Monroe County has become a soccer hub in the region. With three straight state high school championships — Gibault in 2013, Columbia in 2014 and Waterloo in 2015 — local talent isn’t sparse. For Waterloo resident John Dolinsky, soccer has been his life for the past 40 years.

“My dad played soccer in Chicago and I always went to the games with him,” Dolinsky said. “I started playing when I was 10 and on a team. It just evolved from there.”

Dolinsky was born in Germany and has a thick Chicago accent. He played college soccer for Lewis University from 1972-75, where he was also an All-American.

From there, like Dolinsky said, his play evolved. He played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, United Soccer League and American Indoor Soccer Association.

“The outdoor league was equivalent to what the St. Louis FC are now in the USL,” Dolinsky said of the professional team that plays in Fenton, Mo. “So, I started playing outdoor then, but the indoor came around 1979. In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s the (St. Louis) Steamers played in the Checkerdome. That league ended up being a very big league. It was really the only pro league in the United States. So, I played in that league and floated back and forth in indoor and outdoor.”

Dolinsky never played for the Steamers during his career. He does say some people may know him because of an incident involving St. Louis radio personality Kevin Slaten.

“Coming to St. Louis or when I talk to people, some people recognize who I am and will say, ‘You’re the guy that got into the argument with Kevin Slaten,’” Dolinsky said.

While playing for the Buffalo Stallions in the early 1980s, Dolinsky and Slaten exchanged words. Slaten was the public address announcer for the Steamers at the time and Dolinsky had just taken a penalty.

“I went to the box and Kevin was about two or three guys down. He’s revving up the Steamers’ fans,” Dolinsky said.

Well, Dolinsky didn’t like that and told Slaten what he thought about it. Not only did they exchange words, there was a bit of a scuffle and Slaten was ejected.

“I’d rather people talked about the goal I scored on Slobo Ilijevski,” Dolinsky chuckled.

Ilijevski was a big-time goalie for the Steamers during the era.

The Stallions lost that game to the Steamers, 6-4. But every time Dolinsky played here, he got a taste of St. Louis soccer.

“It was always fun to play,” Dolinsky said. “The fans were passionate and it was unbelievably loud. You couldn’t hear yourself speak. It was a fun time.”

Dolinsky had quite the career; he has his own Wikipedia page.

“I get razzed about that quite a bit,” Dolinsky laughed. “It was a good time. It wasn’t all roses. You don’t make money in soccer. Now, it’s evolved to where players can make a very decent living. Back then, when I played, I made a decent living, but it was more that you were involved in doing something like that than the money. You just had to watch how you spent your money.”

Dolinsky has been living in Waterloo for about the past eight years. He has been involved in coaching in the area and has been coaching in general for the past 35 years or so. His first professional season as a coach was in 1985 for the Tulsa Tornadoes.

“I coached for all my life, since I started playing pro,” Dolinsky said. “When I was done playing, I kept coaching and was hired as a head coach for the Milwaukee Waves. After that was completed, I went into the youth level, and I’ve spent time in Indiana with the Dynamo. Eventually, I ended up here.”

This year, Dolinsky is coaching the FC Adrenaline, an indoor team that plays in the Premier Area Soccer League in Pontoon Beach. This is the first year the team has gone by the moniker “FC Adrenaline.” Last year, as the Illinois Piasa, they went 9-1.

Jose Delgado is the owner of the club. The team’s home is at The Field Sports Complex.

“I’m happy for him that he can put something like this on the field,” Dolinsky said.

This team takes Dolinsky back to when he was beginning to play professionally for the first time.

“First of all, these guys do it for the love of the game,” Dolinsky said. “They don’t do it for the money. I hope that I can provide and let them enjoy what they’re doing — to enjoy coming to each game — which they do — and practice, which they do. My expectations are that in the end that we have good enough results to make them happy. Winning championships or whatever the format is, it’s fun and it’s good. But the first thing is to enjoy it.”

The team opens the season with a game in Paducah, Ky., on Saturday.

As a soccer fan, Dolinsky has been paying attention to Monroe County’s high school soccer teams.

“I’d like to congratulate Waterloo on winning the championship. They had a great year. Fortunately, I think four of the players came from the academy program at Metro, which I’m sure helped them quite a bit,” Dolinsky said of the junior foursome previously written about in the Republic-Times. They added more depth to an already talented team.

“That’s probably what set up the whole season for them. It’s very tough to win a championship at any level. To win a championship, it’s a good feeling for them and I know that I’m really happy for them.”

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