Once he walked the halls of Dallastown and was a soccer star on the field.
He’s back now as a teacher and a coach.
22-year-old Gabe Wunderlich, who graduated from the halls of Dallastown, returned this year to the science department. Alongside that, he was also brought onto the Dallastown Boys soccer staff.
In high school, Wunderlich was the captain of a great Dallastown soccer team that went 23-0 throughout the county and district. His performance earned him first-team all-state, all-region, and 2019 Player of the Year.
After graduating from Dallastown, he attended Alvernia University, where he got his degree in Biology. While getting his degree, he played soccer for Alvernia, was named captain his junior and senior year, and won the ECAC Championship in 2023.
Despite all of these accomplishments on the field, his favorite part comes from off the field.
“Meeting new guys who weren’t from around here,” Wunderlich said. The experience of connecting with these players on the overnight bus rides to away games was his favorite college ball experience.
He has had many successes throughout his soccer career, but there have also been many challenges. The biggest challenges for him were his two knee surgeries and one shoulder surgery.
“The mental aspect is the biggest struggle,” Wunderlich stated.
Originally, straight out of college, he wasn’t going to get into teaching. However, he is now working on getting his teaching certification while he long-term substitutes for Mrs. Riddle.
When getting interviewed he shared the Dallastown environment he wanted and remembered.
“The culture at Dallastown is great, and the relationships between students and staff are great as well.” That, alongside the great biology department, was a key factor in his return to Dallastown.
With his return to Dallastown, his goal for the future is to be able to become a full-time teacher here at Dallastown, as well as continue his coaching career and potentially take over for Coach Herrington whenever he retires.
“I want to help take the program at Dallastown to a new level and improve the program to the best of my ability,” Wunderlich said.
Coach Colby Herrington is the head Varsity Coach at Dallastown and has known Wunderlich since he was 12 when he coached him at FC York.
According to Wunderlich, he learned a lot from Herrington as a coach including how to relate to players.
Herrington has also learned a lot about Wunderlich in the past 10 years.
“He can relate well to the players and help them grow their individual skills in a way only top-notch coaches can,” Coach Herrington said.
His experiences can help him to lead the team as a coach.
“My vision on the field will translate to being able to work with a full 11, preparing for games, and doing the little things that led to success,” Wunderlich said.
Senior Joey Gratalo, who has played on the team for the past 3 years, has experienced many different coaches throughout his time at Dallastown. But, Wunderlich has given him a different outlook on soccer than the other coaches.
“He was like a friend and a coach, he brought different perspectives to the team and played styles that worked for us, and he understood how to talk to the younger players as well,” Gratalo said.
Wunderlich is working hard with his job making sure that he is getting people what they need to learn. Despite only being a long-term sub he’s trying to show his excellence in the hope of earning a job at Dallastown next year.
Along with a permanent spot on the coaching staff.
