater), 2000-present.

Honors: Class 2A Coach of the Year in 1995 for leading Northside Christian to 24-6 record.

College: Cedarville College (Cedarville, Ohio)

Family: Wife, Cindy (34 years); Children: Ryan, 33, Julie, 30, and Katie, 23.

Hobbies: Surfing, stock-car racing.

[Last modified January 11, 2007, 22:29:27]