ONE GIFT AT A TIME

Romania native Florin Mitran wakes up smiling every day in the United States. You would too if you embraced each day like Mitran does.

“A day to me is a gift,” says the 49-year-old Mitran, who coaches the varsity boys’ golf team at Highland Park High School and serves as a teacher/coach at Township High School District 113’s other comprehensive high school, Deerfield HS. “We’re all given the gift of a day, every day.

“What are you going to do with that gift today?” he adds. “You’re in control of making it either a great day or an average day. We should all be grateful for such a present. I know I am.”

Mitran, who arrived in the northwest Chicago community Portage Park from then-Communist Romania at age 6 in 1980, draws inspiration from loved ones and a slew of colleagues—and actor Michael J. Fox, who was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease at age 29 in 1991.

“Michael J. Fox believes that with gratitude, optimism becomes sustainable,” Mitran says. “I’m grateful for getting to work with, and help others, at Deerfield and Highland Park high schools. It’s a skill, being able to coach and teach high school students, as well as being able to motivate them and relate to them. I’ve developed that skill by watching others do it well, like Paul Harris (former basketball/golf coach and current athletic director at HPHS), Steve Winiecki (DHS football coach), Doug Foerch (District 113 gymnastics coach), Marc Pechter (DHS wrestling coach), Nathan Flannery (DHS athletic director), Mike Muldrow (former DHS girls’ basketball coach), Greg Kapsimalis (former DHS boys’ basketball coach), and Mark Flavin and Josh Hess (assistant golf coaches at HPHS).

“I’ve grown as a professional and as a person, because I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some of the best people in education and coaching,” adds Mitran, who was the athletic trainer at DHS from 1998-2008. “But I’ll never stop striving to become a better teacher and coach.”

Coaches at Lane Tech in Chicago played critical roles in the life of Mitran, the star prep athlete. Mitran graduated with a combined 10 varsity letters in five sports—football, baseball, wrestling, track and field, and speed skating. He competed in speed skating for only one season but left quite a mark, capturing a city championship.

“My outlet, when I was young, was competing in sports,” says Mitran, whose mother, Emilia, still calls Portage Park home. “And my major influences were Lane Tech coaches, with many of them becoming father figures. My father (Isaia, who died at age 59), was depressed after having to leave Romania. He also struggled while trying to adjust to the culture in the United States.”

Robert Korlov (football), Jerry Szukala (baseball), Mac McClinton (track and field), and Jeff Newmark (wrestling) were among Mitran’s impactful coaches at Lane Tech. Speaking of impact, Mitran was adept at delivering it on football fields, especially as a punt/kick returner.

“I loved destroying opposing players while returning kicks,” says Mitran, who, while serving as an assistant on Winiecki’s football staff at DHS, coached current Cincinnati Bengals rookie wide receiver/ return specialist Charlie Jones. “I remember a coach telling me, ‘You know, it’s okay to run away from guys trying to tackle you instead of always looking to hit them.’”

Mitran played only one season of baseball at the University of Illinois Chicago because of a knee injury. He graduated with degrees in teaching and athletic training and returned to Lake Tech soon thereafter as an assistant varsity football coach, head sophomore football coach, athletic trainer, and substitute teacher.

Mitran was working as a doorman at the nowdefunct Crobar Chicago when he first met his future wife, Lisa. They got married 23 years ago and live in Libertyville. Their four children are Bronson, 21, Stone, 18, Jozie, 16, and Riggs, 14.

“My wife has a great heart, loves all people, is organized and unselfish and patient, and she’s beautiful and kind,” Mitran says. “Awesome. She’s awesome.”

So is Florin Mitran’s golf game. Prodigious off the tee and a 1-handicapper, Mitran now gets to hurt golf balls rather than would-be tacklers in football games. He has enjoyed playing at three of Highland Park’s golf courses—Sunset Valley Golf Club, Exmoor Country Club, and Northmoor Country Club. He hasn’t toured Bob O’Link Golf Club or Old Elm Club in Highland Park.

Yet.

The total number of golf courses in all of Romania, according to Mitran? Eight.

“I’ll play golf in pretty much any weather condition, unless it’s below 20 degrees,” says Mitran, who, in addition to coaching boys’ golf at HPHS, coaches girls’ lacrosse, boys’ bowling, and bass fishing (as a volunteer assistant) at DHS. “Golf mirrors life. It gives you a constant pursuit of getting better at something, and you have to be willing and able to adjust, whether that’s to the weather or to the course on that day. You could play golf 30 days in a row and no two would be the same.

“I’m always learning in the challenging sport of golf, and I love teaching it to my daughter Jozie.”

The “Augusta National” of the North Shore suburbs, in Mitran’s mind, is Highland Park.

“It has such an impressive history and a great culture,” Mitran says. “Plus it’s a resilient, close-knit community and one of the best places to live along the North Shore. It’s architecture is beautiful and striking.

“For me, to be affiliated with Highland Park as a coach at the city’s high school, is pretty awesome. I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity the district gave me to succeed Paul Harris as the varsity boys’ golf coach at Highland Park High School.”

The mother of a former DHS studentathlete claimed Mitran saved her daughter’s life when Mitran—as the athletic trainer at DHS—detected a possible blood clot in the teen’s leg and urged the family to see a doctor. It was a blood clot. A former DHS administrative once called Mitran “the most positive person in the building.”

“I’m a relationship-centric coach and teacher,” Mitran says. “It’s important to me to get to know my students and athletes through one-on-one interactions. Having established those relationships, at a deeper level, they’ll then know it’s nothing personal whenever I point out something that will make them better students or athletes.”

Mitran’s favorite ice breaker in either a classroom setting or at a prep sports venue is a warm one.

And it shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows Mitran.

“I like to ask, “How’s your day going?’” he says.