Klatka’s teams are among the best in the region. This past outdoor season, he guided his team to sweeps in two meets, a third place finish at the NEWMAC Championships and the Division III ECAC Championships, and a fourth place finish at the Division III New England Championships.

Klatka is part of a long line of Pride coaches who have shared their expertise internationally. In 1978 and ’82, he traveled to Aruba and spent a month conducting clinics and lecturing student-athletes. He has conducted numerous clinics in the Northeast, including several at Springfield College.

Klatka has been the meet director for countless Western Massachusetts high school track and field and cross country championships, and has served as the state director of the U.S. Track and Field Federation. He was the field coordinator for the 1990 Massachusetts Special Olympics and has been the track coordinator for the Massachusetts Senior Games, held annually at Springfield College.

Klatka, a 1969 Springfield College graduate, was captain of the cross country team, where he set a number of school and course records. He earned his master’s degree from Springfield College in 1970. After graduation, he coached the College’s men’s cross country team for seven seasons.

Klatka was a standout runner at Memorial High in Manchester, N.H., establishing state records in the mile and two-mile runs while winning four state titles. In 1994, he was among the charter members enshrined in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the city’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.