Coach Dry Remembered Fondly by Lyons Township Athletes, Coaches

Throughout his years coaching boys and girls gymnastics at Lyons Township High School, Fred Dryanski found a way to instill humor no matter the situation.

“He brought fun into the gym,” recalled Sam Zeman, Dryanski’s longtime boys gymnastics assistant coach. “When kids were getting too serious or frustrated, he came up with some comment that would make them want to shake their heads and be like, ‘What?’ It would kind of reset them and they’d be ready to go.”

Dryanski, 63, who died Sunday, maintained that positive attitude throughout his many battles with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Lois, whom he married following a lengthy courtship.

Visitation is from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 9, at the Palos-Gaidas Funeral Home, 11028 S. Southwest Hwy. (7700W) in Palos Hills.

The funeral is at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 10, from the funeral home for a 10 a.m. mass at Sacred Heart Church, 8245 West 111th St., Palos Hills.

Dryanski recently had been under hospice care and was not taking any visitors.

“Really, for a while, I was speechless, even though I knew it was coming. I thought I’d be prepared,” Zeman said. “I’m surprised just how hard it’s really hit. There must have been between 30 and 40 phone calls (I received) Sunday and Monday from former students and old friends.”

Dryanski was the LT boys gymnastics head coach for 31 seasons, retiring following the 2010 season after already retiring as a teacher at the school. He also was a longtime assistant girls gymnastics coach under former head coach Garen (Williams) Lazier and current head coach Kari Karubas and also was a longtime assistant coach in football.

Dryanski was sidelined for part of his final boys gymnastics season as he confronted pancreatic cancer after beating prostate cancer years earlier. Shortly after Dryanski told everyone about his second bout with cancer, lung cancer was discovered.

“As a person, Fred was so hard to describe. He had a lot of different aspects,” Zeman said. “In the gym, he was (known as) Bonsai Dry or Dry. After practice, he liked to be called Downtown Freddy Brown. He knew downtown Chicago better than anybody I know. He enjoyed life. If something was going on downtown, he knew about it and wanted to be a part of it.”

Probably more memorable than what Dryanski said was how he said it. Dryanski created a lengthy list of Dry-isms, sayings or catchphrases that he repeated during practices and games. One attempt to motivate his gymnasts to practice bars was the Dry-ism, ‘A day without bars is like a day without sunshine.’

“Those are the things his kids are saying on Facebook. He had so many Dry-isms,” Zeman said. “He was a lot of fun for the kids and got them to do what he wanted through humor. I would say he was very well liked by all of his kids. They look back at him, and with the comments I’ve seen so far, he was a big part of their lives.”

Zeman last visited with Dryanski in the fall and attended a movie at The Quarry Cinemas along with former LT head trainer Rich Carey, who became close friends with Dryanski in the recent years. Carey made the island trip when Dryanski was married just a couple of years ago.

“I knew it was one of the last opportunities I’d get to see (Dryanski),” Zeman said. “I feel like that last time together we had a good time and everything was positive. He was upbeat, and I think that’s the way he’d want to be remembered than in the hospice situation.”

Dryanski became head coach of the LT boys gymnastics program in 1980, Zeman’s senior year as a gymnast at the school. Zeman started coaching with Dryanski in 1983 as a volunteer assistant and then joined the staff in 1985.

Seven gymnasts coached by Dryanski earned all-state medals for top-five finishes at the state meet, including 2004 graduate Jason Enke, who captured or shared seven individual state titles.

The Lions compete in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division, arguably the toughest boys gymnastics conference in the state. The other four currently competing teams (Hinsdale Central, Glenbard West, Downers Grove North, York) also are rich in tradition.

Although the Lions usually weren't at the top of the league, they were always competitive, even though they rarely inherited gymnasts with significant, if any, club gymnastics backgrounds.

Led by sophomore Enke and junior Brad Trompeter in 2002, the Lions finally had their day. They won the Silver and went on to take third at state for the program’s only state trophy and only second state team appearance other than 1976.

In 2003, the Lions won the Silver again and were fourth at state, just .4 from third place. Enke won pommel horse, parallel bars and horizontal bar and shared first on floor exercise, and Trompeter was second on still rings. In 2004, Enke defended his state titles on parallel bars and horizontal bar and shared the state championship on vault.

“I would have to say that would have to be (his coaching highlight),” Zeman said.

Current LT boys gymnastics head coach Kenn Su, then as assistant in 2010, helped to take on the additional coaching responsibilities in Dryanski’s absence. Zeman has returned to the boys gymnastics program this season as an assistant.

On Nov. 27, 2010, numerous former LT boys and girls gymnasts as far back as the Class of 1985 and their parents gathered at The Corral next to the south campus to pay special tribute to Dryanski.

“What kept him going year in and year out? Fred was very good about balancing life,” Zeman said. “For all of those years he (coached) all three sports, he always took his vacations. He’d go for a little while during spring break at the end of the school year, maybe early August. He loved the islands. He knew them all. If I remember right, he really loved St. Thomas.”