Former Riverton High football coach finds hope in ALS breakthrough


4 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

WEST JORDAN — A breakthrough in Lou Gehrig's disease research is encouraging a Utah patient battling the disease who hopes the new finding will bring researchers closer to a cure.

Researchers just announced they have discovered a new gene that is responsible for the disease. The ALS Association is crediting money raised through the Ice Bucket Challenge for the discovery of a gene's connection to the progressive disease, the Associated Press reported.

It has been 10 years since Rick Bojak coached a football game at Riverton High — but in his 28 years as a head football coach he learned a lot about being the underdog — which is why he isn't giving up in his fight against ALS.

Bojak and his wife, Janet, spend a lot of time reminiscing about his time as a football player, high school coach and teacher. In 1994, he was the Utah Teacher of the Year and invited to the White House. Tuesday night, the Jordan School District honored him for his longtime service in education.

"I know you can help and influence students on the field, but the best way is to do it in a classroom and that is what I loved the most,” Bojak said.

For Bojak's former players and students, he is still teaching them — this time about never giving up.

"I was diagnosed five years ago in March, and they only gave me one to three years to live,” he said.

Related:

Bojak is defying the odds as he battles ALS — he was the inspiration for many people to do the Ice Bucket Challenge a couple of years ago, raising money for research to fight the disease. He said he’s thrilled with Wednesday's news about a breakthrough against ALS.

"We will see what happens with it, but thank goodness people around the world were doing the Ice Bucket Challenge to get money for research," Bojak said.

Bojak hopes ALS patients and their families find hope as he does in the new research.

“I hope it is a notice to people to keep fighting, to keep believing that you can beat the odds and go for it,” he said.

Bojak still holds the record with Weber State football for the longest touchdown reception in school history at 97 yards — a record that was set 45 years ago. He said he wants to set another record now as he continues to fight ALS.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Sam Penrod

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast