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Lockport football coach: a role model on & off the field

Posted at 5:04 PM, Sep 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-20 22:41:23-04

Going from one job to the next, Dan Barrancotta is stretched a little thin these days. “There are plenty of days when sleep can be measured in minutes and not hours,” he said. 

After all, the Lockport police officer patrols the city streets when most of us are sleeping. Then, he heads home for a few hours before varsity football practice. Barrancotta is also the assistant varsity football coach for the Lockport Lions.

“He's a very competent patrolman on the midnight shift and he's an asset to the police department and the City of Lockport,” said Lockport Police Chief Michael Niethe. 

Neither job is easy. But, Barrancotta said both are worth it. “This is where I'm from. I'm from Lockport. I grew up here. It's a good way to be involved and give back to a community I got a lot from growing up.”

Barrancotta was actually a football coach before he became a police officer. But wearing both hats has been a game changer for some of his players. “There's one time where he's been involved with my home and everything. He was the officer that came. He was there and he was a little comfort,” said player,” Jason Robillard. “He helped me change my life,” said co-captain Xaviar Barber. “I got into an incident one night and he happened to be the officer and gave me a life talk and I changed my life around since then.”

Today, the team sits 0 and three. It's not the start to the season the players had hoped for. But if you ask their coach, Officer Barrancotta, their success doesn't have to be measured by wins and losses. “We'll see that next year, five years and 20 years. If I'm not running into these guys in a bad way, then I'll know we did something right this year.”