Congratulations to Coach Pat Cain who was honored last Thursday by Philadelphia City Council for 53 years of volunteer work with the children of Fishtown. Cain accepted his award, accompanied by an entourage of friends, family and former athletes he has coached throughout the years.

“I was surprised, it was a good honor to have,” Cain said. “There can’t be too many other Fishtowners given this honor.”

Cain started giving back to the community more than five decades ago at the Hancock Recreation Center. He began coaching soccer at West Catholic  in 1975, where he coached for three years. From West Catholic, Cain took a job at Roman Catholic High School.

When Cain first got there, Roman was in the cellar of the Catholic League and was regularly dominated by Saint Joe’s Prep, Father Judge and La Salle. The school hadn’t made the playoffs for eight consecutive years and was often considered an afterthought on their opponent’s schedules.

Just as Cain began coaching at Roman, open enrollment began in Philadelphia Catholic Schools, so the new Cahillite coach could bring kids he worked with in Fishtown, Port Richmond and Mayfair down to Roman with him.

And then Cain began to win games — 250 of them to be exact, which is more than any other soccer coach in Roman Catholic history. Over the course of his 17 years at Roman, Cain’s teams made the playoffs in 16 seasons and won at least 10 games in every year but one. Cain’s Cahillites also had a remarkable 48-game win streak against Southern Division opponents that lasted from 1993 to 1998.

The crowning achievement of Cain’s illustrious coaching career at Roman came in 1997 when his squad won the Catholic League Championship. Widely considered as the one of the greatest teams in Southern Division history, the entire 1997 Roman Catholic roster was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2008.

Recently, Cain was inducted into the same Hall of Fame individually as a coach. He was inducted on the basis of his overall record, his famed championship run and the culture and program he cultivated at Roman. He currently coaches girls soccer at Hallahan High School.

In addition to coaching, Pat has run a soccer camp each summer for children to learn and play the game. We Care Soccer Camp offers neighborhood children a fun and free chance to learn the game of soccer each summer. Founded in 1994, the camp has grown each year, now attracting more than 200 children ages 4 to 11. Cain is looking forward to having his camp again this year so that a new batch of young people from the neighborhood can enjoy soccer camp free of charge.

Cain was also instrumental in the fundraising for and founding of “Stan the Cut Man Field” — a small, artificial turf field that Cain’s campers and Fishtown A.C. members play and practice on. The field is is named in memory of Stanley Maliszewski, a Fishtown firefighter and friend of Cain’s who helped start We Care Soccer Camp.

“It was just a nice day for me,” Cain said. “I’ve won a bunch of awards, coach of the year, but this was one of the nicest honors given to me.”